Ben Smith has an interesting story from a GOP political consultant who has been arguing for McCain to get even tougher with his attack ads. The guy tested an attack ad that was even tougher than any so far put out by the Palin/McCain campaign. The result? Here is the GOP consultant’s reaction to his target audience from Ben Smith at Politico:

The two most unreal moments of my professional life of watching focus groups:

54 year-old white male, voted Kerry ‘04, Bush ‘00, Dole ‘96, hunter, NASCAR fan…hard for Obama said: “I’m gonna hate him the minute I vote for him. He’s gonna be a bad president. But I won’t ever vote for another god-damn Republican. I want the government to take over all of Wall Street and bankers and the car companies and Wal-Mart run this county like we used to when Reagan was President.”

The next was a woman, late 50s, Democrat but strongly pro-life. Loved B. and H. Clinton, loved Bush in 2000. “Well, I don’t know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I’m sick of paying for health insurance at work and that’s why I’m supporting Barack.”

It appears that even Republican-leaning independents don’t just not get the negative ads, which must be enormously misleading to make that woman think Barack Obama was a terrorist along with Bill Ayers, but they don’t care. They are simply fed up with Republicans. I suppose the GOP has claimed ownership of economic issues throughout my lifetime, and when an economic problem like this hurts every single voter out there, they are responding to the failure of the Republican brand. That response is, according to this one guy, “never again.”

Meanwhile, the Republicans do still have their whack jobs to fall back on. At a Palin rally in Scranton, a Palin supporter yelled “Kill him” yesterday. From the Pocono Record:

A Republican rally that included supporters from Monroe County has sparked a Secret Service probe following reports that someone shouted “Kill him” in reference to Barack Obama yesterday.

The agency followed up on a report in the Scranton Times-Tribune about Tuesday’s rally featuring Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

The remark came while congressional candidate Chris Hackett spoke at the Riverfront Sports Complex. There is no indication Hackett or Palin, who took the stage a half-hour later, heard the remark, according to a Scranton Times-Tribune report.

The remark was reported almost immediately on the newspaper’s Web site and today in the print edition.

Times-Tribune employees who covered the rally were interviewed today by the Secret Service.

Spokesman Darrin Blackford said the agency takes the threat seriously and will make an arrest if it can determine who shouted the remark.

Mr. Hackett sort of missed the Biden and Clinton event in Scranton, I suppose, and also the four stops by Obama himself in Philadelphia over the weekend. He’s clueless, as is that supporter who threatened Obama. How in the world could anyone not understand those kind of shouts from the audience are part of the problem the Palin/McCain campaign is suffering through trying to keep its head above water.

Oh, there are more stupid Republicans out there. Let’s take Newt Gingrich, perhaps. Here on the Washington Post he was asked for a scenario whereby McCain might make a comback:

McCain has to focus on the Reid-Pelosi-Obama machine and the threats they pose to most Americans: Nancy Pelosi’s call for “harsh measures”; the Democrats’ proposal Monday to abolish 401(k) plans; the plan to strip Americans of the right to vote in a secret-ballot election before being coerced into joining a union; the tax increase on the investors who are needed to regrow the stock market and retirement plans, and their likely flight from American investments; the use of tax money to pay the liberal group ACORN, which is engaged in massive voter fraud in its registration drives in multiple states; the close ties Chris Dodd, Barack Obama and Barney Frank have to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and the trillion-dollar spending increase in the Obama campaign promises. If McCain can make these facts stick, he can get back into the race.

The problem with Newt is that he claims facts when they are not facts. The Obama plan forces people to join unions in order to vote? Which bathroom wall is that off of, and which GOP bigwig was Newt sharing it with at the time? Man, and he thinks McCain hasn’t tried to attack the notion that the country, with an Obama win, would be run by Democrats controlling the House, Senate and Presidency? Hey, Newt, the country doesn’t want the Republicans controlling ANYTHING! Not one thing! And they don’t want you anywhere near Washington, Newt, is what I’m betting.

Meanwhile, at least someone at the Republican National Committee has some sense. They are pulling their resources from Wisconsin and Maine. Sorry, Mr. McCain, they are giving Obama the electoral votes in Wisconsin, preferring to try to defend in Colorado and Missouri. Sorry, Susan Collins, but you’re going to have to win for yourself up in Maine. Meanwhile, the Obama campaign is increasing their ad buys in red states such as Missouri, Indiana and Virginia, hoping to convert still more of them.