Campaign 2016 and the gentle art of 'political jujitsu'
鈥淧olitical jujitsu鈥�: The art of taking an opponent鈥檚 criticism and turning it against them.
The presidential campaign has reached the stage in which this phrase is likely to surface more often, as candidates increasingly turn on each other to try to gain a pre-primary edge.聽 Like several other expressions 鈥� 鈥淜abuki theater,鈥� 鈥渮ugzwang鈥� and 鈥淏orked鈥� come to mind 鈥� 鈥減olitical jujitsu鈥� has endured because it鈥檚 both exotic-sounding and fun to say.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) recently challenged his Texas GOP colleague Ted Cruz鈥檚 hard-line positions on immigration by arguing that Senator Cruz, during the 2013 debate over the issue in the Senate, had expressed some openness about permitting illegal immigrants to remain in the country with legal status. That led National Review鈥檚 Washington editor, Eliana Johnson, to on NPR: 鈥淩ubio has pulled off a bit of political jujitsu in opening Cruz up to an attack from his right, which is particularly threatening for a candidate like Cruz, who is staking his campaign on uniting the conservative grassroots against the Republican establishment.鈥�
A few months earlier, Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin also applied the expression to Rubio for blasting Donald Trump at one of the debates, instead of waiting for the notoriously name-calling Trump to unload on him. 鈥淚t was a bit of political jujitsu that cheered many conservatives who have had enough of Trump,鈥� Rubin
Meanwhile, in previewing Hillary Clinton鈥檚 marathon October appearance before the House Benghazi panel, The Hill鈥檚 Niall Stanage and Amie Parnes a chance for the Democratic front-runner 鈥渢o perform some political jujitsu, turning Republican attacks to her advantage with independent and left-leaning voters.鈥�
And when Clinton gave her official campaign launch speech in June, Washington聽Post liberal columnist E. J. Dionne noted that she struck back against GOP rivals鈥� criticisms of her age 鈥� 67 at the time 鈥� and her association with the 1990s. He the speech as 鈥渁n occasion for her brand of political jujitsu. Clinton鈥檚 Republican foes cast her as the candidate of the past, but it was the GOP, she insisted, whose ideas come from long ago and far away. Her Beatles reference鈥斺�楾hey believe in yesterday鈥欌�攎ay have been corny, but it made her point.鈥�
But the term doesn鈥檛 just come up in presidential politics. Writing in Politico, Alan Greenblatt analyzed the House Freedom Caucus, the chamber鈥檚 bloc of ultra-conservatives who have established themselves as a potent force. 鈥淭he Freedom Caucus, rather than breaking from Republican ranks, has forced Republican leaders to break from them,鈥� he 鈥淚t鈥檚 a perverse sort of political jujitsu.鈥�
Chuck McCutcheon writes his "Speaking Politics" blog exclusively for Politics Voices.
