Playing from Behind, GOP Wins Day 1 Shut Down Optics Battle

I’m not sure what happened to the Dems big mo from the mid-terms, but the GOP is traditionally more savvy when it comes to street brawling. Scoring the first full day of the shutdown based on the most prominent visuals, I’d have to award the Repubs a 2-1 victory — with an honorary mention for audacity.

In case number one, Repubs and tabloid-style news organizations are using images of Clinton and Lewinsky to represent the last time the government shut down. In this particular instance, Buzzfeed finds justification to set up a “sleazy Democrats” takeaway, the Republican’s starting out the omnipresent “who’s to blame” polling at least a ten point underdog.

In case number one, we see Republican Congressmen help aging vets “storm” the WWII Memorial which was closed by the shutdown. It’s classic Rove, exploiting a situation that you effectively created. (Did anyone say “Occupy”?)

What kept the Repubs from running the table, however, was this self-inflicted wound from smack in the middle of the GOP blind spot. Who’s ready to negotiate at a moment’s notice? The old white brigade. (Larger version here.)

(photo 1: AP – 1995. photo 2: Leo Shane III via Twitter. photo 3: Eric Cantor/ Twitter & TwitPic)