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CBS News Political Director: 'Obama Can Only Cement His Legacy If He Destroys the GOP'
NewsBusters.org ^ | January 19, 2013 | Noel Sheppard

Posted on 01/19/2013 7:44:56 PM PST by Kaslin

"The president who came into office speaking in lofty terms about bipartisanship and cooperation can only cement his legacy if he destroys the GOP. If he wants to transform American politics, he must go for the throat."

So astonishingly wrote CBS News political director John Dickerson at Slate Friday evening in a piece astonishingly titled "Go for the Throat! Why if he wants to transform American politics, Obama must declare war on the Republican Party."

Dickerson is no longer interested in Obama trying bipartisanship in his second term - as if that's what the President did in his first.

"Obama’s only remaining option is to pulverize," Dickerson wrote. "Whether he succeeds in passing legislation or not, given his ambitions, his goal should be to delegitimize his opponents. Through a series of clarifying fights over controversial issues, he can force Republicans to either side with their coalition's most extreme elements or cause a rift in the party that will leave it, at least temporarily, in disarray."

Did I mention this man was the political director for CBS News?

"[B]y exploiting the weaknesses of today’s Republican Party," Dickerson continued, "Obama has an opportunity to hasten the demise of the old order by increasing the political cost of having the GOP coalition defined by Second Amendment absolutists, climate science deniers, supporters of 'self-deportation' and the pure no-tax wing."

"The president can stir up these fights by poking the fear among Republicans that the party is becoming defined by its most extreme elements, which will in turn provoke fear among the most faithful conservatives that weak-willed conservatives are bending to the popular mood," added Dickerson. "That will lead to more tin-eared, dooming declarations of absolutism like those made by conservatives who sought to define the difference between legitimate and illegitimate rape—and handed control of the Senate to Democrats along the way."

"Presidents don’t usually sow discord in their inaugural addresses, though the challenge of writing a speech in which the call for compromise doesn’t evaporate faster than the air out of the president’s mouth might inspire him to shake things up a bit," Dickerson concluded. "If it doesn’t, and he tries to conjure our better angels or summon past American heroes, then it will be among the most forgettable speeches, because the next day he’s going to return to pitched political battle. He has no time to waste."

So the recommendation of CBS News's political director is that Obama begin his second term by "going for the throat" of his opponents to destroy one of the nation's two political parties.

Is this in any way appropriate for a so-called journalist that's supposed to remain neutral and impartial in his dealings with political leaders?

This is what one expects from people on MSNBC.

After Bob Schieffer's absurd comments earlier in the week comparing Obama's anti-gun initiatives to America defeating the Nazis in World War II, is CBS making another huge turn to the left further distancing itself from being an impartial news source?

If not, maybe someone at CBS ought to remind Dickerson of what his role is at the organization and what it means to be a journalist.

Like most in his industry, it appears Dickerson has forgotten


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: goforthethroat; obamalied; obamunism; partisanmediashills; thechicagoway
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1 posted on 01/19/2013 7:45:03 PM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Sounds to me like an open call for a totalitarian government and should be treated as such.


2 posted on 01/19/2013 7:46:27 PM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Kaslin

Nothing to worry about Mr. President, the GOP is destroying itself.


3 posted on 01/19/2013 7:47:33 PM PST by doc1019
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To: Kaslin

Democrats should be very careful about using phrases like “declaring war on Republicans” because the last time they declared war on Republicans, things didn’t work out too well for them.


4 posted on 01/19/2013 7:47:36 PM PST by vbmoneyspender
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To: Kaslin

This CBS moron obviously hasn’t seen a red/blue election map.


5 posted on 01/19/2013 7:48:24 PM PST by Mike Darancette (Soylent Green is Boomers)
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To: Kaslin
"Do not interrupt your enemy when he is busy destroying himself." -- Sun Tzu

My advice to Obama would be to ignore the GOP. They are likely to be nonexistent before this term is over.

6 posted on 01/19/2013 7:48:24 PM PST by ClearCase_guy (Nothing will change until after the war.)
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To: Kaslin

Finally, the naked truth from the MSM — what they really support. Dictatorship.


7 posted on 01/19/2013 7:49:15 PM PST by FlyingEagle
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To: Kaslin

The left has always wanted a one party govt., just like it was in the good, old USSR.


8 posted on 01/19/2013 7:49:18 PM PST by chessplayer
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To: everyone







Please Contribute Tonight

9 posted on 01/19/2013 7:52:59 PM PST by onyx (FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
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To: Kaslin

Well let’s hope that if he destroys the GOP he will wake the sleeping dragon of conservatism! It is time for the wheel to turn and crush the socialists.


10 posted on 01/19/2013 7:54:04 PM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Have you looked at the states? More Republican governors and legislatures... that is where the future of the party is; not the Republicans in Congress.


11 posted on 01/19/2013 7:54:49 PM PST by DLfromthedesert
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To: Kaslin
ObamaLibMediaCheerleaders-1-1-1-2 photo ObamaLibMediaCheerleaders-1-1-1-2-1.jpg
12 posted on 01/19/2013 7:55:49 PM PST by timestax (AMERICAN MEDIA= DOMESTIC ENEMY)
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To: Kaslin

In other words, Barry needs to throw away Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals handbook and start using Mein Kampf as his playbook. Pull on those jackboots Barry!


13 posted on 01/19/2013 7:57:49 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (HealthCare IS NOT a right. The RIGHT to keep and bear arms is.)
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To: Kaslin

He’s absolutely correct and Obama will shatter the GOP into factions and no single faction will have the ability to win national elections. The famed 40% conservative poll itself is meaningless as it is self identifying and there is no definition of conservative in the question posed to the respondees. Given the bias of the media Obama will succeed unless he’s totally incompetent or Reid or Pelosi do something so stupid it can’t be covered up.


14 posted on 01/19/2013 7:59:40 PM PST by xkaydet65
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To: Kaslin

Gee. Golly. Color me surprised. Head of CBS News is a drooling Marxist. Wow. Shock.

Time to take out the enemies, folks.


15 posted on 01/19/2013 8:00:08 PM PST by RightOnline (I am Andrew Breitbart!)
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To: Kaslin

Interesting that this guy suggests the GOP can be destroyed by their “extreme” elements. However, each of those elements is actually a traditional, normal American point of view that would be considered standard by many intelligent people years ago. I suggest that if the GOP rejects these “extreme” views, the GOP will have no identity at all. Just who will the GOP attract to their tent? The Dems werent’ destroyed by catering to real extremists. Now the Dem party is defined by extremism and anti-freedom America hating. Is this CBS guy suggesting that the GOP can survive by being the Dems? Come on. There are millions of Americans looking for some representation in gov’t and it appearrs only leftist extremists are getting representation. There is a big vacuum in the political landscape and the GOP is the only party positioned to take advantage of it—the conventional political wisdom is missing this big opportunity.


16 posted on 01/19/2013 8:01:38 PM PST by iacovatx (Conservatism is the political center--it is not "right" of center)
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To: DLfromthedesert

That’s what Rick Santorum has been saying. Don’t wait for congress to save us because its not going to happen. The states are our last line of defense and they’re actually stepping up.

You have no idea how big it is for Michigan to go right to work with a RINO heavy state government and they’re showing more stones than our congress in DC.


17 posted on 01/19/2013 8:02:09 PM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Kaslin
The MSM media has abandoned even the slightest pretense of being anything but Obama supporters.

They are openly and proudly part of the Obama Army, devoted to wiping out conservatives, constitutionalists and others who oppose Obama's leftist restructuring of America.

Men and women alike - they would all have his babies if they could.


18 posted on 01/19/2013 8:05:20 PM PST by Iron Munro (I Miss America, don't you?)
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To: Kaslin
We were right about CBS all along - they're biased and they hate us.

Conservative citizens knew CBS was lying about being objective journalists. We can spot liars. Republican leaders will know now too...

On the lighter brighter side maybe this one CBS sh*it didn't get the 'keep lying to the American people' memo.

Happens. Anyone hear a train whistle in our future if we're not careful? Re-education camps?

19 posted on 01/19/2013 8:11:28 PM PST by GOPJ ( Gang members breaking down YOUR door- daughter and wife screaming for help - Dems took YOUR gun....)
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To: Kaslin

Sounds like the left wants to expand the genocide past the 150 million mark even before they disarm us. These genieasses don’t realize that we know what is coming.


20 posted on 01/19/2013 8:14:48 PM PST by MtnClimber (I did not vote for 0bama, someone else did that!)
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