*ring*
Hello?…. Really? The GOP doesn’t do that? …. so… she really believes it? OH! Oh. Ooooooooooohhhh.

*click*

So. Anyone got a tranq gun and a net?

Republican ‘fear and weakness’ has created this collective thinking that prevades too many alleged conservatives blogs, enabling liberals to espouse lies, half-truths and omissions in the dirty political arena they operate in without sanctions. For any conservative to retort or respond, creates not only a back slap from liberals but tongue-clucking and finger-wagging at the respondent from the T J Thompsons’ and his ilk.

Poseur is the correct label, indeed!

Actually no. The right played by the left’s rules for once and beat them. The absurdity of the story highlights the absurdity of the left’s attack on Romney and lack of substantive campaign. It put them on the defensive. Usually the right “bites” by playing defense and always, and I do mean always, loses. If you think this is a loss, your skills at political analysis are flawed.

The bases of each side are locked up. Your strategy appeals to high information voters who have already made their decision. You’re advocating a strategy that appeals to you. Again, losing strategy. This strategy sways low information voters. the reason the left has been so successful is their understanding of Alinsky style tactics, of which, ridicule being one of their more powerful tools in lieu of a credible philosophy.

To think that the right looks weak right now is to buy off on the propaganda the left is feeding you. You seem to fall hook, line and sinker for it. The right is probably stronger right now in terms of electoral and philosophical opportunity than it has been in decades. The right must seize that opportunity with every available resource. Your philosophy of Not The Hill To Die On is, once again, a loser. It has been a losing strategy for decades.

“It shows that though my experiences and travels across this nation and throughout many countries, many Americans that I encounter and/or know frown upon many things that are commonly eaten around the world.”

Many Americans is a far cry from speaking for all of us by saying “we”. Your travels around the country and the world haven’t been representative of reality. The opportunity you fail to seize on here is that *culturally*, dog is not usually considered an acceptable dish. This could easily be seized upon as showing how out of touch Obama is with regular Americans and the experiences of the average American child. But to you, now isn’t the time for that I’m sure. It’s always some other time, right? Keep that powder dry!

“Assuming these things about me exhibits the fallacy of assumptions.”

I’m not making an assumption about you when I’m basing it off your very clear remark on the subject. You did clarify yourself, which is what you should have done instead of exposition before clarification. The only assumptions I’ve made about you so far are that you’re a nice person and probably successful at what you do.

Hope that clears up your remaining confusion on the subject.

“Did he not promise to close it? And combat deaths from the Left? Did Obama not promise to end the wars? He even said you could “take that to the bank” about his promise.”

Easily rebutted by saying “but the right wants to keep Gitmo open and the wars ongoing”. Again, your strategy is great for wading into a leftwing forum and exposing their hypocrisy, but swaying the low information (independent) voter? Nowhere near as effective as simple ridicule that exposes the President for the out of touch with America pretender that he is.

There is a time and place for the substantive debates, absolutely. There is also a time and place for ridicule and soundbites. You need a more robust and mature political strategy if you want to win. Right now, you just don’t get it.

Second, I understand full well that these mechanisms and tactics have been used in politics since its inception. So has the the tactic of baiting the opposition into the game you want to play in order to divert attention from the important issues. I feel that the Right is too often the ones biting the bait rather than the ones hanging it – this being a prime example. The left cast the bait by using Sheamus The Dog, and the right bit – and bit hard.

I don’t see this as putting the Left on a cultural defense at all. The way we put the Left on the cultural defense – in the Presidential race, at least – is by highlighting the lack of experience and severe disconnect that Barack Obama has about the culture of America, and Americans. Not by biting the bait that the Left dangles out there.

I don’t feel that our side is practicing these tactics so much as we are falling for them. This is why I am, as you say, hectoring those of us who are participating in this. There is a time and place for these tactics, absolutely, but now is not one of them. The Right looks weak enough as it is, and by having the “blogosphere” focusing on this Dog story, we look silly on top of weak.

And my use of “we gastro-intestinally feeble Americans” absolutely does not show that I have a collectivist mentality, a negative view of my own countrymen, nor ignorance of the gastro-intestinally diverse make-up of our American society. It shows that though my experiences and travels across this nation and throughout many countries, many Americans that I encounter and/or know frown upon many things that are commonly eaten around the world. These are my personal experiences. I know that even in our own country there exists a massive diversity of foods which appeal to a small number of people, and the majority deems disgusting, nasty, etc. Assuming these things about me exhibits the fallacy of assumptions. Sure, I admit that I made a sweeping generalization based upon my personal experiences. Should I have articulated that better? Perhaps I should have. That was my fallacy in that regard.

The points that I used as examples for criticizing the President were off-the-cuff examples… however, Gitmo shouldn’t be a hit from the Left. Did he not promise to close it? And combat deaths from the Left? Did Obama not promise to end the wars? He even said you could “take that to the bank” about his promise. …It seems that our President can’t keep his word, and a man’s word is his bond, right? President Obama broke his bond with the American people – he failed to keep his word. In fact, he started MORE wars/military action in Libya. Obama even said wars like Libya were illegal when Bush did it. He not only lied to the American people repeatedly, but put your son’s and daughter’s lives in danger by lying to you… what will he lie about in his next term? Let’s not take that chance, elect ___(insert GOP nominee)___ in 2012.

There’s a 30 or 60 second campaign commercial for the GOP….

You can call me/wonder about me in any fashion which you desire. I know who and what I am, and that is what matters to me. The day that I don’t know, or I begin to act like something I’m not – that’s the day I step away from politics in total.

The fact that you seem oblivious to these obvious, time-tested, and highly effective strategies shows that you’re a loser. I’m quite sure your a nice, respectable, probably even successful person at whatever it is you do. But when it comes to politics, you’re not a winner.

Hectoring your own side while it practices a time honored political tactic doubles down on your losing outlook.

Do you not understand what it means to put the left on cultural defense for once in…hmmm…ever? There are plenty of times Romney and the right have, can and will discuss issues. There are also plenty of chances for ridicule, especially when it causes one of their latest mindless attacks to backfire wildly.

The fact that you write things like “we gastro-intestinally feeble Americans” shows that you have a collectivist mentality, negative view toward your own countrymen, and a stunning ignorance of the gastro-intestinally diverse make-up of our American society. Your talking point of Guantanamo being something to hit the President with is coming at him from the left (if it’s not from the left, it’s extraordinarily weak). Your aversion to combat deaths seems like it might be coming from the left as well, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Given the paternalistic nature of your post, ignorance of basic rhetorical weapons, and the points in my previous paragraph, I’m beginning to wonder if you’re just a poseur.