Saturday, March 18, 2006
But one area where Democrats lag which receives little scrutiny is in deploying ridicule to shape the political narrative.
Republicans harnessed the power of ridicule expertly in 2000, dismissing Vice President Al Gore as a serial fibber and environmental looney. Now and then, the Bush campaign did engage Gore's policy arguments. But a great deal of time was spent simply laughing at the man.
Similar things can be said about the Republican hit-job on John "looks French" Kerry.
And yet, with the President's approval rating hovering in the 30s--with the Republican congress down double-digits on a generic congressional ballot--it's amazing how little outright ribbing the GOP has been receiving at the hands of Democrats.
So it was heartening to see Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) step up to the plate Friday on Kramer & Company against Rep. David Dreier (R-CA):
Rep. DREIER: Charlie, will you co-sponsor...Whether Rangel struck the right balance is an open question. But with the Republican party in turmoil, his dismissive, jokey approach absolutely belongs in the Democratic arsenal.
Rep. RANGEL: I really...
Re. DREIER: Will you co-sponsor my ethics and lobbying reform bill that I introduced last night?
Rep. RANGEL: If enough...
Rep. DREIER: I really want you on board.
Rep. RANGEL: If enough Republicans are not indicted to vote for it I might take a look at it.
Rep. DREIER: You know, come on, Charlie, you know that it's a problem that hits both political parties and we're trying to do it in bipartisan way.
Rep. RANGEL: I better check with Tom DeLay and Abramoff. Unless they changed their registration, it appears to me that...
Rep. DREIER: Oh, you know, let me--do you want me to start naming...
Rep. RANGEL: ...Democrats were cut out of it.
Rep. DREIER: Do you want me to start naming Democrats who are facing ethical challenges? I'm not going to do it as you just have.
Rep. RANGEL: Well, I'll do it: Duke Cunningham, Ney...
Rep. DREIER: They're not Democrats. And I'm not going to start naming Democrats.
Rep. RANGEL: I'll, you know, I'll even...
Rep. DREIER: But the American people get it. The American people get it.
Rep. RANGEL: This thing is so close to the White House.
Rep. DREIER: They know it is an issue that hits both political parties. But we are working to clean that up. And let me just ask you...
Rep. RANGEL: No, no. You want to talk about names, we're talk about the vice president.
Rep. DREIER: You want to get off on--No. What I want to talk about--what I want to talk about...
Rep. RANGEL: We'll talk about...
Rep. DREIER: What I want to talk about is the sustained economic growth that we're enjoying. And the fact of the matter is, if we saw the pursuit of what we're seeing Senator Russ Feingold trying to impeach the president. You know, John Conyers, if he were to become chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the National Journal last month did a piece in which they talked about how that would be one of the first items is...
Rep. RANGEL: Let me make it clear...
Rep. DREIER: ...impeachment of the president. Which is just...
Rep. RANGEL: Let me make it clear. If Democrats be in control I can guarantee you as long as Dick Cheney is vice president, we will never, never, never impeach--impeach Bush. You can depend on that.
