Plotting Political Strategy

Robert Reich has nailed the Republican "strategy" for 2012. Here is the opening bit in this article on his blog:

Why Washington Isn't Doing Squat About Jobs and Wages

The silence is deafening. While the rest of the nation is heading back toward a double dip, Washington continues to obsess about future budget deficits. Why?

Republicans don’t want to do anything about jobs and wages. They’re so intent on unseating Obama they’d like the economy to remain in the dumps through Election Day. They also see the lousy economy as an opportunity to sell Americans their big lie that government spending is the culprit — and jobs will return if spending is cut and government shrinks.

Democrats, meanwhile, don’t want to admit the recovery has stalled. They worry such talk will further undermine consumer confidence or spook the bond market. They don’t want to head into the election year sounding downbeat. And they don’t think they have the votes for anything that will have much effect before Election Day anyway.

But there’s a third reason for Washington’s inaction. It’s not being talked about — which is itself evidence of the problem.

The unemployed are politically invisible. They don’t make major campaign donations. They don’t lobby Congress. There’s no National Association of Unemployed People.

Their ranks are filled with women who had been public employees, single mothers, minorities, young people trying to enter the labor force, and middle-aged men who have been out of work for longer than six months. You couldn’t find a collection of people with less political clout.

What I can't believe is that Americans don't realize how they are being manipulated. Instead of focusing of the real issues, a big minority (majority?) is enthralled with the media manipulation of Sarah Palin, an idiot who couldn't find her way out of a wet paper bag, who is lecturing Americans on their "Constitution" and "history" (at least the version that this dim-wit can conjure up in front of cameras). Pathetic.