How the Bush team will try to paint Kerry

[papau]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&ncid=716&e=21&u=/usatoday/20040217/ts_usatoday/howthebushteamwilltrytopaintkerry


How the Bush team will try to paint Kerry
By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

<snip>So the Bush team, which believes Kerry has the nomination wrapped up, is preparing a broad attack on his record over 19 years in the Senate and what they call his opportunistic reversals on key issues.

<snip>

Kerry campaign staffers didn't dispute the Dean campaign's information, but they argued that it misrepresented Kerry's record. He teamed with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona to reopen U.S. relations with Vietnam in 1995, and they are trying to raise fuel-economy standards and make Internet transactions tax-free. He helped stall Bush's plan to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "Sometimes," Kerry said in a debate Jan. 29, "your accomplishments are not in what you get done, but in what you stop other people from doing."

<snip>He switches positions when it's politically expedient. Kerry voted against the Persian Gulf War (news - web sites) in 1991, but in 2002, he voted for a resolution authorizing Bush to go to war against Iraq (news - web sites). His explanation: In 1991, he believed the first Bush administration should take more time to try diplomacy before military action. In 2002, he believed this Bush administration had agreed to pursue diplomacy first.

Kerry voted for Bush's education bill, the No Child Left Behind Act, but now says he'd repeal it because it doesn't work. He voted for the USA Patriot Act, which expanded government power to monitor citizens after the Sept. 11 attacks, but now opposes it as too intrusive. He opposed the death penalty for terrorists who kill Americans abroad but now supports it.<snip>


"His problem isn't where he's from, it's where he stands on issues," says Ralph Reed, Bush's campaign chairman for the southeast. "Kerry's record of voting for huge tax increases, opposing a strong defense and undermining our intelligence is out of the mainstream for a majority of voters."

<snip>

[underpants]

1. Here's an ironic statement by W's chief strategist

"Politicians get in a lot of trouble when they present themselves as different than who they really are," says Matthew Dowd, the Bush campaign's chief strategist.

[tom_paine]

12. Totalitarian monsters usually have no sense of irony

If they did, I sure missed te Hitler episode of Seinfeld.

This Nazi fuck is going to do what he does: smear, distort, shamelessly lie and misrepresent.

Irony, conscience nor truth has anything to do with it.

[meti57b]

2. the smear campaign; and so it starts.

We need a strong and active Democratic Party structure to back up and assist Kerry (or whoever is the eventual nominee) in fighting the republican smear campaign. It seems no-one did anything to assist Al Gore in this regard.

[Gman]

3. Playing to the lowest common denominator

by making issues black and white in a kind of moral absoluteness. If you opposed Gulf War I, you should oppose war in Iraq. Otherwise something's wrong. If you vote for the Patriot Act, for the rest of your life you support the Patriot Act of something is very wrong. If you vote for NCLB, you support it until you die or something is seriously wrong.

This manner of presenting issues provides that people don't have to think, especially the RW'ers. The RW cannot handle gray. It has to be black or white. Anything else confuses them and they have to reach for the Bible to figure it out.

So the GOP is going to go after Kerry by insulting the intelligence of the American people. They will reach those they are targeting for GOTV with these tactics such as the "christian" right wing, thus Ralph Reed's role. Will the rest of America be insulted by presenting these issues this way?

[saigon68]

25. Ralph Reed is a cowardly little Fuck who hides behind his sister

He is the penultimate liar, cheat and conniver

[Zero Gravitas]

4. Bring It On

I am encouraged by the Dems apparent backbone transplant. So long as they fight back and give as good as they get we will come out on top. Bush* and the Corporation Party ermm... I mean "Republican Party" don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to the issues or the character of their candidate.

Bring It On.

[Skittles]

17. "BACKBONE TRANSPLANT"

DO YOU HEAR THAT, ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO THINK DEMS NEED TO "GROW SOME BALLS" - WHICH IS VERY OFFENSIVE.

[SheilaT]

5. I think the thing about the supposed

relationship with the AP reporter was just a small preview of what may come. Not to suggest they'll simply try to portray Kerry as a philanderer. But as much dirt, innuendo, and outright lies will be tossed out. Anything to take the focus off Bush's actual record as president.

The truth is that no potential nominee out there is completely free of flaws or immune to attack campaigning. All that matters is who is the nominee, and then the attack dogs of the Bush administration will tailor their attacks for that guy.

Now I am absolutely not a Kerry fan, and I'm not at all impressed with his record or his potential as president. But I don't care about his personal life, only if he'll be a better president than Bush. I laugh at the attempt to smear him by calling him just another Massachusetts liberal. Hell, he's no where near liberal enough for my taste! And to try to make him out as unpatriotic because he protested against the Vietnam war is equally silly. Personally, the fact that he'd already served honorably in Vietnam before he protested makes absolutely no difference to me, I'm just glad he finally understood the war was wrong.

In short, what's come out so far has nothing to do with why I don't care for him (it has to do with the fact I think Dean would be a better candidate) and NOTHING that comes out, true or otherwise, will make any difference to me. And I'm quite sure that the Kerry supporters feel much the same way.

However, if we let the Republican smear campaign frame the debate during the coming campaign, we'd be making a huge mistake. The entire dialog needs to be about Bush's failures in every area of his administration, and what our nominee would do to set them right.

[RegenerationMan]

6. If this is all they have on Kerry, they don't have anything at all!

This cannot be their strategy, it's so weak.

On the other hand, Rove is not running this campaign I'm sure, as he is being investigated in the CIA Leak Plame Affair and is simply trying to not be indicted and stay out of jail at this point.

[lancdem]

14. That was my reaction

That "Massachusetts liberal" canard is so outdated and weak. It's like they're trying to rerun Lee Atwater's 1988 strategy against Dukakis, not realizing Kerry is no Dukakis.

[SheilaT]

20. My point is that they don't actually need anything on Kerry.

They'll make up what they want to. Anything at all to keep the campaign from focusing on Bush's bungling of everything. It would be nice to think that there is so little of substance to attack Kerry on that nothing they try to do will stick.

I so much despise the people currently running this country that I can hardly think rationally about them. I suspect them of such evil, such wrong-doing, that I cannot credit them for anything good. I've been angry every day since December 11, 2000.

[BeFree]

10. Good campaign strategy!!

"Hell, he's no where near liberal enough for my taste!"

If enough Liberals would complain long and loud that Kerry "ain't no liberal" it will refute Rove's Liberal lie.

Good going, SheilaT

[ThreeCatNight]

7. Heard some RW radio ass.....

talking about what type of guy do you want as President....
Bush, your Nascar loving, bowling on Saturday night kinda guy....
Or Kerry....your yacht racing, martini drinking rich snob. (The funny thing is, he started out saying that he had no idea what Kerry did for fun, just made up the yacht racing thing)

Personally I would rather have later...at least it shows brains and taste.
Sorry if I have offended bowling or Nascar fans on here.

[maxsolomon]

8. what utter wish fufulliment!

what does he think the bushes DO at kennebunkport? they drive around in YACHTS!

[TEXASYANKEE]

18. None of the above.

These right-wing idiots don't seem to realize that I don't want a President that I can "hang out with" or "drink a beer with". I want a President who is intelligent, informed, articulate, and can hold a nuanced conversation with the leader of any country on our planet. And that certainly would not be GW Bush!

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

9. I believe Bush is missing the point.

I think a boil on Kerry's ass could beat Bush. The people seem to be getting the picture finally

[libview]

11. Personally, I think Kerry is the worst nominee we could put up.

Dean, Clark, or Edwards would have been much better. Kerry is going to get creamed in the south, he flip flops on issues, and says whatever you want to hear.
He comes off like a cross between Lurch and Thurston Howell the 3rd.
He has no real accomplishments in his 30 some odd years in the senate.
He does not vote his conscience, he votes to be popular, and frankly he is just an opportunist (marries only very rich woman), wants to be called JFK (gimmi a fuckin break), what an embarrassment
We are dead with this guy, god I wish Clark stayed in and the intern story was true. we, and this country would be allot better off.
Other than that I have no strong feelings on the matter.

[lancdem]

13. None of our candidates would win in the South

even Edwards.

[bobbieinok]

19. maybe Clark

...

[blm]

15. Noone who is familiar with Kerry's work over the last 35 years

could ever come to the conclusion that he has no real accomplishments.

Kerry only changed fucking history and the legacies of Nixon, Reagan and Bush FOREVER.

You never heard of Vietnam, BCCI, IranContra or CIA drugrunning?

Who the heck do you think investigated and EXPOSED those covert actions?

[libview]

21. CIA drug running????

What's "fucking history"?
did he also save the queen in Super Mario Brothers?
How did he change history in Vietnam?
Your post means less than nothing, and says less than nothing.

[Ripley]

24. Heh..

Your previous post is hilarious except you left off the words "melting face cross between Lurch and Thurston Howell the III."

Didn't you know Kerry ended the Vietnam conflict? He also got the criminal Bush family put in prison.

:eyes:

[Imalittleteapot]

16. A short visit to this site is a preview of things to come

http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com

A right wing "friend" emailed this garbage site to me today in hopes of persuading me to the other side. These people turn my stomach.

Bring em on. :nuke:

[underpants]

22. I heard Sampley on Hannity yesterday

The funny part was that Hannity was arguing with him. Sampley considers Kerry's purple hearts to be "band-aid purple hearts" and Hannity being the unprofessional tool that he is was arguing with him about the amount of honor that should be attributed to Kerry's medals. Hannity doesn't know what he is doing, the guy was on to further his poor argument (Fonda pics etc) and Hannity got completely off the path. Stupid.

[Jack from Charlotte]

23. This needs to be countered immediately.........

and It'd be fairly easy to do.....

You always attack the opponent on the issue they're attacking you on. I don't mean to say Kerry should respond to this, "he said this before and now he's saying this," charge. You ignore this and attack the AWOL-moron, like this....... "Bush originally opposed setting up the Depart of Homeland Security (provide quotes) and now he's saying this..." "Bush originally opposed setting up a 9/11 investigation (provide quotes and date) and now he's saying this..."

"The Bush Administration originally said sending jobs over seas was good for the economy, now they're saying this..."

If Bush flip flopped anymore, he'd be working in a pancake shop."

If Kerry/Edwards/Democrats don't stop what they're doing today and counter attack..... the heads will just star repeating this Repub attack as though it's just common accepted knowledge. (See Inventing the Internet Charge, circa 2000)

[Ripley]

26. All they need to do is use Smirk's own words...

in their ads. The most recent clip I would use would be yesterday when he was in Louisiana I believe and he said "...40 jobs there, 5 jobs here, that's exciting..."

That he wasn't pelted with tomatoes and eggs right on the spot by revolting citizens is beyond me.