Just a note – as some wonder what happened to the negative ad barrage from Romney in the primaries; All candidates are not equally flawed – or easy to squash.
It’s not equally effective – on all targets.
Using negative ads to take down a Santorum, a Gingrich – or now a Romney – by simply presenting historical facts or examining their proclaimed prime qualifications, that is not dirty games. It’s relevant and fair games.
But presenting a long history of outsourcing, tax havens or secretivness about tax returns has a very different effect politically than the facts of a slow recovery or flat unemployment rate – at least for the moment.
From Pwire:
“Newt Gingrich complained loudly — some called it whining — when Romney first hit him with a negative ad barrage in Iowa. Then, when Romney attacked on a far bigger scale in Florida, Gingrich reacted badly again. Privately, the Romney campaign, which at times seemed to delight at kicking the hell out of a Republican opponent, had no respect for Gingrich’s tendency to complain when attacked. Just take it and hit back harder — that was the way they saw it. Now, however, Romney is complaining about Obama’s attacks. Romney is far more self-controlled than Gingrich, but the effect is the same; he’s whining about the other guy treating him badly. It’s the same thing that happened in the primary campaign, only with Romney on the hurting end.”
Read more.
If a person is going to dish it out, then they should also take it, if not then they should just shut the hell up.
Exactly. And especially – if you’re dishing out, but full of flaws and skeletons. And thin skinned and touchy.
Then you’ll have it coming.
Mac, I have a feeling it is going to get worse, until Romney fesses up, and starts be honest with the people, and being like Palin talking to Fox News, and no one else.
Yes agreed. But FOX don’t like him though. No one does. And Romney’s problems will probably just grow and expand – with layers and layers of bad stuff.
And there is something else going on within the GOP too, parallel to the Romney thing, not sure what, it’s not exactly the old civil war between moderates and donor troops as in 2010 – but the game is not the same as it was.
A guess could be that the downgrade in 2011 changed something fundamental.
Which will play out in the coming months.
And could be positive.