It’s nice of J-Rube to try to help the Republicans but her advice sucks. Before I say a single word about her 10 tips for the Tan Man, I want to make this clear: the Republicans cannot win this fight in the court of public opinion. We just had an election. The president campaigned on what he is asking for now. The public has seen enough inflexibility from the Republicans and they will never blame the president over the Republicans if we go over the fiscal cliff and begin to suffer economic problems as a consequence.
That is why Rubin’s first piece of advice is so dumb. She wants Republicans to complain about the consequences for national security if we go over the fiscal cliff. But telling people that going over the cliff will be awful and get them killed is a very bad idea if the people are going to blame you for going over the cliff. This is why the Democrats should stop downplaying the consequences of going over the cliff and start hyping the consequences. The more the public fears the cliff, the more pressure they will bring to bear on the Republicans and the more blame they will place on them later if no deal is reached.
Rubin’s second piece of advice is to avoid talking about the filibuster reforms Harry Reid is kicking around and keep focused on the White House. The problem with this is that the Republicans can’t win in a battle with the White House, so focusing on them is unhelpful.
Her third piece of advice is to talk about the job loss and possible recession that could result if we go over the cliff, but that is the same stupid argument she made about national security.
Her fourth piece of advice is to widely disseminate a chart that shows the Republicans’ plan and the Obama plan side-by-side so people can compare them. This would be a good idea if the Republicans’ plan didn’t amount to a huge giveaway to the rich and a massive attack on middle class retirement security. To even make such a chart meaningful would require the GOP to spell out the agony they have planned for working people, and that could be quite illuminating. But it would not be helpful at all for the Republicans’ cause.
Rubin’s fifth piece of advice is to badmouth the president’s plan. Sorry, but the Republicans are going to get blamed if no deal is struck, so no one cares about any potential shortcomings of the president’s plan.
Her sixth piece of advice is so stupid that I am going to quote it in full:
6. Reiterate that Republicans will increase taxes on the wealthy. By removing deductions and lowering rates, Republicans’plan, just like the Simpson Bowles plan, will have the rich pay more but without rate hikes that act as a drag on the economy.
She wants you to believe that rate hikes are a drag on the economy. It’s not the money. It’s the rate hikes. If you pay more in taxes but you have a lower marginal rate, this somehow is not a drag on the economy. If you pay less in taxes but have a higher marginal rate, this somehow slows the economy down. In any case, Boehner’s proposal would result in much higher taxes and fees as a percentage of income for the middle class than the rich. So, this advice is basically nothing more than advocacy for bald-faced lying. It’s the best advice she has provided so far.
Rubin’s seventh piece of advice is to invite the president to a budget summit similar to the health-care summit of 2009 and have Paul Ryan confront him with…what? Paul Ryan just lost the election. Does Rubin think people want to watch Paul Ryan lecture the president about the budget? Is she high? In any case, the president does the inviting. This advice is for dunces.
Her eighth piece of advice is to start running ads against vulnerable Democratic senators who will be facing reelection in 2014. We saw how great those ads worked during the election. Karl Rove lost every race he spent money on. In any case, what would these ads say? That the Republicans’ refusal to raise marginal tax rates is going to get everyone killed right after it costs them their job? That they won’t make a deal because they want to hold the economy hostage again and cause another downgrade in our credit rating? While J-Rube is running ads, Team Obama will be unleashing its army of organizers.
Her ninth piece of advice is to explain that going over the cliff will cause many members of our armed services to be laid off and that troops in the field will lack some basic equipment. Sorry, but you are going to be blamed for that so you probably don’t want to highlight it.
And her tenth and final piece of advice is to not draw any false lines in the sand but, at the same time, to leave no room for hope that the Republicans will cave on tax rate hikes. So, in effect, she is saying that we are going to go over the cliff because the Republicans will not flinch. And that is what she is advising.
I have more succinct advice for the Republicans. Cut your losses.
