I would like to thank both the President of the United States of America, and the liberal Democratic group Americans United for Change, for their plans to remind three critical swing states that the Democratic Party is pushing a debt package that only 42% – and dropping – of the country believes in, and that a majority of independent voters oppose. But there’s something even odder about this strategy:
Politico has learned that tomorrow Americans United for Change, a liberal group, will begin airing radio ads in three states Obama won — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Nevada — with a tough question aimed at the GOP senators there: Will you side with Obama or Rush Limbaugh?
“Every Republican member of the House chose to take Rush Limbaugh’s advice,” says the narrator after playing the conservative talk radio giant’s declaration that he hopes Obama “fails.”
“Every Republican voted with Limbaugh — and against creating 4 million new American jobs. We can understand why a extreme partisan like Rush Limbaugh wants President Obama’s Jobs program to fail — but the members of Congress elected to represent the citizens in their districts? That’s another matter. Now the Obama plan goes to the Senate, and the question is: Will our Senator”—here the ad is tailored by state to name George Voinovich in Ohio, Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, and John Ensign in Nevada—”side with Rush Limbaugh too?”
You see, John Ensign isn’t running for re-election until 2012. There’s no pressure on him. George Voinovich is retiring at the end of his term, which means that there’s no pressure on him, either. And Arlen Specter won by 11 points in 2004, after he had a bruising primary victory. 0 for 3, in other words.
What this is really about, of course, is that the House GOP’s decision yesterday to Hold The Line has seriously disconcerted the Democratic Party. They’re in a position where they’ve got an increasingly-unpopular bill to carry, and they’re willing to do anything to pass off some of the load… except let Congressional Republicans hack away at the accumulated special-interest pork. Better and better, they can pass this bill without our help, and this is probably one time where three-Republicans-plus-the-Democratic-caucus isn’t going to look “bipartisan.” In a very real sense, we won this round Wednesday night: the only question is whether McConnell and the rest of the Senate GOP have the guts to go for the bonus points. If they need a stiffener, remember: only 42% support. 50% of independents oppose.
“Good odds for any Greek.”
Crossposted at RedState.