When Tom Daschle became Senate Majority Leader, Fred Barnes said that Republicans would turn him into a Newt Gingrich-like bogeyman. “Ah, but he doesn’t growl like Gingrich,” said Mort Kondracke. Today there’s no doubt that Republicans have, indeed, turned Daschle into a bogeyman for their base. Dachle’s approval ratings are a net negative and he was prominently featured in campaign ads, like the famous bobblehead doll ads run by the Club For Growth. Kondracke was wrong. He acknowledges this and often ribs Barnes by calling Daschle Barnes’ bete noire.
So how did Republicans pull off this feat? Tom Daschle is, after all, a soft-spoken senator from South Dakota who is still largely unknown to most people. The answer is that the nature of the news media has changed. Ten years ago, the GOP would have failed to demonize Daschle. Not today. When Daschle does something outrageously liberal, you can bet that Fox News, talk radio, Free Republic and countless weblogs, like this one, will pounce on it. Daschle hasn’t helped matters any by his attacks on the president in press conferences and on the Senate floor; but, when he lobs grenades in his usual soft-spoken manner, voters see right though him.
Aren’t you grateful for the conservative media boom?
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