NYT Hopes Shootings Upend GOP Agenda

From a shameless New York Times:

For Boehner, Rampage Imposes Its Own Agenda

By CARL HULSE
January 11, 2011

WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner expected to spend his first celebratory weeks as the new leader of the House showcasing his party’s differences with the Democrats.

But the shooting rampage in Arizona upended those plans. Now Mr. Boehner is being called on to play a far less partisan role, leading Republicans and Democrats alike through a difficult period.

How he performs will not only be crucial in shaping his national image, but also could frame his relations with his own party and with the Democratic minority…

Mr. Boehner, other House leaders and their aides are moving cautiously and have not said how soon normal Congressional business will resume, though it is likely that some semblance of routine will be restored next week.

Aware that a crisis can play out politically in unforeseen ways, House officials say decisions are being made day to day, and depend on factors like the medical condition of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other shooting victims, and on the national mood.

It is a difficult test in the early going for the new speaker, who remains largely unfamiliar to most Americans…

In other words, The Times is issuing a warning to Mr. John A. Boehner. They will do whatever they can to tar his image with this horrendous crime if he doesn’t toe the line and back down.

Mr. Boehner’s allies say he is playing from strength: he has been calling for more civility in the House for some time and has never cast himself as a take-no-prisoners partisan warrior in the style of former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Subtle message: ‘don’t be partisan or we will Gingrich you.’ Clearly, the Democrats are still amazed at the success of their own rhetoric in connecting the Oklahoma City bombing to conservatives.

And why not? They were able to stop the ‘Gingrich Revolution’ by equating any opposition to the Democrat agenda to mass murder. In fact, that worked so well, they always try to do it again with the latest monstrous crime.

His response has drawn praise from Democrats.

“He has said the right things and set the right tone,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a member of the Democratic leadership. “I think he has acted swiftly, effectively and responsibly.”

And the most important thing for any Republican leader is to have Democrats and the New York Times commend you.

Other Democrats say they will judge Mr. Boehner more by whether he allows the House to slide back into the confrontational politics that have been typical in recent years, but absent in the days since the shootings.

Again, this is a subtle threat masquerading as a news story.

Before the attack, the highest priority of House Republicans was their drive to repeal the health care overhaul passed last year. The repeal effort had led to some of the divisive discourse that is now under scrutiny…

Exactly why is the debate about healthcare under scrutiny? Because of the news media’s outrageous propaganda campaign which tried to tied a healthy political debate to the acts of an obvious lunatic?

Is the the New York Times trying to kill political debate in this country?

Democrats and others are watching to see whether Mr. Boehner issues a call to change the tone in the House…

Just in case they were being too subtle, they repeat the threat.

Mr. Boehner comes to the matter as a less polarizing figure than many other well-known Republicans.

“He is no Sarah Palin,” said John Feehery, a lobbyist who was a spokesman for a former Republican speaker, J. Dennis Hastert. “He has a steady hand, and he is providing the right touch.”

Subtext: ‘it’s not too late. You can still escape the fate of Sarah Palin.’ Who by the way, more or less pulled the trigger for Mr. Loughner, at least according to our watchdog news media.

The shootings, while causing Mr. Boehner to reshuffle his overall plans, provide him with the opportunity to unify a chamber rent by partisanship and now reeling from violence…

Subtle, aren’t they?

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