Let's focus on the GE, the primary is over

[DJcairo]

Let's be realistic folks. Hitting at each other now is like beating a dead horse. I feel bad my guy didn't get a better shake but hell, it's clearly time to pull together behind Dean NOW. The faster we do it the quicker we throw Bush on the defensive. He wasn't planning to get off his high horse until next February or March. Let's knock him off that horse now, while he's vulnerable and his poll numbers are low.

We Democrats fought hard this year, but now it's over and it's time to turn and look ahead. While the average voter still can pick whom he/she chooses, the chattering DU classes already are aware of teh likely outcome and ought to be preparing to fight a jihad against the Repukes.

Personally, I plan on converting my website to focus on the Dean-Bush matchup and a number of key Congressional races. Plus, I'll be giving as much bling-bling as I can and volunteering when the GE is fully underway.

[ALago1]

1. Though I am a Dean supporter

No vote has been cast yet!!! People can and do make last minute changes and a candidate could make a last minute push in either Iowa or NH.

Don't start talking like this until at least the first two primaries are over!

[DJcairo]

3. I can talk like this because what I say on here is not going to erase

a 20 point margin in IA and NH and neither would everybody on here saying it. Let's get real. I'll let the old time Deaniacs worry about the primaries and the letter writing because I know this thing is fini. I'm gonna worry about the GE.

[ALago1]

8. Ok...

Let's assume that Dean finishes 1st in Iowa and NH. What is your opinion that leads to the conclusion that the whole primary is over and every other candidate should just give up?

[Cassandra]

32. As a Dean supporter, I'd like to point out...

that there is no real 20 point margin until at least a few people have had the chance to VOTE! Value the vote. If we don't win the WH, we may not get another real vote again.

[deminflorida]

2. Better not purchase much bandwidth until after March....

I'd hate to see ya blow good money.

[DJcairo]

5. Hah! Please. Without the Gen. on front of the name the guy would

be in the low single digits. Has anything he';s said over the last week made any sense? I thought he was supposed to be smart and I'm sure he his, but not when he's talking politics. He even admitted to being a fish out of water. How can this be when he contemplated running for months? Yikes. Poor guy. Hey, I will say that if he wins SC he might as well throw VP in front of his name to boot.

[deminflorida]

19. Don't you think you'd better concentrate on those attack ads...

nipping at your ass in Iowa and S.C. - hell you may not even get to S.C. now. I think the General's doing just fine running in the middle of the pack. He's not even having to spend any money towards your self inflicted collapse either.

[tabasco]

4. Surely, you jest.

Followed many elections? There's a technicality called voting that must be observed. If you think Dean's a lock, more power to ya'. But saying so don't make it so.

[DJcairo]

9. Name one election where...

The candidate who had a) raised the most money before the primaries and b) lead by and average of 10-20 points in IA and NH a month out didn't win the nomination.

Name one...

[dweller]

6. and you are the time traveler from which dimension?

last time i looked, it was still an undecided, ongoing primary election process. Once the voters have registered their decisions about candidates then it will be rally around, until then, the weight-challenged gender specific person is just gargling in preparation.

dp


edit: pc

[XanaDUer]

7. Too soon to call it...

eom.

[DJcairo]

10. Comeon. With a month left?

Everyone's numbers are sinking except Dean's. Let's be real.

[molly]

12. Yea - wait til they unseal his records!

[molly]

11. Dean won't be the candidate

the fat lady has yet to sing!

[mot78]

13. A slap in the face to us

we have the right to support our candidates, and we should be allowed to do so until February 3 the least (assuming Dean sweeps this date after doing so in Iowa and New Hampshire, then I'd support muscleing out the other candidates).

[goodhue]

14. "primary is over"

In that case, Dean supporters had best just stay home on Jan. 19th. After all, the race is over.

Aren't you a little concerned that the Dean army might not rally as strongly as they would have otherwise given the battle is over?

Maybe Dean folks would be best off promoting turn-out for their candidate rather than suggesting the process doesn't matter.

[Cha]

16. The thread starter is not a "Dean folk" and

the "process" does matter.
And We Dean Supporters will Not be staying home on Jan 19th, 2004!

[goodhue]

20. my bad

I mistakenly assumed poster was supporting Dean given the we should all rally around Dean stance.

Glad to hear that Deaniacs will be turning out as they should.

[mandyky]

17. Not to worry about Deaniacs -

We are not resting on any laurels or underestimating anyone. The rest of the candidates and media underestimated HD, and look what happened.
Deaniacs realize that and support will only grow.

[mikehiggins]

15. DJ, DJ, DJ

Feel free to attack Dubya right now, as much as you want.

When Wes Clark walks out of the convention with the nomination in his pocket, he'll probably thank you.

There is a long road ahead, and there are many potholes and possible disasters laying in wait for all the candidates.

Do not succumb to hubris, friend. It usually leads to disappointment.

[HPLeft]

18. You've got to be kidding

We haven't had a single vote cast, and you're throwing in the towel?

Tough-enough? Be serious. Dean may win this race, but John Kerry has things to say that are of vital importance to this country. He has a case to make. He's a great American, and he's backed up his rhetoric with hard-earned human currency.

And you're pulling the plug so that Dean has a better chance to beat Dubya? If Dean can't Dubya on the merits of his argument, then he doesn't deserve to win, and he's not qualified to lead. Screw him. I'm not shutting down our democratic process so that the lesser man has a better chance at beating an idiot.

[Jerseycoa]

21. It may be over for you

But the rest of us are in a primary race. And we will give it up when we feel like it, not when you or anybody else tells us to give it up.

Maybe you missed it? :hi:

This has been all talked out already. It's over when it's over and not before.


:dem:

[Sully]

22. Say it ain't so...

DJ my man, my friend, say it ain't so...

You need to talk to your buddy Mike about Iowa. Dude you are missing the ACTION! it may be 10 degrees above zero in Iowa, but the campaign is HOT! And people everywhere there are talking about Kerry and pissed off at Dean! The Gore endorsement is backfiring BIG TIME!
Veterans are going to caucus in droves and little grey haired grannys are discussing foreign policy! You have to see it to believe it!

And before you go a-converting those web sites, I'd be lettin' folks cast their votes in Iowa! THERE IS NO FRONT RUNNER!!!!! The score right now is 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0! And Iowans pick the "front runner" because by strict definition, the "front runner" is the guy with the most VOTES!

Oh and as for as Dean's chances in the General Election vs. Bush,
here's what a 75 yr old Korean War veteran from Iowa said to me yesterday:

"Howard Dean? All he knows about is Vermont maple syrup and he's the last SOB in the world I'd vote for!"

He's caucusing for Kerry! :nuke:

You gotta call me man... I'm worried about you!

[sandnsea]

23. Rovian plant???

Stir up shit for 6 months and then bail??? Something isn't right here. Fess up.

[DJcairo]

24. I'm a realist, and I want to be where the action is

Both of those things have influenced my decision to stop wasting my time with a great man who unfortunately is going nowhere fast politically.

Not only is Iowa going to embarass Gep it's going to finish Kerry as I'm sure Kerry will drop out if he does so bad in Iowa as to raise the possibility of NH being a complete embarassment.

[sandnsea]

25. Have you been to Iowa?

What are you basing your decision on? A few polls by companies with shitty reputations that have a tendency to poll more right wingers to begin with???

This is very suspicious, very. I don't miss much, but I think I missed this one.

[Sully]

26. I've been to Iowa, and I'm going again tomorrow!

Maybe DJ needs some Iowa fresh air to get that
NYC smog out of his lungs and clear his head!

Yikes!

I pity the foo!

And such a hard working guy too!

[sandnsea]

33. Yeah!!!

:hi:

[AnAmerican]

27. Gotta say it......

the original post is the absolute antitheses of the democratic process. Looks like the shrub has already won, at least in this case.

[xJlM]

28. What drugs are you on?

Reality does not change according to your personal whims. We are a LONG way from having a nominee, no matter what propaganda may tell you, and the Democratic party has not voiced its feelings in even one state. You've been watching too much tv, I'd say.

[nomaco-10]

29. Nice call and good post DJ....

You have been a loyal and outspoken supporter for Senator Kerry here for a long while and any campaign would be proud to have you. I, for one am pleased and impressed by your descision, I'm sure it wasn't easy as the replies you have generated to your post must confirm.

You may not know it now, but you have set somewhat of a precedent here for such a bold and well thought out shift to another candidate. Kudos to you.

I'm not a Dean supporter that would gloat over your shift to the Dean campaign, but rather mourn the downward spiral of the Kerry campaign that brought you to this descision. I'm thrilled to have such an enthusiastic and well informed supporter join our ranks. It's gonna be a bumpy ride, so hang on to your seat and buckle up for the ride of your life all the way to the White House! Welcome to Dean '04.

[rbnyc]

30. Hell, why even vote at all?

If we can call a primary before there's a vote, let's just call the GE too. I think all our elections should be decided by who can generate the most media attention and perform best in the earliest polls. Voting is so 1992.

EDIT: I agree that cnaditate bashing is not productive, but people should still feel erergized around supporting their candidate and advancing their values during primary season.

[flama]

34. Um,

shouldn't elections be decided by who gets the most popular votes?

Oh! You were being sarcastic! Gotcha now.

We all know that popular votes don't count. My #)$^* congresswoman, my *(^>? governor, and somebody in *&*@ Washington decided that the votes in Florida certainly didn't count in 2000. (Betcha didn't know I knew that many comic book swear words. ;-)) The whole world will be watching Florida in the 2004 race. What state will be hijacked next? California? New York?

My humble opinion is that we should each support the candidate of our choice until the Democratic National Convention is over. Then we should all support whoever comes out as our ticket. We should turn "Anyone But Bush" into the Democratic nominees instead of Bush and Cheney (if Georgie decides to keep the old coot).

If we don't take the White House back in 2004, look for repeal of the 22nd Amendment before 2008. That's scary!

:loveya:

Ma

P.S. I'll be campaining for Kucinich until it doesn't matter any more. Hopefully, that will be January 21, 2005 - or maybe mid-November, 2004, when the country gets its act together and knows what's good for it.

[Upfront]

31. Hmmm

Never thought I would say this, but I am starting to like you DJ.

[maxr4clark]

35. Why give up in February?

Why give up at all? Support your own candidates for the Dem nomination until the Democratic National Convention is over!

I think we need the best candidate against little George, and that will be the one the most Democrats support. The delegates sent to the convention, while chosen to represent one candidate, may choose a different one. Suppose, for example, that Dean's gubenatorial records are opened just before the Convention, and they contain something heinous. What then?

In the words of one of my favorite fictional characters,

Never Give Up; Never Surrender!

and

This clock always stops on one!

[MichDem10]

Bravo!!

Finally!! A voice of reason!!

Support your candidates!! Don't fall prey to the Dean corination by the press and Dean-aholics!!

:dem:

[slinkerwink]

36. welcome to the Dean campaign!

:hi:

[Bill of Rights]

37. I'm glad to hear Kerry is doing well

in Iowa. He's my second choice after Clark.;)