Are the Gloves Finally Coming Off?

You've got to love the Internet. Right now I'm at the flying club. Dropped in just to see what's new, and say hello to my flight instructor. I'll be taking a walk in the Baylands momentarily. While doing a bit of web browsing at one of the club's machines, I found this item at The Kerry Spot. If true (and Bush's speech the other day indicates that it is), it looks like the Republicans have been using the flip-flop charge, which long ago ceased to have much impact, as a placeholder. Until October (i.e. now), that is, when they will pound Kerry relentlessly for being a liberal! One thing I know for certain about American electoral politics is that no liberal will ever admit in a campaign that that is precisely what he is. And the Republicans are going to start painting with the scarlet 'L'. To quote a certain movie : "At my command, unleash hell."

excerpt:

We recently expressed our frustration over the “flip-flop” narrative with a veteran GOP campaign operative in daily contact with, and in some cases working side by side with, high-level "Bush/Cheney 04" campaign officials, and asked them why, given all the evidence that this message had long since played itself out, did the campaign continue to hammer away on it, ala Bush v. Clinton, ‘92? When were Republicans going to pummel this clown with his own record ala Reagan v. Mondale, ’84 and Bush v. Dukakis, ’88?

“October,” the operative, who asked to remain nameless, told us. “We couldn’t stay quiet all year. And if we’d been hitting him [Kerry] on his liberal record all year, it would have grown stale and lost its punch, like the flip-flop stuff has. The plan was always to barrage him with his record and brand him a Massachusetts and Washington liberal during the crucial month of October.”

So the “flip-flop” stuff was just entertaining background noise?

“That’s exactly right,” we were told. “Look, we know we can beat John Kerry on his liberal voting record. But that decision is made in finality by most voters during the closing days of an election. We needed to give people something to talk about for the past year while Kerry has tried to slash the President down with his vicious, negative attacks.”

But now the campaign is on? We’re going to see and hear a more offensive posture from the President and his campaign?

“Absolutely. I think you could call it ‘Shock and Awe.’ You’ll know it when you see it,” our source said.

We can’t wait. And we urge the President to give us more of what he gave us yesterday.