« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

MEMBER DIARY

How McCain can turn it around.

To convince the undecided, you have to get their attention.

By: Flagstaff (Diary)  |  October 7th, 2008 at 11:20 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

[In October, 2008, when I first published this diary, John McCain and Sarah Palin had enjoyed a brief time in the lead against the Obama-Biden team, but it was short-lived and we all know the end result.  I'm adding this preface because, when I just re-read the piece, it seemed to me that whether I was right or not, the issues I suggested that McCain raise are at eh root of the same issues that are still being debated in the press.  They all have to do with facets of Obama's history or of his mindset that were mostly kept under wraps then, but which have come back to bite us since the election.

McCain was loathe to mention personal issues during the campaign, but these were personal issues that indicated possible problems with Obama's future performance as President.  Further, the tax and spend issues were not personal at all, yet they were never emphasized as being impossibly contradictory.  McCain was not simply being polite when he held back on these issues, he was doing a disservice to the electorate by keeping them hidden, or at best as side issues.  His reticence allowed candidate Obama to control the daily news story.  Our next candidate needs to keep that in mind.]

Starting tomorrow, John McCain needs to get his name and positions into the news in a positive way. The only way left to him is to make provocative, newsworthy speeches.

What do the news media like? Controversy. So McCain needs to talk about:

Bill Ayers and the information found in the recently released Chicago Annenberg Challenge papers. How Obama was selected by Ayers. How Obama distributed millions of dollars to support the radicalization of children in Chicago, at the behest of Ayers. How he will do the same in the White House. Will Ayers be the new Secretary of Education? Obama has already changed his story about his relationship with Ayers. Why?

Obama has also changed his story on Rev. Wright at least twice. What is the real story?

ACORN. Obama worked for it. It is now under investigation in 9 states for vote fraud. Obama is the product of Chicago machine politics, not of altruism. Just what did Obama do for ACORN, anyway?

Obama’s “tax cuts” aren’t tax cuts at all, but welfare payments that end in one year. His promise to raise taxes on the “rich” will stifle the economy, and he will feel compelled to raise taxes across the board as soon as he sees a budget. Obama’s spending plans are wildly unrealistic.

There are other topics, but just these few should get McCain some air time. In the policy area, McCain should have his own answers at the ready. By making the above an issue, it should guarantee them as topics of the final debate.

Oh, yes, and he needs to get his surrogates, including Sarah, on somewhat the same plan.

Tags: , , ,

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • quill67

    I like your idea about Obama’s tax breaks really a welfare check. It should be part of overall attack on Obama’s ideology. The general theme I would hit on is:

    Democrats: Put America in Peril to Provide Welfare.

    Put our housing and entire financial system in peril to provide “affordable” NINJA loans: No Income, No Job, No Assets and in some cases no ID!!!

    Put private health insurance in peril to provide “affordable” health care.

    Put our national defense in peril by cutting the development of new weapons. (I guess that is how he pays for his welfare checks er..tax cuts)

    There are many more, but it is late…

  • Finrod

    He needs a line to clobber Obama with, like this:

    “Tax hikes on the rich always end up getting paid by the middle class.”

    Elaborate with examples like that telephone tax that was levied to pay for the Spanish-American war, because only the rich had telephones back then.

    The Alternative Minimum Tax, which creeps further down into the middle class every year.

    The death (inheritance) tax, which forces the children of small business owners who didn’t take adequate tax protection to sell the family business.

    Other lines: “Rich people can afford tax lawyers to find the loopholes, or can move their money overseas to low-tax countries. The middle class doesn’t have those options.”

    • Flagstaff

      The Democrats have put America in peril through their prior acts. That should be pointed out, then followed up with “Obama will continue the trend.”

      There is no way to eliminate the cost of anything, even if it’s provided by a government program. Everything costs something.

      If the government starts giving away health care, it will indeed cost us in terms of reduction in the quality and availability of service for all the rest of us, not to mention higher taxes. Nobody explains where the new doctors and facilities to provide all this additional health care are going to come from.

      • Flagstaff

        All taxes have to go to where the money is created. The “rich” will only pay so much before they move offshore. The next in line is the middle class. Obama claims he won’t let all the tax rate cuts expire, but he will. Mark my words.

        McCain should also nail him on his lie that even with his raise in rates on the “rich.” they’ll still be paying less than “under Reagan.” Only if he means “on the day Reagan took office.”

  • Flagstaff

    a way to reach the undecideds, and maybe even change the minds of those leaning towards Obama. Those people aren’t going to be reading RedState or listening to Rush. They’ll be watching the alphabet networks and Fox, so McCain needs to get himself featured favorably or notoriously on the news broadcast every day.

    The ACORN scandal is a ready-made opportunity to grab some airtime away from the economy. He needs to make the most of it.