First take a look at this campaign ad for Joe Donnelly. After you do, I've got three comments for you to consider.
Note 1) The concentration on illegal immigration in this ad is particularly revealing because Joe Donnelly isn't running for Congress in Arizona, California, New Mexico or Texas. He's in Indiana! It's a clear indication of how stirring is the issue all over America -- and how the Democrats are seen as failing the country miserably on securing our borders.
Note 2) The anti-establishment tone of Joe Donnelly's ad is intriguing. He goes so far as to show a photo of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi as he bemoans the inefficiency, the aloofness and irresponsibility of "the Washington crowd." Now that would hardly be surprising from a Republican. But Joe Donnelly is an incumbent Democrat! He's running against the leadership of his own party!
Watch the ad again and pay attention to how many times Donnelly reminds his audience that he's a Democrat. He doesn't. Not once. Not in the text. Not in the visuals. The Democrats are afraid to be Democrats in public.
This is pretty wild. The L.A. Times recently reported that Team Obama itself is suggesting a strategy for Democrats running for re-election that steers away from the party's “legislative successes” of the last 18 months.
In an effort coordinated with the White House, congressional leaders are urging Democrats to focus less on bragging about what they have done — a landmark healthcare law, a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street regulation and other far-reaching policy changes — and more on efforts to fix the economy and on the perils of Republican control of Congress.
Bragging? That's the typical arrogance of the Obama administration. For the fact is that those "bragging" issues are the very ones that have put Democrats in the soup. The public has moved decisively and dramatically away from Democrats because of health care, bailouts, government takeovers, abortion, and so on. The White House knows that talking about those issues back home is political suicide. And so the powers that be urge incumbent Democrats to avoid them at all costs.
Duck and cover. Juke and jive. Smoke and mirrors. The Democrats are going to be run over if they tell voters what they really stand for, if they remind them of what they really did. So, obfuscation is the order for the fall.
Note 3) Joe Donnelly himself is a prominent example of this dastardly style of campaigning. He hides his party affiliation from sight. He acts like he is an "outsider" keen on representing the independent, law-abiding people of Indiana's 2nd Disctrict. He even shows in his ad the entrenched powers of Obama and Pelosi he's running against.
But he doesn't tell them he's about as loyal a party hack as they come, voting for Obama's extremist agenda 88.4% of the time!
Like I said, it's juke and jive for the fall campaign -- with devout hopes that the media will help voters forget just what Democrats have wrought.
(Hat tip: Publius Forum)
