Look to Ezra or Joe Klein for your substantive analysis of Bill Kristol's latest offering. They're talking about politics in Washington. I wonder what people out in the country at large think about a party whose chief ideological spokesperson, more or less, is telling them not even to appear responsible. Instead, just break shit:
With Obamacare on the ropes, there will be a temptation for opponents to let up on their criticism, and to try to appear constructive, or at least responsible. There will be a tendency to want to let the Democrats' plans sink of their own weight, to emphasize that the critics have been pushing sound reform ideas all along and suggest it's not too late for a bipartisan compromise over the next couple of weeks or months.
My advice, for what it's worth: Resist the temptation. This is no time to pull punches. Go for the kill.
There may be plenty of conservatives out there who think their elected representatives are doing a good job by betting the country's future on all-out political warfare against the president. But I bet there's a lot more people -- people who are skeptical of Obama's vision -- that, offered a choice, would rather vote for the party attempting to solve problems than the one trying to destroy their latest round of enemies.
Update: This graph, adapted from an Ipsos/McClatchy poll conducted July 9-13 suggests that people might support killing the health care overhaul:
-- Tim Fernholz
