Kerry makes the case Obama wouldn't

On Meet the Press on Sunday, John Kerry framed a message Democrats could have used to fight for middle class tax cuts and an extension of unemployment benefits while letting the upper-income tax cuts expire, a core promise repeated by Obama hundreds or thousands of times on the campaign trail.  If Kerry -- he of the awkward phrasing and Pinocchio demeanor -- could do it, certainly the dapper and supposedly eloquent Obama could have.

As James Fallows notes, Democrats often feel silly using Fox-like redundancy to underline points ad infinitum, like a barking parrot or Tourette's sufferer. Or Glenn Beck. But I repeat myself.

But if you have any doubt it works, just look at what the Republicans accomplished today, and wonder no more.  Fallows is on board, though.

Repetition and consistency of message have become great strategic strengths of the right. On Fox, from Rush, from the Republican leadership, you hear the same themes day after day. They allow their audience to "frame" each day's items in the news. "Oh, I see, the Democrats are supporting 'job-killing tax hikes' once again." Democrats, by contrast, can seem embarrassed and and afraid of seeming "unoriginal" if think they are making points that are "obvious," or that they've already made. But this is one to hammer home until it's absolutely clear:

This is how Fallows boils it down:

"You care about unemployment? We're committed to extending benefits that can help families stay above water, hold onto their houses if possible, and have at least some spending power as they keep looking for work. You need a tax break in a recession? We agree -- we want to cut taxes for every household in the country. And that's why we're in a fight with the Republican minority that is determined to stop tax relief for you, and deny help to families who've lost jobs, unless we give huge extra tax cuts for the people who've already enjoyed the greatest tax-cut benefits and are least likely to spend that money to keep the economy strong. We're saying: tax cuts for everybody on income up to $250,000 -- and for money above that, to control the deficit, let's go back to the rates of the 1990s, when the economy boomed. They're saying: no tax cuts for anybody, unless there's a special bonus for people at the very top.

"We're all for compromise -- but not with bad, destructive, budget-busting ideas. That's why we're drawing the line here."

Oh, what could have been.  Or still might, if Congressional Dems hold fast.

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