They say "dance" and we dance.

[Nordic]

Has anyone noticed how Kerry is running against Kerry, and not Bush?

The media doesn't report a damn thing about Kerry vs. Bush, it's all about Kerry Kerry Kerry vs. Kerry.

ALL OF IT.

Nobody is talking about George W. Bush. And you can get that's because Bush WANTS it that way.

Once again, what I see are the Democrats being forced to live within the confines of the parameters set up by the republicans.

They say "dance" and we dance.

How do we fight this, with the media on THEIR side?

Call me frustrated.

I was really hoping the Dems would FINALLY figure a way around this. Use the media's worst impulses against themselves, or SOMEthing. But no, I see the same ol' same ol' going on.

[A_Possum]

1. Frankly, I thought Cleland at the gates of the ranch was pretty good

I really think it's kinda pointless to blame this on the Kerry campaign. As has been noted, the media cuts away from a speech in which Kerry is talking about job loss to complain about how Kerry isn't talking about issues but about smearvets.

The Cleland drama was a masterful way to break through this kind of pattern. and it did. I think we will see the fruit of that in coming days.

[Nordic]

10. Yeah, I liked that too.

That used the media certainly.

We need more of it, we need it every day, and then we need the wave of pundit-assault, orchestrated into the daily diatribe.

[billlanger]

2. How do we fight?

We show up in NYC next week and protest. That WILL make the news. I'm thinking about flying in from ND to do it myself. We send our message loud and clear.

[fearnobush]

4. Welcome to DU!!!!

NYC welcomes all the Million protesters.

[Nordic]

9. Good!

I wish I could join you. If I didn't have little kids and a wife at home, I'd be there.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi billlanger!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[annabanana]

15. We have to buy CNN........(or something like it)

The only way that the media-block will be broken is with media ownership. I suspect that the cable media outlets are all loss-leaders. They are owned by much bigger companies who are all on board with *'s policies.

George Soros...
Where are you?

[fearnobush]

3. Do what I did at work today.

I got in their fucking faces and spewed facts at them. They scream 527's Kerry, I scream back, "You got Fox news and all of AM Radio." DOn you dare insult me with your make believe Leberial media crap."

They stop dead in their tracks. Conversations killed. Every Fucking time. Truth is a powerful weapon.

[Nordic]

8. they shut up because you're "wild eyed"

:) Just kidding.

I live in a town that is probably one of the most liberal towns in America. If I talk politics at work, it's with people who are in full agreement with me, and more often than not lean over and whisper "you know, I think Bush did 9/11 on purpose".

I don't even see any campaign ads.

So here I'm just preaching to the choir.

I just wish somebody, somewhere, who has some clout in these matters would figure out a way to use the media. The repubs have sure as shit figured out how to use them (they bought them). But these people in the media are pretty stupid and could be easily PLAYED.

It gets back to the same old notion that the Dems just aren't mean-spirited enough.

Not ruthless enough.

We're fighting Nazis and trying to act like gentlemen doing it.

Ugh.

[zmdem]

5. Interesting comment

Bush is often portrayed as being dumb as a doorknob, yet when there is a problem for the Kerry campaign it is blamed on Bush, the Evil Genius.

Remember how Sen. Kerry voted for the Iraq war because he was duped by Bush ? If Bush is so dumb, then what does that say about his opponents he outwits ?

[Erika]

6. Get A Grip.

And quit crying. We've got almost a thousand kids dead, an economy that is ruined, etc.

You need to stand up and bark rather laying down and yelping.

[Nordic]

7. oh that's a helpful response

thanks for the "constructive" criticism.

I've been barking like a rabid dog. I don't see it doing a whole lot of good, but I keep doing it anyway.

But tonight I stepped back and looked objectively on the whole campaign, how it's seen in the media right now.

And it's Kerry vs. Kerry.

George Bush is hardly mentioned ever.

Is that fucked up or what?

And when/how are the Democrats gonna figure out a way to use the media in their favor?

[Cat Atomic]

11. The way to handle it is to stop playing defense and start

hitting back. The Swift Boat Vets is a perfect example. While Kerry did need to point out their connections to the Bush campaign, he also needs to actually hit BACK with the evidence of Bush's AWOL status.

Bush doesn't have the high ground on a single god damn issue. Every time the Bush campaign makes a charge, Kerry's campaign should return fire. It's not as if there's a shortage of *real* dirt on Bush.

[incapsulated]

12. Answer: Go on Offense

Instead of constantly playing D. Or being "positive" (aka: wimp).

[ParisFrance]

13. You make a good point

The last few days as I've watched Hardball, Chris Matthews has been very objective and truthful. However, Matthews reports on the swift boat veterans for truth on a nightly basis. We are not talking about the issues that greatly matter! All part of their plan to keep these adds in people's heads and cause Kerry to look as though his whole campaign is on Vietnam. People who do not follow the news regulary are susceptible to these adds the most and will question Kerry's record and character.

[DemVIctory]

16. I am broke and haven't been able to donate here

and I don't have too many posts so I can't start a thread. However, I saw a blurp at the bottom of CNN's screen about Tony Blair being IMPEACHED! I have been switching channels and trying to get more details but I have seen none. I had hoped to come on here and get the details and low and behold there are none. Am I crazy? Did I not see the words 'Tony Blair' and 'impeached' strung together at the bottom of the screen. Anybody else see that?

[Shae]

18. check out this Guardian link

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1290863,00.html

"Now for the politics of last resort - impeach Tony Blair

Having duped us into war, the prime minister must be held to account."

[DemVIctory]

19. Thank you Carillon!

Sorry this is off-topic of this thread but this news really should start getting out there. Why aren't we impeaching W!?!! He and most of his administration LIED TO CONGRESS which is a felony.

[Nordic]

20. yes, why aren't we JAILING Bush? And his friends?

They have committed many acts that can only be construed as crimes.

Lying to congress.

Showing classified invasion plans to a foreign leader (Prince Bandar)

Torture and rape and kidnapping of foreigners.

Wrongful death of almost 1000 American soldiers.

Abuse of power to aid corporate corruption (Cheney/Halliburton)

I mean the list just goes on and on. All of these things are not just impeachable offenses, but CRIMES.

[ellie]

17. It's easy to lose heart

A campaign is a marathon not a sprint. In a previous post you mentioned that you don't see any campaign ads. Is it because you are in a safe state? The reason I ask is because I live in NW Ohio and I was over at my mom's around 5-6 p.m. last night. She watches network television (I never do). The pro-Kerry ads were running at least 7 to 1 over the pro-Bush ads. I then watched the nightly news with Dan Rather and it seemed to me to be pro-Kerry. More people watch network news than cable so I think the message is getting out. Of course there are going to be the True Believers™ who will follow smirky into hell. Let them go I say!

[Nordic]

21. I'm not losing heart, I'm looking at this very objectively

And saying what I see.

If you detach from the emotional side of it, what you see is Kerry running against the Swift Boat Veterans for President of the United States.

I see the media talking about Kerry and nothing else.

Yes, I live in a "safe" state and see almost no campaign ads.

[progressivebydesign]

22. I'm actually grateful for that right now... but only right now.

I appreciate that the media has at least tried to pick apart the SBVT's attacks on Kerry. If the slanderous accounts were allowed to lie, unexamined and discussed, then Kerry would be in deep shit. Though I'd prefer Kerry was able to articulate issues, and highlight his differences with Bush, this obsession with the Swift Boat liars is actually good right now. It has to be done... it has to be exposed, examined, and then resolved.

One thing I AM angry with the media about.. is that they are minimizing the human loss in Iraq right now. the human loss of our own soldiers. Because we are getting close to the election, and the RNC convention, the media is downplaying the deaths.. and there have been A LOT of them lately... they are barely reported!!! That's is an outrage, because it is purely at Bush's behest.

Kerry will get back on message.. he's trying, but we have to allow the media and Kerry to finish up the whoop ass on the Swift Boat liars... and we're damn close.

[Nordic]

23. Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not blaming Kerry. I'm blaming the media

With all the crimes of George Bush, the media CHOOSES to concentrate on the swift-boat-scumbags.

That's my whole point. Maybe it's being missed here.

Kerry is doing a great job, I think. But the media isn't showing that, they're just showing any bit of dirt they can find, and showing it over and over and over, even if it's a complete LIE.

George Bush is the one who should be under the frikkin' microscope, not Kerry.

This election should be ALL ABOUT BUSH.

I think the Dems may need to pull more stunts, like the one yesterday with Cleland, to get media attention.

Nothing else seems to work.

And yes, we've had HOW MANY AMERICANS KILLED in the last week? In our "war on terror?" If the war on terror is about protecting Americans, why are AMERICAN DYING BECAUSE OF IT?

Why doesn't the media report THAT?

It's a fucking outrage, yet I don't see anyone Dem figuring out how to deal with it! That's my point! All I see are the Dems doing things the old-fashoined and upstanding way, and tthe media is NOT doing their job and showing this!

We're gonna get our asses kicked if we don't DEAL WITH THE MEDIA ISSUE!