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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2010 / Stupid Little People- The Beltway Pundits Told You To Look The Other Way

Stupid Little People- The Beltway Pundits Told You To Look The Other Way

by John Cole|  October 14, 20104:23 pm| 33 Comments

This post is in: Election 2010

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Well whaddya know? There is a reason the Chamber of Commerce, Rove, and the Republican owned media want the Democrats to drop discussions of who is funding them:

It has become an article of faith among certain Beltway inside-game commentators that there’s no way the Dem attack on secret money funding elections could ever have a prayer of working. Surely the issue is too esoteric, too process-y, and too removed from voter concerns about the economy to resonate.

But a new poll commissioned by MoveOn, and done by the respected non-partisan firm Survey USA, strongly suggests that the issue may indeed matter a good deal to voters after all.

The poll finds that two thirds of registered voters, or 66 percent, are aware that outside groups are behind some of the ads they’re seeing. This makes sense, since the issue has dominated the media amid the battle over the huge ad onslaught against Dems funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove’s groups.

What’s more, an overwhelming 84 percent say they have a “right to know” who’s bankrolling the ads. And crucially, the poll also found that the issue is resonant when linked to the economy. A majority, 53 percent, are less likely to think a candidate who is backed by “anonymous groups” can be trusted to “improve economic conditions” for them or their families. People don’t believe these groups are looking out for their interests.

Like I said, when Reason magazine is concern trolling for their corporate masters, the Chamber is whining, and Rove is pissed, you are doing something right. Keep hitting em on disclosure and on foreign money influencing elections.

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Reader Interactions

33Comments

  1. 1.

    Tonal Crow

    October 14, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    The score: empiricism 10^18, dogmatism 0.

  2. 2.

    Kryptik

    October 14, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    Of course, this just means that we’ll have Steny Hoyer or some loyal Blue Dog shaming Dems for just being SOOOOO anti-business and attacking the CoC, and the media to chime in wondering if ‘The Democrat’s far-left, anti-business strategy is a sign of desperation from a dying party?’

    The naked spin will come, just you wait.

  3. 3.

    TR

    October 14, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    Amen.

    The Democrats need to hammer this each and every day. Put their opponents on record — do you think voters have a right to know who’s paying for political ads in their district, or not? Simple question.

  4. 4.

    Zifnab

    October 14, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    @Tonal Crow: That’s only true if the Democrats don’t tuck their tails between their legs and back off.

  5. 5.

    JPL

    October 14, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    OH>>> I just awarded you a TKO on the previous blog post.

  6. 6.

    eemom

    October 14, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    when Reason magazine is concern trolling for their corporate masters, the Chamber is whining, and Rove is pissed, and Greenwald is clutching his purity pearls, you are doing something right.

    fixeteth. And tee hee.

    (sorry Glennbots. I just can’t help it.)

  7. 7.

    General Stuck

    October 14, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    Keep hitting em on disclosure and on foreign money influencing elections.

    You are such a hypocrite. The Chamber also funds blue dogs, dontcha know, that is a personal foul according to prog master Greenwaldo Pepper. fifteen yards and a Ben Roethlisberger, 4th down.

  8. 8.

    ChrisWWW

    October 14, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    The substance of the Democrats attack ads are great. I just wish they hadn’t copied the fear mongering style of sleazy ads regularly used in politics. But that’s just nitpicking.

  9. 9.

    Earl Butz

    October 14, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    As someone who had to deal with bullies at one point in my life, I can say this: you don’t stop hitting them, even after they say they’re sorry.

    You beat them until they can’t look at their own face in the mirror for the rest of their lives without remembering what the cost of hitting you was. Bullies dealt with in such a way don’t come back for seconds.

    The sooner the Dems figure out this elementary principle, the better off we’ll all be.

  10. 10.

    Hunter Gathers

    October 14, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    It’s quite a simple strategy, really

    Dems – “Disclose your donors!”

    CoC – “No!”

    Dems – “Why?”

    CoC – “Uh, I don’t know, maybe, uh, look, see, uh, you’re being mean. Our wrath will be great. BLACK PEOPLE!!!!”

    This might not stop the bloodbath, but it may keep the House from being flipped. Maybe.

  11. 11.

    General Stuck

    October 14, 2010 at 4:32 pm

    @eemom:

    (sorry Glennbots. I just can’t help it.)

    Pure disgust means never having to say you’re sorry.

  12. 12.

    WereBear

    October 14, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    I think we news consumers overestimate the effect bleating pundits have on the average voter. In their driveby way, they pick up this kind of thing, and I’m very pleased to see they have a strong, and sensible, opinion on it.

    This looks promising.

  13. 13.

    Martin

    October 14, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    I call 10 AM EST Friday.

  14. 14.

    Barb (formerly gex)

    October 14, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    What I like best about this is the turnabout. Whiny right wingers who think the Dems are too mean? Apparently that carries a lot of weight in America, where good ideas mean less than appearing strong and manly.

  15. 15.

    geg6

    October 14, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    They should be pounding away on this for the next 3 weeks, constantly, day in, day out. Relentlessly. Make every Teabagger and GOPer (and yes, I know there is no difference) get up and defend the CoC and their shadowy, possibly foreign contributers. I also think that prominent mention should be made regarding the significant levels of ownership of FOX by foreigners, especially those from Saudi Arabia. After all, should anyone really listen to a network that is owned by people of the same nationality of the 9/11 hijackers? Is FOX a front for al Qaeda?

    Is it irresponsible to speculate? No, it is irresponsible NOT to speculate!

  16. 16.

    jojo

    October 14, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    Al Gore was tormented over the Buddhist monks or whatever for months and months — but now that Democrats are wondering where the money came from, they aren’t playing fair — don’t you know Repukes are the only ones who can complain and cry and defame?

  17. 17.

    jl

    October 14, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    thanks for pointing out that poll, Mr Cole.

    Ha! Looks I was right. If the Democrats tie the foreign funding issue into the problem of anonymous ginormous injections of mass quantities of cash into election campaigns, it will have impact with the voters.

    And it should have impact, because it has a potentially very bad influence on our democracy.

    Tie the foreign funding issue to the disclosure issue.

    Now, I’d like to see an ad with a clip of Alito shaking his head when Obama complained about the Citizens United decision allowing foreign funded political ad campaigns. Followed by “Alito was WRONG.’ I’d like to see something like that.

  18. 18.

    Tonal Crow

    October 14, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    @WereBear:

    I think we news consumers overestimate the effect bleating pundits have on the average voter.

    We do? I’m pretty sure that Fox “News”, Rush Limbaugh, and similar bloviators have had central roles in shoving the rotting corpse of Republican ideology down our collective throats.

  19. 19.

    danimal

    October 14, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    @Earl Butz: Yep. They only scream loudly when they’re making stuff up or when we’ve got a winning issue.

  20. 20.

    Bob Loblaw

    October 14, 2010 at 4:43 pm

    @General Stuck:

    I’m pretty sure this is Greenwald’s exact philosophy himself. You know, the one you cry and moan about constantly?

    Whoosh.

  21. 21.

    martha

    October 14, 2010 at 4:45 pm

    As I said earlier, the pigs were actually squealing. That was a dead giveaway.

  22. 22.

    mai naem

    October 14, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    I saw the C of C guy on with Chuck Todd this AM. CAP is a left wing website!!!!!!!!! It’s from a blog!!!!!!!!!! They worked with the President on TARP!!!!!! They worked on the stimulus package with Obama!!!!!! Obama used the same tactic!!!!!!
    Just a bunch of distortions and lies.

    I have listened to for years and years about Loral and the Budddhist monks and Hillary’s furrin donors. The Chinese gave money to the Clintons. OMG The C of C just need to pull up their pantyhose and be big boys about this. WATBs

  23. 23.

    ChrisNYC

    October 14, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    This came up in the DE debate last night and it was pretty stunning what a winner it is for Dems. Blitzer asked O’Donnell, “Don’t voters have a right to know who is funding you?” She said, “Sometimes but not always.” It was just so clearly the wrong answer. I mean, our elections are basically about sucking up to voters. I can’t remember ever hearing a candidate tell voters that they didn’t deserve something. It really stood out. I’m betting they ask Angle about it tonight.

  24. 24.

    ThresherK

    October 14, 2010 at 4:57 pm

    I think we news consumers overestimate the effect bleating pundits have on the average voter.

    We see the effect in every debate when a moderator earns their “Bernard Shaw Award” by asking a Democrat a question based on GOP talking points and Karl Rove’s “facts”, rather than Nate Silver’s research, and therefore has no possible winning answer from the Democrat.

    The steps between bleating pundits and average voter are few and direct and have been discussed on this site before. It’s not about voters listening to right-wing hacks; it’s about isolating the contagion within the right-wing mediascape.

  25. 25.

    News Reference

    October 14, 2010 at 5:16 pm

    The message is simple:

    Republican’s foreign funded attack ads reveal Republicans as frauds.

    The international Chamber of Commerce Secrets takes foreign money which is being used to help Republican politicians.

    It’s a simple, clear message that will be increasingly powerful:

    Republican’s foreign money = Republican’s support of foreign outsourcing.

  26. 26.

    Tonal Crow

    October 14, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    As Republicans are so fond of saying when the topic is federal funding for Planned Parenthood, “money is fungible”.

  27. 27.

    Nick

    October 14, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    Like I said, when Reason magazine is concern trolling for their corporate masters, the Chamber is whining, and Rove is pissed, you are doing something right

    Amazingly, this wasn’t true when insurance companies tried to kill HCR and banks desperately tried to kill FinReg.

  28. 28.

    maya

    October 14, 2010 at 5:58 pm

    Can we refer to them as the US Chamberpot of Commerce yet?

  29. 29.

    marion

    October 14, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    At our county Democratic Party breakfast meeting last week, dozens of new people showed up–Democratic voters who I’ve not seen involved in organizational work before. The two things they wanted to talk about: the nuts the Republicans are running this year around the country and the effects of Citizen’s United bringing in outside undisclosed money into our local campaigns. Our longstanding very respected Democratic Congressman has come from behind to a dead heat against a pathetic opponent and there’s suddenly been a $250,000 ad buy by some shady group nobody has ever heard of from Virginia to try to knock him out.
    Those newcomers are steamed and nobody had to explain intricacies to them. Believe me, everybody I’ve run into gets it.

  30. 30.

    Shade Tail

    October 14, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    @Zifnab #4:

    That’s only true if the Democrats don’t tuck their tails between their legs and back off.

    Or, alternately, just give up in despair because “the GOP will just *lie* about it!” I’ve been seeing that too. “Oh, sure, we could actually tell the voters the truth, but the GOP will just lie about it and nothing will get accomplished. We’re powerless!”

    Spineless cowards. Of course the GOP will lie about it. Who gives even one shit? If you don’t get off your ass and point out to the voting public that the GOP’s stupid nonsense really is just stupid nonsense, then they’ll fall for it by default. You aren’t WOPR in the movie WarGames; the only way to win *is* to play.

  31. 31.

    ...now I try to be amused

    October 15, 2010 at 12:39 am

    @Shade Tail:
    Exactly. If the only game the GOP’s got is to lie, then attack them and make them lie more and more until it becomes obvious to everyone they’re liars. Make them wear out their game.

  32. 32.

    Frank

    October 15, 2010 at 9:02 am

    Unfortunately allot of Washington Dems live in fear of David Broders dissaproving sighs.

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    October 17, 2010 at 12:10 pm

    […] Stupid Little People- The Beltway Pundits Told You To Look The Other Way. by John Cole. Well whaddya know? There is a reason the Chamber of Commerce, Rove, and the Republican owned media want the Democrats to drop discussions of who is … visit. […]

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