Think Progress

GOP strategy memo revealed: This is about ‘making political points’ and ‘finger-pointing over blame.’

At 11 p.m. last night, after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) shut down Senate debate on the Climate Security Act by forcing the 492-page bill to be read in full, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) revealed the existence of a GOP strategy memo on the climate debate. The anonymous memo, provided to Reid “by a lobbyist involved in Republican strategy meetings,” explains that their climate strategy is “much more on making political points” than “affecting policy.” See the memo at the Wonk Room.




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56 Responses to “GOP strategy memo revealed: This is about ‘making political points’ and ‘finger-pointing over blame.’”

  1. MCMetal Says:

    The anonymous memo, provided to Reid “by a lobbyist involved in Republican strategy meetings,” explains that their climate strategy is “much more on making political points” than “affecting policy.”

    That's actually been their strategy on every issue for the last 3 decades........


  2. TeleMan Says:

    Freaking childish Republicans. In grade school I'm sure they were all sent home with notes that said "doesn't play well with others."

    They are poor sports.


  3. upside99 Says:

    "Form over sustance" The Repug mantra. But now, it is clear to 75% of the people, that they have neither!


  4. Shayne Says:

    It's all about the perpetual campaign not the country or even the world. Keeping the Republicans in control is the only thing these people care about. Not the constitution, not our rights and freedoms. They're all traitors to this country.


  5. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    I'd be a little suspicious of an "anonymous memo".

    But it does seem to describe the Republican strategy to an exceptional degree.


  6. Max-1 Says:

    .

    Just climate change...?

    .


  7. A Patriot Acting Says:

    "I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends... that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them."

    Adlai E. Stevenson Jr.


  8. Leftside Annie Says:

    The anonymous memo, provided to Reid “by a lobbyist involved in Republican strategy meetings,” explains that their climate strategy is “much more on making political points” than “affecting policy.”

    Making "political points"...??

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Say it isn't so, Mitchie!!!!!!!!!!!


  9. joe cantwell Says:

    the scum that is the republican party.

    *


  10. Leftside Annie Says:

    Hey, Prytania - eat sh*t and die!!!

    ~~ Anonymous


  11. StratRat Says:

    That is the right side in a nushell. The minute the discussion goes in a direction their pay masters don't like, shut down the entire discussion. No negotiation, no compromise, no adult like behavior. They take their ball and they walk home.

    Basically the whole mantra is:

    If I can't get it the way I want it; neither will the American people. Always party of country - always.


  12. StratRat Says:

    Always party of country - always.

    Always party OVER country - always.


  13. Zimzone Says:

    Boner, McConnell, and the rest of this gang of thieves need to be outed. Even Republicans don't want this type of politics played out on our time & money.

    McConnell is a sniveling little loser. Boner's a crybaby.

    Boner's up for re-election. I certainly hope the good people in Ohio see through his bullshit & can him.


  14. katy Says:

    Sen. Byrd released from hospital: spokesman
    Reuters - 1 hour ago
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Robert Byrd, who at 90 is the oldest member of the Senate, was released from a hospital on Thursday after three days of treatment for a mild infection, a spokesman for the West Virginia Democrat said.

    *

    Bush misused Iraq intelligence - US Senate report
    Reuters - 1 hour ago
    By Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - US President George W. Bush and his top policymakers exaggerated Saddam Hussein's links to terrorism and ignored doubts among intelligence agencies about Iraq's arms programs as they made their case ...


  15. TeleMan Says:

    Bush misused Iraq intelligence - US Senate report
    Reuters - 1 hour ago
    By Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - US President George W. Bush and his top policymakers exaggerated Saddam Hussein’s links to terrorism and ignored doubts among intelligence agencies about Iraq’s arms programs as they made their case …

    What about those criminals creating their own agency (Office of Special Plans) to stovepipe unvetted intelligence directly to the White House (from Chalibi(sp?) and Curveball)?


  16. hellinabucket Says:

    Here's a link Prytania

    http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/06/05/gop-climate-memo/

    you are funny.


  17. StratRat Says:

    Here’s a link Prytania

    http://thinkprogress.org/ wonkroom/ 2008/ 06/ 05/ gop-climate-memo/

    you are funny.

    No the d!ck is not funny. he's a traitor to our country. There is absolutely no way in hell an American can read this report about misleading us to war, and still support the criminal enterprise known as the Bush administration. No way. If the d!ck still supports Bush - after knowing the entire debacle was ginned up from whole cloth - there is no turning him around. My question sh!thead is why are you not fighting the good fight? Why are you allowing your felloe citizens to fight the fight? Your not a fraidy at are you? Oh, I forgot. If you support Bush you are a idiot first, scared second.


  18. tombaker Says:

    God-awful
    One-trick
    Pony

    The Republican Party: There is no shame when there is no conscience.


  19. dbadass Says:

    johnboy:
    what are you thoughts on global climate change?


  20. Shayne Says:

    Leftside Annie Says:

    Hey, Prytania - eat sh*t and die!!!

    ~~ Anonymous

    Yeah Prytania, we're going to quit right after this.


  21. Marie Says:

    This is further proof of that we what have suspected and observed for years if fact.


  22. Shayne Says:

    Hey, Prytania - eat sh*t and die!!!

    ~~ Anonymous

    Or maybe after this, you just never know.


  23. hussein toasterhead Says:

    johnboy Says:

    If you don’t believe the Democrats are not doing the same thing with this “Man Made Global Warming” Propaganda, you are as dumb as the message you preach.

    June 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
    ______

    I don't believe the Democrats are spreading "global warming propaganda." I believe the scientific consensus on anthropoegenic climate change speaks for itself. No propaganda is needed.


  24. hussein toasterhead Says:

    johnboy Says:

    Its still a hypothesis.

    June 5th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
    ______

    So is gravity. What's your point?


  25. dbadass Says:

    Is it a hypothesis you believe is a likely reality?


  26. Shayne Says:

    So johnboy my guess is you were homeschooled right. And science and math weren't exactly mom's strong suit. I bet reading the bible was her specialty, righ?


  27. Zimzone Says:

    hussein toasterhead Says:
    johnboy Says:
    Its still a hypothesis.
    June 5th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
    ______
    So is gravity. What’s your point?

    Gravity sucks and so do NeoCons!


  28. hussein toasterhead Says:

    johnboy Says:

    Damn, I though we figured that on out. What about centrifugal force is that one still up in the air?

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
    ______

    No, that's already been determined to be a fictitious force - an artifact of acceleration of a reference frame rather than a true force in the classical sense.


  29. StratRat Says:

    Shayne Says:

    So johnboy my guess is you were homeschooled right. And science and math weren’t exactly mom’s strong suit. I bet reading the bible was her specialty, righ?

    Yep, you got his number exactly right. Home schooled by a believer in ghosts, witches, and spirits. Which is all well and good, as long as you don't live on planet Earth.

    Being a troll is bad enough. Being an uneducated troll is worse still.


  30. hussein toasterhead Says:

    Zimzone Says:

    Gravity sucks and so do NeoCons!

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
    ______

    Not necessarily - General Relativity proposes that gravity does not suck, but it actually distorts the fabric of space-time causing smaller objects to accelerate towards a large object along a straight line defined by the curvature of space-time.

    However, your statement is still correct, in that neocons are well-known for distorting reality to suit their needs and whims.


  31. dbadass Says:

    So what do you think should be done?


  32. A Patriot Acting Says:

    johnboy
    That Rightie uninformed opinion on full display, I love it!


  33. Shayne Says:

    hussein toasterhead Says:

    Zimzone Says:

    Gravity sucks and so do NeoCons!

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
    ______

    Not necessarily - General Relativity proposes that gravity does not suck, but it actually distorts the fabric of space-time causing smaller objects to accelerate towards a large object along a straight line defined by the curvature of space-time.

    However, your statement is still correct, in that neocons are well-known for distorting reality to suit their needs and whims.

    **SMACK** They're talking to you johnboy, but you wouldn't understand would you?


  34. Shayne Says:

    johnboy Says:
    That superior Progressive mentality on full display, I love it!

    Glad to hear you're learning something while you hang around annoying the grownups.


  35. Shayne Says:

    johnboy Says:
    So what do you think should be done?

    Let the free market drive innovation and at all cost keep the government out of private business!

    Isn't that what we've been doing?


  36. StratRat Says:

    That superior Progressive mentality on full display, I love it!

    I appreciate the compliment. Now would someone please explain to the home schooled troll what a compliment is. The word has multiple syllables. Thanks in advance.


  37. Keltoi Says:

    hussein toasterhead Says:

    No, that’s already been determined to be a fictitious force - an artifact of acceleration of a reference frame rather than a true force in the classical sense..........Not necessarily - General Relativity proposes that gravity does not suck, but it actually distorts the fabric of space-time causing smaller objects to accelerate towards a large object along a straight line defined by the curvature of space-time.

    Show off.


  38. hussein toasterhead Says:

    johnboy Says:

    Let the free market drive innovation and at all cost keep the government out of private business!

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
    _______

    Ah yes - the same way the free market drove wonderful innovations like the New Orleans hurricane relief plan, no-income-no-asset loans, lead-filled Chinese toys, Roundup-Ready corn, and the more than 100,000 annual US deaths from cigarette-related lung cancer.

    Who needs government regulation, eh?


  39. trollsbwild Says:

    NO suprise that the GOP have been following the Rove doctrine of attempting to have a GOP majority forever.


  40. dbadass Says:

    Why then do you think the governments of nations all over the world are not following your plan. Why is the US military actively involved. Have they been duped?


  41. GeeDubs Says:

    Once again, let's fix the facts around the policy - the policy to be a stick-the-head-in-the-sand policy of denial. If you can make a political point, you WIN!!! No matter that you actually have no policy of substance, this is about the policy of politics - raw unadulterated politics.


  42. A Patriot Acting Says:

    johnboy Says:
    "Let the free market drive innovation and at all cost keep the government out of private business!"

    Great! Look how innovative big oil has been in ignoring scientific opinion and propagandizing their (biased) opinions on climate change. Look at how great it's been to be importing unregulated goods from China (lead laden toys, dangerous prescription drugs, tainted meat). Look at what a good thing it has been to have an Administration in collusion with contractor/friends to perpetuate a war that the Nation was lied into so they can all profit on the war like hyenas on a carcass. That "conservative" view of a free market system without any Gov't oversight or regulation is ONLY good for big business's bottom line and does nothing but breed the concept of short term profit over long term concerns for public safety and the environment. You know johnboy, to put it more simply, GO CHENEY YOURSELF!!


  43. hussein toasterhead Says:

    Keltoi Says:

    Show off.

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
    ______

    Nah - that's nothing. I didn't even START on the quantum mechanics theory of gravity, which I believe has something to do with superstrings and hubris.


  44. A Patriot Acting Says:

    Oh and let's not forget while discussing the benefits of a free market economy with no Gov't oversight just how well that has worked for the housing market and the economy in general. Man, these trolls get stupider day by day. I think somebody p1ssed in their kool aid today. hey johnboy, did today's kool aid taste a little more acidy than usual?


  45. A Patriot Acting Says:

    hussein toasterhead what does silly string and hummus have to do with anything? Quantom mechanics sounds like a Greek Birthday party.


  46. hussein toasterhead Says:

    A Patriot Acting Says:

    Oh and let’s not forget while discussing the benefits of a free market economy with no Gov’t oversight just how well that has worked for the housing market and the economy in general. Man, these trolls get stupider day by day.

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
    ______

    What they also forget is that unrestricted free markets are inherently incompatible with democracy. Which is why the only places we've seen these kind of free markets are in totalitarian states - Chile, Argentina, China, etc.


  47. barfly Says:

    Let the free market drive innovation and at all cost keep the government out of private business!

    Cause it worked so well with Enron, Tyco, Arthur Andersen, and all the energy companies that gouged California for hunderds of millions of dollars.

    Don't forget to inhale after exhaling. It's a two step process.


  48. hussein toasterhead Says:

    A Patriot Acting Says:

    hussein toasterhead what does silly string and hummus have to do with anything? Quantom mechanics sounds like a Greek Birthday party.

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
    _______

    It's very much like a Greek birthday party, except that the baklava is always on the verge of wavefunction collapse.


  49. Saint Augustine Says:

    hussein toasterhead Says:

    Nah - that’s nothing. I didn’t even START on the quantum mechanics theory of gravity, which I believe has something to do with superstrings and hubris.

    I was enamored with chaos theory until I discovered that there are limits to chaotic behavior. Hopefully the Bush administration has reached it's limit. But I suspect that this administration's behavior is better covered under the theory of idiocy. Thankfully for the chimpster, he is so low as a leader that his fall from grace is less than a foot to rock bottom.


  50. hussein toasterhead Says:

    johnboy Says:

    So i guess your a fan of the movie What the Bleep!?: Down the Rabbit Hole . Are you a God like Ramtha? She’s my hero!!

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
    ______

    Nah, I'm not really into pseudoscience -- I prefer actual science. Which is why I take seriously the recommendations of actual scientists on global climate change.


  51. Leftside Annie Says:

    Johnboy: I don't take anyone seriously who can't tell the difference between "your" and "you're"...

    A third grader could do better.

    Oh, and your logic sucks too. You're an idiot.


  52. kasinca Says:

    johnboy Says:

    Let the free market drive innovation and at all cost keep the government out of private business!

    June 5th, 2008 at 2:21 pm

    And a gallon of regular nonleaded is at $4.39.9 today. It has been increasing at an alarming rate of $.06 per gallon every three or four days. My company is going through plans to layoff and everything is going up while the dollar is becoming useless. That ignorant talking point about the free market failed again. It didn't work for Reagan, Daddy Bush, and Dubya has proven it wrong to the point the conservatives will be out of government for the next fifty years!


  53. hellinabucket Says:

    The once powerful house that Rove built would have easily stood off any attempts to expose them. But times have changed. Greed and small minds don't mix well and the "Permanent Republican Majority" is now being discussed as going the way of the whig.


  54. marlow Says:

    So this is what the vaunted "permanent republican majority" boils down to... another slimy little ball of snot. Pathetic.


  55. Bluestocking Says:

    Does this not suggest that the GOP is significantly more concerned with serving their own interests than they are those of the American people, which is supposed to be their job?!?


  56. chucko33 Says:

    I have a question for ThinkProgress: Does it ever bother you that Keith Olbermann never gives you credit for stories like this when he mentions them on 'Countdown'? I mean, it's so obvious that the only reason he knew about what McConnell did with the Climate Security Act is because he read your article on this. Yet, he passed off his anger of what McConnell did on the Senate floor as if he got the story on his own when he clearly got it from ThinkProgress.

    So, do you think Keith is a plagiarist or is there a secret pact between you guys and Keith that you will feed him noteworthy stories every week that need more mainstream attention? If it's the latter, don't make it a secret anymore. Have Keith mention you guys as a source ON THE AIR so more people will read this great site.



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