Do the Dems want John Boehner to succeed?

Of all the zany antics of the American left in recent years, one of the zaniest was the flurry of media questions after the 2008 election about whether Republicans wanted Obama to succeed or fail.

That question was right up there with, "Do you still beat your spouse?" Any answer would put a Republican on the defensive, and that was the point of asking such a stupid question in the first place.

Never mind that McCain's lackluster campaign gave Obama nominal opposition at best in 2008. Never mind the left did everything it could to cause George W. Bush to fail for eight years. Never mind that – not to put too fine a point on the obvious – it is standard in politics to oppose one's opposition. The left said Obama won and was thereby entitled to everyone's support, and they declared the question closed.

Rush Limbaugh spoke for mainstream America when said he wanted Obama to fail – and look at the firestorm he started on the left.

But there is more involved here than one asinine question posed two years ago by hypocritical leftists. The very question reveals a core tactic used by the radical left, one that the new Republican Congress had better learn to recognize and to counter.

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The long march of the cultural Marxists followed a simple principle: The left does not reason, they do not defend, and they do not debate. They attack. They seize control of the political narrative. As long as the left is on the offensive and the mainstream is on the defensive, the actual topic does not matter. The mainstream ends up fighting on the left's terms. Over time, the mainstream wears down, and we compromise our liberty at the expense of an ever-expanding government.

DVD explains how Marxism became a part of the fabric of "The Land of the Free": "Cultural Marxism: The Corruption of America"

Where do our liberal guardians of "the will of the people" stand now that the people have given a hearty "hell no" to Obama and his accomplices in the 2010 election? Has Obama been asked by the media if he wants John Boehner to succeed or fail as House speaker? Have the Democrats been goaded to give up any opposition to Republican plans because the Republicans won in a landslide?

They have not and they will not, because, with a few exceptions, liberals own the news media and they control the political narrative. And the liberals and their media are about to mount an offensive to defend Obamacare and raise the debt ceiling that will be stunning in its audacity and hypocrisy. They will attack with platoons of pitiful victims deployed as human shields in front of them.

The narrative will be, "Will the Republicans ignore the needs of these poor sick people? Will Republicans shut down the government and harm millions of children and elderly?"

We are about to find out whether the Republicans have finally learned how to fight the enemy within our gates. If they allow themselves to be put in a defensive posture by the left yet again, we will know that the old description of the Tories as "the stupid party" now applies to the Republicans.

On the other hand, if the Republicans seize the high moral ground and put the liberals on the defensive for a change, there is hope for them and for the republic.

How could Republicans seize control of the political narrative?

First, they could propose a resolution apologizing to the American people for the sordid vote-buying and arrogance of the last Congress, for passing thousands of pages of legislation that they did not have the decency to read, and for thumbing their noses at the clear will of the people. Make the left defend not just the content of Obamacare but the sleazy way they passed it.

Second, parade witness after witness from the private sector whose businesses would be ruined by the demands of Obamacare. Talk about jobs lost. Ask every Democrat in Congress about their experience running private businesses. None? Hmmm.

Third, expose the Food and Drug Administration's surreptitious efforts to slip death panels in the back door by administrative fiat. Call witnesses and name names.

Fourth, pair the debate about the repeal of Obamacare with proposals for free-market reforms. Make the Democrats come out against reforms that would benefit employers and taxpayers instead of enlarging government. Cite the debt with every other breath.

Fifth, frame the debt-ceiling debate in terms of our children, the ones who will inherit the debt. Challenge the left to "put children first" by not spending them further into bankruptcy.

Finally, the rest of us could flood talk shows and editorial pages with this question for Democrats: "Do you want Boehner and the Republicans to succeed?"

They won the election, you know.

Tim Daughtry is a conservative writer, speaker and political consultant with Concord Bridge Consulting in Greensboro, N.C.