Robert Menendez (D-NJ), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee thinks he’s come up with a strategy to cause Republicans to fight amongst themselves. According to Politico,
Menendez and his staff will distribute a memo Tuesday advising Democratic campaign managers to frame their opponents early — and to drive a wedge between moderate voters and tea-party-style conservatives.
…
The memo urges Democratic candidates to force their opponents to answer a series of questions on health care, taxes and some of the favorite causes of the far right:
“Do you believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen? Do you think the 10th Amendment bars Congress from issuing regulations like minimum health care coverage standards? Do you think programs like Social Security and Medicare represent socialism and should never have been created in the first place? Do you think President Obama is a socialist? Do you think America should return to a gold standard?”
Anyone who is not a total dolt can easily and accurately answer these questions. In the process they will become even stronger candidates.
Allow me to demonstrate:
Q: Do you believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen?
A: The Unites States Congress has already answered that question by accepting the results of the 2008 Presidential election. If there are still doubts about Mr. Obama’s citizenship, then those doubts can only legitimately be addressed by our Federal court system. Because I am not a nominee for the federal bench, nor am I a litigant in a case challenging or defending Mr. Obama’s citizenship status, what I believe is irrelevant. This is now a job for the court system to address as it sees fit.
Q: Do you think the 10th Amendment bars Congress from issuing regulations like minimum health care coverage standards?
A: No. Obviously [insert opponent's name here] is not very familiar with the Constitution. The 10th Amendment of the Constitution does not bar Congress from doing anything. What the 10th Amendment does is spell out an individual state’s right to nullify a federal law that infringes upon its sovereignty. Congress’ powers are spelled out in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution and the 16th Amendment which authorizes an income tax.
Q: Do you think programs like Social Security and Medicare represent socialism and should never have been created in the first place?
A: Social Security and Medicare do not represent socialism, but they are products of causes championed by Liberals and Progressives to redistribute wealth from one group of citizens to another. I’m not going to look back with the benefit of hindsight and second guess the Congresses that created these programs, but both of them are now on the verge of becoming insolvent and it is time we took some very hard looks what is in the best interest of our nation and future generation with respect to these programs.
Q: Do you think President Obama is a socialist?
A: Socialism is government control over the means of production and allocation of resources. We’ve already seen the government move into positions where it can have direct input into the means of production or the allocation of resources under our president. Examples include the U.S. government purchasing shares of General Motors, taking equity positions in some of our nation’s largest banks and proposals to take over the student loan program. You tell me if these activities by our government are socialism or not.
Q: Do you think America should return to a gold standard?
A: The framers of our Constitution thought that our money should be based on gold or silver, and under the watchful eye of Congress. The current system we have is run by the Federal Reserve Bank, which is a private consortium of banks which have little accountability to Congress or to the people of the United States and under whose oversight the value of the U.S. dollar has declined 95%. So if my choice is between a gold standard and the Federal Reserve Bank, I would choose a gold standard, because an ounce of gold is still worth an ounce of gold, but show up to buy gold with a dollar bill and you will need a microscope to see what you are buying.
Mine may not be the best answers, but at the very least a candidate can answer them intelligently when their talking point opponents parroting Mr. Menendez’s questions.
If you want the Tea Party vote, you’ll need to be able to answer these questions intelligently anyway, so prep for them now.
The 2012 Presidential Election is fast approaching
The GOP race is now a field of 4 with only Romney, Gingrich, Paul, & Santorum still standing. Who will be the next candidate to exit the race & who will emerge as the eminent GOP nominee?
Follow us on Twitter & join our 2012 election FaceBook page for updates & new blog articles.
Contact us if you are passionate about politics & want to blog with us.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Your approach and responses are reasoned and civil. This assures that what you answered will be understood by somewhere near the percentage of people that it takes to almost elect a candidate.
One in five are functionally illiterate. Another solid one might just as well be illiterate because they don’t read anything that isn’t written on a product label, a tabloid at a checkout stand or a theater marquee.
That leaves 60% of the population containing the disabled, homeless and mentally ill who aren’t already part of the other two groups. A candidate who can move those who are left with honest answers like yours has quite a job cut out. Maybe it could work if enough people were shaken from their mental laziness and comfort zone.
BS is easily understood and it is so much easier to hope or to trust than to think.
{ 2 trackbacks }