RNC Donor Event Outlines Obama Attack Plan

Politico: If Democrat Is Nominated, Republicans Will Focus On Inexperience, Messaging

(The Politico)  This story was written by Jeffrey Ressner.

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Focusing on Barack Obama’s “inexperience” and “undisciplined messaging” are two ways to ensure that the senator from Illinois doesn’t get to be president, according to honchos at the Republican National Committee.

Big RNC contributors got an earful this weekend about methods the GOP will use to battle the Democrats for control of the White House this fall, as well as other initiatives central to the conservative cause.

The RNC’s “winter retreat” for major donors at Los Angeles’ Beverly Wilshire Hotel featured such party stalwarts as Karl Rove, RNC chairman Robert Duncan, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, as well as some Hollywood types, including Dave Berg, a segment producer and “political director” for "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

But chief among the RNC’s concerns were how to keep a tight grip on the White House this fall. Plenty of lowbrow Hillary Clinton jokes were tossed around at the three-day event, but of highest concern was the notion of Obama seizing the Oval Office in a contest against presumptive GOP nominee John McCain.

“We all dislike Hillary,” declared Southern California Rep. Ken Calvert, from the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles, echoing thoughts of the roughly 75 attendees at a Sunday morning RNC session. “Forgetting who will be the easiest to beat, I've got to tell you, a President Hillary doesn’t scare me nearly as much as a President Obama.”

RNC Chairman Duncan as well as Co-Chairman Jo Ann Davidson opened the Sunday session with a Power Point presentation outlining five main strategic attacks against the Obama candidacy. The first called for pointing out what the GOP views as a seeming incongruity between Obama and the mantle of commander in chief. The second point harkened back to Obama’s days in the Illinois state Senate, noting how his “pattern of voting ‘present’ offers many openings to question his candidacy.” The third offered hope to the GOP faithful that “we can be confident in a campaign about issues.” A fourth bullet point relayed how “undisciplined messaging carries great risk,” while the fifth and final attack point stressed, “His greatest weakness is inexperience. He is not ready to be president. He is not ready to be commander in chief.”

The RNC event also broached taking control of traditionally Democratic issues such as health care, with even Rove stressing a need for Republicans to start addressing the matter. Congressman Calvert described health care as “one of the seminal issues” of the upcoming election and asked, “Are we going to move towards socialized medicine or away from it? Because we can’t move towards the middle.”

Calvert spoke during a morning session of California congressmen including Brian Bilbray, John Campbell and Dan Lungren, which focused mainly on immigration and lowering taxes, as well as more esoteric matters such as water rights. Throughout the event, the subject always seemed to return to this November.

“The American people are yearning for leadership,” said Lungren, who represents a Sacramento-area district. “We can win this election. We will win this election. Forget the carping about John McCain not being the perfect conservative. Ronald Reagan wasn’t a perfect conservative, but he was pretty doggone good. I’m not saying John McCain is Ronald Reagan: John McCain is John McCain. But we can win this election.”

For most of the weekend, however, the retreat gave the chance for donors who contributed $15,000 or more to bask in the 70-degree California sun, enjoy some golf or tennis at the L.A. Country Club, wolf down Wolfgang Puck pizzas at Spago, tour the Getty Center and Paramount Studios, and pay tribute at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library a half-hour away in SimiValley.

Berg, the "Tonight Show" segment producer, delivered an informal talk about the pride and pitfalls of being a conservative working in Hollywood. Peppering his speech with references to Michael Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and other Tinseltown lefties, he argued against the liberal mindset that he believes dominates the industry.

“We [conservatives] believe capitalism isn’t a dirty word,” he said. “If you’ve seen Daniel Day Lewis’ portrayal of a greedy, sinister oilman in ‘There Will Be Blood,’ it’s just another example of the Hollywood left’s contempt for capitalism.

“People have called Hollywood conservatives ‘the new gays,’ but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case,” Berg contended. “The gays have been accepted in Hollywood for years. They’ve long been out of the closet. In fact, they’re fixing up the closet, decorating it, and it looks nice, actually.”

Berg centered his talk around the “unintended consequences” of the recent Writers Guild of America strike against networks and studios, which ended last week. Berg placed blame on the WGA’s “radical” negotiators, with writers earning six-figure salaries casting themselves as “poor, exploited, downtrodden” workers, “acting like it’s 1957” and they were UAW members trying to get back on the assembly line building Corvettes.

“When the writers went on strike Nov. 5, they entrusted their futures to a leadership that essentially believes Karl Marx is still relevant,” he said. “This was a revolution against The Man.”

Berg discussed the return of "The Tonight Show" without its writers in early January, when the only guests consenting to cross the WGA picket lines were NBC News anchors, goofy animal acts and Republican presidential candidates, including McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

“The WGA cut a side deal with David Letterman but not with our show,” he recalled. “We had to go back to work as the No. 4 network with no writers and no stars. Actors would not cross the line. I didn’t read this anywhere, but they were threatened with blackballing if they crossed the line to do our shows” - ironic, he says, since he believes Hollywood is “obsessed” with the 1950s blacklisting era of Joseph McCarthy. “The true threat of McCarthyism,” he says, “is coming from the left.”

[kansas1946]

Focusing on Barack Obama%u2019s %u201Cinexperience%u201D and %u201Cundisciplined messaging%u201D are two ways to ensure that the senator from Illinois doesn%u2019t get to be president, according to honchos at the Republican National Committee.
*************************************

As usual, Republican liars. They will "swiftboat" him every chance they get. The "Muslim" thing will resurface all over the place, that he used a Koran for his swearing in, that he turned his back on the flag, that he wouldn''t pledge allegiance, etc.
Of course the RNC will act like they don''t know where that hateful slime is coming from, but everyone will know.
Since Watergate, the Republicans have run the dirtiest campaigns in history. No reason to think different now. Must make people proud to belong to the party of liars.

[remco82]

You want to talk "all style, no substance"? Ronnie Reagan was the all-time champion! Republicans worship him like a god. Dye his hair, wear a tailored suit with padded shoulders, borrow liberally from foreigners and tell us we never had it so good. We''re still paying interest on what he borrowed to prop up the economy and give us a patriotic fix.

[taotxzen1]

Bush-Appointed Federal Judge Resigns After DUI Cross-Dressing Arrest

By Jeralyn, Section Judiciary
Posted on Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 01:50:00 AM EST

Via Pensito Review: U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma, 63, has resigned after pleading guilty to a D.U.I.

He was in his Mercedes and wearing a cocktail dress, fishnet stockings and high heels at the time of his arrest last week -- which was occasioned by his allegedly rear-ending a pick-up truck in Manchester, N.H. last week. His wife was out of town at the time of the incident.

[watcher269-2009]

WOW - imagine this - Another one! I''m glad FOX news is all over these stories!

Robert McKee, a Maryland Republican Delegate, anti-child porn crusader and former bigwig in Mitt Romney%u2019s MD campaign was arrested after police found kiddie porn at his Hagerstown home:

Law enforcement authorities, both the FBI and county sheriff%u2019s office, who are conducting a child pornography investigation, seized two computers, videotapes and printed materials when they searched the Republican%u2019s home in Hagerstown 2 weeks ago.

You think? McKee was sponsored Maryland%u2019s Child Protection From Predators Act and a proposal to collect DNA samples from sexual predators. He also sponsored several other sexual offender and child abduction bills in the past. None of the reports coming out of Maryland so far have indicated whether it was little girls or little boys%u2013 or both%u2013 who the Republican was interested in. He%u2019s been very active in the Little League and, predictably, was a chaplain for the First Christian Church, a position Republican child predators often use to seduce young children.

[watcher269-2009]

The List keeps GROWING! Where is this story CBS?

Robert Somma a Bush-appointed federal judge was in full drag when he was arrested for DUI after rear ending a pickup truck in New Hampshire on February 6th:

%u201CHe had a difficult time locating his license in his purse. He passed over it multiple times before removing it,%u201D officer Paul J. Thompson wrote in his report.

Local news reports mention that Judge Somma resigned after pleading guilty to drunken driving. Other than the gay press, no one mentioned the black evening gown and fishnet stockings.

[the74blaster]

The talk from these right wing ''''masterminds'''' is rubbish.

Posted by ontheleft

That is correct. The conservatives will do everything they can to divert attention away from their track record of the last 7 years. There will be mudslinging to levels never seen before because they are desparate!

We as Americans must respond by stating facts and not letting anyone forget about McCains support of their hero, George Bush. Considering the mess the GOP has created, we owe that to our children and America''s future.

Berg, the "Tonight Show" segment producer, delivered an informal talk about the pride and pitfalls of being a conservative working in Hollywood. Peppering his speech with references to Michael Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and other Tinseltown lefties, he argued against the liberal mindset that he believes dominates the industry.

%u201CWe [conservatives] believe capitalism isn%u2019t a dirty word,%u201D he said. %u201CIf you%u2019ve seen Daniel Day Lewis%u2019 portrayal of a greedy, sinister oilman in %u2018There Will Be Blood,%u2019 it%u2019s just another example of the Hollywood left%u2019s contempt for capitalism.
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Has this guy ever heard of Enron?

[kenbomc]

old300d, McCain would be a good adviser for our military -not a commander in chief. Obama will win the general in a land slide.

[tibu987]

Vitriol, that stuff Hillary and her staff toss about so easily has a way, like lies, to come back and bite you in the a$$. The Republicans plan to use vitriol on Obama will have the same effect, it will strengthen the Obama campaign.
Innuendoes, insinuations, and mud slinging, become more and more prevalent when one is being cornered, i.e., defeated.
"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones".
I forgot who the author was; please don''''t accuse me of plagiarism.

[doc_wattsman]

Well as far as their plan goes, it''s good to know what to expect, but I don''t think that''s a fine hunting dog they''ve got there.

Frankly, the notion that the Commander in Chief should be a veteran has always baffled me. Some of the best war era Pesidents ever were civillians without a military background. For example, I don''t remember reading anywhere that Abe Lincoln served in the US Army, do you? Nor do I think that FDR served, though he may have if they''d taken him with polio - just as I might''ve if not for my vision.

I have the utmost respect for Johnn McCain as a national hero, but it is narrow minded to try and frame things so that there is only one kind of experience that matters. Hillary tried it in the Democratic primary, defining experience as time spent in Washington and the White House, and so far it appears to have failed.

In any situation where you try to go after someone from only one clear direction, inevitably you will get out-flanked. That''s tactics - something I am sure military folks can appreciate the value of. But in any case, thanks to the RNC for telegraphing your position so far in advance. We''ll be sure to make good use of the warning.