Running against a phantom

E. J. Dionne wrote an interesting article in which he tried to describe the Republican's strategy in this presidential election.

For conservatives, this is a go-for-broke election. They and a Republican Party now under their control hope to eke out a narrow victory in November on the basis of a quite radical program that includes more tax cuts for the rich, deep reductions in domestic spending, big increases in military spending and a sharp rollback in government regulation...

In the process, the right hopes to redefine middle-of-the-road policies as “left wing,” thereby altering the balance in the American political debate.

He goes on to suggest that the reason this strategy is making Romney competitive is because of 3 things:

Conservatives have their opening not because the country has moved far to the right but courtesy of economic discontent, partisan polarization and the right’s success in defining Obama as standing well to the left of where he actually does.

That's why we keep hearing Republicans use words like "foreign," "socialist," and hostile to American ideals.

The NRA is trying to convince people that the President has a secret plan to take away their guns and wingnuts are pimping a book by Stanley Kurtz about how he's out to destroy the suburbs.

Since the 2008 campaign, Stanley Kurtz has established himself as one of Barack Obama’s most effective and well-informed critics. He was the first to expose the extent of Obama’s ties to radicals such as Bill Ayers and ACORN.

Now Kurtz reveals new evidence that the administration’s talk about helping the middle class is essentially a smoke screen. Behind the scenes, plans are under way for a serious push toward wealth redistribution, with the suburban middle class—not the so-called one percent—bearing the brunt of it.

Why haven’t we heard more about policies that will lead to redistribution? In part, of course, because controversies over Obamacare, unemployment, and the exploding budget deficit have taken the media spot­light. But the main reason, according to Kurtz, is that Obama doesn’t want to tip his hand about his second term. He knows that his plans will alienate the moderate swing voters who hold the key to his reelection.

What utter fabricated nonsense!!!!

All of this is designed to do 2 things: First of all, it keeps the focus off their actual candidate and his policies (which the majority of Americans do NOT support) and secondly, it stirs up fear (the ONLY thing Republicans have to work with).

And so we'll see in November whether or not Americans are gullible enough to buy the phantom incumbent president Republicans are trying to create.

Between now and then, Romney and his VP candidate will have to go face-to-face with the real things in President Obama and VP Biden in debates. I'd predict that's when this Republican strategy will show itself for the charade it is. And I can't wait!