The Democrats very smartly never called the Republicans racist or catering to racists; they just hit them with their own doublespeak "fear" and the courageousness of the images depicting the President, the Speaker, and the Leader.

That tag "All the Republicans have is fear" is basically like saying; all the Republicans have are racists. And just as the country was very uncomfortable about the racial elements that emerged at the Palin/McCain rallies they're disturbed fundamentally by this.

You can't defend that picture of Obama as a joker on official RNC presentation detailing how to get people to "fear" him. And to imply the donors will accept that message; wow.

I'm surprised more donors haven't publicly walked away.

Doesn't this give Republicans a hook on which to hang Michael Steele out to dry? When you get lemons.....

"But this "fear-gate" controversy is apparently proving to be unspinnable, perhaps because it includes insulting comments about GOP donors."

That's exactly it. If it were just the offensive caricatures of Democrats, they could just shrug, but they have to distance themselves from the cynical (but true) comments concerning the people that fund their campaigns.

They're just hoping everyone forgets. If I regularly dropped 5-6 figures into GOP coffers every year, I wouldn'tbe doing that anytime soon. But I'm not a republican.

Well I for one am certainly glad it has been all over the front pages and Cable NOOZE. If only they had attached it to a balloon, or somehow involved a missing blonde white woman, or Acorn ...then it would have been a really big deal.

Insulting one's donors is usually a bad idea.

I would say: precisely because it insults the donors, certainly not because it insults the president or other democrats.

the media feels obligated to slurp down Republican BS, donors- not so much

Well, WE might think it's "insulting," but for all we know, the donors have been yelling at them that they were stupid to lose the document, not that the donors feel insulted.

I think about all we can safely infer is that donors HAVE been yelling at them. That's why they look contrite. They surely don't care what anyone else thinks.

When you listen closely to the tone of their voices as they "distance themselves" from the presentation; when you look closely at their facial features and body language as they renounce it, it becomes transparently obvious that it's not the presentation that's upsetting these GOP UnterSturmBannFuhreren---it's the fact that the presentation was exposed to the light of day.

This is the message that Dems should be throwing into the media's face, from now until Election Day. Such a message wil rally Dem support, wither GOPer support, and cut GOPer funding off at the hips....

And yet the presentation is just a succinct compendium of GOP strategy . . .

There may be the disturbing general feeling that despite a steady love of the party , grows a distinguishable breed of contempt for all lesser matters . That this is in some vague manner , somehow , someway , gauche .
I know !
What a puzzling , confounding , impossible riddle , to face such imperceptible vagaries in the instant glory of the one thousand year Republican Rule .

They might be embarrassed, but you will notice that no one has been fired over this. The Republicans you named are only making these very small statements of mild condemnation when asked about it publicly.

We all know that were a damaging document from the Dems to come out, we would never hear the end of it and the head of the DNC would be forced to resign.

Why isn't Michael Steele being asked to resign? Because Republicans know the media will never follow up this story and name any names.

It will be interesting to see how their fundraising goes though because at least some large donors are more than a little put out by this.

"There is no excuse for that type of stuff."
"I can't imagine why anybody would have thought that was helpful"
"certainly not helpful"
"I don't like it and I don't know anybody else who does."

Keep in mind what they are referring to, a presentation of how they actually feel about liberals, their donors, and how to raise money.

In other words, the truth.

Can we now get Reporters to stop claiming that "Both sides do it"

They don't

I remember being taught that punching someone was wrong when I was a just a small republican . I pointed out the obvious flaw in not punching someone who deserved it . I also remember despite the irrefutable logic I presented , for the crying need of a specific punch that would make the world a better place , I was told without anything resembling an equally quality reason that it was wrong . Liberal Facism has been worth fighting where ever we create it .
The Republicans should stick to their punches , keeping their noses clean , and admirably angled above the rude masses of socialist leeches with their no good friends who want what republicans have from birth .
If you want these low born sorts , who imagine themselves equal to the same entitlements as the nepotistic trust fund worthies , to wear themselves out beating their self righteous breasts , just keep on pretending that there is a reason to deny that they sully our beautiful minds . Tsk ...

As a republican donor, I assure you that one thing that we cannot stand is for our party leadership to let the truth hit the light of day!

Look, the irony is that the document accelerated the trend that it itself noted with dismay: they're getting more money in small amounts from uneducated, fearful hillbillies; and less from the wealthy and business classes who were paying for immediate, visible rewards in the form of tax cuts and regulatory relief. The longstanding social/economic factions in the GOP are now separated by open wounds.

Now that they've accidentally released the script, this means that the show must go on, even faster. We will hear more about death panels, more ragegasm theater of the type that Liz Cheney produces, more distractions. The GOP will continue on its path towards being a rump party, primarily representing the religious south, as people with education and good judgment recoil with distaste. And, as you delegitimize the government, and imply that it and Democrats are subhuman and agents of evil, you necessarily encourage domestic terrorism. So there will be more of that.

This process will not be rapid or fun for anyone. I wish we had an opposition party that had not lost their goddamn minds.

Has anyone posted the whole presentation? I have only seen the 7 or 8 pages on politico.com. The story there implied there was part of a 70-75 page presentation. Where's the rest of it?

Note: The Republicans are using these techniques. My dad received fund raising letters which do exactly what the memo says. He was insulted saying, "They seem to think I am a dummy."

Simple to explain: Republicans rely on one word characterizations. All their bad words are taken up with things they say about Democrats. So instead of one word: offensive, racist, elitist, etc. they are stuck with phrases: "juvenile and insulting" (like any teenage television show or movie, or "I don't like it and I don't know anybody else who does.", like waking up to answer the phone.

The Republican smear machine relies on these one word buckets in which the place everything bad, including Obama. Then, once they have built up the association between everything in the bucket, they just use the one word: socialism, guv'ment, taxes, spending, earmarks, liberal, "Democrat Party", terrorists. These words are reserved for others.

I heard on Stephanie Miller this morning that the author of the presentation was on track to make over $500,000 from the RNC this year.

Portraying the President in whiteface is racist. Portraying Bush in blackface would have been racist too, but was never done. Because it would have been racist.

Democrats think, sometimes too long, people complain, before they act. Republicans think, sometimes too little, people complain, before they act.

Judging from the misery invested upon us by the latter, I'm willing to put up with the former.