I guess they finally realized the running against Bush thing was lame.

The way to go is so obvious. Simply tell the truth. The Republican Party is fueled by the Tea Party activists, who are the angriest segment of the American voting populace “very enthusiastic” about voting in November.

What does this mean? Meet the Republican Tea Party.

Just think of some of the things Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, Michelle Bachman, Joe “BP apologizer” Barton, and many other Tea Party enthusiasts have said. For women voters, think about what Sarah Palin’s “mama grizzlies” stand for, which is turning back the clock on women’s individual freedoms.

For Democrats, this shouldn’t be hard. Republicans have made it easier, with the words and beliefs of Tea Party activists a gift to exploit. The Democratic Party lays it out beautifully and in full quote-a-rific detail (many more quotes at the link):

1. REPEAL THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM)

Rep. Mike Pence: “House Republicans Will Not Rest Until We Repeal Obama Care.” “‘House Republicans will not rest until we repeal Obama care lock, stock and barrel and replace it with health care reform that will lower the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government,’ Pence said. Such a move to repeal is futile as Democrats have majorities in the House, Senate and hold the White House. And even if Republicans win back the House and Senate, they probably couldn’t override an Obama veto.” [Politico, 4/14/10]

FL Senate Candidate Marco Rubio Pledged Full Repeal Of The Health Care Bill. U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio today pledged to support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover that passes this year. In signing the Club for Growth’s “Repeal It!” health care pledge, Rubio said, “The proposed government takeover of health care being rammed through Congress runs contrary to the principles of limited government that have made Americans the freest and most prosperous people ever. As a U.S. senator, I will sponsor and support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover passed in 2010, and replace it with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government. “This is not just about simply opposing and repealing the Obama-Reid-Pelosi agenda. This is about putting America back on a limited government track. This will require opposing new spending binges, but also turning back some of the mistakes made by President Obama and this Congress, including the pending health care bill.” [Marco Rubio release, 1/14/10]

2. PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY OR PHASE IT OUT ALTOGETHER

· Rep. Paul Ryan’s “Road Map For America’s Future” Called For Privatizing Social Security. Rep. Paul Ryan introduced an economic plan called “A Road Map for America’s Future,” which called for changes to Social Security. According to the Ryan, “for those under 55, the plan offers the option of investing over one-third of their current Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts, similar to the Thrift Savings Plan available to federal employees.” [Rep. Paul Ryan, Wall Street Journal, 1/26/10; HR 4529, introduced 1/27/10]

· NV Senate Candidate Sharron Angle Said “We Need To Phase Medicare And Social Security Out In Favor Of Something Privatized.” In May 2010, the Associated Press reported, “Sharron Angle wants to wipe out Social Security.” During a May 2010 debate on Face to Face, Sharron Angle said, “We need to phase Medicare and Social Security out in favor of something privatized.” She later added, “Going forward we need to phase it out, give people an opportunity to either opt into the old system or go for a new system where they have their own healthcare savings account or they have their own retirement savings account which is portable and goes with them from job to job and for those who are entering the workforce right now they come on to the new system so it’s a phased-in system so it’s something [inaudible] privatize.” [Associated Press, 5/27/10; Face to Face Debate, 5/19/10]

· IN Senate Candidate Dan Coats Said That He Supported Implementing Entitlement Reform “Along The Lines Of What Paul Ryan Has Proposed.” Dan Coats “recalls that during one GOP candidate forum this spring, the candidates were asked what specifically they would do to rein in federal spending. While other candidates suggested slashing the Department of Education or a 1 percent across-the-board spending cut, Coats told the audience that those proposals simply ‘wouldn’t put a dent’ in the federal debt. What we need to do, Coats says, is implement entitlement reform ‘along the lines of what Paul Ryan has proposed.’” [Weekly Standard, 5/12/10]

· Rep. Jeb Hensarling Said That We Should Privatize Social Security And Medicare This Week. “Democrats are hoping to make the GOP pay for Jeb Hensarling’s brief sojourn onto ye olde political third rail (health care’s the new one) — privatizing Social Security. On Monday, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked the Texas Republican what solutions he had to cut the budget deficit, and Hensarling, straightfowardly replied that the only solution was to curb entitlements, including Social Security. ‘I’m willing to say that part of the social contract will need to be re-engineered,’ Hensarling said, ‘You can get better health care and better retirement security if you go to a defined contribution plan. We had this debate in Social Security a few years ago,’ added Hensarling, who predicted that such a program would have to be part of any GOP alternative budget-cutting plan.” [Politico, 2/2/10]

· Rep. Michele Bachmann Suggested That We Get Rid Of Medicare And Social Security. “Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is putting forward a very daring proposal for how to fix Social Security and Medicare, Think Progress reports: Get rid of them. Bachmann spoke this past weekend at the right-wing Constitutional Coalition in St. Louis, Missouri, and put forth her plan. ‘So, what you have to do, is keep faith with the people that are already in the system, that don’t have any other options, we have to keep faith with them. But basically what we have to do is wean everybody else off,’ said Bachmann. ‘And wean everybody off because we have to take those unfunded net liabilities off our bank sheet, we can’t do it. So we just have to be straight with people. So basically, whoever our nominee is, is going to have to have a Glenn Beck chalkboard and explain to everybody this is the way it is.’” [TPM, 2/9/10]

· Nine House Republicans Have Co-Sponsored Ryan’s Budget Plan. “So far, nine Republicans including Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Rep. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) have signed on to co-sponsor Ryan’s budget roadmap.” [TPM, 2/9/10]

3. END MEDICARE AS IT PRESENTLY EXISTS

· AP: The 2009 Republican Budget Would “End Medicare As It Is Presently Known.” “For their part, House Republicans are offering an alternative that eventually would end Medicare as it is presently known.” [AP, 4/1/09]

· NV Senate Candidate Sharron Angle Said “We Need To Phase Medicare And Social Security Out In Favor Of Something Privatized.” In May 2010, the Associated Press reported, “Sharron Angle wants to wipe out Social Security.” During a May 2010 debate on Face to Face, Sharron Angle said, “We need to phase Medicare and Social Security out in favor of something privatized.” She later added, “Going forward we need to phase it out, give people an opportunity to either opt into the old system or go for a new system where they have their own healthcare savings account or they have their own retirement savings account which is portable and goes with them from job to job and for those who are entering the workforce right now they come on to the new system so it’s a phased-in system so it’s something [inaudible] privatize.” [Associated Press, 5/27/10; Face to Face Debate, 5/19/10]

· Rep. Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal Replaces Medicare With A Voucher To Buy Private Health Insurance. “The Roadmap secures Medicare for current beneficiaries, while making common-sense reforms to save this critical program. … For those currently under 55 – as they become Medicare-eligible – it creates a Medicare payment, initially averaging $11,000, to be used to purchase a Medicare certified plan. The payment is adjusted to reflect medical inflation, and pegged to income, with low-income individuals receiving greater support. The plan also provides risk adjustment, so those with greater medical needs receive a higher payment. … Based on consultation with the Office of the Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and using Congressional Budget Office [CBO] these reforms will make Medicare permanently solvent.” [American Road Map, accessed 1/27/10]

· Rep. Jeb Hensarling Said That We Should Privatize Social Security And Medicare. “Democrats are hoping to make the GOP pay for Jeb Hensarling’s brief sojourn onto ye olde political third rail (health care’s the new one) — privatizing Social Security. On Monday, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked the Texas Republican what solutions he had to cut the budget deficit, and Hensarling, straightforwardly replied that the only solution was to curb entitlements, including Social Security. ‘I’m willing to say that part of the social contract will need to be re-engineered,’ Hensarling said, ‘You can get better health care and better retirement security if you go to a defined contribution plan. We had this debate in Social Security a few years ago,’ added Hensarling, who predicted that such a program would have to be part of any GOP alternative budget-cutting plan.” [Politico, 2/2/10]

· Nine House Republicans Have Co-Sponsored Ryan’s Budget Plan. “So far, nine Republicans including Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Rep. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) have signed on to co-sponsor Ryan’s budget roadmap.” [TPM, 2/9/10]

· Reps. Bob Inglis And Rep. Jeff Flake Support Ryan’s Budget “Roadmap.” “Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) testified today before the House Budget Committee that a proposal to dramatically overhaul entitlement programs is ‘bold’ and signed on as a co-sponsor of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget ‘roadmap’ plan which cuts and then partially privatizes Social Security and creates a voucher system for Medicare. Inglis said in testimony today that he’s ‘comfortable’ with the plan, which he said would help ‘get our fiscal house in order.’ The Ryan plan also has new co-sponsors: Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).” [TPM, 3/3/10]

4. EXTEND THE BUSH TAX BREAKS FOR THE WEALTHY AND BIG OIL

At a cost of nearly $700 billion, extend the Bush tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and big oil, which are set to expire and which have and will continue to explode the federal budget deficit.

· Sen. John Kyl’s Spokesman Argued That Extending The Bush Tax Cuts Was Important Regardless Of Its Impact On The Deficit. “After Senate Republicans used the increasing deficit as an excuse to shoot down Democratic attempts to extend unemployment benefits, Democrats are questioning if that commitment to fiscal discipline will continue when it comes time to extend the Bush tax cuts. … Some Republicans contend there is a distinction between opposing legislation that extends spending measures, like the extender bill, and voting against tax increases that would negatively affect working families, even if both proposals add to the red ink in Washington. ‘Allowing Americans to keep more of their money through tax rate reductions is an entirely separate issue,’ said Ryan Patmintra, a spokesman for Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.). ‘If our hope is to get Americans back to work, wouldn’t it make sense to leave capital with the small businesses and taxpayers who actually create jobs?’” [The Hill, 6/27/10]

· Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Said That Kyl’s View Was The “Majority Republican View” And Said “There’s No Evidence Whatsoever That The Bush Tax Cuts Actually Diminished Revenue.” “That’s been the majority Republican view for some time,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told TPMDC this afternoon after the weekly GOP press conference. “That there’s no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue. They increased revenue, because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy. So I think what Senator Kyl was expressing was the view of virtually every Republican on that subject.” [TPM, 7/13/10]

· Sen. Tom Coburn Said That Extending The Bush Tax Cuts “Isn’t A Cost.” Sen. Tom Coburn: “Continuing the [Bush] tax cuts isn’t a cost, if you added new taxes, new tax cuts, I would agree that’s a cost. It’s not a cost. That’s where we are today. That’s the baseline. It doesn’t score anything to continue them. It costs money if we increase, which I would be willing to do. I think we ought to cut corporate taxes.” [C-SPAN, 7/14/10]

· FL Senate Candidate Marco Rubio Said He Was In Favor Of Making The Bush Tax Cuts Permanent. Marco Rubio: “I would argue in favor of making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. And I would argue doing it now, before they recess, so that people have some level of certainty.” [Fox News, 6/28/10]

5. REPEAL WALL STREET REFORM

Roll back the toughest consumer protections ever enacted, allow banks to continue to grow too big to fail, and ensure that predatory lenders continue to utilize their most abusive practices. [...]

6. PROTECT THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OIL SPILL AND FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHES …

Cap liabilities for those responsible for environmental disasters like the Gulf oil spill and let companies like BP decide which victims deserve compensation for the disaster and what the timeline for relief should be.

· Senate Republicans Are Against A Tax On Oil Companies To Help Clean Up Future Oil Spills. “Senate Democratic leaders want to impose a 41 cent per barrel tax on oil companies to help clean up future spills — more than five times what the companies pay now — but Republicans say the effort is deceptive because there’s no guarantee that the money would be used for that purpose. … The dispute is helping to stall an emergency spending bill that would revive expired unemployment benefits, provide money for summer jobs for at-risk youths and pay for other programs. The oil fee would help reduce the bill’s potential deficit spending to about $78.6 billion over 10 years. ‘This is the ultimate exercise in bait and switch,’ Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said Wednesday. ‘It steals that money out of the fund,’ said Sen. David Vitter, R-La., referring to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.” [McClatchy, 6/9/10]

· Minority Leader John Boehner Said That Obama Overreacted To The BP Oil Spill. Boehner said Obama overreacted to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill might warrant a “pause” in deepwater drilling, but Obama’s blanket ban on drilling in the gulf — which a judge overturned last week — could devastate the region’s economy, he said. Louisiana State University scientists estimate the ban could have affected more than 10,000 jobs. [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/29/10]

· Rep. Joe Barton Said “It Is A Tragedy Of The First Proportion That A Private Corporation Can Be Subjected To What I Would Characterize As A Shakedown, Is This Case A $20 Billion Shakedown. … So I Apologize.” Rep. Joe Barton, the ranking member of the committee, has bold words about the $20 billion escrow fund: “It is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case a $20 billion shakedown … a $20 billion slush fund, that’s unprecedented in our nation’s history, that has no legal standing. … So I’m only speaking for myself, I’m not speaking for anybody else. But I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, is subject to to some sort of political pressure that is, again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.” [TPM, 6/17/10]

· Sen. John Cornyn, On Barton, Said, “I Share The Concern.” Asked about Rep. Barton calling the escrow account a “shakedown,” Sen. John Cornyn, chair of the NRSC, responded that he’s glad the money’s there but understands where Barton is coming from. Cornyn: “I think it’s comforting to know that there will be resources set aside and available to pay for legitimate claim.”"I think it’s good that there’s going to be some money there, I don’t know whether it’s going to be enough money to pay all the claims. They should pay the legitimate claims. But the part that Representative Barton is expressing some concern about, that I share the concern, is this has really become a political issue for the President and he’s trying to deal with it by showing how tough he’s being against BP. The problem is BP’s the only one who really is in control of shutting down this well, and he’s trying to mitigate, I think, his own political problems.” [TPM, 6/17/10]

· Rep. Tom Price And The 114-Member Republican Study Committee Called The $20 Billion BP Escrow Account A “Chicago-Style Political Shakedown.” The Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative members of the House, released a statement today calling the $20 billion BP escrow account a “Chicago-style political shakedown.” “BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics, wrote chairman Tom Price (R-GA). “These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control.”[TPM, 6/16/10]

· Rep. Roy Blunt Declined to Criticize Barton When Asked, Saying, “Why Should I Comment on It?” “Rep. Roy Blunt said Monday that he’s got nothing to say about Texas Rep. Joe Barton’s apology last week to BP over what Barton called a ‘shakedown’ by the White House. Blunt, a Springfield Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Sen. Kit Bond, spoke to reporters in a conference call to tout the fact that his campaign has traveled to all 114 counties in Missouri. Asked about the Barton flap, which occurred Thursday morning during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, Blunt said he was not aware of the comments until later that day. ‘By the time I was aware of his comments, he had apologized for it,’ Blunt said. ‘He doesn’t agree with his own comment, apparently, so why should I comment on it?’” [News Leader, 6/22/10]

· Rep. Trent Franks Said Barton’s Comments Were A Reaction To The President “Not Possess[Ing] The Power Or Authority To Make Such An Arrogant Command To A Private Company.” Rep. Trent Franks defended both Rep. Barton and Rep. Price stating: “It’s my opinion that Mr. Barton and Mr. Price’s comments were more of a reaction to the arrogance in President Obama’s speech where he said he was going to ‘inform’ BP that they would set aside this separate compensation fund to be controlled by a third party. Under our laws and Constitution, the President does not possess the power or authority to make such an arrogant command to a private company.” [Rep Franks release, 6/18/10]

· Rep. Steve King: Barton Was Right That $20 Billion Escrow Account Was A “Shakedown.” “One Republican lawmaker said Monday he agreed with Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-Texas) apology to BP. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he thought Barton was right to call the Obama administration’s effort to force BP to create a $20 billion escrow account to pay out claims to victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill a ‘shakedown.’ ‘I think Joe Barton was spot-on when he called it a ‘shakedown.’ That’s part of this administration’s process,’ King said Monday on the conservative Laura Ingraham radio show. ‘If you look at all they have nationalized during this administration — some started during the Bush administration — it should tell you, they want to swallow up as many Fortune 500 companies as they can,’ he said.” [The Hill, 6/21/10]

· Rep. Ralph Hall Defended Barton’s BP Apology. Rep. Ralph Hall: Defended Rep. Barton’s statement to BP CEO Hayward saying he probably meant to use “the word ‘disturbed’ – disturbed that the president would take action assessing a monetary figure against any American entity without constitutional or statutory authority.” [Dallas Morning News, 6/19/10]

· Rep. Michele Bachmann Said The Administration’s Policy Toward BP Was “All About Extortion.” Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) said Tuesday that President Barack Obama is exceeding his legitimate constitutional authority in telling BP it must set up an independent fund, not controlled by the company, for compensating victims of the Gulf oil spill. She described the administration’s policy as an action “that’s all about extortion.” [Fox News, 6/16/10]

7. ABOLISH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION …

8. ABOLISH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY …

9. ABOLISH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY …

10. REPEAL THE 17th AMENDMENT …

Isn’t it just like the Obama Democratic Party to omit the one thing the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party want to do first: curtail women’s individual freedoms. The Republican Tea Party also comes with a stringent fundamentalist belief that abstinence-only works, with medical science breakthroughs to control reproductive freedoms through pharmacology ignored.

All this said, the real issue is whether the DNC can get out Democrats to vote, which won’t be easy. Not even the netroots is all that enthused about Pres. Obama and his “accomplishments” from some reports. Independents aren’t either. Whether making the Republican Tea Party the target will work is another matter, because it won’t necessarily get out the Democratic vote, but it’s the best chance they’ve got.