Jonah Goldberg is an excellent writer and an excellent analyst. But his latest column is a step above.
In it, he describes President Obama\’s latest campaign stop (does this man ever do anything but campaign…golf…and go on expensive vacations?) at the University of Michigan (yes, an adoring college crowd), where he spoke of eating at Zingerman\’s a local deli and, albeit clumsily, turned the experience into an attack on Republicans.
Here is part of what Mr. Goldberg wrote – a larger excerpt than I would usually post, but I like it too much to cut back. (Click here to read the entire commentary…you won\’t be disappointed):
Breakingslightly from the standard talking point that the GOP is out ofideas, Obama said, “Now, to give them credit, they do have oneoriginal idea, which is to repeal ObamaCare.”
Hethen turned to Rep. Paul Ryan\’s budget proposal: “If they triedto sell this sandwich at Zingerman\’s, they\’d have to call it theStinkburger, or the Meanwich.”
Notsince the First Barbary War, when Thomas Jefferson proclaimed, “Isee London, I see France, I see John Adams\’ underpants” has apresident so successfully combined deep wit with biting criticism ofa political opponent. (Yes, that was a joke, in case the absence ofthe word “pickle” threw you off.)
Itshould go without saying that an audience that thinks this is A-gradematerial will think Obama\’s “zingers” hit the mark. Theproblem, for Obama and his audience alike, is that the president isutterly incapable of arguing with anything other than a fictionalopponent. In 2012, he had to turn Mitt Romney into a cancer-causingextremist who wants to declare war on binders full of women.
Now,the focused-grouped line is that the GOP is “the party of no,”has “no agenda” and only wants to repeal ObamaCare. Meanwhile,Obama loves to say he\’s open to good ideas from anybody, includingRepublicans. But, alas, the GOP refuses to offer any. Last summer, heannounced that if the Republicans “had some better ideas” onhealth care, he was “happy to hear them. But I haven\’t heard anyso far.”
Inreality, the supposedly agenda-less GOP-controlled House has passedmore than 40 bills, all of which have gone on to die in theDemocrat-controlled Senate (while Obama himself has unilaterallyrepealed vast swaths of his own law). In recent years, the GOP hasoffered no less than five comprehensive health-care-reform proposals.Some honest liberals, like The New Republic\’s Jonathan Cohn,concede that “Republicans do have plenty of ideas.”
Other than that zinger (not zingerman) about focus groups (me being a long-time focus group moderator and all), every word of Mr. Goldberg\’s hits home.
Too bad so few people know how many Republican bills have been sent to Harryreidville, only to die there, while Democrats talk about Republicans not offering any alternatives.
See. for the general public to be more fully aware, it would, of course, require the existence of a mainstream media willing to report this information…
…which explains why so few people are aware.
