a new poll with Kerry beating Bush (45-44 Rasmussen)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

"...It has been a remarkable two weeks for the Senator. He trailed the President by 15-points immediately prior to the Iowa caucuses.

Some Republicans indicate that they believe the public will eventually reject Kerry because he is a Massachusetts liberal. However, at this point in the process, just 37% of Americans identify the Massachusetts Senator as a liberal. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Americans view him as a moderate while 11% say he is a political conservative."

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Presidential_Tracking_Poll.htm

[West Coast Democrat]

1. Rasmussen is a conservative-leaning poll

this is excellent news.

[D G]

2. Wow - I wonder if this indicates that people's perceptions

of what "liberal", "moderate" and "conservative" mean.

All of those categories pretty much pale in comparison to the radical neoconservatism of George W. Bush and his cronies!

[lancdem]

3. I think you're right

I wonder if the label affixed to our nominee, whoever he is, will matter all that much.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Kerry is doing his best to elude any labels

and frankly, I don't think he has a problem because he has excellent rebuttals to any questions on positions he has taken.

[Crowdance]

5. The Republican smear machine is hardly even engaged

where Kerry is concerned. They've been focused on Dean, and largely succeeded in gutting his campaign. Watch those numbers change when they start aiming their sites on Kerry. I'm starting to read ugly stuff about Kerry coming out of that swamp now; it's going to be a nasty ride no matter who we nominate.

[joshcryer]

6. They won't go after Kerry until Dean is out of the picture.

Mark my words on that one...

[bornskeptic]

32. OK, consider your words marked.

Thursday January 29, 2004 11:46 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican National Committee chairman questioned the national security credentials of Democratic front-runner John Kerry Thursday, arguing that the voting record of the four-term senator and decorated Vietnam War veteran would weaken the nation's defenses.

Setting his sights on the back-to-back winner of Iowa and New Hampshire, Ed Gillespie called Kerry's record of military service honorable but complained that the Massachusetts lawmaker's ``long record in the Senate is one of advocating policies that would weaken our national security.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3685812,00.html

[M_Demo_M]

8. I agree, it's going to be VERY NASTY this time

However, I am optimistic (and I hope I am not being too naive) that this time around
people will be very tired of the GOP's shrill chants of

"LIBERAL, LIBERAL, LIBERAL!!!"

[newyawker99]

29. Hi M_Demo_M!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[59millionmorons]

15. How much uglier can it get

Than-BUSH LIED,500++DIED? That pretty much ends anything they can say about Kerry.

[MikeG]

7. Here's the Republican strategy against Kerry.

Liberal. Liberal. Massatoosetts Liberal. Liberal. Liberal. Tax and Spend Liberal. Liberal. Liberal. Liberal. Any Questions??

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. I think a "liberal" who will take better care of us and our troops

is a guaranteed winner over Bush.

[sallyseven]

10. So what

Tax and spend sounds better than spend and spend and don't tax the rich.

[D G]

11. But will it work coming from "borrow-and-spend" conservatives?

Maybe the "tax-and-spend liberal" stereotype can finally be buried when the alternative is GW Bush's neocon nightmare.

[M_Demo_M]

19. Hey, I like your bumper sticker phrase...

"Borrow and Spend".

I think that will be an effective hammer to hit Bush and the Republican
Congress with over and over and over again to blunt their
"Tax and Spend" crap.

[MikeG]

23. Here's the Republican response to all of that.

Liberal. Liberal. Liberal. Gay Marriage. Liberal. Liberal. Massatoosetts Liberal. Liberal Liberal. Any questions??

[Feanorcurufinwe]

14. That's the strategy -- and it won't work.

They are going to want to rerun the 1988 election -- guess what? Things have changed since then, America is ready for a change and they are sick of phony labels. Certainly the conservative label seems a mismatch for a President who has run up a record deficit after inheriting a surplus from the Democrats.

[D G]

17. Hey, Kerry's on the cover of Newsweek!

Good for him. I don't know if he'll go all the way, but I'm glad to see him get some press.

[CWebster]

12. Don't kid yourself

It was the democratic machine that destroyed Dean. The Republicans are smacking their chops and bidding their time....and you thought the '02 elections were bad. Kerry can't even count on total party support to back him when what he done to others comes home to his doorstep.

[59millionmorons]

13. Be Careful

If this is the same right leaning Rasmussen guy who had a web site called(portraitofamerica.com) during the 2000 elections, in which he polled 1000's of people a day by telephone( the same way portraitofamerica.com did there polling). This poll was used by all of the RW radio host to show how bad Bush would beat Gore. I won a free dinner from a talk show host after betting him that this poll will not even be close to the actual results. The day of the election he had Bush winning with 370 electoral votes. After the election he apologized on his web site for being so wrong and promised to recalculate there formula, so they can be more accurate than they were. portraitofamerica.com was soon after pulled from the internet.

[West Coast Democrat]

16. Yes! As I noted above, Rasmussen is a very conservative

polling operation. I believe they work closely with Fox News.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

18. Kerry did his best to avoid being a liberal with his pro-war vote.

Should be no problem for him.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

20. Michigan's largest teachers union endorses Kerry

http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw92066_20040130.htm

[blm]

21. GOOD to hear.

.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

22. Communications Workers of America union backs Kerry

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4110788/

[Anwen]

24. Not to toss around conspiracy theories....

but something doesn't jive here.

A right wing poll shows Kerry beating Bush, and all of the primary polls show Kerry with extraordinary leads.....and yet the media is still bashing Dean and Clark while giving Kerry a free ride?

If Republicans had a strong-hold on the media like we know they do, wouldn't it be logical to bash or ignore Kerry and promote someone they think Bush will cream in November?

I had a terrible feeling that they know Kerry will be the easiest to beat and are waiting until he gets the nom, and then all hell will break loose...

[NewYorkerfromMass]

25. Nope: Read this

Senator John Kerry's emergence as the leading Democratic presidential contender won him a new round of criticism on Thursday, but not from other Democrats seeking the nomination.

Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, devoted much of a speech at the party's winter meeting here to questions about Mr. Kerry's positions on military strength and national security and his voting record over four terms as a senator from Massachusetts.

Mr. Gillespie's focus on Senator Kerry, compared with only passing references to other candidates — Howard Dean, Gen. Wesley K. Clark and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina — left the impression that Republicans are convinced that Mr. Kerry is likely to be President Bush's opponent in November.

Mr. Gillespie cited at least eight examples, like a 1972 promise Mr. Kerry made to vote against military appropriations when he was running, unsuccessfully, for Congress and a 1995 Senate vote to cut spending for the F.B.I. by $80 million.

In another sign of Mr. Kerry's rise, the Republican Party of South Carolina, one of seven states with a Democratic primary or caucus on Tuesday, held a news conference with veterans to raise questions about the candidates' records, focusing particularly on Mr. Kerry, said Luke Byars, executive director of the state party.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/30/politics/campaign/30REPU.html?pagewanted=print&position=

[Anwen]

26. I'd love to be proven wrong...

I'll be waiting for CNN/MSNBC/FOX etc. to start the Kerry assault and then I will believe it.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

28. RW view rom a college newspaper.... good insight:

"About a year ago, John Kerry struck me as the strongest potential challenger to President Bush. He was a Vietnam veteran, distinguished senator and levelheaded. He shared initials with another JFK and looked like a president. With Kerry, there were no surprises. He was the Democrat's Democrat, and a safe choice to be the nominee.
I consequently hoped for Kerry's political demise. Apparently, so did the media. They wrote the candidate off as a stiff board with expensive hair cuts and the resemblance of Lurch from The Addams Family. After all, John Kerry just wouldn't produce the drama, juicy details and scandalous stories the media demand. So, they looked elsewhere for a presidential candidate.

On the rebound after a tough breakup with John McCain, the media began to romance Howard Dean. And so did Republicans across the country. For different reasons, of course. The media saw Dean as a fiery outsider who would change the Democratic Party and inspire progressive activism. Republicans saw Dean as a sure loser...."

Sadly for some Republicans, it now looks like that date with destiny may never come to be. The media, along with Democratic voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, caught on to the Republicans' devious dreams and stopped the Dean surge in its tracks...."

http://www.uwire.com/content//topops012904001.html

[Meshuga]

30. Here Is Fox Laying Hard Into Kerry...And Kerry Trouncing Them

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109430,00.html

Kerry is a brawler. "Bring it on" is more than a snappy slogan for him. He will never back down. In fact, the harder they try to stop him, the more he will rise to the occasion.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

31. Yep-- KERRY: "...that dog won't hunt"

WALLACE: Senator, are you more liberal than Ted Kennedy?

KERRY: That is so funny. I almost — first of all, it's flattery. I'm complemented that they're attacking me that way.

Secondly, it proves what I'm saying, that I'm the strongest person to go against George Bush, or they wouldn't be attacking me this early.

Thirdly, as they say in the South, that dog won't hunt.

KERRY: I'm the guy who led the fight to put 100,000 cops on the streets of America. I've been a prosecutor. I've sent people to jail for the rest of their lives.

I led the fight in 1985, with Fritz Hollings and others, to reduce the deficit and be fiscally responsible with Gramm-Rudman- Hollings.

I have fought again and again against special interests that divert the taxpayers' money and put it into favored, powerful crony deals.

I fought to protect the middle class in the course of this campaign so we don't raise taxes. I voted for lower taxes. I voted to create jobs.

I don't think that's going to work.

[Capn Sunshine]

27. I think the larger DLC strategy is in play

they think 2004 is a lost cause and are convinced no one can beat Bush. They think four more years of this madness will prime the pump for their ultimate victory in '08 : Hillary Clinton.

In keeping with this plan, the establishment nominates and honorable candidate who will lose narrowly as per their plan.

John Kerry is that man, much as the conservatives put up Bob Dole; it serves the larger purpose of triangulation and the least threat to the corporate status quo.

After all, he summers in the Hamptons.

[TucsonGreen]

33. DID ANYONE READ THIS!?!?!?

When you follow the link, check out the two polls on the left. Kerry beats Bush by 45-44, but a "generic" Democrat beats Bush 49-42. This means that people more people would vote for any old Democrat than would vote for John Kerry when it comes to the General election. Having Kerry as the nominee actually HURTS the Democrat's chances.

This does NOT bode well for his ability to beat Bush.

[Joseph Thule]

34. "Unnamed Democrat" ALWAYS does better than the candidate.

[TucsonGreen]

36. Is that true? Why is that? n/t

[Joseph Thule]

37. Because it's a hypothetical and fictitious choice.

There is no such thing as an "unnamed democrat". Once a name gets put there, some are turned off. I don't know the psychology behind it. But Kerry polls THE BEST against Bush. Kerry is the only Dem I've seen who is actually BEATING Bush in the polls. Dean and others usually poll in the late 30's versus Bush.

[krkaufman]

35. E L E C T O R AL C O L L E G E

Don't get too pumped up about polls showing us winning. We gotta remember that national polling doesn't tell us anything about how the Electoral College will go. We could win the popular vote by 6 million this time, and still not get vote Electoral Votes.