Update on Operation Rushbo
Posted by Tom Bevan | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Last week Jon Martin of Politico reported that Democrats had launched a concerted effort to paint Rush Limbaugh as the face and leader of the Republican Party. The plan, originally hatched by former Clinton operatives James Carville and Paul Begala, quickly expanded to include current White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and was "explicitly authorized" by Senior Advisor to the President David Axelrod, according to a report in Monday's New York Times.
Mr. Carville praised the Democrats' "Limbaugh strategy" as "great for us, great for him, great for the press," adding, "The only people he's not good for are the actual Republicans in Congress."
So far, the only thing we know for certain is that the strategy has indeed been great for El Rushbo. On Wednesday's program, Mr. Limbaugh announced that revenue for his nationally syndicated radio program in the first quarter of this year was up 13.5% versus the same time period a year ago. That's no small accomplishment given the current state of the economy.
Mr. Limbaugh also said that a recently completed Arbitron study showed that his total listenership was up 32%. This number is even more impressive, Mr. Limbaugh noted, when you consider it's a percentage increase over his already record-breaking national audience.
"Over the years," Mr. Limbaugh declared, "every effort to divide me from you, my audience, has only strengthened the bond."
For their part, Democrats feel the strategy is paying dividends as well. Mr. Carville's polling firm, Democracy Corps, released a new survey this week suggesting Mr. Limbaugh is exceedingly unpopular among all but the most conservative voters and that his image "weighs down heavily on an already weakened Republican Party."
According to the poll, conducted between March 4 and March 8, Mr. Limbaugh is viewed unfavorably by 53% of voters, with 45% of those viewing him "very" unfavorably. Fifty-seven percent of voters say Mr. Limbaugh does not share their values, and 52% say "Republican leaders should denounce Rush Limbaugh's destructive attacks on President Obama."
I would not hold my breath waiting for that to happen. Congressional Republicans are betting that by the time voters go to the polls next November, they'll be more concerned with what President Obama and the Democrats have done (or failed to do) than with what Rush Limbaugh has done or said. In the meantime, however, with Mr. Limbaugh's audience growing and Mr. Carville's polls suggesting the talk show host continues to be viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans, don't expect Operation Rushbo to conclude anytime soon.
About a week ago, a friend - a sportswriter at the L.A. Times - was going to give a talk at a Southern California journalism school. He was seeking advice.
Most of us just told him, "tell them to get out while they still can," and that wasn't meant as a joke. Given the state of the media industry, particularly print publications, one must be borderline insane to be seeking a career in newspapers or magazines these days.
But the world still needs journalists. And since journalism schools are still in business, they must find ways to attract new students to justify their raison d'etre. Many of them started developing programs to train young journalists in the concept of "New Media," including Columbia, one of the more prestigious J-schools.
Shockingly, such an obvious sign-of-the-times maneuver has met fierce resistance:
But the push for modernization has also raised the ire of some professors, particularly those closely tied to Columbia's crown jewel, RW1. "F*** new media," the coordinator of the RW1 program, Ari Goldman, said to his RW1 students on their first day of class, according to one student. Goldman, a former Times reporter and sixteen-year veteran RW1 professor, described new-media training as "playing with toys," according to another student, and characterized the digital movement as "an experimentation in gadgetry."
(Emphasis mine, expletive dedacted)Quite a whopper, isn't it? This New York Magazine piece went on to describe part of Columbia's challenge is that "many of the tenured professors haven't worked in new media themselves, their classes require the addition of tech-savvy adjuncts. ... The school has been trying to do away with this added expense by training the professors themselves, but this takes time Columbia doesn't necessarily have, given the rapid implosion of the industry it serves."
Let's face it, journalism is a trade, not an academic pursuit. J-schools are meant to allow students to acquire a particular skill-set in order to get jobs. In fact, any J-school worth its salt today should provide students courses in the business of journalism to better equip them to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape.
Martin Nisenholtz, head of New York Times' digital operations, offers just such sage advice:
I also think it's a good idea for journalists to have a basic understanding of business; after all, journalism is a business in the United States and journalists should understand the basics of the businesses they work for. Regarding entrepreneurial skills, the best way to learn them is to work in a startup or early-stage business. Talk to accomplished venture capitalists. Read some of the better venture capitalist blogs. Dive in.
Most of all, don't Eff the new media. That might be the only media left in the near future.
If you want a good measure of the Zeitgeist surrounding the Obama administration it's hard to find a better indicator than this: R. Emmett Tyrell, founder of the Scaife-funded American Spectator Magazine that published the original "Troopergate" story about Bill Clinton and generally hounded his administration with loathing at every turn, is now wishing Bubba was back:
Bill, can we now be friends? I apologize for all my past rudeness, even the jokes. It is a matter of public record that you have made friends with Dick Scaife. Allow me to be next. Let us convene a conference. We could explore market solutions to public problems and together we could promulgate a manifesto on free trade. I shall bring some friends from the Heritage Foundation and the Hoover Institution -- Ph.Ds. Perhaps we can plot how to re-reform welfare after the Obama Administration shanghais the poor back into the welfare trap. [snip]
With all of this hurly-burly going on I hope my new friend is not going to suffer the blues. In less than four years his presidency is going to be looked back on fondly by Democrats and even by me. I think it is increasingly evident that Bill's Democratic successor is the most ill-prepared man to serve as president in a long time.[snip]
So cheer up, Bill. Your legacy is going to look fine, save for that unmentionable run-in with what was her name again? Already things are turning against the Prophet. Just the other day Howard Fineman, writing on the Newsweek website, noted that "the American establishment is taking his [the president's] measure and, with surprising swiftness, they are finding him lacking." Bill, let's have a beer.
A bit tongue and cheek, yes, and therefore probably less effective than when a less ideological centrist libertarian makes the same argument. Still, it not good for Obama that an arch-enemy of the former Democratic administration is so unimpresseded with his performance he'd rather see Bill back in the White House.
Pakistan and the Drones
Posted by Greg Scoblete | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
The Washington Times notes a study conducted by the Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy that surveyed 550 people living in areas of Pakistan subjected to Predator Drone strikes. The results are certainly interesting:
Between last November and January AIRRA sent five teams, each made up of five researchers, to the parts of FATA that are often hit by American drones, to conduct a survey of public opinion about the attacks. The team visited Wana (South Waziristan), Ladda (South Waziristan), Miranshah (North Waziristan), Razmak (North Waziristan) and Parachinar (Kurram Agency). The teams handed out 650 structured questionnaires to people in the areas. The questionnaires were in Pashto, English and Urdu. The 550 respondents (100 declined to answer) were from professions related to business, education, health and transport. Following are the questions and the responses of the people of FATA.-- Do you see drone attacks bringing about fear and terror in the common people? (Yes 45%, No 55%)
-- Do you think the drones are accurate in their strikes? (Yes 52%, No 48%)
-- Do you think anti-American feelings in the area increased due to drone attacks recently? (Yes 42%, No 58%)
-- Should Pakistan military carry out targeted strikes at the militant organizations? (Yes 70%, No 30%)
-- Do the militant organizations get damaged due to drone attacks? (Yes 60%, No 40%)
A group of researchers at AIRRA draw these conclusions from the survey. The popular notion outside the Pakhtun belt that a large majority of the local population supports the Taliban movement lacks substance. The notion that anti-Americanism in the region has not increased due to drone attacks is rejected. The study supports the notion that a large majority of the people in the Pakhtun belt wants to be incorporated with the state and wants to integrate with the rest of the world.
Obviously, this isn't the final word on whether these strikes will ultimately undermine the stability of the Pakistani government, but given the news out of the country of late, it seems that instability owes at least as much to Pakistan's dysfunctional political elite as it does America's counter-terrorism campaign in the tribal areas (it's also worth noting that Pakistan's political elite were dysfunctional long before America was waging a not-so-covert war inside the country's borders). For more on the issue see here and here.
NJ Gov Poll: Christie +9
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
A new Quinnipiac poll finds Gov. Jon Corzine (D) trailing former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) by 9 points in a potential November matchup. Christie led by 6 points in a poll last month. Corzine leads former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, though Lonegan trails Christie by 21 points in a GOP primary matchup.
Christie 46 (+2 vs. last poll, 2/4)
Corzine 37 (-1)
Corzine 41 (-1 vs. last poll, 2/4)
Lonegan 37 (+1)
“There are no good numbers for Gov. Jon Corzine in this poll, and since it was taken before his Draconian budget was released, his numbers could be even worse today,” reports Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Chris Christie continues to widen his lead over Jon Corzine in the race for Governor and this poll indicates Christie could become stronger once he gets better known.”
CJR has Andrew Rosenthal's email to his colleagues at the Times announcing Ross Douthat as Bill Kristol's replacement.
Folks:
Some exciting news. We've hired Ross Douthat, currently of Atlantic. Ross will be joining the Times staff in mid-April and will be based in the Washington bureau. He will start out primarily online, but will soon be writing with increasing frequency, and then regularity, on the Op-Ed page, in the Monday slot opposite Paul. At some point, he'll also resume his work as a blogger, which I highly recommend.
If you don't know Ross, you'll find him funny and smart and sharp. He's going to be a great addition to our team. I know you'll make him welcome.
Andy
A new Zogby poll taken for the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois shows the state's accidental Senator, Roland Burris, winning just 5% of the vote in a three way Democratic primary with State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and State Comptroller Dan Hynes:
Giannoulias 28.1 %
Hynes 26.8%
Burris 5.3%
Among Republican voters, Northshore Congressman Mark Kirk edges his colleague from the Western Chicago Suburbs, Peter Roskam, by a five point margin, 26.3% to 21.0%
When Independent voters were present with all 5 choices, Democrat Giannoulias and Republican Kirk lead the pack in a dead heat (12.6% and 12.3% respectively), with Democrat Hynes running a close third (11.6%). Republican Roskam finishes a distant fourth with 5.5% and the hapless Burris is dead last winning just 0.6% of the vote.
In the race for Governor, the newly installed Democrat Pat Quinn - who replaced Rod Blagojevich after his impeachment last month - trails state AG Lisa Madigan by a sizable margin among Democratic voters, 29.5% to 41.0%.
Joe Birkett, the State's Attorney for DuPage County, dominates among the three choices presented to Republican voters with 39.3%.
Among Independent voters Democrats Quinn and Madigan lead with 19.2% and 18.4% respectively, with Republican Birkett winning 8.1%.
Looks like Robert Gibbs is putting at least some of the White House press corps to sleep.
DE Sen: Castle Leads Biden
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
While one PPP poll finds the state's elected Democrats rather popular, another new PPP poll finds Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) leading Atty. Gen. Beau Biden (D) in a potential 2010 Senate special election.
Castle leads Biden by 44%-36% margin, with 20% undecided. Castle (54%/33%) holds slightly higher approval and disapproval ratings than Biden (49%/27%).
Despite Castle's lead in the poll, the nine-term congressman said yesterday that the Senate is not on his mind...yet.
"While it's always nice to be ahead in the polls, they will not influence my decisions for the 2010 election. I haven't closed any doors on my political options, but at this time, my priority remains the needs of our state and its representation in the House of Representatives," Castle said in a statement, according to the Wilmington News Journal.
Poll: Delaware Loves Its Dems
Posted by Kyle Trygstad | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
Never has PPP "ever found a Governor with as high an approval rating as Delaware's Jack Markell or a Senator with numbers as good as Tom Carper," the polling firm reports today.
Markell (D) was elected in November with 68% of the vote, and now enjoys a 62% approval rating, including 76% of Democrats and a plurality of Republicans (42% approve/32% disapprove). Overall, just 17% disapprove of Markell's job performance.
Carper (D), re-elected in 2006 with 70% of the vote, has a 57%/26% approval rating. President Obama remains popular in the state as well, with a 63%/31% job approval rating.
Sen. Ted Kaufman (D), appointed to replace Joe Biden in the Senate, is still widely unknown, with 41% holding no opinion of him.
