For years, Republicans have seemed off-balance and directionless unless they have a specific American whom they could direct their rage. If they’re not turning a rival into a villain, they’re probably just trying to narrow down their enemies’ list.<\/p>\n
Too many adversaries makes for a muddled message — the GOP needs one person to hate at a time. And as of today, their #1 enemy<\/a> is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.<\/p>\n Senate Republicans are preparing to take aim at Majority Leader Harry Reid over the August recess for being “all talk but no action” and helping drag the Democrat-led Congress’ approval rating to a historic low, according to a document distributed to caucus members.<\/p>\n Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, is meeting with members yesterday and today to disseminate a message critical of Democrats for endlessly debating the Iraq war, stalling judicial nominations and squandering time on at least 300 investigations of the Bush administration.<\/p>\n “We really ought to be asking why this Democrat leadership won’t allow Congress to move forward on serious policy debates,” Mr. Kyl said, when asked about the talking-points memorandum he is circulating.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I suppose it’s possible that I’ve heard more breathtaking hypocrisy, but nothing comes to mind. Reid<\/i> isn’t allowing Congress to move forward? Republicans are on pace to be the most obstructionist minority in the history of Congress<\/a>, and the GOP wants to blame Reid for blocking progress?<\/p>\n I suppose we should have seen this coming. Fred Hiatt went after Reid over the weekend, at the same time as David Brooks, Bob Novak, and a handful of other conservative media voices, suggesting some kind of coordinated effort to blast the Majority Leader.<\/p>\n And now the RNC is making it official. On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called President Bush “a liar” and a “part of the culture of corruption.” This is not the first time Sen. Reid has engaged in such over-the-top rhetoric and attacks. Sen. Reid once called the President a “loser” in front of teenagers during a civics discussion in a high school. He still stands by his claim that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was “the biggest political hack in Washington.” […]<\/p>\n Given the dismal state of Congress under the Democrats’ leadership, Sen. Reid’s choice of words is unfortunate, but not unexpected. Public confidence in Congress has plummeted to an all-time low of 14 percent. Instead of working to advance the country, Sen. Reid chooses to engage in partisan attacks and reckless rhetoric. It’s no surprise that The Washington Post’s David Broder called Sen. Reid an “embarrassment to the Democrats.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I find it hard to believe anyone is going to find this attack compelling. Indeed, by RNC standards, it’s pretty tame stuff. There wasn’t anything specifically libelous in the whole thing, just a bunch of examples of Reid being mean to conservatives. If the RNC’s oppo file on Reid is this thin, he must be doing a pretty good job running the Senate.<\/p>\n
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\nI obtained, this afternoon, a copy of the new RNC talking points — which, I kid you not, devote a whole section to David Broder’s criticism of Reid — which were surprisingly weak.<\/p>\n