On Tuesday, Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) held a press conference on the “cash for clunkers” program and was met by “dozens” of conservative protesters trying to drown him out. The protest was organized by the St. Louis Tea Party, whose Bill Hennessy told protesters the location, the time, and what to bring (”Sign ideas: Cash for Clunkers destroys old cars; ObamaCare destroys old people”).
Aside from the fact that I really don't think that this sort of stuff should be going on in a democracy, I think that this will wind up being a huge miscalculation on the right's part. By letting outside extremist groups handle these protests, they will get out of hand. The GOP has just given up control of their message to ruffians. They don't get that doing that is a boon to the other side. When caught between angry mobs and a more reasonable president, which side will the American people come down on? Just ask the McGovernites if you want an historical perspective on this.
Yes, Christmas has come early for the Democrats this year. Obama may have some deficiencies as a tactician, but one thing he does know how to do is to present himself as the reasonable alternative to wacko nutcases. And it's in motion now.
