Reply #63: The Democratic party heads talked to the media, bigtime. [View All]

[madfloridian]

Are you aware that Florida Democratic chair Scott Maddox has said Kerry could be the winner in
Florida? He criticizes Dean, just as the CA state chair does, in the NYT, no less. They criticize Dean, praise Kerry, say he can win.
This article is archived now, but I have it on my hard drive. Here are the pertinent quotes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/29/politics/campaign/29CAMP.html

SNIP...""Dean is a tougher sell," Mr. Torres said. "Not because of who he is
and who he represents, but because he's perceived as being an angry man."
In Florida, Scott Maddox, the state Democratic chairman, offered a similar
view as he compared Mr. Kerry's prospects in his state with those of Dr.
Dean.

"Florida will be the battleground state in the election," Mr. Maddox said,
"and I think John Kerry can absolutely carry the state of Florida. The thing
with Dean is he seems — his persona — is more liberal. I don't think he's as
liberal as they make him out to be, but the question is could he shake the
moniker."

I am "angry". The Democratic party used the media to hurt Dean. Carville and Begala just about destroyed him on Crossfire.

More quotes from the article about the "concerns" about Dean.
SNIP..."Democratic leaders expressed relief Wednesday at the emergence of John Kerry as the leader of the party's presidential field, after his twin victories over Howard Dean. But they voiced concern about the potential electoral liabilities of Mr. Kerry, a candidate who remains unknown in much of the country."

MORE:
"To the extent to which there is an establishment, it wants what the Democratic primary voters want: the strongest candidate in the fall," said Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. "I think the consensus is that John will be a more formidable candidate than Howard."

A Southern Democratic state chairman, who would not allow his name to be used, said, "There's been a big sigh of relief," while a national Democratic strategist said: "It has been a sea change. People were worried."

MORE:
"On Capitol Hill, the sense of excitement surrounding Mr. Kerry's back-to-back wins was palpable among Democrats, who are clearly eager to put the divisive primary season behind them. Many lawmakers — some of whom had been privately despondent about Dr. Dean's rise in the polls last year — were finally sounding as though they truly believed they could take on Mr. Bush and win.

"I think what's happened is there's an excitement that we could actually win the presidency, and there's a good feeling that Kerry could do it or that Edwards could do it," said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York.

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, reflecting the view of many Democrats, said the race was far from over, but added, "I think he's (Kerry) clearly the strongest candidate, the guy most likely to beat Bush."END SNIPS

Do not pretend to tell me the party did not influence Kerry's rise! Do not pretend to tell me that they did not use the media....this is the NYT they are speaking to.

Yes, the Democrats did have a role in this.

In the end, the party is deciding who the candidate is through tactics such as these....they used the "Dean is not electable" meme and it really took root bigtime. The party IS deciding and the voters are picking up on it.

And they are trying to put all of us on a great big guilt trip. For right now, I am just tired of that.