Bush Loyalist Kennedy Plays Down Ties in Fight for Senate Seat

[Judi Lynn]

Bush Loyalist Kennedy Plays Down Ties in Fight for Senate Seat

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- A reporter recently observed to Representative Mark Kennedy, the Republican candidate for a Minnesota Senate seat, that his St. Paul headquarters had housed George W. Bush's 2004 campaign. ``Oh, you're not going to use that to tie me to Bush, are you?'' Kennedy said.

Kennedy's 2006 survival strategy has him running away from the president he once embraced. He rarely appears with Bush, whose approval rating dropped to 33 percent in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll taken last week. There's hardly a mention of the president in Kennedy's television commercials or on his Web site; his ads depict him as an independent amid a sea of partisanship.

``Some people may try to personify this as being about Bush,'' Kennedy said in an interview en route to a campaign stop in Ramsey, Minnesota. ``But the last time I checked, he's not on the ballot.''

Not so long ago, Kennedy, 48, reveled in his presidential connections. A TV ad from his 2002 House re-election campaign opened with images of Kennedy and Bush walking in the Rose Garden, with the president listening as the congressman spoke. ``I've stood with President Bush in the war on terrorism,'' Kennedy said on the soundtrack.
(snip/...)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a7lhL9dSC2fM&refer=home



Mark Kennedy and friend

[SpiralHawk]

1. "George AWOL Who?" - republicon candydates + propagandyists

They are ashamed of commander AWOL and his ongoing failures.

Who can blame them?

[Supersedeas]

8. Counting their lucky stars that Dumbya's not on the ballot during their

election cycle....Party Loyalty -- psst, maybe, after the election...hein hein hein

[aquart]

2. Heh, heh. Keep those soundbites coming.

[Deep13]

3. "you're not going to use that to tie me to Bush, are you?"

Um, yeah, that's pretty much what we had in mind.

[damntexdem]

7. Watch out, Kennedy! Next thing, your opponent will try to tie you to ...

the Republican Party!

[Demeter]

4. Bush Is On Every Ballot--Until He and His Enablers Are All Deposed

convicted and imprisoned. I don't care if it's for dogcatcher---Bush is on the ballot.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

5. So, Mark, tell me this...

It's only sheer coincidence that you ended up voting with Bush at least 92% of the time between 2001 and 2005?

Yeah. Right.

[EC]

6. He's got creepy eyes... n/t

[Roy]

9. I've stood with President Bush in the war on terrorism,''

"Kennedy said on the soundtrack."

Sounds like a good time for a rerun of that ad.

I hate to see a good ad go to waste, hope his opponent uses it often

[calimary]

12. I wouldn't mention terrorism in any of these ads. But I WOULD use

that picture of the two of them in that LOVE-ly pose together, bush in his cocky "I anoint thee, my son" pose, and little kennedy boy there probably hoping to fool some Democrats who might not be paying attention and (he hopes) will just see the "Kennedy" part and vote that way. JERK! NOT THIS YEAR, ASSHOLE!!!

When I worked at the AP, we had an expression for those of us on staff who wound up on somebody's bad side in upper management. We used to say "it's your turn in the barrel" to the unfortunate one. Well, I'd say that to ANY republi-CON office-holder who seeks a rehire or employment extension in three months. It's YOUR turn in the barrel! And I hope you STAY there!

[Say_What]

10. ..."groundswell of anger out there"...

Just f*ck'n amazed that the *groundswell* of anger took so friggin' long.

From the article:

... ``There is a groundswell of anger out there, and if you have an `R' after your name, you're in trouble,'' said Jennifer Duffy, an analyst for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington. ``Your trouble gets worse the closer you are to the president.''

Escaping the Undertow

Kennedy isn't the only Republican loyalist trying to escape Bush's undertow. In Missouri, where Bush stumped hard for Senator Jim Talent in 2002, Talent has put up an ad like Kennedy's, stressing his independence and playing down party ties. Like Kennedy, Talent has voted with Bush more than 90 percent of the time.

In Connecticut, three-term Republican Representative Rob Simmons talks up his opposition to a White House-backed budget plan that would have cut social programs, and his support for expanded stem-cell research. Freshman Representative David Reichert of Washington is also stressing his differences with the president over stem cells in the face of a Democratic assault that brands him ```Rubber Stamp Reichert.''

In Minnesota, Kennedy's latest TV commercial omits mention of the president and extols the lawmaker's ability to ``cross party lines.'' Kennedy says he's just trying to give the race a local focus. Democrats would ``rather obsess about Bush, but I want to talk about the issues that matter to people here,'' he said.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/141962461X.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_V60832829_.jpg

[Beausoir]

11. "Makeover" Mark is going down.

Running against a bright and competent opponent...Kennedy will lose.