Any boxer will tell you that if you telegraph your punch at your opponent you give them time to duck, weave and counter punch.Over the last two years Republicans have been able to drive media messages and Democrats have, admittedly failed at the public messaging for things such as Obamacare, the Stmulus package, Cap and Trade and much of that has been blamed for the severe losses Democrats suffered during the midterm elections.
I see a piece at the liberal The Plum Line which shows Democrats just didn't get it, they still do not understand how to message effectively and once again they are telegraphing their moves leaving Republicans an abundance of time to counter.
Not to mention picking their battles.
Republicans nailed the Obamacare battle early on and the public stayed opposed, by an overwhelming majority throughout the whole public debate and to this day, each and every poll shows the majority of Americans still opposed to Obamacare.
Democrats have set out to stage a "title" for the Obamacare repeal bill. A repeal that once again has the support of the plurality in some cases (Gallup) and majority of Americans in others (Rasmussen), and instead of a news conference with hard and fast interviews following it slamming the name into the public eye quickly, what do they do?
They are letting bloggers trickle the "title", taking any possible sting out of the bite before the repeal is even voted on in the House of Representatives.
Hoping that they get "another crack" at selling Obamacare to the public? Two years of public debate and the law is still just as unpopular. They lost that battle, that ship has sailed, yet they are once again picking a fight where they already took a massive knockout punch."The Patient's Rights Repeal Act."
At a House Dem leadership meeting last week, Dem leaders decided that this is the phrase they will officially use to brand the House GOP's push to repeal health reform, aides tell me.
With House Republicans set to press forward with repeal next week, the idea behind the Dem talking point is to emphasize what repeal would take away from you -- and to position the plight of the patient in the center of this battle.
Dems are gearing up for a major campaign against repeal, in hopes that it will give them another crack at selling the American public on the law by highlighting its most popular provisions and arguing that repeal would do away with them.
That is their first mistake but it gets better.
Where do I start with this.... okay, back to the boxing analogy. A fighter doesn't telegraph a punch but they also do not throw a punch when they are flat on their asses on the floor after having been knocked down.
Head on over to the RCP site and scroll down to see the polling down for the last year.
That folks is a knockout punch and the fighter that got knocked out is still swinging from the floor and looking like a fool flailing around on the mat.
I am almost embarrassed for them.
Related:
House to hold delayed vote on healthcare repeal next week
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