Kerry angles to unite party against Bush (must make peace w/Dean)

[papau]

http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Feb/02172004/nation_w/nation_w.asp

Kerry angles to unite party against Bush(make peace w/Dean)
Paul West
The Baltimore Sun

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- As the Democratic race winds down, Sen. John Kerry faces a new and potentially crucial challenge: collecting upwards of $100 million to help him compete against the well-oiled re-election campaign behind President Bush.
His chances of finding enough cash to get his anti-Bush message heard over the next six months could depend on Kerry's ability to make peace with archrival Howard Dean. The former Vermont governor is facing another likely defeat, his 17th straight, in today's Wisconsin primary, in which Kerry is heavily favored.
Dean's next move is a mystery, but this much is clear: His list of about 380,000 contributors is the biggest prize in the wreckage of his once high-flying campaign. Dean not only set new Democratic money records, he also raised more than twice as much as the party's national committee last year.
"The most critical decision John Kerry has to make in the next month is what his relationship with Howard Dean will be," said Elaine Kamarck, who was a senior adviser in Al Gore's 2000 campaign. "Because the only potential he has for getting us within striking distance of the Republicans' money is to somehow convert that Dean fund-raising machine into a generic Democratic or Kerry machine." <snip>

"It's like asking the anti-establishment to join the establishment. It's going to be a tough task," Dean aide Sarah Leonard said. "John Kerry is the establishment."

[lancdem]

1. I hope he can pull it off

We can't afford to have him not to. Too much is at stake. I hope both sides realize that.

[papau]

2. I agree - I really like Dean's truth telling political courage

:-)

[lancdem]

3. Me, too

Dean can stay on the scene and be a huge asset in a variety of ways.

[SoFlaJets]

4. My wife and I

are 2 of the 380 thousand who have already switched over to JFK2 and I'm sure the rest will too.It's doubtful any of us"anti-establishmenters"will consider a Bush or Nader option.ABB(ding)

[lancdem]

5. I'm optimistic amd hopeful the camps will make peace

I'm glad to hear you're backing Kerry. :)

[blm]

6. I think Dean's "list" is an exaggeration by the media.

I think it is being used to make Democratic unity appear to be more craven than sincere.

Many on Dean's "list" have already switched of their own volition.

The media exaggerated Dean's strengths for most of last year, and created a bubble around him that was always going to break once actual votes on the ground were counted. The media bubble helped to increase Dean's campaign coffers while at the same time drying up Kerry's fundraising.

Last November at the J-J dinner in Iowa, there were posters here who said that Kerry's support on the ground was much stronger than was being reported.

Why did the media refuse to give the American people an accurate reading of the candidates' strengths and weaknesses?

[candy331]

8. The corporate media is always spinning

and you would think sensible people would stop buying it by now. Deans supporters are not as ones have coined sheeple and take marching orders from no one let alone the saboteurs of his campaign. I find it so fascinating that the few who were not for real change have switched and switched and would switch again if told to do so have the gall to speak for others. Dean has to make his decision as to what he will do personally but his supporters will do the same and yes some will vote for the selected nominee but don't base your hopes that that they will come over lock stock and barrel. I take note that that when I came to this cite last year and there were many Dean supporters here but even here they were driven out by the daily constant negative threads indicative of what the party itself did to them so maybe the many have gone elsewhere. The ABB was not a central theme for the majority of Dean supporters it was about change in Washington which they don't see with Kerry's selection so don't be alarmed that most have gone/will go elsewhere and will not be supporting/nor returning to the party.

[MostlyBlackCat2]

17. you're right on so many counts!

Thank you for your post. as a dean supporter, I got chewed up on D.U. many times, and don't post so much anymore. I really am not sure what I will do now - I don't want to abandon the election but it's really hard to feel like the establishment in the party, and kerry himself, has much to offer me. He voted for everything I find detestable, and his supporters have offered me no welcome. I'm supposed to just cowtow and move over to his side just because they're in the front? Why? His supporters didn't do that 4 months ago when Dean was in the front. quite the opposite. Too many of them berated and spun and picked at us and at Dean until they won. I don't know that i can vote for someone who voted for the patriot act, the war, no child left behind, and the bush tax handout for the rich. I really don't. ANd how can someone who's voted with the administration that many times possibly beat bush in the debates and the election? I'm open to hear replies to these questions, honestly, because at this point I and many like me are feeling trodden, defeated, hopeless and just plain sad. Don't expect us to just lick our wounds and join in lockstep with kerry. it won't happen for most of us.

[janx]

19. I'm going to have to bring a vomit bag when I vote in the

general election.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

9. I was in Iowa

I can personally testify that the support on the ground was just about what the media reported. I was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo and Des Moines. Kerry had paid help on the ground (and probably some volunteers) but nothing like what the Dean camp had.

[blm]

11. I'm talking actual Dem voters in Iowa,

not those who came in to work for the campaign.

[Oreegone]

12. Didn't you read

He raised twice as much as the party did last year and if you check you will see he is still getting money.

There are more Diehards for Dean than you might guess. The thing about Dean supporters, they will contribute and work tirelessly for the cause, any candidate who wants to raise enough money to overcome the Bush machine is going to want them on their side.

[blm]

14. Y'know what? I CAN read just fine. It's STILL an exaggeration.

Dean's list of donors has already shrunk considerably. Alot of people sent him money when they felt he was the only game in town - the only one with any momentum.

Dean's list has been exaggerated and hyped as much as his vaunted poll numbers last year.

The media and Dean's campaign, itself, hyped every aspect of their organization and momentum and fooled alot of people, including Gerald McEntee and Andy Stern.

Reality played out much differently.

[displacedvermoter]

15. You never, ever, let up, do you?

n/t

[MostlyBlackCat2]

16. oops, nevermind

i see what list is being discussed. sorry.

[Mr. McD]

7. And some of up are in until it's over

I will have a hard time contributing money to Kerry. Dean is only the second candidate I have ever donated to.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

10. He's the FIRST one I have donated to

What the Dean campaign did for me was to open my eyes and give me a an education on politics and the political process. What I have learned is gut wrenching and frustrating to say the least. It has given me the resolve to finally stand up and say "I'm not going to just take it anymore" and I will not be told what to do. For too long the majority of people (myself included) have gotten all of their information from the media and written press. I have discovered that is the LAST place you should be getting information. I am awake now and doing my own homework and have a clear picture of what is happeneing out there. And I have to say, from what I have seen and learned, I am just as unhappy with the DNC as I am with the RNC.

[Oreegone]

13. Here Here

The DNC is just as responsible as the RNC for doing what they can to destroy a true man of integrity....Bastards, the DNC needs some new blood in a big way baby and we all need to pitch in and make that happen.

[bigtree]

18. Here's my take

I'm a Kerry supporter. I've endured the criticisms of my candidate from the Dean camp as an insider, akin to a republican, and in this article, as the 'establishment. He's on TV now withdrawing, giving a dig at the other candidates, and by extension Kerry, for being poll driven. The attacks are nerve-wracking and pretty insulting. I worked hard for Kerry and the criticisms offend me.

Sure Kerry needs to reach out and try to adopt some of the issues that Dean has championed if he wants the vote of Dean's supporters. But, I would expect Gov. Dean to reach out as well to Kerry and the others and begin to direct the remainder of his fire at Bush.

Now I know my candidate well. I've defended him on a number of issues. I have seen in the exit polls a wide range of issues that he represents that appeal to the voting public.

On the campaign trail he has spoken of his longtime commitment to the environment. Just recently he fought off a republican energy bill that was nothing but pork to the nuclear industry and a green light to further exploit the wilderness and pollute and slash and burn at will.

I watched Kerry fight the assault on Medicare and he has, from the beginning, presented a moderate, reasonable plan to insure all of the nation's children and most everyone else by allowing folks to buy into the same health plan that we give Congress.

I have applauded his plan to scour the tax code and remove any incentive for taking jobs overseas. These tax loopholes, begun when Reagan eliminated the 27% levy on money leaving the country, started the exodus of jobs, not NAFTA. I can't ignore the fact that Clinton was able to effect the creation of jobs and keep inflation and interest rates down at the same time as the economy grew. But we blame Kerry's vote for NAFTA, ignoring the fact that Bush refuses to enforce the provisions that would challenge the standards abroad and help level the playing field.

As far as the IWR goes, there may be mistrust over Kerry's intentions, but Dean was not far off with Biden-Lugar. The only provision that was significantly different was the phrase:

Defend the national security of the U.S. from the continuing threat posed by Iraq.

But I believe this involves the president's word. Bush lied. Kerry and others, in effect, took his word, but Bush lied, not Kerry. Kerry is clear in his intentions for the IWR: To provide a reasonable threat of force to effect the return of inspectors to verify whether the weapons had been destroyed. That threat of force allowed the inspectors back in. They were removed when Bush disregarded the restraint in the resolution and pushed forward to war. They could have, and should have been allowed to resolve the conflict short of invasion.

This is a reflection of Kerry's guiding foreign policy doctrine of progressive internationalism. It is a DLC concept, but Kerry spells it out clearly in his many speeches and statements made before and after the IWR vote. His is an appeal for multilateralism. Not as a dominator of the world, as Bush and PNAC envision, but as an active partner given our military and economic preeminence.

IWR, the Patriot Act, NAFTA, and NCLB weren't the first bills in history to be abused, misused, and under-funded into obscurity by an opposition party and president. We have been under assault from this administration and its cronies for decades, sometimes we were at the helm, often we were in the minority. John Kerry has been a progressive leader in the fight against the excesses of the republican agenda for decades. He has been an active participant in these fights, normally not satisfied to just oppose, rather he has crafted alternatives that challenge the opposition to modify their ambitions or face the adoption of the minority alternatives.

Opposition politics needn't be a zero-sum enterprise. John Kerry has not stood still in the face of the dismantling of our economy and our government to the benefit of the highest bidder or contributor. He has led many of these fights and intends to represent all of our interests if he becomes the nominee. I hope that the Dean supporters will allow him to take up their causes without remorse. Howard Dean has stepped to the side of the racetrack. I hope that he will hand off his baton cleanly to the lead runner on our team, John Kerry.

[janx]

20. "If" he becomes the nominee?

Do you honestly believe there's a question or ever has been?