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"Obama and the Democrats would:
1) Raise your taxes 2) Make America less safe"
Some people say that Palin's speech was aimed at "the base," but won't work with independents and swing voters. I think the Republican are gambling on it working with those groups as well, and that it's not just one speech, but the framework (and the frame) for what the entire Republican campaign will be from now on.
Of course, as anyone with any sense of history would immediately recognize, this is precisely the same frame Republicans have been using since 1980. But I think they figure -- and frankly, the track record of the past quarter-century has suggested that they're right more often than wrong -- that the phrases "more taxes" and "less safe" work almost as bells for Pavlov's dogs: that, whenever they're used, the average American will reflexively stop thinking and decide the only possible choice is to vote Republican.
Will it work this time? The next two months will tell us the answer. In my opinion, though, if it does work, maybe we might all consider moving to Canada or New Zealand. Because, if it is enough to elect the Republican ticket under these conditions, I can't see any situation where it won't continue to work in the future.
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