On the front page of http://www.washingtonpost.com it says "...Barack Obama's criticism of "bitter" small-town Americans". Well, Obama did NOT criticise small-town Americans - he noted their bitterness and said he felt sympathy for them and wanted to help. Why does Kurtz screw this up? A mistake or a lie? I don't know. But tell him to correct the mistake ASAP:
"Senator Obama is uniquely positioned to unite our nation and move beyond the divisiveness and partisan skirmishes that too often characterize politics as usual in Washington," said Henry, who is in the middle of his second term.
"Senator Obama and his positive message reflect the best of America," Henry said.
The Democratic governor, in a statement released by Obama's campaign, pledged to Obama his support as a superdelegate at the convention.
Obama said: "I am proud to have Governor Henry's support today as we continue to build our grassroots movement for change. ...We're fortunate to have Governor Henry's backing, and I look forward to working with him in the months ahead to bring about real change not just for Oklahomans, but all Americans."
Ouch. It's time to take down McCain from the pedestal the media has put him on. If you ask me your money is better invested in this ad than in Obama's or Hillary's campaigns right now. If we play the game well it could be over already before August. The real McCain is simply unelectable.
I am apparently not the only one who have come to dislike Hillary intensely over the last couple of weeks, as she has proven to be a craven opportunist without any values or loyalties to the Democratic Party or the progressive movement. Today the blogs are filled with counterpunches against Hillary Rove Clinton. Choice quotes:
Once again the Republican Party and the conservative media are trying to tag the Democratic candidate as an out of touch elitist, intellectual, latte drinking, too smart, unpatriotic... well, you know the rest. Once again they are trying to distract voters from the fact that Republicans are stealing our money, sending our children to die, spying on us and laughing at us from their billionaire vistas.
As we all know there has been a lot of hit diaries and flame wars lately. I think that this is unfortunate and distracts from the fact that we have a great slate of candidates to choose from. I came across this article about Barack Obama from the New Yorker which I think nicely explains why and how Obama is different from a candidate like John Edwards. I like Edwards and I can certainly understand why some people prefer his combative rhetoric to Obama's dispassionate talk about 'unity' and purpose. It seems that some people feel let down by Obama, because they thought that he would be something he has never been. Obama has not changed, he has been this way and talked this way all his life. At least that is what I think after reading this profile.
I dont know how many of you saw this on Drudge, but John McCain referenced an old Beach Boys song but tweaked it a little to make it more contemporary. If you havent seen it I highly recommend it. It really is hilarious. I dont think I would ever vote for John McCain for President, but if he keeps doing stuff like these I just might have to reconsider that. Keep up the good work John!!
When reading this article one cannot help thinking: why do Democratic presidential candidates repeat the same mistake? They let themselves be destroyed by consultants when campaigning, and after they've lost they find their true voice again - but then it's too late. John Kerry is the new Al Gore. He has been exactly right on every issue since the 2004 elections. Freed from consultants he is not afraid to speak his heart and to stand up for what is right.
In the likely event that Al Gore will not enter the 2008 race, should we give John Kerry a second chance? What do you think? I'm starting to warm up to Kerry once again. He's a great man, a real progressive and he has high name recognition. Surely a lot of people are regretting that they didn't vote for him in 2004, and now they won't repeat that mistake. Certainly not if the GOP runs a Bush clone like George Allen.
Kerry wasn't electable, he never was. Period. The usual counterargument against "electability" as an important quality of any candidate therefore fails.
Electability doesn't equal wishywashiness or timidness. It only means that the candidate we pick should be able to win on a national level, against a Republican. If that candidate is a rock solid progressive that's a big plus - but in the end he/she must be able to bring the votes. Granting that electability is important let me review two prime contenders for the 2008 presidential nomination:
I've seen some analysis here regarding the GOP primaries and noticed that the name George Allen somehow manages to disappear below the radar almost every time. This diary will serve as a place to discuss my belief that George Allen will be the presidential candidate for GOP in 2008. Consider the other candidates:
Bill Frist: Too radical. The last month he has allied himself with the extremist fundies, and won't be able to play the moderate card as Bush always have. Also not very carismatic.
Santorum: See above. He won't even carry his own state.
This past week I've been reading a book called "Culture & Equality" by Brian Barry (can be found here) and it opened my eyes to the supremacy of liberal political philosophy - especially in dealing with the so called Cultural War. I strongly recommend it to those who want to understand the basis of liberalism and how it differs from conservatism and right or left wing radicalism. The book also contains a well argued critique of radical multiculturalism from a liberal point of view. "Culture & Equality" is one of the best (and most fun!) academic books about liberalism that I have ever read.
This entry about "The Undecided Voter" and their apathy made me think about the lack of conviction on part of the Democrats. Of course I've heard this theme over and over again the last two weeks but finally it's beginning to sink in - Kerry lost because he was perceived as just "another politician", who'd "say anything to get elected". Maybe Bush is "bad" and a liar but so is Kerry. That's what Joe Average believes. And why?
I think Howards Dean's greatest strength was that he did not come across as the typical politician. He actually seemed passionated, like he cared, like he had some convictions, like he felt that America deserved a better future.
After reading this ad, written by Al Gore, I finally realised what a great man he is. Every Nader voter in 2000 should read this... no similarities to Bush what so ever. Gore is intelligent (even intellectual), compassionate and tells the truth. That his presidency was stolen will forever be one of the darkest moments in American history. Imagine the difference..
It's too late to compensate him now, but at least we (I include myself) can avoid treating John Kerry like we treated Gore. Just because you aren't "ultraliberal" it doesn't mean that you are no good.
A quote from the ad:
"The essential cruelty of Bush's political sleight of hand is that he takes an astonishingly selfish and greedy collection of economic and political proposals and then cloaks them with a phony moral authority, thus misleading millions of Americans who have a deep and genuine desire to do good in the world."
This is the words of a true progressive. Hear that, Nader?
Wal-Mart drives down wages. Wal-Mart eats small businesses for lunch. Wal-Mart supports Sinclair Broadcasting. These are a few of the many reasons not to ever shop there again.
But here's the biggest one:
"Wal-Mart a big giver to 2004 U.S. election
Mega-retailer seen becoming largest corporate donor
Wal-Mart, the largest company in the U.S., looks set to pass a new milestone this year: It is well on its way to becoming the biggest business contributor to the 2004 election campaign.
Wal-Mart's political contributions have been spread widely in Congress, with more than 220 members of the House and Senate receiving checks of $1,000 to $17,500 so far this election cycle. About 85 per cent of the money has gone to Republicans."
I've been thinking about this quite a lot recently. It would be interesting to hear proposals on how we can shift the ground in America away from the current "friendly fascism" atmosphere. We need to stop playing on the GOP playground. We can't win there.
We must
try to win back the mainstream media
use alternative media
reframe the issues (no more "war on terror", "tax reliefs" or "death-tax")
reinforce message discipline, like all Dems using the same progressive language
stay away from open elitism (of course, using the name "Joe Sixpack" on DailyKos does not count ;) )
get back to economic populism
take back Christian votes (minus the fundies)
appear/be tough AND intelligent on foreign policy
expose the GOP as a tool for the elite (rather than "the rich")
The issue of principle and character/flip flop etc will come up. If GWB question JK and calls him unprincipled JK should answer that his (complex) principles are based on reason not on blind prejudice and ideology. This will resonate very well, I think, with the public and also take some of the glow away from flip flop-accusations. He should follow up with a "mr Bush, you indeed have strong principles, they are strong - and dead wrong. You have steadily been leading us in the wrong direction for 4 years now. Only the American people can stop you and they will."
If GWB in some occasion during the debate puts JK to the wall where it's hard to get away without a loss JK shold fire back and accuse GWB of lying to the public about his record. It will take the heat of JK and at the same time weaken the impact of attack ads from Swift Boat Liars and the Bush campaign.
For example (assuming JK makes a terrible mistake of suggesting that GWB shares the values of Osama Bin Laden):
GWB: "Mr Kerry, are you saying that I and OBL share the same values?"
JK: "No mr President, I'm not, although I'm sure you can mislead the American public and say that I do. You are a proven expert in lying to the public about my record"
And so GWB will finally for himself experience the feeling of shock and awe..
3. Make GWB unacceptable to the middle class (my guess is that 80% of our population, 90% of those who vote, regard themselves as belonging to the middle class). Kerry must position himself on the side of this group.
Just ask Bush in the debates: "Why do you hate the middle class?" and follow up with some nice statistics. What will he answer? He will have to leave the Rovian pre-script and think on his feet.. "ehr, why do I hate the middle class".. and he can't defend the statistic showing how things have gotten worse either. He will be in a real dilemma, and it gets even worse when the public realise that there is no good answer. The phrase "hating the middle class" will stick to him like glue. I know it's a broad move to use a word like "hate" in the debates but I really think it would work. Kerry is already known to be a serious man, even too serious by some. He can afford to be more rash and emotional.
Repeatedly (but only when the issue comes up, JK should try to focus on domestic issues where he has an advantage) accuse GWB of being soft on terrorism. This will surprise the audience who has been mislead to believe that JK doesn't care about terrorism or that he is soft or weak. Confront GWB aggressively about security loopholes and cuts. JK should position himself as the man acutely concerned with making America safe and portray GWB as a failure in the fight against terrorism.
Paint GWB as a clueless man who lives in a fantasy world. Use the word "fantasy world", and make replies starting with "well, in the real world..".
JK should be optimistic when talking about his own agenda. People are sick of doom and gloom these days. The audience should be left with a feeling that JK is standing above all the misery of the last 4 years, like a saving angel. Someone to put your faith in. People want someone to believe in, someone to save them from Bush. JK has to convince them that he is the answer.
Please recommend this diary if you like it. Naive as I might be I hope that it will in some way reach the Kerry campaign. And also contribute with advices of your own!
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"Patriotism starts by telling the truth."
