This is my major concern

[lancdem]

I don't think it's too late, but I'm increasingly convinced the basic flaw in Kerry's campaign strategy might not be cosmetic and isn't being addressed:

The stated belief that voters don't want a negative campaign, based on focus groups, led us to run a convention that missed a huge opportunity to attack Bush's record, which would've depressed his numbers further and given Kerry a much bigger bounce. I remember Clinton saying before the DNC that Kerry needed to close the deal then. He didn't.

Now we have all those comments from the campaign talking about how negative the RNC was, as if complaining about it is a subsitute for rebutting all the charges. As soon as Zell Miller was done with his tirade, someone should've been immediately on TV refuting everything he said about Kerry. Make no mistake: Zell's speech was intended to be exactly what it was. It was no faux pas by Rove, but rather a smart move. We need to stop kidding ourselves. The RNC was very successful.

A message to the campaign: Please, please, please stop listening to those focus groups and listen to Kerry's instincts. This is an election we can't afford to lose.

[Democat]

1. We should have laid the ground work for the late assault, like the Repubs

I've said this before, but it's very simple:

In a boxing match or any kind of fight, you can either punch your opponent all the way through the fight, or you can try to survive to the last round and hope to get a single lucky knockout punch. Even if you are hoping for that late luck punch, hitting them in every round weakens them and it's easier to close the deal at the end.

Bush and his supporters have been punching Kerry for the entire campaign. The right wing has been organized and focused - each group works with the others to target Kerry's strengths and turn them into weakness. Kerry has not been hurting Bush, or even seriously trying to.

We are being told by some DUers and other Democrats that Kerry is a strong closer. That's great, but wouldn't he have been an even stronger closer if he had been laying some groundwork for the closing from day one? Are we all supposed to just hope for that one lucky Kerry proverbial "punch" that's going to end Bush's presidency?

Who decided to count on one lucky punch to take Bush out in the last round rather than using a strategy of taking him down round by round, month by month? Political Judo seems like a joke when the other guy is punching you in the face every day.

[roseBudd]

2. viral marketing is key

please help me get the word out:

most people have not read the 8/6/2001 PDB. i created a postcard size version.



Please print and distribute the image above. High res version for printing available below. Put them on car windows. Hand them out on street corners. We don't need TV buys to get some attention on this issue. We have to undermine Bush's perceived strength. We all are potential disseminators of printed media. We do not need a newspapers permission or lots of money for TV commercials. We need viral grass roots marketing. We need to create a buzz. If we create a buzz with massive distribution of printed ads we will get media coverage. If these start miraculously appearing and no one knows where they are coming from it will start to get media attention. now someone create a Condi ad and an Ashcroft.

Bush admin. INCOMPETENCE is key to undermining his strength.

high resolution version for printing here:
http://somnamblst.tripod.com/

[Jade Fox]

6. Thank you, that's great.

[Bongo Prophet]

11. Good work, Rosebud!

Some good talking points to add to this--in would you or I be this incompetent? form
"If you or I got this, would we continue to vacation?
Even on the morning of 9-11, when the first plane hit, he said "That's one bad pilot!" instead of IMMEDIATELY GRASPING the fact that this related to that PDB!

Instead, he went ahead with his PHOTO OP and then, even when hearing of the 2nd hit, just sat there...the famous 7 min....and THEN.. another 20 min. for the followup PHOTO OP and had the CHILDREN gathered around to announce the terrible news....and THEN scooted out of there, etc.."


If they say that it was too late to do anything, point out that he could have sent out word to immediately evacuate WTC, saving hundreds of lives, and set up defense in DC, etc.

[lancdem]

4. Good point

It's not just that we're not punching enough at Bush, we're not responding to the attacks from the other side quickly enough.

Every Dem nominee should run on the one proven strategy that works - what Clinton did in 1992.

[H2O Man]

15. I'm going to venture

that I am the most successful boxer on DU. I'll bet I've trained and managed more boxers than the rest of DU combined. And so I want to say some things about the boxing analogy.

A fighter doesn't have to win every minute of every round. In fact, they don't need to win every round. They do need to win the fight.

If there is a round that your opponent is throwing a lot of punches, you keep your hands up and your chin down. You dig some hard shots to the body. And that's what you do during the convention.

Kerry is in good shape, my friends. Now is the time for him to pick up the pace. Now is the time to set the pace that Bush has trouble maintaining until the debates.

There are a number of impatient folks on DU who want to have Kerry go out and kick some ass. That's understandable. But Kerry needed to let the republican convention happen -- the media wasn't going to cover Kerry equally during the convention. Now's the time. Teach little George the oldest lesson in boxing: when you go out to kick another man's ass, you have your own right behind you.

Timing is everything. The people around Kerry know that. Edwards knows that. And Kerry sure as hell knows it. We're going to win.

[Democat]

16. You are a boxer or trainer?

Cool. :)

[volosong]

18. Voters Always Say they Don't Want a Negative Campaign

and every poll indicates that negative attacks WORK.

Tweety said so yesterday with a smirk.

[Old and In the Way]

3. Say Kerry had gone nuclear on George.

How would the corporate media have reported it? WOold they run down the facts and write solid journalistic pieces that corroborated his message?

Or would they have attacked Kerry by rhetorically asking, "What is this desperation by the Kerry campaign? Why can't they run on a positive message? Why are the Democrats so hateful?"

Sadly, if the corporate media had done it's job of reporting the truth, Dimson would have been a non-starter in 2000.

[lancdem]

5. Just point out his pathetic record

not personal attacks.

[volosong]

19. Kerry's Campaign Must Be Like a Hunter-Killer Submarine

Dive deep and GO NEGATIVE

[BillZBubb]

7. You have the wrong interpretation.

Kerry only had to use Bush*s record to attack. And he needed to use the truth to immediately shoot down attacks on himself.

The media questioning his "desperation" would run out of gas very quickly--ie, as soon as the Repugs needed the airtime to play defense. Remember, the Repugs used the "hateful Dems" line in May and it was a colossal failure.

[demgrrrll]

9. I'm not sure about your feelings about Zell. Those types of tirades

appeal to his base not, in my opinion to the average voter. That being said you may be right as the script was clear, get batshit nutty Zell out there to spew vitriol and then kick him out of the box and have little Laura make a well, we may not agree with him statement. They get the benefit of energizing the base and they don't have to get their hands dirty. That is their MO. The fact is that they are still tied after EVERYthing they have done including the sbv for lies. The 10 point lead is a psyche out and what we need to decide today is do we embrace hope or fear. Bush pushes fear, fear of terror, skewed polls to encourage despair and hopelessness, fear fear fear behind every door. These polls are another form of fear.
Bullies thrive on their victims being afraid, that is how they maintain control, power and the ability to continue their actions.
They count on our fear and do everything they can to keep the pot stirred. I am not afraid anymore. This reminds me of the Shawshank Redemption in a sense, I Hope and I will crawl through whatever tunnel of shit they manufacture to come out clean on the other side.

[BillZBubb]

23. But wouldn't you agree that the Zellout made Cheney look

reasonable by comparison? What better way to make a fanatic like Cheney into the soft grandfatherly type, than to have him deliver his dead pan attack after Miller's flaming tirade?

In other words, Miller's rant made Cheney look eminently reasonable to the average voter.

[necso]

8. Generally I am opposed to all the do-this, do-that posts.

I am sure that Kerry is getting all the advice that he needs -- from all perspectives.

However, I put zero faith in the "pundits", and I strongly believe that Kerry should run the campaign in the manner that he feels is appropriate.

I have always felt that Gore was poorly advised and retain my suspicions about some of his advisors.

And while we need to hold our ideals close, we also simply must win. --- The consequences will be just too terrible if we do not.

Some people might believe that the neos have learned their lessons from their disastrous mistakes, or can be driven from power even if the President gets four more years. This is untrue. The neos never learn and they will cling to power in the Republican Party until it is demonstrated that they can no longer win elections. Moreover, changing a few faces will not put an end to the neo agenda, no matter what some conservatives might think.

For it is the neo agenda that is triumphant in the Republican Party, not just some individuals. And as long as this is the case, the Republicans will not be people that we can work with as fellow patriots and fellow concerned citizens. The neos, as small as their numbers are, will see to that.

Cooperation with Democrats is dissent in the neos' eyes... And dissent is crushed. For this is a basic tenet of the neo agenda. And if the neos would turn on their own fellow Republicans (and they do, viciously), you can well imagine what they have in store for us.

Enough bickering, people, let us all stand squarely behind our candidate, and let that candidate do what he knows is right.

And if we should lose, we can do no more than pick up the pieces and continue our struggle for the common good. But let us act like Men, adults and persons who are not pursuing their own agenda, but rather America's agenda.

For we have set ourselves a high standard, and we must act accordingly.

[liberal N proud]

10. Kerry is now pointing out bush's failures

He is trying to do it with out the same negativity that that the gop is practicing.
If Kerry can get people to listen to him they will see what he stands for in addition to what bush doesn't and what bush has not done.

Hang in there!
Listen to the message, convey the message and don't let them use the rhetoric on you. I had one guy who claims to be repub. but I keep telling him he only thinks he is republican. He called Kerry a Flip-Flopper, I simply pointed out all the flipping and flopping that his beloved liar has done. All he can come back with is your not changing my mind. I will keep trying though.

[lagniappe]

12. I do trust Kerry. But the Democrats should go on the attack and let

Kerry stay above the fray. I think the Swift Boat ads are a perfect example. It was a shameless smear, yet Bush comes out smelling like a rose because he was not 'associated' with the group. The media then contrasts Kerry's credibility with that piece of shit John O'Neill instead of Bush.

Of course the RNC was successful. There are a few here on DU that think we should sit passively and hope that it backfires. I guess since the spineless approach has worked so well in the past, why not continue down this path.

[demgrrrll]

13. Not hope without action or spineless hope but hope with action.

Bill Clinton had a message of hope but he also had a rapid response team to counteract any negative messages. Both fight and hope are needed, the terms are not mutually exclusive.

[bigtree]

14. The media has hardened since then. Most of our allies have been banished

Kerry is fighting back. He has all along. Make no mistake, what folks really want is a bloody war of words. What the country needs is a serious focus on their needs and concerns, not an obsession with the personal faults of the candidates. If you believe that we haven't been strong and focused on the issues I would like an opportunity to refute that.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=612260

[demgrrrll]

17. I hope you are not responding to my post! I was responding to the

previous poster. I don't disagree with you. Perhaps you too were responding to the previous poster.

[lagniappe]

21. News releases are not what I call fighting back.

The image of Kerry windsurfing was not good and at a time when his reputation was being savaged by the swift boat veterans. The campaign's response to those ads was pathetic.

No, we have not been strong. I think Kerry got the message and is starting to sharpen his responses, but if you think the Democrats have been effective in the past 20 years you are dreaming. We won with Clinton only because he was a genius. We've been relegated to the outside looking in. Tell me, which branch of government the Democrats control again?

[demgrrrll]

22. I just read that Kerry's gut instinct was to immediately go after the

Swift boat liars but his aides talked him out of it thinking that a response would give the issue too much oxygen. That was a tactical mistake, Kerry should have gone with his gut. What if everyone agreed with your analysis? What would that mean? Should we all just give up and go home? Since we don't control any of the branches of government right now I quess we should just quit. What's your solution to this problem?

[Michaelw80]

20. I just think...

that Kerry needs to drop all the talk about Vietnam service. While he admirably served this country, there are some things that don't add up. He used his service as a basis for why he would be a good president, but I don't think the public really cares what happened 30 years ago. The people want to hear what Kerry can do for this country today.

I say ignore the negative Vietnam attacks and start talking about the future.