Who else is getting sick of the 'alarmist' posts?

[Cuban_Liberal]

Are any of you getting sick of the "Oh-my-God-a-Republican-just-said-something-mean-about-Kerry-so-we-must-retaliate-immediately' posts here? John Kerry and John Edwards have a good, well thought-out message and if they did what the panty-wetting DU-ers here wanted them to do, it would never get out, because they'd be doing nothing but reacting to the Republican noise machine!

Is that any way to run a winning campaign? Think about it...

[Dookus]

1. lol

Yes, I agree.

But I'm laughing at "egting sick of" and "moise machine" on a post that's ALREADY been edited!

heheh...

Kerry is a fighter. He will respond to all this shit when the time is right. He is NOT going to sit quietly and suck it up.

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. My bad

When you get up at 3:00 a.m., by mid-afternoon your typing skills go to hell...

:P

[no name no slogan]

3. AMEN TO THAT!

Of course Republicans are going to bad-mouth our candidates-- just like we bad-mouth Shrub/Smirkey. However, you don't see the Repubs peeing their pants every time some lefty talks trash about their ticket.

Quite frankly, I don't even bother following the political news these days, because I know that there's NEVER anything of real value to be found there. From now until November, it will just by one side's noise machine against the others's. And NEITHER one will be telling me anything I didn't already know.

The Democrats gotta get out of reaction mode-- THAT's what cost us 2000 more so than anything. We didn't get our own ideas front and foremost, and spent all our time REACTING to what the Repubs put out.

Let's not let them dictate the terms of the debate. Let's jump out front and NAIL THEM first.

[Cuban_Liberal]

4. We have a winner!

Go to the head of the class!

:thumbsup:

[Screaming Lord Byron]

5. BUT THE SWIFT BOATS! THE SWIFT BOATS!

That guy criticised Kerry.
Oh. He took it back.
Oh, he's criticizing Kerry again.
FEAR! FIRE! FOES! AWAKE!

[Cuban_Liberal]

7. Doomed! We're *DOOMED*, I say!

:P

[Kool Kitty]

6. I particularly like the "bad poll" panickers.

They are polling what, like, a thousand people? Even that thousand could change their minds five minutes after they speak to the pollster. Don't panic. Kerry and Edwards are fighters, and they can win.

[Cuban_Liberal]

8. Yeah, same here.

Those folks are gonna be eating Valium like popcorn by Election Day, if they don't learn to chill out.

[no name no slogan]

26. Now THAT sh!t is FUNNY!!!!

"OMG, did you SEE THIS POLL???? Kerry is 2% behind Shrub among WHITE, HETEROSEXUAL, BRING-LUNCH-FROM-HOME, HARDHAT-WEARING UNEMPLOYED OIL-DERRICK WORKERS WHO OWN PET OCELOTS!!!! What are we going to do??????? {wrings hands in despair}

98% of polls are worthless, especially given the small sample sizes and admitted margins of error (anywhere between 4-8%). Not to mention the whole three months before the election even takes place!

Polls don't mean dickety right now, especially given the low number of undecideds this time out. I won't worry about polls until October.

[Cuban_Liberal]

42. A wise decision.

Furthermore, unless they're state polls, they don't mean squat any way...

:)

[sangh0]

9. Even worse, are alarmists

who, when calm, complain that the Dems have no "spine"

[Cuban_Liberal]

11. I've always wondered how they define 'spine'. n/t

[sangh0]

15. Democrats can show their "spine"

by obeying hte commands of DUers.

[Democat]

20. Spine is defined as being willing to fight for what you believe in

Not cowering and ass kissing Bush and giving in to right wing thugs every time they say boo.

Do you even remember the 2002 election? The entire Democratic strategy was too see who could kiss Bush's ass the most.

Do you think Tom Daschle has any spine? The guy is a wimp. He has stood up to the Republicans on a few specific issues, but he lost the Senate for us and is obviously scared to death of the Republicans.

If some Democrats don't see a wimpiness problem, then maybe are probably part of the problem.

[JI7]

25. Tom Daschle kicked Bush's ass in South Dakota with Tim Johnson's win

the race turned into daschle vs bush rather than johnson vs thune. and johnson won. the same happened with the house race this year with democratic candidate stephanie herseth winning.

south dakota is a VERY republican state, much more so than many southern states, yet tom daschle has a pretty good record overall for being from such a state. and he is most responsible for the state having their entire congressional delegate be democrats. in a state with huge support for constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage, daschle is against it. and daschle has been very good when it comes to appointments of judges.

[Democat]

17. You think the Dems have spine? Maybe you missed 2000 and 2002?

The Democrats were as weak as could be in both of the previous elections.

Somehow you think that we should all just assume they've grown a spine after two failed elections?

The Democratic Party has no spine compared to the Republican Party. That has been proven in the last four years.

A few groups are starting to grow a spine, but it will take years before we are even close to having the spine of the Republican Party today.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

18. The Democrats recieved a spinal transplant

courtesy of a doctor from Vermont.

[Cuban_Liberal]

19. Bingo!

Just what I was gonna say.

:)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

22. And thank god for it!

[Democat]

21. Dean is just one guy, it's a start

But we have a long way to go to take the party back from the wimps.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

23. Of course, but the ball is at least rolling.

[Cuban_Liberal]

24. Look at it like a transfusion.

It may not have located and stopped the source of the hemorrhage, but it's replaced enough blood volume to get us through until we can.

[sangh0]

33. Yes, I think Dems have spine

I saw dozens of Dems lose their seats because they voted for AWB, and I saw scores of Dems lose their seats in the South because the Dems voted for civil rights.

What have you sacrificed?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

10. When people are desperate to change a winning strategy

you have to wonder about their motivations.

[Cuban_Liberal]

12. Or their judgment. n/t

[Wickerman]

Yeah, but can you help me refute this damaging email from my

mother-in-law's housekeeper's son's tutor's wife's father who is an office mate with the guy who held the door for the guys who delivered the swiftboat commercial to CNN headquarters?

this is really going to fuck Kerry - i can't find any holes in the story and its from a credible source.

/sarcasm
:eyes:

[Cuban_Liberal]

14. Those post always set my antenna off....

They REEK with....well... shall we say 'disingenousness'?

;)

[JI7]

27. i don't understand why some have a need to respond

especially if it comes from someone they know is a right winger. that person's intent was to attack the candidate with those emails, it wasn't about whether it was true or not.

the swift boat thing is one of the biggest examples of people believing things because they WANT to believe it. the right wing WANTS to believe what they say about kerry. they aren't upset at kerry because they believe those guys are telling the truth . they don't like him because he is the opposition, the democrat running agianst their candidate. he is the biggest threat and his military service is a threat to their candidate. so they want to believe the smears . they want others to believe it. they don't care about the facts. when that one guy retracted what he said they claimed teresa must have paid him off.

there are a few who may really want to know the truth. but most times people have an agenda with those emails which has nothing to do with knowing the truth.

[Cuban_Liberal]

28. What irks me about those posts/e-mails...

... is that they proceed to post verbatim the RNC fax-blast talking points right here on DU! Can we say 'inappropriate as hell'? Those threads should be locked as soon as they're posted, IMO.

:eyes:

[fofer]

39. BWAH!

That's hysterical! Love it.

[ibegurpard]

13. Both are necessary

Some things have to be reacted to and quickly, before they're allowed to spin out of control, but I agree it is more important to try to SET the agenda.
What irks me about this whole swift boat thing is NOT the lack of a reaction but the WAY it is being reacted to. The information to completely discredit the people behind this is not being presented in favor of relying upon Republicans like John McCain to tepidly denounce it.

[sangh0]

16. What irks you

is that the McCain denunciation worked

[hippiegranny]

29. did it work?

or was his denunciation drowned out by the pundits who played and replayed the ad under the guise of news? who got more air time?

[sangh0]

36. It worked

The only ones who believe it are the Freepers. I believe the whole thing is an attempt by Bush* to shore up his base. He is in deep doo-doo if he has to shore up his base after 3.5 years in office, and he DOES have to shore up his base.

And if this truly becomes a big issue that everyone is talking about, you can be sure that McCain will be repeating his denunciation for as long as it takes, and unlike McCain in 2000, THK has the money to make sure it gets heard.

[WiseMen]

30. Interesting how former Kerry opponents are experts on Kerry strategy.

[Cuban_Liberal]

31. Meaning what, exactly?

Just because we supported someone else in the primaries, we're blithering idiots?

:wtf:

[sangh0]

38. WiseMen said "Kerry opponents"

not "Dean supporters" or "Sharpton supporters"

There were some who were extremely hostile to Kerry during the primaries who are now trying to help Kerry but suggesting he do the opposite of what got him the nomination in the first place.

Today, one poster who just last week was calling Kerry "pro-war" suggested that it would "help" Kerry if he apologized for his vote on IWR.

[Cuban_Liberal]

41. Yes, he did, and the inference was *crystal clear*

Let's not try blowing sunshine up my ass, OK? He meant me, and we both know it.

:eyes:

[Feanorcurufinwe]

43. I didn't read it that way.

It sounded like he was posting in support of what you said to me.

[Cuban_Liberal]

45. Could be, but...

... that wasn't my impression. If I'm wrong, I apologize, WiseMen.

:shrug:

[JohnKleeb]

47. I dont recall you being a big critic of Kerry

honest, Ive always been a Kerry defender because I looked beyond the IWR vote and hell massachuetts liberals 99 times out of 100 are good. Oh and agree with what you said about the alarmists, people need to chill.

[Cuban_Liberal]

48. Thanks, John!

:hi:

[JI7]

32. i always supported Kerry and i agree with Cuban_Liberal

i am a huge supporter of kerry, from very early on in the primary even through all the down times.

[AmerDem]

34. the Chicken Littles in our party have always got under my skin

but you know what? We are all one for this election and it's always a good thing to have diverse opinions to keep everything on the straight and narrow!

[DaveFL99]

37. The perpetual losers have always gotten under mine.

Bunch of pussies. I'd rather have the White House than 'moral superiority'

[depakid]

35. Gotta choose your battles

Obviously, it's stupid to respond to every irresponsible or infammatory charge. On the other hand, it's equally stupid to allow the far-right to keep repeating simplistic meme's like "flip-flopper," or disingenuous characterizations like the 300 some odd votes to "raise taxes" without repeated, high profile rebuttals.

Propaganda works- it's insidious and if not countered will lead to the candidate being pigeonholed into an image that the ordinary person will hold in their mind, regardless of the actual facts or issues. Americans these days are not terribly critical thinkers- and once notions like "Saddam has ties to Al Qaeda and 9-11" get sunk into their heads, it's almost impossible to dispel them.

Simply taking the high road and staying "positive" ignores this reality- and it ignores the history of the many Democratic candidates who have tried this appraoch- and lost.

[Cuban_Liberal]

40. Kick

[bigwillq]

44. You make some very good points

If we're going to attack, we should only attack on policy and issues and on that alone, Kerry-Edwards will have a lot to say about shrub.

I think the right-wing media and the repukes criticized the DEM convention for not keeping it's "promise" to be clean but what they failed to realize is that everyone who spoke only attacked issues and policies that had a legitimate argument.

There's a big difference there especially with the campaign that Shrub and crew are trying to run now.

[Cuban_Liberal]

46. kick