Strategy Shift …Kerry Focuses on Jobs, Opponents’ Military Record

[kskiska]

By Jake Tapper

(snip)

At a rally this evening in Steubenville, Ohio, Gerald McIntee, head of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, continued the attack. "George Bush worked to go to the Texas National Guard by the connection from his father … Then he went to Alabama. All he had in Alabama was one tooth filled, then they never found him again. Dick Cheney had five deferments. One two three four five deferments … Who are they to question an individual who won three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star?"

(snip)

Wade denied any coordination or strategy with these four speakers — two labor leaders, two elected officials — who in a matter of 12 hours unleashed harsh personal attacks on what Cheney and Bush did or did not do during the Vietnam War. Asked if the campaign vetted the introductory remarks ahead of time, or would ask surrogates to refrain from such attacks in the future, Wade said, "We've never censored or vetted speakers."

Four weeks ago, a group of anti-Kerry veterans began running TV ads accusing the senator of inflating his war record, charges disputed by eyewitnesses and Navy records. The Kerry campaign called upon President Bush to condemn the substance of the ads, but he did not.

Asked if Kerry would repudiate the charges Democratic surrogates made against Bush this morning, Wade replied, "The mayor obviously is entitled to his opinion. It's not something John Kerry talked about."

more…
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/Vote2004/kerry_strategy_040904.html

[saracat]

1. Good for Kerry and his surrogates!

I didn't like the tone of the ABC report though. It was as negative as it could be to Kerry. The word choice was awfulie,"trailing".Media whores!

[kskiska]

2. It was negative

but I liked how Kerry is throwing their tactics right back in their faces.

[JI7]

3. let surrogates and other supporters attack,and when asked to condemn

or refute what they said, just respond back by saying they have the freedom to say what they want. hehhehehe

[bushwakker]

6. we've spent a month talking about what kerry did 30 years ago

we can now spend some time talking about what bush did 30 years ago. they opened this big fucking can of gigantic worms. many roads lead from bush "lost years".

[henslee]

13. Go for broke. Nothing to lose. Maybe he's the guy getting whooped in a

bar fight that keeps getting whooped and when the odds are way up, he gets the nod from his buddy onthe sidelines taking bets and then starts clobbering.

[still_one]

4. we will do this at the grass root level

screw the media

[Born Free]

11. The media will ALWAYS go with the bush team...

It's a fact of life, and democrats must not be discouraged by that , but rather be persistant in their effort to smoke the bush coward out of hiding behind others to do his dirty work.

[bushwakker]

5. Yes yes yes - keep it up JK - call the fucker out

gotta make Bush answer qeastions. Sounds like they know Barnes is going on 60 Minutes and they are coordinating an attack.

[expatriot]

7. IMO he should focus more on government services

maybe i am wrong, but i think he should start making bush's raping of domestic spending a center piece of the campaign.

[JI7]

9. he is, this was a supporter of Kerry who wanted to defend him

[grasswire]

8. remember....

...Jake Tapper was no objective journalist when he covered the 2000 campaign. A lot of people were furious with him then.

So we probably shouldn't be surprised to find flaws in his reporting now.

[VolcanoJen]

10. He did write "Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency"

Next to Bugliosi's book, I think it's the best account of what happened during Selection 2000.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. Where's the 527 ad, showing relentlessly, about W's service record?

That, IMO, is the way to get this message out.

[Spangle]

14. After requesting they don't show it

They very well can't ASK the group to show it. That would be illegl. However,, the group could come forward and state that since Bush has allwed his group to keep running lying ads, they were going to run their truthful ads about Bush.

Maybe even do a press release about thier decission to start running the ads. THAT would get them some free PR. And explain ahead of time what/why they are doing it. Maybe even say to keep things equal, they were going to run the ad as much as the other one was run. Of course, that would only work if WE donated the money to get the thing ran. LIke the republicans did their 527 ad.

[Ohio rules]

15. It takes big money donations

to get any comercials on TV.
imo, Kerry shouldn't stoop so low and return the negative attack.
The people will see through the lies on their own.

[DeepModem Mom]

16. Hey, Ohio rules -- welcome to DU!

[saracat]

19. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

"the people will see through the lies on their own"? When hs that happened in recent history, if ever? They saw through Dukakis,ddn' they?And Carter,etc. Do you work for another interst or what? And noe that they have both accepted their nominations the money playing fiels is equal. We should have an advantage in fact because we have more 527's!

[saracat]

18. But we can ask them to show it!

We, the people, whose campaign this really is!

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

17. They should have done this earlier...

Their strategy of telling George Bush to "apologize" and "renounce" the Swift Boat ads was a loser. It made Kerry sound thin-skinned and allowed the Bush Campaign to shrug its shoulders and say that they aren't responsible for the workings of a 527 group -- and to muddy the waters by calling for a ban on all groups.

They should have gone nuclear on Bush/Cheney military service the minute the Swift Boat Liars aired their first ad. Believe me, there would not have been a second or a third one.