How to argue entitlement policy, Democrat style

posted at 8:10 pm on May 26, 2011 by Ed Morrissey

Actually, this is practically a paint-by-numbers primer on the Democratic strategy on entitlement reform. Step 1: Declare that the Republican plan will kill people. Step 2: Denounce demagoguery. Step 3: Offer no plans of your own. Step 4: Feign offense when challenged on strategy. And finally, Step 5: Walk off in a huff without doing anything. The “walking off” part of Step 5 is actually optional; I call it Fleebagger Style, but Democrats should feel free to do nothing while staying in place, kind of like Harry Reid does in the Senate.

Former Clinton adviser Simon Rosenberg was kind enough to demonstrate the technique, with optional snark added for good measure. Radio host Ben Ferguson provides the post-game analysis at the end (via Greg Hengler):

I’ve appeared on talking-head shows before, and in fact I’ll be making regular appearances on Fox Business Channel’s Tom Sullivan’s weekend show. I taped my first segment with Tom and Adam Shapiro this morning, which will air on Saturday evening at 7 pm ET. People talk over each other on a regular basis for a few reasons, one of which is that the satellite delay sometimes creates the impression that no one is speaking; sometimes the passion comes out and more than one person reacts. Rosenberg’s dramatic declaration in this clip is simply unprofessional and mainly childish, taking his ball and going home. It’s a “how do you like that?” reaction, which delights Ferguson, since Ferguson was just making this very point.

If you can’t stand the crosstalk, stay out of the studio, Simon.


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Any lie necessary to protect the Dog Eating Dolt.

Carney would be willing to sell the necessity and benefits of a concentration camp system, the man is a pathetic lying spokesman for an entire administration of professional liars.

Bishop on February 22, 2013 at 10:06 AM

I’m goin’ to Vegas!!!

Electrongod on February 22, 2013 at 10:06 AM

The White House doesn’t have to make sense any more. Democrats are beyond reality. They control the media and we don’t fight it. We just accept to be demonized by the media without a fight.

GardenGnome on February 22, 2013 at 10:12 AM

Say anything to protect dipshit-in-chief’s “public” jet. I’m almost ready to bail. The stupidity of the voting public is depressing.

msupertas on February 22, 2013 at 10:13 AM

I’m going to start calling Jay Carney “Wormtongue.” Only he’s not lying to the king, he’s lying to the American people.

rbj on February 22, 2013 at 10:14 AM

Actually, that’s nonsense; the tax break to which Obama and Carney refer amounts to around $300 million a year in lost revenue, under static tax analysis.

Ed, is any revenue really “lost” because of this “loophole?” Wouldn’t that money be collected over the 7 years anyway as opposed to over the 5 years as it is now? I get that it benefits the companies but will the government actually end up with any more cash over the life of the asset by tinkering with the depreciation schedules?

Fezzik on February 22, 2013 at 10:17 AM

And yet the lsm gives them credibility ad nauseum

cmsinaz on February 22, 2013 at 10:20 AM

Jet Blue Party.

hillsoftx on February 22, 2013 at 10:24 AM

Because demogoguery works, and is now almost all that matters?

MT on February 22, 2013 at 10:26 AM

…Democrat Creed…do as we say…not as we do!…Plebes!

KOOLAID2 on February 22, 2013 at 10:27 AM

Whatever the dems say become fact…it’s that simple…If it’s wrong one day and right the next, it was wrong that day, but not the next.

Why doesn’t anyone understand this? If Code Pink think killing civilians are wrong under Bush, but it’s okay under Obama, that is just the way it is, don’t question it.

It was wrong under Bush, it is right under Obama…Corporate tax breaks for jets is wrong under Republicans, but it’s right under Obama.

The list is endless…Bush increase in oil revenues, bad, Obama good…

right2bright on February 22, 2013 at 10:31 AM

“If they’re this clueless on that point, why should anyone give them credibility over the rest of their hysteria?”

No, it’s all the fault of the Republicans. I know because I’ve read it and heard it.

More important, have you heard the really cool things Tiger says about the President’s golf game?

Drained Brain on February 22, 2013 at 10:33 AM

There is an even more interesting reason for this.

Warren Buffett.

Berkshire Hathaway is big in the corporate jet biz.

Why isn’t Mr. I-Should-Pay-More-Taxes up on the Hill demanding that Senate Dems do the honorable thing and take away his tax break?

BTW, Buffett has something to do with the pipeline stall, as well.

If the Keystone pipeline is built, it will hurt Buffett’s Burlington Railroad biz, which currently transports a lot of that oil.

Mr. Arkadin on February 22, 2013 at 10:33 AM

Over the last few weeks, Barack Obama and his White House has pushed the curious notion that the entire problem with the federal budget could be solved if we just stopped protecting the filthy rich and their tax breaks for corporate jets.

Brilliant idea… what could possibly go wrong… Al Gore? Your thoughts on loosing your Corporate Jet please? How about you Tom Cruse, Tom Hanks? Care to chime in?

SWalker on February 22, 2013 at 10:34 AM

Do reporters actually believe any of the crap that comes out of Carey’s mouth?

GarandFan on February 22, 2013 at 10:36 AM

Menendez has FRIENDS to take care of, you know? /

tommy71 on February 22, 2013 at 10:39 AM

Do reporters actually believe any of the crap that comes out of Carey’s mouth?

GarandFan on February 22, 2013 at 10:36 AM

It has nothing what so ever to do with believing, and everything to do with following Saul Alinsky’s “Rule for Radicals”.

2. Of Means and Ends [Forget moral or ethical considerations]

“The end is what you want, the means is how you get it. Whenever we think about social change, the question of means and ends arises. The man of action views the issue of means and ends in pragmatic and strategic terms. He has no other problem; he thinks only of his actual resources and the possibilities of various choices of action. He asks of ends only whether they are achievable and worth the cost; of means, only whether they will work. … The real arena is corrupt and bloody.” p.24

“The means-and-ends moralists, constantly obsessed with the ethics of the means used by the Have-Nots against the Haves, should search themselves as to their real political position. In fact, they are passive — but real — allies of the Haves…. The most unethical of all means is the non-use of any means… The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not our wished-for fantasy of the world as it should be….” pp.25-26

The third rule of ethics of means and ends is that in war the end justifies almost any means….” p.29

“The seventh rule… is that generally success or failure is a mighty determinant of ethics….” p.34

“The tenth rule… is you do what you can with what you have and clothe it with moral garments…. It involves sifting the multiple factors which combine in creating the circumstances at any given time… Who, and how many will support the action?… If weapons are needed, then are appropriate d weapons available? Availability of means determines whether you will be underground or above ground; whether you will move quickly or slowly…” p.36

7. Tactics

“Tactics are those conscious deliberate acts by which human beings live with each other and deal with the world around them. … Here our concern is with the tactic of taking; how the Have-Nots can take power away from the Haves.” p.126

Always remember the first rule of power tactics (pps.127-134):

1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.”

2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people. When an action or tactic is outside the experience of the people, the result is confusion, fear and retreat…. [and] the collapse of communication.

3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)

4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.”

5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.”

6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.”

7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag. Man can sustain militant interest in any issue for only a limited time….”

8. “Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.”

9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.”

10. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.”

11. “If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside… every positive has its negative.”

12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.”

13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and ‘frozen.’…

“…any target can always say, ‘Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?’ When your ‘freeze the target,’ you disregard these [rational but distracting] arguments…. Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all the ‘others’ come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target…’

“One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.” (pps.127-134)

SWalker on February 22, 2013 at 10:41 AM

Do reporters actually believe any of the crap that comes out of Carey’s mouth?

GarandFan on February 22, 2013 at 10:36 AM

Are you really asking? It’s music to their collective ears… they’re talking-point regurgitators!

MT on February 22, 2013 at 10:43 AM

It’s sheer demagoguery, and ignorant
demagoguery at that, given their lack of
curiosity over what Obama’s own party
was proposing in the Senate. If they’re this
clueless on that point, why should anyone
give them credibility over the rest of their
hysteria?

Ed, you’re not giving this President enough credit. Have we not learned anything from this past election? This isn’t “ignorant demagoguery,” but in fact demagoguery for the ignorant. He knows precisely what he’s doing. He’s up to the same PR shenanigans he’s been up to for the last 4 years, directly appealing to the low-information voter.

ncconservative on February 22, 2013 at 10:45 AM

A guy from ABC pointed this out? Don’t tease me into believing those guys are going to start doing their jobs. Each one of them probably has a quota to get one low key story point out a Democrat/White House discrepancy for the year.

Cindy Munford on February 22, 2013 at 10:46 AM

I’m going to start calling Jay Carney “Wormtongue.” Only he’s not lying to the king, he’s lying to the American people.

rbj on February 22, 2013 at 10:14 AM

He strikes mre more as the mouth of sauron.

Rebar on February 22, 2013 at 10:50 AM

Ed, you’re not giving this President enough credit. … He knows precisely what he’s doing. He’s up to the same PR shenanigans he’s been up to for the last 4 years, directly appealing to the low-information voter.
ncconservative on February 22, 2013 at 10:45 AM

We won’t get back in the game until we can effectively undermine this tactic… or the fire runs out of fuel, whichever comes first.

MT on February 22, 2013 at 11:11 AM

I saw some comments on another thread that suggested that Ed Morrissey was not a real conservative. I think he does good work. I’m grateful for the good work he does, and as far as litmus tests go, I left my Bunsen burner in high school.

cbenoistd on February 22, 2013 at 11:12 AM

It’s sheer demagoguery, and ignorant demagoguery at that, given their lack of curiosity over what Obama’s own party was proposing in the Senate. If they’re this clueless on that point, why should anyone give them credibility over the rest of their hysteria?

I really like Ed’s posts when he channels Erika. :)

ButterflyDragon on February 22, 2013 at 11:12 AM

Do reporters actually believe any of the crap that comes out of Carey’s mouth?

GarandFan on February 22, 2013 at 10:36 AM

Does anybody actually believe any of the crap that comes out of reporters’ mouths?

Finished it for you.

HiJack on February 22, 2013 at 11:13 AM

How will these senators get to their Whores in the Dominican Republic without private jet owners?

portlandon on February 22, 2013 at 11:19 AM

Ed, you’re not giving this President enough credit. Have we not learned anything from this past election? This isn’t “ignorant demagoguery,” but in fact demagoguery for the ignorant. He knows precisely what he’s doing. He’s up to the same PR shenanigans he’s been up to for the last 4 years, directly appealing to the low-information voter.

ncconservative on February 22, 2013 at 10:45 AM

Exactly. Conservatives better start understanding the importance of propaganda because right now we are getting our assess handed to us in that department. Demagoguery works when done right! How did the American Revolution start in the first place? Ever seen the prints of the Boston Massacre. Remember reading about how the Sons of Liberty did things like dump tea into Boston Harbor over a tiny tax. Remember reading the Declaration of Independence where we called King George a tyrant and a bunch of other names.

All that stuff was somewhat true….key word being “somewhat”. It was also propaganda. If you want to win something important, and I think liberty is important, you sometimes have to get into the gutter and get ugly.

The Democrats are just doing what we Americans have always done, it is conservatives who have forgotten how to play the game. That is why no new taxes is a foolish pledge. I want lower taxes on all the people who support liberty and freedom, and I want to jack up taxes on all those who support Democrats and Obama. Pass a budget in congress that is balanced! Cut spending on Democrat programs and raise taxes on things democrats like and let Obama kill the balanced approach. This is why lower taxes on everyone is ivory tower BS, just like let’s end war. You have to be willing to show someone…yes I can hurt you too. That is how I would roll….

William Eaton on February 22, 2013 at 11:26 AM

Parlaying the veracity he has demonstrated as WH Spokesman, Jay’s next job will be as a carny fortune teller.

Another Drew on February 22, 2013 at 1:47 PM

All this is why Rush says this makes him ashamed of our country.

Fiscal sanity does not exist in either party. Obama demagogues corporate jets while flying in the most amazing corporate jet in the world (and I am certain that when he is a private citizen again he will be flying in corporate jets too). Carney lies through his teeth and the GOP in Congress says little or nothing about it. And overall, Obama played chicken with the House, got what he wanted and is now complaining about it.

The Dems are the party of class warfare, the GOP is the stupid party, and we are all left holding the bag.

UnrepentantCurmudgeon on February 22, 2013 at 2:25 PM

Carney would be willing to sell the necessity and benefits of a concentration camp system, the man is a pathetic lying spokesman for an entire administration of professional liars.

Bishop on February 22, 2013 at 10:06 AM

Goebbels’ ultimate dreams are realized by this admin.

Schadenfreude on February 22, 2013 at 3:06 PM

This isn’t “ignorant demagoguery,” but in fact demagoguery for the ignorant. He knows precisely what he’s doing. He’s up to the same PR shenanigans he’s been up to for the last 4 years, directly appealing to the low-information voter.

ncconservative on February 22, 2013 at 10:45 AM

Demagoguery works when done right! How did the American Revolution start in the first place?
William Eaton on February 22, 2013 at 11:26 AM

“One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.” (Alinsky, pps.127-134)

SWalker on February 22, 2013 at 10:41 AM

Agree with all of you!
Problem is, Conservatives want to be sure they are demagoguing the correct position, and the Left is already sure that they are.

AesopFan on February 22, 2013 at 4:58 PM

api on March 11, 2013 at 1:33 PM