GOP Leadership: Still Going Along To Get Along...

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame has an excellent post on Mr. Obama's Jobs Bill.

THE HILL: Democrats scramble to save face on President Obama’s jobs bill.“Democratic leaders in the Senate are scrambling to avoid defections on President Obama’s jobs package, which appears headed for defeat on Tuesday. A lack of Democratic unity on the president’s bill would be embarrassing for the White House, which has been scolding House Republicans for refusing to vote on the measure. Obama has been touring the country, aiming to put pressure on the GOP to act. But Senate Democrats have indicated they are feeling some heat. Last week, Democratic leaders revised Obama’s bill, scrapping his proposed offsets. Instead of raising taxes on families making more than $250,000 annually, Senate Democrats lifted that figure to $1 million. Despite the changes, the legislation still does not enjoy the support of all 53 senators who caucus with the Democrats. A handful of Democrats are undecided or leaning no on the bill.”

Reader Pual Burich's take is excellent,

“The GOP is showing its absolute fecklessness right now when it should be on the offensive. The GOP should have LONG AGO produced a bill to counter Obama’s ‘Jobs Bill’ and marketed it relentlessly: roll back the last 5 years of regulations, a simplified flat tax for both corporations and individuals, roll back spending to 2008 levels via an across the board CUTS (not reductions in the rate of growth). The GOP has fallen into the Waiting for Godot (Supercommittee) trap. Does anybody actually believe that a group that includes John Kerry et al is going to produce anything meaningful? This is all very distressing–but not at all surprising. The GOP is only slightly less venal than the Dems, and considerably less bold.”

While Mr. Burish's assesment is acccurate, he too misses a key point.  The GOP leadership in Washington, as well as many state capitals where they've been in the minority for most of the last century has been "Going along to get along" for so long they don't have a clue of what else to do.  That's the problem.  Instead of attempting to get out a real message, much as Paul Ryan has tried to do, they continue to believe that the media will give them a  chance to voice their opinions.  That's just not so.

The MSM is so much in the bag for the Democratic party in general, and Barack Obama in particular, that they can't allow any other narrative to escape thier messaging.  Just turn on any of the three (or if you include PBS) non-cable  news broadcasts and you'll see a repeat of very nearly all the DNC's weekly talking points.  It's even worse on the cable news networks, excepting only FoxNews.

Because the GOP continues to operate on the same game plan they used in the 1970's and 1980's, when media bias wasn't nearly as blatant as it is today.  This won't cut it today.  Now, with city and national editors who won't publish stories that go against their political biases and world views, the only way to get out a message that's diametrically opposed to the social democratic line is to use the internet and citizen journalists....like Mr. Reynolds at Instapundit.

But, our current "elite GOP leadership" will inevitably snatch defeat from the jaws of victory if they continue to think the Liberals will allow them access to the national media.