Got a question, especially for Massachusetts DU'ers

[PlanetBev]

What do you think Kerry's strategy will be heading into September? I know he's keeping his advertising powder dry in August, but you guys have seen him in action in Senate campaigns before. How did he take out his opponents and close the deal?

[stepnw1f]

1. I Found He Waits Till The Near End

He's considered by the "Right" as sneaky. He's definitely cunning and very careful in his attacks.

[JohnKleeb]

3. Ive studied that, so we shouldnt be surprised if Kerry wins by a nice mark

He's a great closer, I know for certain, so I am not worried at all, actually quite impressed, you got a good pair of senators.

[stepnw1f]

7. Can You Give Me A Link

I'm looking for a case where this has happened. I have heard a lot and read somethings concerning this, but nothing on a specific case. I need amo.

[JohnKleeb]

8. You mean for coming back?

Sorry Ive read in my biography of Kerry, do searches on the Bill Weld race though.

[volosong]

2. We're Not Going to Be Singing In The Rose Garden

Given the circumstances, I would discount anything I have seen here in Mass. in the past 20 years for the following reasons:

(1) Bush is kicking ass through his dominance in the mass media and venues like FOX.

(2) Bush is still perceived as a stronger leader than Kerry.

If the two factors continue, we won't be singing in the Rose Garden next spring.

I think we need to do our own media blitz and start writing letters to newspapers. This link is great

http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

For issues, the DNC has 2 nice sites: http://www.democrats.org/news/list.html
http://www.democrats.org/issues/

After we expose and attack the media for their right wing bias, we probably should debunk the myth that Bush is a strong leader. He is still out polling Kerry on that criteria and that is very ominous.

On the media problem, I submitted the following essay to a number of news services:

NEWS MEDIA SUFFOCATING DEMOCRACY

It is evident that the honored and traditional roles of the reporter and news services are dead. Out of the ashes of the golden age of journalism, an anemic albatross rather than a phoenix has risen.

Empowered yet impotent, timid reporters repeatedly fail to challenge and expose the duplicities of ALL our political leaders. When Bush split his crotch on Kerry’s war record, no one seemed to notice. An objective examination of the Bush blabbers shows 2-5 times more flips than Kerry. Many regard Bush as a total FLOP whose stupid policies are killing people and wasting billions while Americans suffer.

Kerry-Edwards were greeted by the largest crowd in Portland history estimated between 40,000-60,000. This was ignored by most major US news services. Instead, we saw Bush with a crowd of invited guests, many looking embalmed, listening dutifully while Bush stammered and slandered.

If you don't know for whom to vote, all you have to do is look in your wallet, and then look into the eyes of loved ones. Do you want four more years of a man (who in my opinion has a “cognitive disorder” and is unfit), who has his hands in your pocketbook, his finger on the nuclear trigger, and his head down kissing up to big business and corporate polluters all at your expense?

The third party candidate is effectively not Nader, but the media who are in fact running as a “parasitic appendage” prostituting themselves to Bush in the manner of John McCain. The result is the loss of journalistic integrity, a violation of the public trust, and suffocation of democracy.

I am a veteran and a gun owner. I am not formally affiliated with any candidate. What is notable is not my Doctorate in Political Science, or my Medical Degree, but the fact that I am old enough to remember when reporters and news services used to be a class act: They were aggressive, incisive, and fair instead of court jesters and palace eunuchs.

[PlanetBev]

4. Today's media reminds me of something Joseph Pulitzer once said.

"A nation will rise and fall with it's press".

[Toots]

9. Submit it to you local paper also

Either as a LTTE or a MY Turn or an opinion piece. It should get wider distribution than just DU.

[louis c]

5. I have followed his campaigns

and supported him in the past.

Against Weld in his last win, he really used a tool that is powerful only in a limited number of states, Organized Labor.

Weld wanted to privatize a great deal of public services, especially the transit system.

Organized Labor, which already supported Kerry, now became galvanized. This is not so important in a National Election. I believe it is most effective in just a few states. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. Even other pro-labor states like Michigan and Pennsylvania have some Republican areas, but in Mass., RI, and NJ, there is little if any Repuke enclaves. As a result, Labor has more clout.

His only really tough race was the Weld fight, which stayed close, until the end. Kerry cleaned his clock in two debates, and won easily.

However, you must remember, what plays well in Mass., doesn't necessarily play well nationwide. His success in the primaries this year were also to left of center voters by the nature of partisan primaries.

He has to crystallize his message and keep it simple. He's not talking to his Senate Colleagues, or even Mass., or Democratic Primary voters. Point out Bush's failures, and state his own alternatives.

I don't think his election record in Mass. is at all indicative of this race. He should bring in James Carville and do what he says. After all, nothing succeeds like success.

[Monte Carlo]

6. Someone once said, you don't launch new product in August.

Not when the Olympic games are going on, not when Bush will have his media circus in early September.

Kerry is going to come out strong then, like he has come out strong late in the campaign seasons before, for the Senate and the Democratic nomination. It's a very sound strategy for this election as well.

I'm not part of his campaign, but everything I know about him tells me this.

[merbex]

10. Kerry vs, Weld

Weld was considered"popular" here.Popular and IMHO SMUG, like you know who.
It came across in the debates that Weld was a smart ass and Kerry was very good at dealing with that aspect of Weld"s personality.

Then it all came down to GOTV;Dem's here know how to do that when it matters.The issues mattered then:privatization especially hit a chord with Unions

The issues really matter this time - turnout is key