Heretofore, the GOP plan for the 2010 midterm election has appeared to be the gnat in the oil, the constant irritant to any attempt by the Democratic majority to fix the giant clusterf&^k brought to them by the Bush/Cheney administration. They didn't have to be specific; they didn't have to have solutions. All they had to do is say no to anything and everything. Then, effectively paralyzing the majority party from actually getting to the solutions promised to the American people, they can point to the other side of the aisle and say they were ineffectual and didn't help the average Joe and glide right back into the majority again.
And it might have worked, if it wasn't for those pesky Villagers. Because, if you've lost David Gregory and he's actually asking follow up questions to pin you down to an actual answer, well, you've lost a big advocate for your propaganda and spin.
Watch as Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Pete Sessions hem and haw and try to launch a load of platitudes rather answer Gregory's questions. And then--be still my heart--Gregory actually calls them on their obfuscation and tells them they didn't answer the question. ThinkProgress:
GREGORY: I think what a lot of people want to know is, if Republicans do get back in power, what are they going to do?
SESSIONS: It’s quite simple that Americans do know the agenda that is before us. They understand what the President and the speaker stand for, and they understand what Republicans stand for. Republicans…very strong, standing with the American people back home. [...]
GREGORY: Congressman, congressman, that’s a pretty gauzy agenda so far. I mean, what specifics — what painful painful choices are Republicans prepared to make? … How do you [balance the budget]? Tell me how you do it. Name a painful choice that Republicans are prepared to say we have to make.
SESSIONS: Well first of all, we have to make sure as we look at all we spend in Washington, D.C., with not only the entitlement spending, but also the bigger government we cannot afford anymore. We have to empower the free enterprise system.
GREGORY: Congressman, these are not specifics, voters get tired of that.
SESSIONS: Oh they are. They are. … Let’s go right to it.
GREGORY: Do it!
GREGORY: Senator, I’m sorry, I’m not hearing an answer here on specifics. What painful choices to really deal with the deficit — is Social Security on the table? — what will Republicans do that will give them, like ‘94, there was the Contract with America, what are voters going to say, hey, this is what Republicans will say yes to.
Gauzy is one way to put it. Inept, inefficient or just plain wrong is another. But it's funny how in less than guarded moments, the truth will out. As TP reports:
In a candid moment on Bill Bennett’s radio show this week, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) seemed to admit why Republicans refuse to give specifics. Republicans shouldn’t “lay out a complete agenda,” King said, because people might not like it.
