{OT} Obama's message war



http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20007.html


Post-Rush: Obama's message war

By MIKE ALLEN | 3/14/09 9:22 PM EDT 
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Beginning Sunday, the White House will harness every part of the
Democratic Party¹s machinery to defend President Obama¹s budget and
portray Republicans as reflexively political, according to party
strategists.

A participant in the planning meetings described the push as a successor
to Democrats¹ message that Rush Limbaugh is the Republican Party leader.
³We have exhausted the use of Rush as an attention-getter,² the official
said.

David Plouffe, manager of Obama¹s presidential race, helped design the
strategy, which includes the most extensive activation since November of
the campaign¹s grassroots network. The database?which includes
information for at least 10 million donors, supporters and
volunteers?will now be used as a unique tool for governing, with former
canvassers now being enlisted to mobilize support for the president¹s
legislative agenda.

Others involved in the planning included White House senior adviser
David Axelrod; the DNC chairman, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine; and DNC
Executive Director Jennifer O'Malley Dillon.

The plan follows the private complaints of some Democrats that Obama let
the GOP get the better of him during the debate over pork in the budget
bill he just signed, and growing concerns among some Democrats that
charges of big spending could stick to the president.

Starting this week, President Obama will be ³engaging directly with
Congress more, and speaking more forcefully on behalf of his budget,² a
top adviser said.

On Sunday morning, three top White House officials will appear on
network interview shows to describe brighter days ahead for the nation¹s
economy, and make the case that the budget is an important part of the
president¹s overall recovery plan.

And officials throughout the party plan to hammer the idea that
Republicans are just saying ³no² to the president¹s budget plans without
offering their own alternative.

House Republicans, who released an alternative to the stimulus bill, say
they¹ll issue their own budget proposal in the next few weeks. House
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in January in his opening
remarks to this legislative session: ³During the 111th Congress,
Republicans will strive not to be the party of ?opposition,¹ but the
party of better solutions.²

The Obama grassroots network?now known as Organizing for America, a
project of the Democratic National Committee?has launched an e-mail
pledge drive on MyBarackObama.com in which supporters sign their e-mail
address to the statement: ³I support President Obama's bold approach for
renewing America's economy.²

The pledge drive was announced with a video called ³Ready for the
Fight.² Plouffe e-mailed supporters over the weekend with a challenge
labeled ³The next few weeks²: ³In the next few weeks we'll be asking you
to do some of the same things we asked of you during the
campaign?talking directly to people in your communities about the
President's ideas for long-term prosperity.²

This is not an easy message war for Democrats. Obama's budget calls for
the largest deficit in U.S. history and a doubling of the national debt
to $23 trillion in 2019. That is a big, juicy target for the GOP, which
plans to hit this theme relentlessly all spring.

Republicans were successful in making earmarks, which accounted for only
a sliver of total spending, the centerpiece of debate over the omnibus
spending bill. The GOP sees sky-high deficits as similarly easy to
explain to the public.
 

So the Democratic allies?the administration, congressional leaders,
outside groups and the DNC?are uniting for the new push.

Democratic strategists explain that the message is designed to
accomplish three things:

?First, it could deflect attention from the size of Obama¹s budget and
blunt attacks on the ambition of his agenda.

³It helps change the conversation from their criticism of the
president¹s plan,² a top Democratic official said. ³If they want to say
he¹s going to raise taxes in the middle of a recession or he¹s got
socialist tendencies?none of which we agree with?one of the easy things
for us to come back with is: We have tough choices to make right now,
and you have nothing to offer.²

?Second, by painting Republicans as politically motivated, the
conservative House Democrats known as Blue Dogs may be less likely to
side with the GOP.

³As long as they¹re seen as reflexively political?saying ?no¹ to
everything?the Blue Dog Democrats can say, ?I don¹t agree with
everything the president proposes, but at least he has a plan, an
outline of what we should be working on,¹² the official said.

?Third, Republicans could look like they¹re playing politics in a time
of crisis, rather than disagreeing based on substance.

The DNC on Saturday issued a ³Party of ?No¹ Update² accusing House
Republican leaders of ³obstructionist rhetoric.²

In a new Web ad called ³No Responsibility,² the DNC argues: ³America is
facing tough times. Our economy is in need of repair. Millions of
Americans are out of work Fortunately, President Obama has offered a
plan to get our economy moving again. A responsible plan to create jobs
by investing in health care, energy independence and schools. What are
the Republicans offering? Nothing. No plan and no ideas.²

In an ad called ³Crickets² that begins Sunday, Americans United for
Change, a labor-funded ally of the White House, says: ³President Obama
has proposed a budget plan to turn the page on the failed economic
policies of the past ­ creating jobs and changing the way things are
done in Washington. The Republican response?²

Then the viewer sees Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio)
each saying, ³No!²

³So what kind of budget have the Republicans proposed to get us out of
the mess they created? Here are the details,² the ad continues. The
viewer sees a blank screen and hears the sound of crickets.

Jeremy J. Funk, communications director of Americans United for Change,
said: ³Building upon our previous ?Party of No¹ ad theme, the new spot
calls out Republican leaders for also being the party devoid of ideas
for getting us out of the mess they made.²

The ad will run Sunday through Tuesday on national cable and a mix of
cable and broadcast in Washington, the group said.

Kevin Smith, Boehner¹s communications director, replied: ³If I had to
defend the president¹s budget?which is being eviscerated by both parties
because it spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much?I¹d
probably waste time on fictitious claims like this, too."

Smith said both Boehner and the No. 2 House Republican?Whip Eric Cantor
(Va.)?³presented alternative economic stimulus ideas at the White House
directly to the President on the third day of his presidency.²

³We will continue to roll out our alternative solutions when we disagree
with their plans,² Smith added. ³House Republicans will have our
alternative budget forthcoming in the next couple weeks.²

A Republican Senate leadership aide responded: ³It really is a silly
campaign. What are we saying ?no¹ to? Trillions in new spending? An
unpopular, earmark-laden bill that the President himself was embarrassed
to sign? A new national energy tax? Releasing Gitmo terrorists into the
U.S.? We¹d like to thank them for reminding the American people that we
are saying ?no¹ to those things.²
.

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