Why all of the attacks on Kerry this evening?

[IDUDOYOU]

As of right now, I support no one, though favor some.
My support comes next April 17 when I vote in the primary.

I smell the organized work of Dean supporters on DU.

[Maple]

1. No, the board just

takes turns.

Kerry's up today.

[IDUDOYOU]

3. Kerry is attacked on a consistent basis by Dean supporters

Tonight is not an exception.

[Maple]

9. And Dean is attacked by

Kerry supporters.

All of which is wasted effort, but have your fun.

Won't be funny in 04

[peabody71]

2. Could be because he's a double speak sob.

How can you support someone that gives Bush the power to wage war, and voted for the Patriot act. If those aren't the perfect examples of someone with no spine, I don't know what to tell you. Does that represents you?

[IDUDOYOU]

5. And Dean seems to double speak and stumble a lot, too

NRA rating A?
He goes into ostrich-like positions when pro-gun control Dems
call him on it.

[tpub]

7. this is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about--n/t

[tpub]

4. I think some newbies have been attacking Dean

therefore, in response, the Dean people attack Kerry, and then the Kerry people attack Dean, and the cycle continues...

[coralrf]

10. Smell some Rove here?

Who gets the goody out of all this infighting?

Bush.

[Cha]

6. flamebait.

[coralrf]

8. watch out..

There is a some Dean momentum and that is a good thing. However, the GOP as Rove himself has said would prefer that Bush run against Dean than Kerry, Edwards or Lieberman. This may explain why an organized GOP bash Kerry thing is going on...the environment is stacked in Deans favor.

I am sure many pro Dean posters are in fact Goopers. Read the words. Smell them. If they are tainted with and anti Kerry flavor you can bet being Pro Dean is not the primary objective of the post.

Kerry may or may not be the right man but it is very obvious that Rove supports Dean and fears Kerry. "unfriggenreal" is the major poster tonight in the anti Kerry arena. He uses the "wishy washy" RNC talking point in each post.

Please do not allow this asshole to have his way. Get smart. Get tough.

[Maple]

11. Well Rove certainly convinced YOU

not to vote for Dean.

Which was the reason he said it.

The fact you believed him is the scary part.

[unfrigginreal]

13. You are obviously a plant

I have good reason for my posts and just your "McCarthyite" fingerpointing makes you smell funny to me. I'm done addressing you.

[Eloriel]

25. That's bull, coralrf

Most of the Dean supporters here have been here long before they were Dean supporters. Most of us also have a very bad taste in our mouths about Kerry's war vote, if not other things as well. And most of us don't spend a lot of time THINKING about Kerry, let alone bashing him, especially going out of our way to do so.

Your comments make me wonder about YOUR 249 posts.

And oh -- it's against DU rules to mention DUers by name who aren't participating in a thread.

Eloriel

[w4rma]

12. ABC's The Note: RNC's/Rove's strategy for interfering in the Dem primary

Circle of Blue
A Political Week More Fun Than an Archie Comic!
...
At some point, somebody should take all the e-mailed press releases from the crackerjack research team at the Republican National Committee attacking the Democratic presidential candidates, print them out, and publish them in a bound, leatherette hard copy edition.

Like a fine Julie Teer quote LINK, or a "Breck Girl" anonymous missile from a "Bush adviser," these releases are intended to make mischief in the Democratic nomination fight — destabilize things as much as they can, dragging the process out as long as possible, trying to produce as weak a Democratic nominee as they can in the end, and basically playing bad cop, so the president can stay above the fray until the last possible moment.

These releases, read in their totality, are brilliant, but they can also cause some cognitive dissonance, because they do hit on some contradictory themes (sometimes, for example, attacking a candidate for being too liberal, but, sometimes, attacking someone for being to conservative).

The main themes are that one or more of the Democratic candidates are:

1. missing too many votes
2. changing their positions
3. itching to raise your taxes
4. inconsistent
5. attacking each other
6. too negative about President Bush (Note the irony!)
7. wimpy, effeminate, and crass
8. obstructionist
9. unconcerned with homeland security
10. borderline communist (ok: we are — pretty much — kidding about that one)

The RNC attacking the Democratic candidates is dog-bites-man, except, pace Karl Rove, this is arguably the most organized operation of this type in the modern era (You should see their tape library!!!).
...
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote_July14.html

[indigo32]

28. Everyone whould read this

We can't let them tear us apart. I try not to go negative about another candidate, though I sometimes question their overall electability, I admitt. I do however defend my candidate from the spin and outright disinformation I see around here. I am excited about my candidate!

[imix]

14. Kerry is of the very well-todo class

How can someone as well-heeled as Kerry who comes from great privilege (heir to the Heinz Ketchup fortune) even be considered to be a representative of ALL Americans, 90% of whom are from the middle and lower classes??

He couldn't identify with the issues most of us are concerned about even if he tried. Kerry and upper-crust folk like him rub elbows everyday and night with other upper-crust folk. Just because someone is rich doesn't necessarily make them a bad person, that's not what I'm saying. But we also need to open our eyes to the realities of class dynamics and the fact that our fedreal government is run by elites who don't have our best interests at heart.

That is, if we want to strive for a representative government, and elected officials who truly represent us. Not rich pampered bluebloods that have been isolated their entire lives from ordinary people like you and me. It is only natural that Keryy identifies first and foremost with those of similar class and background. It is folly to even consider him as someone with the ability and experience to act on behalf of the common people. His actions have proven him unfit to act on our behalf!

[quinnox]

15. So does Dean

Dean was born with a silver spoon.

The candidates not born into wealth were Gephardt and Edwards, and I like both of them, although Kerry is my number one.

[JI7]

17. lieberman kucinich and shaprton too

not sure about mosley braun. but lieberman kucinich and sharpton not only DIDN'T come from money, their family struggled some to make it.

[imix]

18. That may be true,

but Dean's track record shows him to be the more populist candidate than Kerry.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

16. You obviously don't know Kerry's voting record

He's spent his whole life fighting for the lower rung. Geez, and instead of kicking back his heels in some cushy Guard stint in Massachusetts, he actually VOLUNTEERED for service and WENT to Vietnam! :eyes:
Read up on Kerry. He's the man Bush wishes he was.

[mreilly]

27. Yes, yes, thank you

I normally stay out of the "my candidate is better than your candidate" discussions, but Kerry is no pampered playboy out of touch from regular people. He was not born with a silver spoon; his father was not that wealthy; he worked for the State Department. Kerry volunteered for the Vietnam War when like George W. he could have been cowering in the States. We know now that war was a mistake - as does Kerry - but he stood by his convictions because he felt it was the right thing to do.

Kerry is my Senator and I've had a first-hand glimpse at his work, so I feel I can judge him with qualification. I've been e-mailing and writing my elected reps for years regarding environmental, labor and other legislative issues. Each time Kerry has more often than not sent a letter in reply acknowledging my communication and expressing his views. Sure, it might be a form letter signed by an aide, but the message: "I'm listening to your concerns" has never been expressed so frequently from any other elected rep that has served me. I'm lucky to get anything at all from my congressman.

It seems a lot of people jab on the button that "Kerry voted for the Iraq resolution" as a reason to oppose him. Yeah, that disappointed me too, but guys, you're never going to find a candidate who makes you happy 100% of the time. Never. Since Kerry has been outstanding on the other 99% of the issues he has represented me on, and since he's going to bitch-slap George W.'s teeth out of his head in the upcoming debates, I'm backing this horse until he crosses the finish line or another steed takes the nomination.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

32. Thanks for the testimonial

from a satisfied "Kerry constituent". Nothing like comparing notes from where the leather actually hits the road.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

19. If We Listened To You

We wouldn't have had the Kennedys and FDR.

I can't imagine my party without them.

[imix]

21. I was speaking in general terms

there are always exceptions, however few and far in between.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

24. More Super Rich Dems

Jon Corzine- made his fortune at Goldman Sachs

Maria Cantwell- dot com millionaire

Mark Dayton- heir to the Dayton-Hudson store fortune, Target too

Herb Kohl- owns Kohl's Department Store and the Milwaukee Bucs

Jay Rockefeller- heir to the Citigroup fortune

Frank Lautenberg- founded EDS -the automated payroll system

Be careful

There's alot of rich Dems out there

[tpub]

20. that's his wife, not him!

and they've only been married since 1995, that doesn't make him "heir to the Heinz Ketchup fortune"!

His actions have been voting for liberal issues during his tenure as a Senator, and I like that.

[imix]

26. what do you consider to be 'liberal' issues

voting for Bush's destructive taxcuts, voting for the Iraq war, etc. are not progressive in my book.

[oasis]

29. Imix, you'll find it helpful if you get your facts straight .

Kerry is not heir to the Heinz fortune. His wife Teresa inherited the fortune from her late husband.

BTW, Richard Nixon resented John F. Kennedy because the Kennedys were a family of privilege. Which was the better ptrsident in your view?

[hedda_foil]

31. Correct. Heinz is his wife. He's a junior member of the Forbes family.

Yes, THAT Forbes family. Steve Forbes, of the unblinking eyes and terrible complexion is a cousin of some sort. Absent his wife's wealth, Kerry is not rich by Forbes standards. He's sort of a semi-poor relation type. But that's by Forbes' standards. I have no idea (and don't really care) how much he inherited from his family, but suspect that it might have been a wee bit more than the $5 million Dean inherited from his father.

It doesn't really matter as far as I'm concerned.

[UTUSN]

22. The Honorable KERRY Is Attacked EVERY Night

I don't know why.

[TheDonkey]

23. GET OVER IT !!

;-)

[Adjoran]

30. Gee, what 16 years will do!

Not since 1988 have we had a really big, tightly contested nomination contest. People have short memories.

It's called politics. People fight for their candidates, and whenever another candidate attacks theirs, they hit back. Tough nomination battles are nothing new to the Democratic Party. The important thing is not to let it get so personal that the Party can't unite at the end.

The Party got together after ganging up on Carter early in '76, and after Mondale slapped down the Hart challenge hard in '84, and after everbody piled on Dukakis in '88, and after the tough things Tsongas and Brown said about Clinton in '92. In '72 and '80, there was too much acrimony after the primaries, and it hurt the rest of the ticket.

Politics ain't beanbag. Both sides should get over it and make their best case: there's only six months left until New Hampshire.