You Are A Republican Strategist: How / What Do You Attack Kerry On?

[phrenzy]

I am posting this question NOT, i repeat NOT as Kerry bashing opportunity. I am posting this because I really want to understand the and expect the things the media will throw at Kerry should he win the nomination.

I also would like to know what you all think the 'stickiness' rating of these things will be. I think this can be a good exercise for us to be prepared to repel the inevitable freeper / media attack that will come.

Issue: Kerry Voted Against Gulf War 1
Perception: Kerry won't stand up to invading tyrants
Stickiness: 75% ( I think this one will be damaging)
Defense: Not sure
Counter: Bush coddling Musharraf ?

Issue: Kerry Voted For IWR
Perception: Kerry rolled over for Bush / Is a hypocrite for now opposing
Stickiness: 40% (many people were fooled)
Defense: Thought the resolution would not be used to bypass U.N.
Counter: Bush lied and abused the trust / spirit of the resolution

Ducks in a row time.

[MAlibdem]

1. Ummm...

Kerry is ugly, Kerry likes "them thar homos", Kerry is too liberal, Kerry is the COOLEST (ok, not that one).

"Lie lie lie
cheat cheat cheat
steal steal steal"
-RNC war chant

[maddezmom]

2. I'm sure all the info is already on the GOP or RNC website

or you could always check out what the buzz is on freeperville. :)

[Feanorcurufinwe]

18. Here's the GOP anti-Kerry page

KERRY: DUKAKIS’S LT. GOV. WHO VOTES LOCKSTEP WITH TED KENNEDY

KERRY CLAIMS HE’S FOR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT VOTES FOR HIGHER TAXES, AND AGAINST TAX CUTS

KERRY IS EXTREME ON ABORTION, SUPPORTING FEDERAL FUNDING AND PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS

http://www.rnc.org/News/Read.aspx?Id=3412

[AntiCoup2K4]

3. "Why is John Kerry running against Our Great President...

....when he voted in favor of most of our glorious agenda....??"

[DebJ]

6. I agree. This is my biggest issue with Kerry and Congress. Roll over

and play dead. Hail *!

[QC]

4. If I were a GOP strategist, I would lurk at DU

to find all the latest and most hysterical attacks in one place, and also to see how well my own attacks were infiltrating the opposition.

One-stop shopping, you know.

[Duncan Grant]

12. Oh, that would NEVER happen...

not here, not now. ;)

[girl gone mad]

5. Kerry can't attack Bush..

on the war, because he went aong with him. That's a really big probem to me, becacause I think the war should be our biggest issue.

Kerry can't attack Bush on special interest money, because he's taken large sums of it himself.

Kerry can't go after BUsh on Medicaid, NCLB, Patriot act or any of the others, and he doesn't even show up to vote in the Senate more than 50% of the time, so he can't attack Bush for absenteeism.

The way I see it, if we nominate Kerry, what exacty can we attack Bush on?

[Qutzupalotl]

7. One Republican strategist said

"If we made Al Gore look like a Massachusetts liberal, imagine what we'll do with a Massachusetts liberal!"

(Apparently that means something to them.)

[bigtree]

8. Republicans

OOOOOOOO!
:scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

[rucky]

9. Liberal in Centrist's clothing

He's really a wimpy peace lovin' limousine liberal from New England, and he just voted for Bush on the war, patriot act, no child left behind, etc because he knows that's what America Wants - and that's what Bush is giving to America. Now he's complaining about these policies because he's running against Bush. Look at his lifetime voting record - very liberal when he's not running for president!

Kerry wants you to believe he's a Vietnam War hero, but he really opposed the war!

crap, i'm getting too good at this. it's scaring me.

[mikehiggins]

10. RNC issues?

1. flip flop on Iraq. Voted for war, against funding for our troops.

2. tax and spend liberal elitist from Taxachusetts.

3. further left than even Teddy Kennedy

4. anti-gun, pro-gay marriage, pro-abortion baby killer

Hold on, here. I gotta catch my breath.

5. duplicitous (use an easier to understand synonym); can't speak plainly, never says one thing without covering his ass with something else.

6. Kerry/Fonda Viet Nam connection; betrayed POW/MIA's

Okay, that's enough for starters.

[bigtree]

11. These sound more like DU talking points

:eyes:

[janx]

24. The GOP has one whole lot to go after Kerry about.

It's sad, but it's true.

[elsiesummers]

13. 2 parts Gore, 1 part Dukakis

First - rich elitist. I know Bush is the quintisential elitist - but they won't care - Kerry doesn't clear brush. Kerry is intellectual. Kerry is smart and people should vote for the "guy you'd drink a beer with" also - the middle name Forbes hurts Kerry on this ground. (Ugh)

Second - and I think this will be their big spin because they have already started it: UnAmerican.
Shocking yes, but here is the spin: First the "Kerry looks French" crap. Second: his vote against first Iraq war and against 87billion. Third: throwing ribbons/metals war protest (I personally don't get this one at all - but then I'm not a Republican - maybe the nuance between ribbons and metals is also going for a like Clinton on the meaning of is and therefore like Gore). Fourth: wife is of foreign descent and has accent.

The like Gore bit: well their resume's are pretty similar - will especially though focus on environment (green=sissy equation - to drive off male voters) and guns. The like Gore bit will mostly be around speaking style/stiffness and underscore the elitist charge.
Not sure if they can work the liar meme (I know it's all not true) - simply don't see an angle on this one yet - maybe the medals and nuanced Iraq war position.

Like Dukakis: Actually a little tougher. Certainly they will pick out pictures of the two together - but if they are standing Kerry will look very tall and injure Republicans. Also - the tank hat thing actually reinforces Kerry's service. So the Dukakis attack: taxes, taxes and oh yeah, taxes. Maybe a little gun control (soft on crime is tough against a former prosecutor - but who knows) and death penalty thrown in here too.

[dolstein]

16. Another way Kerry is like Gore

The press corps HATED Al Gore, and we all know that his campaign was seriously hampered by relentlessly negative coverage. Well, apparently the press isn't all that fond of Kerry either. If Kerry gets the nomination, we'll see a flood of $80 haircut, Botox treatment and other "Kerry is out of touch with ordinary people" stories.

[THUNDER HANDS]

14. same thing the GOP always attacks on

Play the South against the Northeast and scare Democrats away from nominating someone from their strongest regional area.

[Vis Numar]

23. Well

MA is the armpit of the NE, in terms of electability (but the media is not telling that he's from Massachusetts until he's good to go, then he's toast).

[janx]

25. Yes. They're saving all of it until he's good to go.

.

[genius]

15. Republicans will claim he's too liberal, too opposed to the Iraq war, too

soft on terrorism and on our enemies. There are a lot of people in the middle in this country and the Republicans will try to pull them into thinking that we'll invite terrorist attacks. Although I disagree with a lot of Kerry's votes, they may help him in the general election.

[phrenzy]

17. Great

Thanks - that covers a lot of the ones I had forgot about.

OK - step 2

How can / should Kerry defend against this crap?

I'm talking even the low blows like the "looks french" and "loves Jane Fonda" ones.

I'm guessing he can't take the "rise above it" strategy. I don't think that will work here.

I think a good comeback to the inevitable freep slams about 'opposing our boys' in Vietnam:

"Yes, I did oppose the war in Vietnam. Yes I did say it out loud. And I am proud of it. I will not be silent when I see my government doing something wrong and neither should any citizen. If we want to turn this in to a debate about Vietnam and what the candidates were doing during that time, I will be happy to oblige."

The opposition to GW1 - I'm not so sure. That one is tough. Even I supported that war.

[arewethereyet]

19. two words - Mass Liberal

the script was written long ago and has worked to perfection every time.

[markus]

26. Lt. Gov. to Dukkakis + Teddy Kennedy = Death

I'm sorry, but they're going to eat his lunch in the south on this one.

Stickness: 80% regionally for TEK, less for Dukakis.
Counter: None.

[arewethereyet]

28. as they have already said

they got that moniker tied onto Al Gore, imagine what they can do with the real deal.

And its not just the south by a long shot. Check out some of those maps from other Mass Liberals. Crimsome waves of states from sea to shining sea.

[kentuck]

20. The Republicans do it differently than Democrats...

Democrats like to try and knock out their opponent in one punch. The Repubs do it step by step. They will soften Kerry up slowly with Massachusetts Liberal label and tie him to Ted Kennedy on all the talk radio shows. Then they will say he protested against the war in Viet Nam when he returned and probably caused more deaths in Viet Nam and that his organization VVAW was a part of a Jane Fonda organization.

Then they will attack his character and his wife. He smoked marijuana, you know. Puff, the Magic Dragon. He has a more liberal voting record than Ted Kennedy! Over and over and over until they wear the people down like drops of water on sandstone.

[Straight Shooter]

21. They won't hit political issues as much as they will family values

Kerry leaves suicidal first wife, goes skirt-chasing for arm ornaments like Morgan Fairchild while still married, zeroes in on mega-wealthy heiress Teresa, buys annulment so he can remain in good graces with the Catholic Church (despite 2 children from his marriage).

I guess that about covers it for now. I don't think they can get him on the Botox issue, unless it comes down to a Botox versus Grecian Formula fight with georgie.

[janx]

22. You really want to know? Here's a preview from sicko Newsmax:

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/1/20/131219.shtml

And to tell you the truth, this preliminary list doesn't make me feel too good about his chances re Chimpy, especially with the national military fetish the American people seem to be enjoying right now.

[TheStateChief]

27. Three Things...

1. Kerry is weak against terrorism (will smear him by saying that he voted against funding the war in terror, voted against more troops, and voted against new weapons systems - a lie, but basically anything Bush wants to appropriate to the $87 billion package that Kerry voted against will be fair game in their eyes and believe me, we'll see plenty of ads pushing this line of attack)

2. Kerry was absent when Bush delivered prescription medication to American seniors (will smear him by saying that Kerry didn't think enough about American seniors to even bother to vote on Bush's "wonderful" package of free meds for all)

3. Kerry's record is liberal and dangerous (will smear him by saying that Kerry voted as a Mass. liberal who didn't want stealth warplanes, wanted terrorism to be prosecuted by lawyers, wanted to end the CIA, etc., etc., etc.)

I'm not getting excited about the polls showing Kerry ahead - Bush hasn't started unloading on the guy yet and while I will vigorously support whoever the nominee is, I have real reservations that Kerry will stand up as well as Dean or Clark would.