John Kerry: Public Enemy #1 to the DC Establishment

[beachmom]

Last week, when I watched events unfold on the floor of the U.S. Senate, I was hit with a sudden case of deja vu, when I witnessed his very important Iraq amendment get relegated to the night shift. That coupled with the NONSTOP pummelling of the Senator by media outlets far and wide made me realize that the Bush Administration and all of D.C. view him as the public enemy to their grand plans. I sifted through my old cassette tapes, and listened to an old classic hip hop tune from the '80s, and it was like listening to an oldtime gospel.

Don't believe the hype - its a sequel
As an equal, can I get this through to you
My 98's boomin' with a trunk of funk
All the jealous punks can't stop the dunk
Comin' from the school of hard knocks
Some perpetrate, they drink Clorox
Attack the black, cause I know they lack exact
The cold facts, and still they try to Xerox
Leader of the new school, uncool
Never played the fool, just made the rules
Remember there's a need to get alarmed
Again I said I was a timebomb

This was Chuck D rapping for Public Enemy about how he was absolutely lampooned in the media for everything under the sun. One caveat here: he raps favorably about Farrakhan, for which most of us would agree spoke one too many anti-semitic remarks. But, that doesn't mean we should chuck this ingenius poetry about our shitty media, which now just doesn't go after hip hop artists, but anyone who would dare question the ENTIRE premise of the Bush administration's actions, and ask that they be reversed.

Here's where Chuck D talks about how P.E. was relegated to nighttime radio on the R&B stations, not unlike the leadership's plan to schedule Kerry for a time so late that he wouldn't be heard by any of the evening news programs:

In the daytime the radio's scared of me
'Cause I'm mad, plus I'm the enemy
They can't c'mon and play with me in primetime
'Cause I know the time, plus I'm gettin' mine
I get on the mix late in the night
They know I'm livin' right, so here go the mike, sike
Before I let it go, don't rush my show
You try to reach and grab and get elbowed
Word to herb, yo if you can't swing this
Learn the words, you might sing this
Just a little bit of the taste of the bass for you
As you get up and dance at the LQ
When some deny it, defy if I swing bolos
Then they clear the lane I go solo
The meaning of all of that
Some media is the whack
You believe it's true, it blows me through the roof

And now something for the absolute scumbags of the media landscape -- R. Emmett Tyrrell (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/29/tyrrell.kerry/index.html?section=cnn_latest) and those SOBs at CNN who gave him a platform to spread his lies like a virus:

Suckers, liars get me a shovel
Some writers I know are damn devils
For them I say don't believe the hype
Yo Chuck, they must be on a pipe, right?
Their pens and pads I'll snatch
'Cause I've had it
I'm not an addict fiendin' for static
I'll see their tape recorder and grab it
No, you can't have it back silly rabbit
I'm going' to my media assassin
Harry Allen, I gotta ask him
Yo Harry, you're a writer, are we that type?
Don't believe the hype

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/public-enemy/dont-believe-the-hype.html

"Don't Believe the Hype" by Public Enemy 1988

In case you're wondering what Chuck D's been up to since, that would be raising money for groups to defeat George W. Bush in 2004:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6487639/voices_for_change/

Voices for Change

From Bruce Springsteen to Jadakiss, artists speak out about John Kerry, George Bush and what's at stake on Election Day

As the election approaches, some of rock & roll's biggest artists are embarking on a tour with an unprecedented message: Vote for change. While musicians have played benefits for candidates in the past, nothing on this scale has ever been attempted: a nine-day tour of Ohio, Florida and seven other swing states, culminating on October 11th in a historic concert in Washington, D.C. Spearheaded by Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Dixie Chicks and R.E.M., the tour is expected to raise $10 million to mobilize voters. On the eve of this ambitious undertaking, ROLLING STONE asked twenty-six artists to discuss why they're voting - and why this election is so important.

snip

Chuck D
PUBLIC ENEMY

Today is the first day of school for my kids. I got one in eleventh grade and another in fifth grade. The older one looks upon this election almost like it's pop culture. One day she asked me about Fahrenheit 9/11, and she was talking about it like it was the latest Usher concert. You know, it's gonna be her world. And when a bunch of fifty- and sixty-year-olds fuck it up for them, that's not a cool thing. Sending these twenty- and thirty-year-olds overseas to fight and die, what the hell is that all about? The real axis of evil is Bush and Cheney. They have detached America from the rest of the planet by invading Iraq. Whenever people start saying God anointed them to do something, it's a turnoff, because I don't think anyone has God's beeper number.

As gratifying as it is to read those lyrics above, try listening to the tune. Totally AWESOME and good for the soul . . .

[stepnw1f]

1. This Puts a Big Smile on My Face

Awesome... what would we all do without artists spreading the word. And how often we rely on them too... glad I'm in good company.

[beachmom]

2. Thanks -- sometimes art allows you to put together all the pieces

running inside your head, and give perspective. Damn was Chuck D prescient in 1988 -- many criticized him at the time for being self important, but his lyrics serve as an anthem for anyone who is unfairly targeted by the media because they dare speak truths no one wants to hear.

[freesqueeze]

3. I've also noted the Kerry Demonization

What exactly has he done wrong? He wants to put the eventual reality of the pull-out of Iraq on a schedule.

What's wrong with that?

People are getting killed every day we wait!



"Slip out the back, Jack, and set yourself free."

[beachmom]

4. Because it will say something that the Bush administration doesn't

want to admit -- that their invasion of Iraq was a BIG MISTAKE, and that it is NOT making us safer, and in fact, is making us less safe. Although a plurality of Americans already know this, the WH doesn't want this spoken in the media landscape. And anyone who dares speak that truth MUST be destroyed at all costs.

[cali]

8. I don't think that's it

My Senator's been saying that since before the vote, and he's repeated it strongly many, many times. Except for Cheney, on the Senate floor, telling him to go fuck himself and the usual right wing echo chamber, nobody's attempted to destroy him.

I think it's because he's planning to run again, and for some, that makes him an irresistable target.

[beachmom]

15. Well, he's a bigger target and often will get more attention

than Sen. Leahy, not because he's running again but because he was the former presidential nominee. If you notice, Gore has been a lightening rod, too, and there are forces seeking to destroy and discredit him.

I hate to say it, but when I mean DC Establishment, I don't just mean just the Republicans, but the media and many in the Dem Establishment, too. It has become increasingly obvious that they're out to get him, and don't like him showing up Hillary for her lack of a firm position on Iraq. But Kerry has no other choice but to continue to speak his mind, and the others are just going to have to get used to it.

[cali]

19. Sorry, that's just

crazy. There is no concentrated media conspiracy to take JK down because he's casting a shadow over Hillary. If the press is negative, it's an orgainic kind of thing. What's more, it's NOT because he's a former candidate, it's because he's an assumed future candidate. Same with Gore and McCain, as well.

[blm]

72. Leahy was also a target for anthrax by these people. Of course, Kerry is

still a target. He was a target for Nixon, a target for Reagan, a target for Bush, a target for Bush2. It's because of the choices he made to counter their corruption and that will never change. Hell, most of the people working for Bush2 were involved in all the other campaigns against Kerry.

[LittleClarkie]

6. Not to mention the travesty of an article at CNN.com

what would be the purpose of a major news outlet allowing an article from the American Spectator that sounds like it belongs on the Smear vet website. Why bother to swiftboat him some more unless he's a thorn?

[_dynamicdems]

18. They're worried about their careers. They don't want anyone

rocking the boat. Sen. Kerry's been rocking the boat for as long as he's been in Washington.

[wisteria]

5. Chuck D sounds like a very astute guy. Oh, and it is true about

Senator Kerry. The establishment is uneasy because he is so principled.

[ProSense]

7. Cool post! n/t

[NoodleyAppendage]

9. And, so begins the Kerry rehabilitation / obfuscation campaign...

Kerry needs to get it into his THICK SKULL. He is NOT going to make it as the 2008 Dem nominee.

He's a fine man and the like, but he just lacks the personable nature necessary for the modern "popularity contests" called US elections.

Let the flames and conserted efforts by the Kerry shills and campaign operatives around here begin...

J

[MH1]

10. My, you haven't been paying attention, have you?

Never mind your choice of words with such negative connotations and attacking other DUers (I do believe that's against the rules), if you mean to say the support for Kerry around here is only now regenerating, I would have to say you are mistaken.

[NoodleyAppendage]

20. So quick with the DU rules quotations...you Kerry lovers.

Please tell me where in my original post I attacked other DUers? It's a fact that there are Kerry campaign operatives on DU. Stating a fact is not attacking anyone.

I'm entitled to my opinion. And my opinion is that John Kerry, while a fine man, is a losing proposition for the Dems in 2008.

If you don't like my opinion, then don't respond to my posts. Threatening me with DU rules breakage just because you don't agree with their opinion is childish. Ooops...sorry, was that a rule break. Jesh...

J

[ProSense]

13. Nothing can inspire opinion like democracy, heh? n/t

[beachmom]

16. And that has anything to do with my post because why?

Campaign operative . . . hmmmm . . . I like the sound of that!! Forgive me, but I'm a stay at home Mom whose duties mostly consist of diaper changes, cleaning up the never ending mess, and trying to teach my children everything they need for life, which sounds noble but is often, well, mundane. I actually want to thank you for mistaking me for being a campaign operative, but I assure you I am just an ordinary citizen who calls them as I see it.

[Dr Fate]

79. No need to tear down one guy- just prop up your own. n/t

n/t

[Democrafty]

11. Good observations!

:woohoo:

The Washington establishment is responsible for so much of why we are where we are right now, and John Kerry is one of very few people who've tried to get us away from that. That's why, in the immortal words of Chuck D, we have to Fight the Power.

[Revolution_July4]

12. John Kerry is the Washington Establishment

Did you read his 2004 campaign platform?

[NoodleyAppendage]

21. Careful, Rev. Your opinions are not welcome by the Kerry crew.

They will cry like little babies to the DU monitors that your opinion doesn't fit with theirs.

J

[blm]

66. It's more like that opinion has no basis in the historic record.

.

[blm]

39. That's the Dem PARTY PLATFORM. Kerry is the most ostracized lawmaker

by the DC establishment in modern history.

Try reading the congressional record.

[bobbieinok]

49. and when he took on the BCCI he was part of the DC establishment????

[iconoclastNYC]

14. Sorry but that doesn't pass the giggle test.

An Ex-DLCer, In D.C for how many terms, ran the most safe, establishment campaign our party has ever seen despite having so much better red meat to run on???

He's a good Senator, better than most in D.C..... but he's an establishment D.C. Insider...he's no maverick....he doesn't rock the boat.

I'm surprised the length to which his supporters will go to aid in his transformation into a Howard Dean like figure for 2008.

[beachmom]

17. I guess you didn't see how his amendment was purposefully

relegated to the late evening hours of the Senate, and how he was sabotaged by both the Republican leadership (where McConnell took his amendment and sent it to the floor behind Kerry's back) AND the Democratic leadership (which didn't even bother to set up a time schedule for his amendment while annonymously whispering to the NYT how he was "dividing" Democrats, when in fact the REAL Democrats in the country agree with Kerry/Feingold, not the watered down Levin/Reed). I didn't get this stuff out of thin air, I saw it with my own eyes. He's rocking that boat, I assure you, just like he did in the '80s/'90s with Iran/Contra and BCCI, and the REAL Establishment Dems which you insist clumping Kerry in with, don't like it one damn bit. And don't forget his attempt to filibuster Alito, where ANOTHER hit piece from the NYT talked about how "embarassing he was to other Dems". I read an excerpt of an e-mail from his own staff here on DU, saying that not many of the other senators wouldn't even speak to him after that, so I say once again that he is the public enemy #1 to the D.C. Establishment.

Re: Howard Dean. Um, not to get rude here, but you wouldn't catch me dead wanting Kerry to emulate Dean -- he was all talk, without having to cast real votes about the war, whereas Kerry has had to make those tough votes, admit mistakes, and take action in the Senate to rectify them. His campaign was hardly cautious when in September 2004 he said clearly "Wrong war, at the wrong time, in the wrong place".

[ProSense]

22. What's a Howard Dean like figure? Am I missing something?

Throwing around useless labels and analogies that bear no resemblance to reality makes me giggle!

[iconoclastNYC]

26. Just how useless was his analogies?

Has anything enduring come from Kerry's 2004 camapign?

Dean's campaign yielded Democracy For America.

A Howard Dean turns his back on DLC based corporate 'centrism' and talks about what matters to the common American.

Kerry doesn't have the tempermant to be a populist. He comes off like an elitist. Because he is, he's part of the elite and he sounds like it. Some people can be elite and not sound like it (ahem, Bush, ahem)

I like Kerry. I think he's a great leader in the Senate. But the reason he did so well Nationally in 2004 had more to do with Bush fatigue then him being likable or him connecting to the voters.

In 2008 we're going to be running against a Republican anti-Bush. We need someone likeable to beat them. Someone who is a convincing populist.

Kerry's non-reaction to the Swiftboating is reason enough not to give him the nomination again.

[beachmom]

31. Sorry, but maybe you need to re-read Dean's biography

He is as elitist as George W. Bush in background and in action, until he got his act together and became a medical doctor. Kerry actually had to work summers stocking shelves when he went to Yale, because unlike Dean, his family wasn't fabulously rich (he had a rich aunt who paid for his schooling). And unlike Dean who avoided the draft just like all the others and was actually a ski bum during that time, Kerry chose to serve in Vietnam. I commend Dean for the role he played in making civil unions legal in Vermont, but he was a lot of hot air with no real record to back up what he was saying. Most of your critique about Kerry is in terms of style, not substance, and to be frank, I'm really tired of that from you and the MSM -- and you use Bush as your example that Dems need to emulate. Forget it!! The American people won't be in the mood for that. Give me a solid record, and somebody smart enough to solve the problems at hand.

And stop perpetuating the myth, for which I can trace back to Paul Begala (DC Establishment, of course) shortly after the election, with this crapola that Kerry didn't fight back against the Swiftboat liars. He DID, but the media decided to downplay it (as well as all the facts, refutations, and documentation that proved they were liars), and he said his big mistake was not officially accepting his nomination until closer to Bush's convention. The Kerry campaign had to use the same amount of public money as Bush's, yet Kerry had a 13 week fall campaign while Bush had an 8 week campaign. Had Kerry had that extra money, he could have flooded the airwaves with rebuttals which could not be ignored. But he DIDN'T have the money, so he couldn't. He said recently that that was the biggest mistake he made, and I believe him.

[iconoclastNYC]

36. Sad you choose to insult Dean to defend Kerry

"He is as elitist as George W. Bush in background and in action."

That is such an ridiculous slander against Dean. Dean got accepted into medical school, no easy task. Bush got into grad school based on being a legacy. Dean got elected on his own. Bush had his daddy's cronies pushing him all the way. Dean went from being a political nobody on the national state to the front runner, based on his MESSAGE...the way in which he communicated.

"until he got his act together and became a medical doctor?"

Oh right as if you can just Waltz into a medical career. Where do I sign up?

"Kerry actually had to work summers stocking shelves when he went to Yale, because unlike Dean, his family wasn't fabulously rich (he had a rich aunt who paid for his schooling)."

"And you use Bush as your example that Dems need to emulate."

I did no such thing. I mearly used Bush as an example of how some people have a speaking style that belies thier elitist orgins. Shame on you for putting words in my mouth.

"Give me a solid record, and somebody smart enough to solve the problems at hand."

I agree, and that person should be able to connect to the voters and speack thier language. Having an affected Kennedy accent does not endear you to the voters. And that's my point. Dean could talk to the American people in way that didn't turn them off.

"And stop perpetuating the myth ... that Kerry didn't fight back against the Swiftboat liars."

I don't know about you but I didn't get my election coverage from solely from the MSM. His reaction to the swiftboaters was too late and too little. Weak and pathetic. You don't ignore slander and hope it goes away. If it were me I'd use it in every speech from there on, I'd smear them with it. He didn't do this. He gave them a pass.

"the media decided to downplay it"

Yes blame the media. Tell me how the media is going to treat him differently in 2008?

"But he DIDN'T have the money, so he couldn't. He said recently that that was the biggest mistake he made, and I believe him."

I don't doubt you believe him, but if you AGREE with him I have a couple houses in the 9th ward I'd like to sell you.

[blm]

42. Kerry grows up in Boston and Europe and he "effects" a Kennedy accent?

HAHAHAH.... yeah...and I "effect" a Lake Erie twang because I grew up around Cleveland. And I'm sure Edwards "effects" a Mayberry accent because he grew up in ....how can it be.... North Carolina.

Geez..... can it get any more absurd? That was the way the RW attacked Kerry - because every now and then his accent showed. So it was "effected" to their precious ears. LOLOL.

[beachmom]

45. You left me no choice but to go after Dean, when you said . . .

A Howard Dean turns his back on DLC based corporate 'centrism' and talks about what matters to the common American.

Kerry doesn't have the tempermant to be a populist. He comes off like an elitist. Because he is, he's part of the elite and he sounds like it. Some people can be elite and not sound like it (ahem, Bush, ahem)


That leaves the impression that you think Dean is somehow a "man of the people" when he grew up on Park Avenue. I'm not insulting Dean; I am stating facts. And, in fact, I like many of the things Dean has been doing at the DNC like the 50 State strategy. But as a presidential candidate, your assertions of him just don't hold up. He was SAYING things that you liked (and making, I may remind you, many gaffes by the end of '03), but I saw nothing in his Vermont record to back up that populist message. Let's contrast that to say, Mark Warner. He DID things in Virginia, and now he TALKS about ideals which match his actions in Richmond.

You once again are talking about style over substance. I look at a total voting record in combination with the rhetoric and policy initiatives.

In regards to yours and my remarks about Bush, well the example is . . . Howard Dean. Someone who comes from an elitist background, who you claim can speak in a language the American people can understand. The parallels cannot be denied in regards to background.

And finally, this thread was a positive statement about Kerry and how I was inspired by an old hip hop tune which seemed relevant today. You came in here asking for a fight, and now I'm reading from you "how dare you" and "shame on you". Well, what did you expect? Me to agree with all of your put downs of someone I still admire?

[iconoclastNYC]

95. He appeals to the people.

He looks good on camera, has a likeability factor, doesn't engender elitist stereotypes.

I'm sorry but that accent Kerry has turns people off and plays into the stereotypes the GOP have feeding thier sheep for years.

We need someone who seems a little southern or midwestern.

There is a reason why everyone on TV has a midwestern accent.

Kerry was a bad spokesman for the party platform in 2004 and we'll have much better talent to draw from in 2008.

[beachmom]

48. And one more thing: YOU brought Dean up in the first place, not me!! n/t

[midnight]

92. You have informed me on little thinks about Kerry and Dean.

I voted for both Dean in the primaries, and Kerry in the election. Can you imagine if either one of those candidates were leading us through this mess. Well... I suppose if they were leading, we would not have this crisis to the extent that it has been taken in the last two years.

[ProSense]

34. So you respond with the

elitist label BS! And with all the DFA is, Kerry is still one of the biggest supporters of Democrats, through his grassroots supporters, both financially and in person, of any one. And I'm pretty sure if I call up the posts that point to the Kerry campaign response in the research forum, you know it exist. And for all you've said, I ask: Why the hell would I want Kerry to emulate Dean?

[blm]

43. Smells like flopsweat. Stop revising 2004. That's Rove's job.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the Kerry-Edwards Campaign:

Kerry 4-0 In Snap Polls

CBS: KERRY WINS UNDECIDEDS 39-25

-- In a poll of undecided voters, Kerry won 39 percent - 25

Before the debate, 29 percent said he had clear positions on the issues, after, that number doubled to 60 percent.

ABC: KERRY WINS REPUBLICAN HEAVY POLL

-- Kerry won 42 percent-41 percent, in a poll with 8 percent more Republicans than Democrats (38-40), Kerry was still seen as the winner: 42-41. Independent voters gave the win to Kerry: 42-35 (abcnews.com)

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP: KERRY WINS

-- Who did a better job: Kerry 52 - Bush 39. Among independents, Kerry won even bigger: 54-34.

DEMOCRACY CORPS: KERRY WINS 41-36

-- Kerry won 41-36 among debate watchers.

Among independents, Kerry won by 6 point, and by nine in battleground states.

Undecideds broke for Kerry, saying he won by eight points. (democracycorps.com)

-- And Don't Forget The First Two Debates --

Debate Number 2: Kerry 3-0

ABC: Debate watchers say Kerry won" Kerry 44, Bush 41

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP: Debate watchers say Kerry wins 47 - 45

DEMOCRACY CORPS: Kerry wins 45-37, and by even more among independents, undecideds and battleground state voters.

Debate Number 1: Kerry 5-0

ABC: Kerry won 45-36, "It was a clean win for Kerry: Independents by a 20-point margin said he prevailed." (abcnews.com)

CBS: In their poll of uncommitted voters, Kerry won 44-26.

CNN/USA TODAY GALLUP: Kerry won 53-37, and 60-29 among independents.

DEMOCRACY CORPS: Kerry won 45-32.

AMERICAN RESEARCH GROUP: Kerry won 51-41.

-- FINAL WORD: KERRY WINS -- Kerry In Control And Winner --

Bob Novak: "Kerry seems to be overpowering Bush." (cnn.com, 10/13/04)

Pat Buchanan: "Kerry was, I thought, very much at the top of his game and I thought toward the end, when you saw Kerry, you saw more of the humanity of the man in some of those questions, which was very helpful to them; talking about the daughters and things. I thought he had some excellent moments." (MSNBC, 10/13/04)

Jon Meacham, Newsweek: "John Kerry took the populist war straight to the President." (MSNBC, 10/13/04)

Bill Schneider: "Well this was a decisive win for John Kerry. It was just about as decisive as his win in the first debate, which everyone agreed was a blowout. His, the first debate he won by 16 points; this debate, Kerry won by 13 points. According to the views of the viewers polled immediately after the debate so they had no chance really to be influenced by the spin." (CNN, 10/13/04)

Washington Post: "An essentially dignified and thoughtful performance by John Kerry, contrasted with an oddly giggly turn by George W. Bush, combined to give the last debate of the presidential campaign to the challenger last night, but very narrowly." (Washington Post, 10/14/04)

-- Kerry's Momentum Grew And Keeps Growing --

Carlos Watson: "As we went along, as we talked about social security, as we talked about immigration, as we talked even about the Supreme Court, I thought John Kerry ultimately found his voice. And when all is said and done I think Kerry will be proclaimed the winner, which I think will be significant because I think he will be viewed as having won all three debates." (CNN, 10/13/04)

Anthony Mason: "Dan, the uncommitted voters in our survey have given the edge in this debate, to this final debate, to John Kerry." (CBS, 10/13/04)

-- Kerry Appealed to Voters --

David Gergen: "What I thought John Kerry did very effectively tonight was reach out to women voters and they've become critical to his election Charlie, its the biggest change that's taken place since these debates started." (PBS, 10/13/04)

-- Kerry More Presidential And Stronger Than Bush --

Bill Schneider: "Well I think he did appear more presidential than the president, which is exactly why he won the first debate and why he won this debate." (CNN, 10/13/04)

Richard Wolfe: "John Kerry has looked more presidential and more personable as these debates have gone on." (CNN, 10/13/04)

Melinda Henneberger, Newsweek: "Overall in the three debates, you really have to say that Kerry came across as more commanding and that the president... did not always even seem in command of himself." (MSNBC, 10/14/04)

-- Kerry Clear On Issues --

Mark Shields: "I think Kerry is far more factual." (PBS, 10/13/04)

USA Today: "By double-digit margins, those surveyed gave Kerry higher marks than Bush for expressing himself clearly, understanding issues and caring about the needs of people like them. Kerry was more believable, they said." (USA Today, 10/14/04)

New York Times: "Kerry's answer on health-care costs may be his best yet. He lays out the case against the administration logically and clearly." (Kit Seeyle, New York Times online, 10/13/04)

New York Times: "The president refused to accept any responsibility for the lapse of the ban on assault weapons and completely dodged the question of whether he wanted to see the Supreme Court reverse Roe vs. Wade, while Mr. Kerry gave strong responses to both questions. "I believe that the right of choice is a constitutional right," he said. "So I don't intend to see it undone."" (Ed. New York Times, 10/14/04)

-- Bush Mission To Win Debate: NOT ACCOMPLISHED --

Tom Fielder: "I think tonight was tough territory for President Bush to even be playing in. And the odds were tough for him. Frankly I don't, again speculation, but I don't think that he was able to do anything that either hurt John Kerry badly enough to change the dynamic or that helped him enough to push John Kerry off of the game right now." (CNN, 10/14/04)

Associated Press: "I've become more and more disturbed about Bush," said John Barker, 73, of Tampa, Fla., who voted for Bush in 2000, sweated over this year's election for months and finally decided Wednesday night to back Kerry. "I just don't think with everything we're facing, we can have another four years. I'm talking about the economy. I'm talking about Iraq. Bush just didn't give me a good reason for the way things are," the former policeman said. (AP, 10/14/04)

New York Times: "If Mr. Bush loses the election, he will have to blame, at least in part, his own debate performance." (New York Times, 10/13/04)

-- Bush's Expressions Showed His Weakness --

Melinda Henneberger, Newsweek: "I think that tonight, Bush did himself some real harm...he just seems so perpetually surprised... it really undercut his credibility I thought." (MSNBC, 10/14/04)

USA Today: "Bush used language unusually slashing for an incumbent president - especially one whose 47 percent approval rating makes it perilous for him to do anything that might make him seem less appealing and, well, presidential." (USA Today, 10/14/04)

Washington Post: "(Bush was) maintaining a Cheshire cat grin that seemed to imply he did not take Kerry seriously as a challenger and wanted the national viewing audience to know that." (Washington Post, 10/14/04)

http://www.usnewswire.com/

-0-

[blm]

81. Evidently BushInc believes so - he's the one they still attack the most.

.

[MH1]

87. Hmmm....need someone "likeable"...

lots of people like Kerry.

He never came off as an "elitist" to me.

Methinks someone has been absorbing some MSM propaganda, whether that someone wants to think so or not.

[dailykoff]

23. I hear he's practicing his yee haws.

Just kidding. You have to remember that presidential candidates win by winning the swing states, like Ohio and Florida, and guess what? It worked. Kerry won both.

And Ohio voters are not exactly anti-war radicals, if you get my drift.

[iconoclastNYC]

25. The ones that vote Democratic are more radical then 'centrist'

And the ones who don't vote, don't vote because they think there is no difference between the parties. Could that be because the DLC has telling us to ignore everyone but moderate Republicans? Hmmmmmm.

[beachmom]

27. Nonvoters: there's also the apathetic/too busy explanation

I would hope that they were more liberal, yet 2004, where there was an astonishing GOTV effort, there were also a lot of fundie nonvoters who went for *. I think the candidate for '08 needs to show that he/she really believes what he/she is saying with an incredible conviction, and centrism really is not much about conviction, but instead trying not to offend anyone (where in the end, you end up offending EVERYONE). Still, there are certain issues where you have to moderate a little on no matter which party (like abortion, which is actually a mine field for nat'l Repubs, too -- remember * said he didn't think the country was ready to overturn Roe v. Wade. I suppose that pissed off the fundies, but he needed to say that to get the moderates to be reassured enough to vote for him. Of course, it was a lie, with his nomination of Alito, but you see my point).

[iconoclastNYC]

29. There was also unprecedented SUPRESSION efforts

As documented by the Conyers Report and Donna Brazils whitewash report.

So I don't know how useful it is to look at the official 2004 stats.

But the question needs to be asked by our leaders: What should we be talking about to motivate our base, and get non-voters to notice that the Democratic party is under new management.

[dailykoff]

30. The #1 concern in Ohio was "security," as I recall.

In other words Fox and friends had them scared to pieces of terrists. That's what '04 was all about, and that's why Kerry had to play the good soldier.

That's politics, and like I say, it worked. The message wasn't the problem.

[iconoclastNYC]

32. Why was "Security" the number one issue?

It's because the Kerry campaign wasn't able to raise any issue above Security. They just let Rove frame the entire debate for the campaign.

Where were the ads attacking Bush for just sitting in that classroom reading to those children?

Democrats are afraid to play dirty, basically to fight fire with fire. We need to fight the class war, and we need expose the Right's totaltarian vision for America. These bastards are playing by the Nazi play book and we're playing by Miss Manner's playbook.

And let's not forget that even tho Kerry was milquetoast he won Ohio.

If he would have run a less "safe" campaign the Republican's supression efforts would have fallen short.

[ProSense]

35. What's the point of your contradictions: he didn't win, but he won? n/t

[iconoclastNYC]

38. My point is

It would have been a blowout if he would have ran an aggressive populist campaign

and don't forget that they cheated to win.

[beachmom]

37. Have you forgotten the Breslan school massacre from the fall 2004?

That scared me to death, because I have kids (not yet school age), and all that could go through my head were terrorists taking over an American school with bombs attached to them, and the authorities not being able to do a damn thing about it. Also, don't forget the OBL tape that came out the Friday night before the election. You MUST have heard how the Bush campaign was celebrating that appearance. Those two events were real news events quite apart from the campaigns, and can't be easily dismissed. People get scared and superstitious, and don't want to change horses when faced with an enemy who had killed 3,000 of our people for which Bush had made sure that memory was still vivid, and then OBL shows up in our TV screens only a few days before the election. Kerry has said that the polls were looking good, and then after OBL they kinda flatlined. Now, things have changed, and Iraq has steadily gotten so much worse -- I was looking at an Iraqi blog from 2004, and the guy was talking about Iraqi theater in Baghdad. Now it's too unsafe to go to things like that. Plus there was Katrina, which was the turning point, where a lot of ignorant Americans who hadn't looked as carefully at the collossal errors made in Iraq, could no longer deny what an incompetent Bush was.

No, Kerry had to get votes from both anti-war people AND pro-war people who were unhappy with the conduct of the Iraq War, but still thought it was the right thing to go in (that number has obviously dropped since then). He took a great risk by saying "Wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time", but he did so, and no consultant told him to do it -- it was his idea. But for the reasons above, he came up short (or at least short of the voter suppression bar level). That is the history of 2004.

[dailykoff]

91. Not much Kerry could do about 9/11.

That was Junior's one and only "accomplishment" and they played it for all it was worth. Still do.

[blm]

40. Still haven't read the National Security Archives, eh, icon? Can you NAME

one lawmaker who has bucked the establishment MORE and effected this nation's governance more positively than John Kerry has, yet?

Because I never even HEARD of one other senator other than Kerry who was ostracized for years in DC because of his constant investigations into serious government corruption.

[Kerry fan]

24. I think their biggest problem with both Kerry and Gore

Is that they very well know that Gore won in 2000 and that Kerry won somewhat of a landslide in 2004. It scares hell out of them to know that if we ever get the election fraud corrected, the CONs will be out on their butts, for a very long time.

[blm]

46. Exactly - while Dems blame, GOPs KNOW that both Gore and Kerry won and

that is why it is so important to them to distort the images of both men in the media , even so many years later.

Why Dems help them is the mystery.

[IA_Seth]

28. Thanks for the post...

When I first started to read it, because of the title, I thought this from John Kerry and that HE was reminded of Chuck D lyrics...I was going to have to wonder about that..

Chuck D is an artist, and I wish more modern-day rappers would take hold of the political genre in hip-hop the way he did. Sure, he identified with Farrakhan, and Farrakhan is a prick...but I think it was more identifying with a political struggle against "the man" that was trying to keep him down.

Thanks for the post

[beachmom]

33. Ha ha -- did you see that B movie Bulworth with Warren Beatty,

where he started rapping his campaign speeches? Well, somehow I don't see Kerry being a big hip hop fan (but to be fair, he's a solid rock and roller guy with all that '60s/'70s stuff like Hendrix, Beatles, the Stones, Springsteen and so forth), but I could see him getting a kick out of the lyrics to this one, since it's as true now as it was then.

I agree with you that I wish there were more artists from ALL genres putting their outrage into their art. True there are examples like Neil Young and the Dixie Chicks, but not like the '60s. I often say that if we want to stop the war in Iraq, we're going to have to get ourselves some decent songs like Country Joe and the Fish and all those great peace hippie songs!!

[NYCGirl]

41. What the hell does Chuck D have to do with John Kerry? NT

[blm]

44. She's talking about the way Kerry was attacked last few weeks by GOPs and

media. He and Murtha have both been targeted pretty heavily because of withdrawal.

So, beachmom said it reminded her of the way Chuck D was demonized in an exaggerated fashion to cover up the actual ideas he was promoting in his songs.

[NYCGirl]

54. It's certainly a reach. NT

[blm]

56. I think ANYONE who sticks their neck out and makes uncomfortable truths

with ANY volume attached will get the same treatment.

I'm used to seeing it from following politics for so long, so her analogy isn't exactly surprising, just different.

[NYCGirl]

64. Except that Kerry is coming from a position of more power than most of us

will ever know.

[blm]

68. In one way, yes... in another, he has made some dangerous choices....

choices that have made him a bigger target than most of us will ever be. Imagine having that target on you for over 30 years. How many could cope for that long and still keep at it? Shows character.

[NYCGirl]

74. It's the price you pay for being in the public eye. He knew the job was

dangerous when he took it.

[blm]

76. Sure - but he never had establishment protection because it was the

establishment he was attacking for their corruption.

That makes a job of lawmaker a helluva lot more dangerous than it would be if he had deigned to JOIN the establishment and look the other way at all the corruption.

[Clarkie1]

47. uh...Kerry is part of the DC establishment. That's a fact. nt

[beachmom]

50. See BLM's posts for why that's NOT a fact. n/t

[Clarkie1]

52. LOL. Is this 1984? Is war also peace? left is right? up is down?

One might argue he was anti-establishment back in the day, but certainly not now.

Edit: Actually, one might better argue he's been firmly entrenched as part of the power-elite establishment since his skull and bone days.

[beachmom]

55. Your snarky remarks have nothing to back them up.

Do you understand what DC Establishment means? And Kerry worked on BCCI up until the Republicans took over the Senate and killed the investigation in 1994. Didn't you see that Memory Hole thread from yesterday? I clicked in, and read an excerpt of Kerry questioning a drug smuggler who had elected officials help him avoid custom officials checking out his plane, so that he could smuggle weapons to the Contras. I would say that's going after the DC Establishment . . . and unbelievable government corruption. BLM is right, and the proof is out there, unless you don't WANT to know the truth.

[Clarkie1]

58. He's a career politician and has been part of the priviledged elite

since his college days. Not that he hasn't done a decent job as senator from Massachusetts, but he is what he is: An established career politician from the elitist class (in other words, part of the entrenched power of the establishment).

[beachmom]

63. Who never chose the easy path of going along just to get along.

Starting with protesting the Vietnam War instead of staying quiet. Also, see the link down below. It makes for good reading. "Career politician" means nothing to me. How that politician spends his/her time is more relevant than how long they have held their job. I am represented by a very corrupt Congresswoman who took money from Halliburton, Exxon Mobil, and Tom Delay to get elected in '04 in a very red district. She is corrupt in her job, even though she has only held it for less than two years.

By Establishment, I think you are referring to JK's friends and his private life. Well, I'm more interested in his work, which IS our business, and once again -- the record reflects someone fighting for the rights of the people, NOT the Establishment. An excellent example is his environmental record which got a rating in the high 90s by environmental groups. You're going to piss a lot of industry off with a record like that.

[blm]

78. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHH..... what a narrow view - as if there are no exceptions

to some RULE of choice you have ginned up for this argument.

[LittleClarkie]

90. And when your "outsider" gets elected

He'll become the same.

But actually, I believe what these people are saying is that although Kerry's been there alot of years, he's never been all that popular. He's taken stances that have gotten him into trouble with those who would maintain the status quo.

As for elitist, I get enough of that crap from the GOP. I don't need it here. The guy comes from a rich family. Whoop di freakin' do. That in and of itself should not be a negative. It's what you do with yourself, not how much money you have.

He's been at his job for a while. So he has job experience. How is THAT bad? I've been here at my job for a while too. Should I be replaced?

Kerry has been a thorn in the side of these same exact people since Reagan's era. So I see what the OP is getting at.

[blm]

69. Kerry started in office in 1985. 21 years of bucking DC establishment

And mostly on his own.

DC establishment was ENRAGED over IranContra, BCCI and CIA drugrunning investigations.
DC establishment didn't want alternative energy research.
DC establishment didn't want Kyoto.
DC establishment didn't want public financing of campaigns.


Try laughing your way to the National Security Archives and you won't find the facts you learn to be anything to laugh about.

[beachmom]

71. Ah. You've now decided to play the Skull and Bones card.

There is a lot of talk about that organization and quite a bit of innuendo in this Democracy Now! (for which I assume you will find an acceptable source for this subject) program, but then this comment flies out, and you realize the whole thing about John Kerry and S & B is overly trumped up:

http://democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/23/0445212

People don't think much about Kerry and Bones. I think partly because for George W. Bush, his Skull and Bones connections sort of work with the whole theory that he's riding his father's coattails and that he has gotten his way in life because of his connections, which I would agree with, and which I have traced in secrets of the tomb, to align closely with his Skull and Bones connections. He turned to Skull and Bones throughout his career for help. Even his Rangers deal, which is supposed to be the one thing he achieved on his own, had at least one Bonesman involved. Kerry has not relied on Skull and Bones. He hasn't made it a huge part of his life in terms of something that would boost his career or really put the -- propel him although he has turned to Skull and Bones in his personal life.

So within this lefty conspiracy discussion making SUCH a big deal about Kerry being in S & B, they actually acknowledge that it doesn't affect his career or work. As far as the personal side of his life, that's not really of our concern. Kerry has never let personal friendships affect his work, as evidenced by when he indicted Clark Cliffords in the BCCI scandal even after Jackolyn Onassiss personally called him to discourage him from doing so. And you've GOT to know how much he loves the Kennedy family, and yet he did the right thing anyway.

Try another tactic, Clarkie1. You're reaching here.

[Dr Fate]

80. Please list Kerry's evil deeds performed through his S&B connections.

Hell- I'll make it easy for you- I dont need a list- just state ONE SINGLE evil deed that Kerry performed through his S & B connections.

If you cant do this, then is it fair for us to assume you dont know what you are talking about?

[ProSense]

51. The OP makes an excellent case, as does Kerry's work, to disprove that n/t

[Clarkie1]

53. Sorry, but you can't disprove a fact. nt

[ProSense]

57. But you can prove a fact: So, What is the DC establishment?

What makes Kerry part of it?

[Clarkie1]

60. Career politicians. Any senator that has served over one term. nt

[ProSense]

62. There are politicians fighting against

my concept of the DC establishment. "Served one term," that's your concept.

[beachmom]

65. Unlike Thelma Drake, Republican in my district who hasn't even

served a full term. According to your definition, she is less DC Establishment than Kerry despite a record that goes 97% with Bush. Ridiculous. "Career politician" sounds more like a slogan than an argument with substance.

It kinda works for Kinky Friedman in Texas, but not so much in this case.

[blm]

70. That's absurd. Many pols have served multiple terms and never been

accepted in the establishment of DC that COVERS EACH OTHERS' ASSES.

[Clarkie1]

75. hmmm....I not sure sure. Difference of opinion, I guess. nt

[MH1]

83. So, you are including Paul Wellstone. Got it. nt

[Mass]

82. Clark . He spends so much time speaking with the Democratic leadership

and advising him that he cannot be an outsider anymore.

[MH1]

84. Yep, I would say Clark has some insider status. nt

[beachmom]

59. Here are the facts for which I referred to in the previous comment:

http://www.thememoryhole.org/kerry/

I figured it would be boring, but it's pretty gripping stuff, what our government was up to. And if it wasn't for Kerry, it would have ALL been swept under the rug.

It's worth a thought or two to imagine if he controlled the executive branch and unlike less back boned Dems, actually decided to clean house.

[Clarkie1]

61. My definition of establishment: a priviledged, elitist, career politician.

I'm not saying Kerry has not done good work as part of the priviledged, establishment class.

[blm]

67. HAHA...tell that to the DC establishment - no one has been more OSTRACIZED

by them in the last 30 years than John Kerry has.

[Clarkie1]

73. Ted Kennedy has ostracized John Kerry?

Or is the good Mr. Kennedy not part of the D.C. establishment as well?

You are holding an empty glass.

[blm]

77. Some Kennedys tried to talk Kerry OUT of expanding his BCCI investigation

because it was reaching out and touching some of their close friends.

Kerry didn't give in.

Do you REALLY not know this stuff after all this time? Did you never even read all the articles or the congressional records that you were pointed towards so many times?

I believe you can fill your glass at the National Security Archives water cooler. Mine is always filled.

And newsflash - not all Kennedy's are establishment figures - some of them buck the DC establishment, too. And make themselves targets, as well.

[blm]

85. I trust Kerry first and foremost to open the books on the DC establishment

and THEY believe so, too.

[midnight]

93. What do you mean open the books?

I'm curious because yesterday I read a post that said something dealing with poppa bush books, and clinton letting them be closed. Any similarities?

[blm]

94. The documents on IranContra and BCCI that Poppy Bush was being taken to

court over consistently. Also Iraqgate.

Clinton never even mentions BCCI in his book, and claims that he didn't want any more pursuit of Bush1 on IranContra so he could have a peaceful retirement.

That worked out REALLY well for the 9-11 families, didn't it?

[dorkulon]

86. New slogan for Kerry...

Should work against any Republican candidate...

[beachmom]

88. LOL!! Good one, dorkulon!! n/t

[dorkulon]

89. Glad you like it...

Sure beats "help is on the way" or whatever they were using last time. Besides, that's really what it all boils down to isn't it?