The trifecta of Benghazi, IRS and AP scandals has in the early stages some limited damage to Obama. He still has not suffered major damage in the polls yet, but he is clearly wobbled. That said, the normal political rules do not apply to Obama. This man is a cult figure and has weathered problems that would have destroyed another politician. The best bet is to see where the chips fall.
Sadly, many Republicans are giddy and are already counting Obama out. Many think that now the 2014 and 2016 elections are a walk. They forget Obama has an emotional hold on the public and has gone through political crisis before. The danger in this overconfidence among Republicans is that they may overreach and give Obama a lifeline for a political comeback.
Republicans are worried one thing could screw up the political gift of three Obama administration controversies at once: fellow Republicans.
Top GOP leaders are privately warning members to put a sock in it when it comes to silly calls for impeachment or over-the-top comparisons to Watergate. They want members to focus on months of fact-finding investigations – not rhetorical fury.
“We have to be persistent but patient,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told us. “I think where there’s smoke, there’s fire. If we present ourselves to the American people as intelligent, we’re going to be in a great place as far as showing that this administration is not transparent, is obsessed with power, and hates dissent. But you don’t call for impeachment until you have evidence.”
It is important to remember that there is no evidence any of the specific controversies directly link to President Obama himself. No one knows what the various congressional probes will turn up, but until there is a direct connection to the president, the best Republicans can probably do is use the three episodes to illustrate what they see as the dangerous reach — and pervasive incompetence — of the Obama government.
Meantime, the incentives for the incendiary are strong, as the PPP polls show: It helps Republicans raise money, get on Fox, and excite conservatives. It also provides an easy way for someone like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to show skeptical conservatives that he is one of them – and therefore should not be challenged in an upcoming GOP primary. This is true for most House Republicans: redistricting has left them far more threatened by a primary challenge from the right than by a general election challenge on the left.
[….]
Republican leaders privately say the best and only way to avoid a public backlash is by using their congressional powers to aggressively investigate each matter – and let the facts carry the news, rather than stunts or rhetoric. “We have stuff here that’s real, so you don’t need the distraction of politics to give people an excuse to say we’re being silly,” said a House Republican leadership aide involved in the investigations. “Everyone is keenly aware of the overreach risk.”
Obama is a more than a politician, he’s a cultural symbol and sadly too many Americans have emotional feelings towards him. The GOP should proceed with a death by 1000 cuts strategy and slow bleed Obama. Every fact that makes Obama look bad, helps weaken the hold he has on Americans. The Right should not pop the champagne cork. They need to be patient and play their cards right and let Obama self destruct.
Too many Republicans still don’t know what they are up against with Obama. They continually underestimate him and do not realize that his a symbol.
