The GOP split isn’t between Tea Party extremists and “Establishment” moderates. It’s between extremists who want to restore the Bush strategy of running parallel covert and overt agendas vs. extremists who want to openly assert a right-wing agenda.

Lessons of 2012: The Struggle Downballot

The Lessons of 2012: The President’s four-year grand strategy worked.

By Ed Kilgore, James Vega and J. P. Green
Although it is only a few days since the 2012 election ended, the national media is already settling into a familiar political narrative regarding the GOP, a narrative that goes as follows: the Republican Party, having suffered major setbacks at the polls, is now “reassessing” its approach and seeking ways to “moderate” its image and positions.
This is a profoundly comfortable and comforting narrative–one that reflects a kind of ceremonial ritual in American politics. A political party, chastened by defeat, is widely praised by mainstream commentators as it moves back toward the center, re-establishing the basic “balance” and “moderation” of American political life.

But in this case there is one overwhelming problem with this narrative: it is profoundly and dangerously wrong.
Read the entire memo.

By James Vega
Dear __________ ,
I’ve just read your letter in which you criticize my “lack of objectivity” about the upcoming elections and assert your view that “I don’t believe the people who dominate the Republican Party now are really any less moral or empathic toward minorities, the poor and disadvantaged than are the people who dominate the Democratic Party. I find much to disagree with in the orthodoxy of both political parties but I simply do not believe either one is genuinely less moral than the other.
Read the entire memo.

By James Vega
A report two weeks ago on the effect of the Drone strikes in Pakistan has stimulated a range of quite fierce criticisms of Obama — criticisms that have appeared in publications other than the traditionally anti-war and anti-militarist progressive press.
Read the entire memo.

By Andrew Levison
In a May 7th New York Times article Nicholas Confessore dramatically described the profound change in progressive and Democratic strategy that is now being debated among donors, campaign managers and political strategists–a change driven by the overwhelming financial advantage that Citizen’s United has now given business and the wealthy in political advertising.
Read the entire memo.

By Andrew Levison
As Election Day 2012 draws near it will become more and more apparent that the white working class is a pivotal group whose electoral choice will largely determine the outcome. If the percentage of white working class support for Obama remains where it is today, in the low to mid 30’s, an Obama victory will be extremely difficult. If Obama’s level of support rises reasonably close the percentage he received in 2008, Obama’s victory becomes almost certain. As a result, in the weeks between now and November 2nd there will be a huge outpouring of analyses seeking to explain the opinions and likely electoral choices of white working class voters.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of these analyses will be fundamentally wrong.
Read the entire memo.

By Andrew Levison
In the last two weeks an energetic argument about voting trends among white “working class” voters and the right way to properly define the group itself has mushroomed across the pages of the New York Times, the U.K. Guardian, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly and a variety of other political journals. The debate is intense and of critical importance because as the 2012 election nears it has become clear that the “base” voters of the Obama coalition– youth, minorities, single women, educated professionals and others are not by themselves sufficient to insure his re-election. By most calculations Obama must win somewhere close to 40% of white “working class” voters (defined as those with less than a four year college degree) in order to win the election. Right now Obama’s support in this group hovers in the low to mid-thirties.
Read the entire memo.

by Andrew Levison
David Barton is a well known conservative author and exponent of the “America was originally meant to be a Christian Nation” perspective. His latest book is called The Jefferson Lies–exposing the myths you’ve always believed about Thomas Jefferson.
Aside from some digressions into the subjects of Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemmings and his ownership of slaves, the main thrust of the book is simple. It seeks to show that–aside from what Barton calls a few “nuances of some particular doctrines”–Thomas Jefferson was essentially a conventional, deeply religious Christian.
Read the entire memo.