The Atlantic's Derek Thompson calls this new American Crossroads ad against Harry Reid "shameful." And it is. I'd also add that it's hopelessly incoherent.
A little background: American Crossroads is a 527 set up by Karl Rove and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie. The purpose of the group is to raise money for Republicans from people who've lost faith in current RNC head Michael Steele. The idea is that if these donors won't give to the party, then they'll give to AC -- they've called it a "shadow RNC."
Here's Thompson's take on it:
If this is an example of "Boy Genius'" genius, Democrats need more of it. While Republicans in congress argue that unemployment is the fault of the unemployed, Karl argues that it's the fault of government -- who should do more. While Republicans in congress argue that spending more to help create jobs is a waste of money, Karl argues that Reid hasn't gotten enough money from the government to help create jobs. While Republicans in congress argue that the stimulus was really a corrupt "porkulus" -- with Republican governors actually having considered refusing the money -- Karl argues that the stimulus was a fine thing and Harry Reid didn't get enough of it.
If American Crossroads' strategy is to completely undercut the Republican Party's messaging, then they're doing a great job.
A little background: American Crossroads is a 527 set up by Karl Rove and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie. The purpose of the group is to raise money for Republicans from people who've lost faith in current RNC head Michael Steele. The idea is that if these donors won't give to the party, then they'll give to AC -- they've called it a "shadow RNC."
Here's Thompson's take on it:
The ad is factually accurate. It's also an embarrassment. Republicans have spent the last three months blocking a Sen. Reid-endorsed extension to unemployment insurance that would particularly help Nevada, since federal UI contributions are tied to state unemployment rate. They're blocking Democrats' jobless aid in Washington and blaming Sen. Reid for not spending more on joblessness in Reno. More generally, the basic Republican position on the stimulus has been, for the past year I recall, that the stimulus was bad. Here's Karl Rove himself mocking the president for defending it. "The stimulus didn't work, and we deserved more of it" is a sad, cynical, and utterly predictable argument.
If this is an example of "Boy Genius'" genius, Democrats need more of it. While Republicans in congress argue that unemployment is the fault of the unemployed, Karl argues that it's the fault of government -- who should do more. While Republicans in congress argue that spending more to help create jobs is a waste of money, Karl argues that Reid hasn't gotten enough money from the government to help create jobs. While Republicans in congress argue that the stimulus was really a corrupt "porkulus" -- with Republican governors actually having considered refusing the money -- Karl argues that the stimulus was a fine thing and Harry Reid didn't get enough of it.
If American Crossroads' strategy is to completely undercut the Republican Party's messaging, then they're doing a great job.
