So you're saying the DP runs the trains on time?
I'm pretty sure I didn't say that.
Look, here's the deal:
'Support of the troops' ranks next to pro-life on the list of core conservative issues - issues that are at the very fabric of the political platform. The GOP enjoys a total monopoly on the issue and that's not an overstatement. If you think back to the Bush era and you think back to the positioning back then: it was you either support both wars or you don't support the military. Even in the 04 election, we exhausted how much time on pointless boomerflashbacks to the vietnam era in which John Kerry 'didn't support the troops and didn't support the war'. To date, even Obama who's normally more than happy to give a big fat middle finger to republicans on almost all of their dear issues, hides from anti-war issues whenever possible.
It's a treasured position - an asset that is to be preserved at all costs. And unlike the life issue, which is going to die with the boomers, the 'support the troops' shit is going to stick around as a dogwhistle that the GOP can bring along indefinitely. In the immortal words of the honorable democratic governor of illinois, "it's fucking golden".
Flash forward to today, both parties are turning their backs on the whole war issue all together for now. It's an afterthought. The dems aren't going to bring it up because they don't want to have the debate on an issue they don't have command over. That's not what you do when you're facing 'anti-incumbent sentiment'. The GOP hasn't brought it up, have they? You think it's a coincidence that one of their beloved issues hasn't been a front line discussion though the electoral season? Do you think it's just "we haven't gotten around to bringing out that war club" yet? Obviously, it's pretty deliberate that they haven't used it - probably because in a time where you're seeing double digit unemployment numbers and abysmal consumer confidence, the last thing people want to talk about is spending bajillions of dollars on a military operation that, regardless of where you are politically, isn't really going so well. Want to bet money there's a memo that came from somewhere that said "Don't' talk about the wars, assholes!"?
So, here we are running into generals where the GOP, despite it's otherwise fucktarded platform, is miraculously is almost on even footing. And then Steele, the chair of the RNC, the guy who more or less is supposed to be the keeper of the message who not only 'steps off message' (which is the understatement of the fucking century). Now you've got two problems:
1. You have to figure out what to do with Steele, which in the zerosum culture in GOPland these days, probably means you have to oust him either by force or a 'resignation to pursue work at [insert think tank or fundraising outfit]. RUTROH!!! That's not good, because newsflash: Mike Steele is black. Now, you've got the party that - in popular perception - doesn't like people who aren't white and again - popular perception - is that Steele was put in that spot just because he was black as some pretty blatent pandering. So now, you have a black guy who was so far off the platform that you almost have to run him out on rails.
And if you're fucking dumb enough to not believe that those perceptions exist or the the idea of pig roasting a black gop leader doesn't cause ops a seizure inducing migration, you either don't spend nearly enough time in the continental united states or you post on the internet as Nitro Cruiser.
2. You have to have every snot nosed reporter tossing softballs at GOP candidates. The ones who aren't 'media ready' run the risk of opening their mouths in a way that either continues the slide or reinforces the perceptions in 1.
Now, of those 2 things: which do you think the GOP had in mind for the run up into this election?