Be thankful for Kerry being the nominee, it could have been MUCH worse

[ringmastery]

I mean everyone knew at the beginning of this that 9 guys would be going home and only 1 would get the nomination.

AND as BAD as you may think Kerry is, he's a hell of a lot better than Lieberman who was leading in all of the polls this time last year.

You shouldn't be sad. You should be thankful.

Also, quite frankly, I think we should be thankful that Dean imploded when he did. If his candidacy was so easily imploded by the media for his gaffes, I shudder to think what would have happened during the general election season against Dubya. It would have been months and months and months of the media nit-picking everytime Dean said anything angry. All we would hear about is whether he had the temperament to be president. He would change and be unnatural as Al Gore. For whatever reason, the majority of America wasn't ready for Dean and his honesty. I am glad that we found that out now and not in a 49 state landslide loss in November.

[revcarol]

1. Is that the evil of two lessors?

x

[Cheswick2.0]

2. Dean didn't implode

keep up the bullshit about what happened and Kerry may not even get my vote much less any help from this long time super volunteer.

[Frederic Bastiat]

So who you gonna vote for??

keep up the bullshit about what happened and Kerry may not even get my vote

Bush?

:eyes:

[jsw_81]

8. Of course Dean imploded

He had a thirty-point lead in New Hampshire and ended up losing in a landslide. In the end, he lost every single state except his own. If that's not a political implosion then what is?

[Cuban_Liberal]

3. Can we just let the slams against former candidates GO?

What IS the point in continuing to do so, exactly?

:wtf:

[MercutioATC]

4. Ummm...I have a few choice insults in mind for your comments on Dean's

candidacy, but it's not worth the warning. Let's just say that I strongly disagree and I question your methods of decision-making.

:puke:

[jsw_81]

5. I agree about Dean

I supported him for months, but after Iowa and his numerous gaffes it became rather obvious that he wasn't ready for prime time. Frankly, I'm glad he lost; Bush would have crushed him in November.

[BlueEyedSon]

6. C'mon, only Lieberman would have been substantially worse.

But it seems like your major beef is with Dean.

Dean was polling amazingly well prior to the media assassination of his character.

He raised a TON of money quickly from individuals.

He enfranchised (or re-enfranchised) a huge number of voters.

Unfortunately - because of the urgency to beat Bush - electability, rather than issues, became the criteria.

BTW, I'm a Kerry supporter.

[ringmastery]

7. the fact is he imploded

We may debate the reasons WHY he imploded, but he did implode.

I would rather have it happened during the primary than in the general election in a 49 state landslide.

[Minstrel Boy]

10. You WON, already. Let it go.

You won't win people to Kerry by saying "Get happy - your candidate was so much worse!"

[maxanne]

9. oh look

Dean bashing! How unique and different!! How unusual!

It's so nice to see Democrats savaging Dean the way Republicans savaged Clinton.


Gracious in victory - I love that here at DU. :eyes:

[ringmastery]

11. how about being gracious in defeat?

I've seen countless threads whining and complaining about Kerry.

If you can't handle criticism about YOUR nominee and why he was rejected by the voters, you have no right to bash the nominee the voters selected.

[Cuban_Liberal]

12. How about not responding tit-for-tat?

Someone's gotta be the first to stop, so why not let it be you?

[ringmastery]

16. because this is an internet message board

I'm not going to walk on eggshells.

People who say they won't vote for Kerry because Kerry supporters on a message board were mean to them don't deserve the right to vote, IMO. It's akin to voting for someone based on whether they like that person's hair or personality. Grow up, people.

[Cuban_Liberal]

17. Restraint is also a sign of maturity.

As is magnanimity. There is no law that says you MUST 'rise to the bait', as far as I'm aware... :eyes:

[maxanne]

19. show me

how many of those threads I started, please.

None, would be the correct answer.

Tell me, ringmastery - how do you see the threats and the browbeating of the non-Kerry supporters as being helpful or positive? Do you think attacking them will win them over to your side? What are the positives in the nonstop abuse?

[wjittermoss]

13. I think you are right BUT

we must hold Kerry's feet to the Dem..liberal..progressive fire.

We must make the label "liberal" respected, admired, and honorable.
Kerry's campaign needs to remind folks that Lincoln was a Republican who acted like a "liberal" when he chose to save the union and end slavery.

Truman was a conservative Dem who acted like a "liberal" when he integrated the armed services.

FDR was a "liberal" who brought this country through it's darkest times, enabled people to get jobs, supported unions as they supported workers, introduced Social Security as a safety net for seniors, instituted work programs that not only gave jobs to millions but also built up the US infrastructure, brought energy commerce to rural areas, and corrected the devastation of the Republican administration before him.

Don't shy away from the "liberal" label. I am sure there are many more examples that the Kerry campaign should be smart enough to pull out and frame in beneficial terms. I don't think it is good strategy to merely answer Bush's ads because that will only allow addressing the issues that Bush is framing. Kerry needs to talk about his own issues and frame them himself. I would attack every Bush ad with a positive, factual response from the history of "liberal" Dems pointing out just how Dems have helped people. There is even much to use from the Carter administsration. Sure a lot of tough times happened under Carter but most of them were not his fault AND he guided us trough it with dignity and grace. Look what happened after Carter: REagan, Iran/Contra, weapons for hostages, building up Saddam, etc.

WE have got to get this stuff out there and get RIGHT!

The biggie: We can snatch the tax issue away from Bush if we frame it as Clinton did. Educate the people about where there taxes really go and should go (but not to huge military-industrial comples cheating corporations). Where Clinton cut military it was necessary to ensure that we had an up-to-date technically proficient military. He cut out outdated weapons programs that military experts said they didn't need..many of which the Republicans in Congress put back in as pork for their states. Clinton increase pay for military and wanted to redirect military fat to needed areas. Afterall, it was with the Clinton military that we did so well in Afghanistan and Iraq (if you want to call that success.)

These are all points that need to be made and fast and often. Everyone out there on the campaign trail for Kerry needs to be familiar with the proud achievements of being a so-called "liberal."
Nothing will prove the point of taxes better than showing the facts about how much each state receives in public funds compared to what they actually contribute to the public coffer.

There are lots of things that need to be discussed and driven home to the brain-dead, Limbaugh-washed public. Kerry needs to change his message and quick to bring this information to the public, otherwise he will be Bush's punching bag.

[bearfartinthewoods]

14. I KNOW IT'S EARLY BUT THIS IS THE BEST UNITY POST OF THE DAY

</SARCASM>

[AntiCoup2K4]

15. Time to shatter the illusions once and for all... Kerry was chosen TO LOSE

Yep, I did not stutter. The DLC bastards are deliberately throwing this game to their bosses, the Bush Criminal Empire. They manipulated the system until they got a candidate who could not possibly beat Junior. Anyone with a functional set of eyeballs can see this entire process was rigged from the start. And Dean did not implode. Like Perot and McCain before him, the media used the same fucking lies to distort his character. Furthermore, anyone NOT angry about what the corporatists have done to this country -INCLUDING THIS PATHETIC MANIPULATED FARCE OF A FUCKING PRIMARY - should check themselves into a mental institution immediately.

You Kerrybots will have your day to "get over it". Right around November 3 would be my guess.

[jsw_81]

18. Tell us how you really feel

[AntiCoup2K4]

20. If I told you how I REALLY feel...

...I'd be banned within 5 minutes :grr:

[molly]

21. Dean did himself in - get over it

[MercutioATC]

23. "Get over it" ....seems to be a popular phrase in some circles.

Any advice on what I should do with my teacup?

[bushisanidiot]

22. Sounds Like Flame Baiting To Me.

I supported Dean, then Edwards, now I'm firmly behind Senator Kerry who I believe will lead us to the white house. I thought all of the 9 candidates were good people and would have supported any of them had they won the nomination.

In my opinion, it is counterproductive to pound your chest just because your guy won. We are all trying to unite behind Kerry right now, and we should be thanking all the dem. candidates for getting out there and speaking their minds against President Dipshit!