I don’t know why it is, but we get our asses kicked in August every single year. I’d have to check the data, but it seems like our polling ratings crater in August on a consistent basis. It happened to Dukakis, Kerry, and Obama during their presidential runs (I can’t remember if it happened to Clinton or Gore). It happened in 2002 in the run-up to the vote on invading Iraq. It happened last year during the Tea Parties. And it happened last month. It seems like the Republicans actually prepare for the recess and the Democrats just go on vacation. Whatever it is, it’s gotta stop.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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The media is deprived of sucking their “sources”, so they latch onto every gob of idiocy they can gin up into “news”. Although I must say it’s mostly the national media, and less the locals, at least around here.
It makes sense to me.
The usual suspects – politicians – go on vacation and tend to the flock in August. The message goes local and the national operation is on hiatus.
Fox news and hate-radio are 24/7/12. There is simply no equivalent on the left that has access to the air supply.
What we saw especially last year was that hate-media could rouse their masses to invade the politicians in their own home base ( remember the “town halls” last summer as every one slept to save energy for the health care debates?) which amplified the message in an otherwise down time.
In short it is not August that is the problem. It is August and the other 11 months that are the problem. There is simply no 1) democratic organ that has any substantial reach and there is certainly 2) no progressive/liberal/wacko-leftie organ that has any reach whatsoever. So the entire news field cycle-by-cycle is left to Drudge and Fox and whatever books Regnery wants to bulk-re-buy to best seller.
And it happened last month. It seems like the Republicans actually prepare for the recess and the Democrats just go on vacation. Whatever it is, it’s gotta stop.
Ever notice a few things? When would the TradMed treat a Democrat like they do The Quittah from Wasilla? Look how they treated Beckapalooza and how they treated the anti-war demonstrations back when? How many Democrats publicly espouse Democratic principles? Grayson? Bernie Sanders? How many Democrats(other than Obama and the Clintons) have the name recognition a lot of the GOP’ers do?
I’ve noticed this too.
they certainly prepared for the town hall meetings last summer and got the Burlington Coat Factory issue bubbling up his summer
Some small consolation: Obama seems to do better in the fall than in the summer.
Let’s hope the pattern repeats over the next 9 weeks.
grenwald has some keen observations about what’s up.
Republicans in Congress go on vacation too. But their administrations, when they are in power, and their Great Wurlitzer do not.
Democrats don’t have a Great Wurlitzer and I doubt that we could develop one, given Democratic values and the Will Rogers effect. And the Obama administration chose August to “leave Iraq” and did not bother to drive the news cycle even to the extent they could. Instead, they continue to have this wet dream about co-opting Politico.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that most folks did not buy the craziness last August and they are not buying it this August. But it has most liberal activists bent way out of shape. The other good news is that folks have not started to pay attention to election politics yet. They politicked out last year with the health care debate. Hopefully they’ll get schooled in September and wake up in October. I guess we’ll soon see how good a job of “politicking” President Obama can do. A lot of folks who are not excited yet about the election might be more energetic if and when Obama tells them about the importance of this election, even if it is sending back a bunch of old faces.