Where the hell is Kerry!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[Mass_Liberal]

Did you see the NY Times article on him today!?!?! He has no campaign headquarters in 18 states, including Ohio, a major battleground state of the upcoming election. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!?!!? Dean had campaign headquarters and good organization in every state about 6 months ago!!!

Jesus, Kerry is doing so badly!! He's obviously trying to find a message that he is unsure of. He's speaking lamely and weakly. AND ITS BEING NOTICED BY THE MEDIA AND THE PEOPLE! I can't believe that we democrats couldn't have the foresight to see this coming. I can't believe that we are going to be doomed to 4 more years of Bush in the White House. I can't imagine the atrocities that this country will suffer because we have chosen a candidate who can't stand up to Bush.

[Terry_M]

1. Yeah...

He's definetely got the money now... :shrug:

[still_one]

4. Please note that Dean had the money also

but he ran out very quickly, not only because of the media's false representation of him in Iowa, but he didn't gage where it should best be spent

[Terry_M]

8. Campaign Headqaurters for the State of Ohio

Is probably a good place to spend at least a bit of money.

[still_one]

2. I respectively disagree

The media are doing the same thing to Kerry as they did to Gore in 2000. "Gore is stiff", "Gore streches the truth", "Gore did not serve in any dangerous area in Viet Nam", "Gore has no message, all he does is attack, but does not say what he will do"

Kerry has stated clearly what he will do about healthcare, Iraq, and jobs, its just that the press finds it more interesting to cover Michael Jackson.

John Kerry is not doing so badly, with the millions of dollars bush has spent on ads which misrepresented and lied about Kerry, the polls indicate they are still neck and neck.

There is a strategy to this, and when the full force is unleashed, win, lose, or draw, they will know we were here!!!

[Terry_M]

3. Neck to neck now

But where will Kerry be if we get another million or more jobs back by November?

[still_one]

7. What kind of jobs

I live in Silicon Valley in San Jose, California,
I don't see quality jobs coming back for a while

[Terry_M]

12. You don't see it

But what if they do come back? What then?

[still_one]

16. Again, I repeat, what kind of jobs

the 308,000 so-called jobs created last month, 150000 of those jobs were construction workers laid off due to weather, and the super market stike being over. The rest of the jobs were retail sales.

Where are technical jobs. Not only is off-shoring in massive amounts, but H1B visas are still being dolled out.

The manufacturing segement is in shambles.

Even Greenspan is quite concerned about unemployment.

[balanced]

28. If we have a million more jobs by October, that would be

an average of about 200,000 per month. In this case, we would have lost only about 300,000 jobs under Bush. And he would be the first president since Herbert Hoover to preside over job losses in his first term.

However, Bush can always say that his "program" has created over a million jobs in the last year and a half. So ....

It will be interesting to see what the unemployment rate is in October. That rate might be fairly high, still, because more people are looking for work.

[Mass_Liberal]

6. look

there is no reason for them to neck and neck. With Iraq going the way it is, Bush should be 20 points behind!!!!! But Kerry is somehow, and it is amazing to me, failing to exploit this!!!!! He isn't speaking out on current events!!

[still_one]

10. Based on how the media has been trying to distort Kerry's position

he has not done bad.

Your assertion that bush should be 20 points behind, is because many people in this country cannot admit a mistake has been made in Iraq!

I lived through the Viet Nam war, it was the same thing in the beginning. We were also lied to in that war.

Did you hear the rebutal to the President's Saturday address. It was from a National Guard commander who had just got back. He was on "This Week with George Stepanopolis". His sense was that more and more soldiers who com back from Iraq will join his ranks.

[Frances]

17. He is speaking

It's just that the media only gives a few seconds to each speech.

His speeches have been hard hitting by the way.

[Mass_Liberal]

9. what do you say about

the absence of campaign organization in major battleground states? We are talking 18 out of 50 states. That could DEFINETLY make the difference between having Kerry for 4 years, or Bush for 4 more years.

[still_one]

11. I agree with you on this one

That is how we get our grass roots effort out. That was the success of Dean

[Claire Beth]

51. you're correct...

the media is doing the SAME THING with Kerry! It's sad the news media covers such insignificant crap about Kerry and yet the thief in the oval office gets away with EVERYTHING. I think * should be impeached!

[Warpy]

5. It's the CONVENTION

Which happens too damned late, in August! After all, he's not "really" the candidat until the convention says he is. It's all a stupid party charade, but that's how it is. He's got 3 more months of being "presumptive."

The party has either got to move that convention's date up in the future, or they've got to change its nature. This whole buisiness of having a candidate who isn't really a candidate yet is absurd.

[still_one]

14. The Vice Presidential choice will be critical

and when that is announced, he will have another force to combact this administration. Right now they have Chenney and Bush both attacking Kerry, just wait tell the VP is announced

[flpoljunkie]

13. You might want to read the entire article and then calm down.

http://nytimes.com/2004/05/02/politics/campaign/02KERR.html?position=&hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

Mr. Kerry's aides and some Democrats outside the campaign described the concerns as overstated, and said that any drift that might be taking place now would have little meaning next fall. They said Mr. Kerry had used the spring to raise money and that a war room and offices in Ohio and other battleground states would open shortly. And they noted that independent organizations had picked up a lot of the slack so far with big expenditures on television advertising and get-out-the-vote operations.

"This campaign has got six months to go," said Steve Elmendorf, a deputy campaign manager. "He goes out daily and talks about his vision for the country and his vision for the future. You have to take the long view here. You're not going to win every day, and you're not going to win every week."

Mr. Elmendorf added, "I know people are feeling anxious timing-wise, but you have to build a national campaign."

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, said Mr. Kerry was "doing better than he's perceived to be doing," adding, "He's starting to get his sea legs."

"I'm not worried — I really am not," Mr. Biden said. "Democrats are so, so, so hungry to defeat Bush that they get so up when things look up and get so down when things look down."

more...

[Mass_Liberal]

15. For one thing

I read the whole article. Kerry should have had offices there months ago.

Also, the long view isn't gonna work here. Because in the short term, it looks like he's losing. Believe me, an image of losing isn't going to help in the long run.

[Lefty48197]

18. I think you need to calm down too.

We're still in the primary season. The campaign hasn't even officialy started, and Bush has spent over half of his money. Oh yeah, the polls show us tied. Can you imagine what will happen when the Kerry campaign starts? Also, he doesn't have the money to run an eight month campaign. And if we all sit back and wait for Kerry to do something about Bush, then we're all in trouble.

[OKNancy]

26. Yeah, it worked so well for Dean

Blowing his money too early and all.

[cally]

19. There is NO excuse for not having campaign offices

in swing states. I'm angry at Kerry for not having a campaign theme, responding to every attack instead of defining himself, and not using volunteers now. We have to register voters now. The Repubs have a headstart and we need to catch up. We don't have a day to waste.

[Merlin]

34. Yes there is. They accomplish nothing in the early offing.

The state ops are always run by the money bundlers. These are primarily lawyers and lobbyists. They have their own offices. Everybody knows who they are.

State offices are money drains, just like paid staff is. The question is what payoff do you get for the work performed. You don't need offices just to have offices.

[cally]

43. You get new Dem registrations,

You get an organized list of voulunteers for get out the vote, you get contacts in the media, you get campaign literature that focuses on the message Kerry wants in that state. I'm working on the Kerry campaign in California. We've already got names of 300 volunteers and starting to register voters. It's fine that we don't have paid staff here, because it sure looks like California will go to Kerry. In swing states, Kerry needs to mobilize the volunteers now. Folks are motivated and chomping at the bit to get started. It's important to have a central person to help get folks started.

[dsc]

44. That is a complete crock

Among other things, a campaign office shows you are serious about the state. Ohio Democrats needs that assurance. Gore burnt us in 2000 and we don't want to be burnt again. It is hard to volunteer for a campaign with no place to contact. It is hard to pass out literature when there is no place to get it.

[John_H]

54. If paid staff is a waste of money then he should never open an office.

1) Local media--Bob the retired real estate agent is not going to place stories in the local media.

2) Forging relationships with block groups who will get out their vote--forming these relationships takes time, especially in regions far away from the candidates home. Kerry needs people on the ground in, say, NM and he needs them now.

3) Efficient tasking and organization of volunteers. Ever been in a campaign office with a lot of volunteers and a lone 21 year old field director? It's chaos. Some neighborhoods get canvassed multiple times others not at all, people shoot their mouths off way off-message to voters and the press,etc.

4) Coordinating efforts with state parties and other campaigns. poorly coordinated campaigns waste of everyone's money and lots of it.

[zulchzulu]

20. I did grassroots tabling yesterday for Kerry and got 100 new names

It's not up to Kerry to have a bunch of headquarters at this time. Actually, I've heard there will be headquarters at a number of locations by early June.

Either way, if you want to spread Kerry's message, you need to get grassroots efforts going.

It's best not to wait for the Cavalry to arrive sometimes.

If you want printable Kerry materials to hand out to people, go to http://www.kerrysupport.com.

[barbaraann]

22. Thank you for that GREAT link!

With resources like that there is truly less need for campaign offices.

Gotta love Avery! :-)

[zulchzulu]

25. Cool!

It's one of a few sites I do these days. Ain't waitin' for the Cavalry to arrive! Spread the word.

[flpoljunkie]

40. Good for you, zulchzulu! We can all be ambassadors for Kerry.

I've given out around 100 John Kerry buttons here in Florida and as far as Hawaii. I always wear one when I go out and give them out to people who are interested in supporting John Kerry.

[dsc]

42. Good for you

Here, one has to buy Kerry bumper stickers or buttons. And that was at only one of the several political meetings I have been to. At the rest of them they weren't available at all.

[sangh0]

47. Sour grapes make bitter whines

It's interesting to see someone go from complaining about a lack of campaign offices in battleground stakes to complaining about having to buy buttons and bumper stickers.

[mike_c]

21. what were the Democrats thinking?

"2002 was such fun-- we'll have to do it again during the presidential election?!" Dubya will likely lose the election, but I doubt that Kerry will win it, if you see the distinction.

[Warren Stuart]

23. Hey kid! the soccer ball's over there, go chase after it!

The one thing I like about Kerry is that he is not falling for the "whim of the day" strategy. If he does that then his moves are predictable, and easily defensed.

We are in a fool me twice situation with respect to the media, what worked in the past is not going to work this time. I don't care what the New York Times says, neither does a majority of the people in this country.

Get over it.

[Monte Carlo]

24. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

This is not about who can get the biggest campaign first. That was Dean's mistake. Kerry has managed to pull off one impressive victory in this campaign so far, o yea of little faith.

[Adelante]

27. Yes, that's the thing to remember

Kerry is an endurance campaigner -- he will pull it out without a doubt.

[BootinUp]

45. Plus the GE is a bit different than primaries

The GE is not necessarily won on the ground. Although thats important too. There is time to get the local stuff going.

[cindyw]

29. The sky is falling, the sky is falling.

[dsc]

30. I just can't believe people don't see the lack of an Ohio headquarters

as a problem. Ohio has had 3, count them 3, statewide partisan election victories since 1990. Clinton won in 92 and 96, and Glenn won in 92. All three had their own organizations and in the case of Glenn were literal institutions. In the same span we lost 15 races for Constitutional offices such as Governor, Auditor, etc., 3 Senate races (DeWine in 94, 00, Voinovich in 98) and Gore's Presidential race. That makes us 3 and 19. And the 3 aren't really the province of the state party. Kerry can't rely on this party for anything. Whoever ran his Ohio primary campaign should have been named interim director and there should have been a headquarters set up. It is as simple as that.

[Monte Carlo]

32. I don't think anyone thinks that.

I'm sure that anyone closely familiar with this race knows what Ohio's votes are worth, Kerry himself included.

There is still 6 long, long months to go in this race, and the headquarters you talk about will come.

[dsc]

33. With all due respect

He actually only has 5 months not 6 and even that is somewhat generous. Most of the work in Ohio is going to be turnout related and we have a one month registration requirement. In addition, many important large gathernings are literally just around the corner. Pride is mid june. Juneteenth is mid June. State fairs are July and August as our many carnivals and festivals. All of these are vital events for outreach. Bush has had headquarters here since Jan. One problem with relying on independent groups for this work is that they are independent. They won't know what Kerry's plan is and how to fit their actions into it. They can't be surrogates for Kerry. They can't give out talking points for Kerry. There is a limit to what they can do.

[sangh0]

49. You are contradicting yourself in your eagerness to bash

You are talking about registering voters but you seem not to realize that state campaigns are not very interested in registering voters. That's typically done by independent groups like unions, etc, and they have no need to know Kerry's plan or how to fit their actions in to.

You are floundering for a reason to criticize. It's obvious to me that you have no concern for Kerry's campaign, and only use that as an excuse to bash Kerry. Some people get real upset at having to pay for a Kerry button.

[Merlin]

35. And what exactly can bricks and mortar do that can't be done by people?

The question is whether he has a piece of rented real estate that is termed Headquarters, with paid staff and all.

There is no evidence whatsoever that an office, per se, is of any use at all early in the campaign other than as a money sop.

There are plenty of movers and shakers in Ohio committed to and involved in the Kerry campaign. There may in fact already be a hierarchy in place. That is irrelevant to the question of bricks and mortar which is irrelevant to the question of the campaign's success or failure at this stage in the game.

[dsc]

36. I live here

there isn't. He has no state director. There is no place to get literature. There is no place to volunteer. No place to conduct phone banks. There is no infastructure in my county at all, and we have voted Democratic at least since Mondale. And this is a state, where Gore famously cut and run, a defensible decision at the time but now people are understandibly nervous about it happening again. So yes, he needs to get on the stick.

[sangh0]

50. Not true

If you want to volunteer, contact your local Dem office. If you want a place to get literature, go to www.johnkerry.com/support and print some out and distribute it.

[rebellious woman]

31. Why isn't he being himself? He sure is not the

Senator I have been voting for these years. What in
hell has happened to him? I'm an independent and
always voted Democrat..I'm wondering seriously
who in hell is advising him, he's not the same
Senator I know.

[Cocoa]

37. "it's being noticed by the media"

no, it's being CREATED by the media.

Like the media didn't "notice" that Al Gore stretched the truth, they just
kept telling us that.

[dsc]

38. The media didn't create the fact

that Kerry has no office in Ohio. You can claim that until the cows come home but they didn't.

[Cocoa]

39. I meant the part about the "message"

and about how badly Kerry is doing, and about how dems are "scared."

The whores are yakking away this crap big time, and it's getting repeated
here at DU, by people that don't like Kerry and never will.

[dsc]

41. There is some of that

but to be fair, no matter what the criticism of Kerry that is offered you seem to have the same reply. It goes along this line:

You hate Kerry, you are spreading the lies that people who hate Kerry generate. The simple fact is that the Kerry campaign does have some serious problems that need to be solved. To sight one example. There is currently an ad running which accuses Kerry of voting against a boatload of weapon systems. There is a coherent answer to that ad (many if not all of those systems were also opposed by Cheney). Yet where is the ad stating that? I have seen the Bush ad close to half a dozen times (a bunch on Erie PA TV and one time on Cleveland OH TV). I haven't seen any Kerry rebuttal. It has been at least a week and a half that his ad has been up. The response to this should have been immediate, just like the response to the first negative Bush ad (that was Kerry's best ad IMO)

[sangh0]

52. And you always have the same response

but you never explain how the WSJ is credible about this when even you admit to their obvious bias.

No matter what the criticism of Kerry that is offered, you seem to have the same reply. It goes along this line:

"I am concerned that Kerry is running a losing campaign, and there's nothing inappropriate with a Democratic supporter pointing out the problems with Dem candidate's campaign. Besides, I haven't gotten my bumper sticker yet"

[TheDonkey]

46. Dean's hq's did him so good before huh'

:eyes:

calm yourself down and email the campaign if you are truly concerned.

[mdguss]

48. There are shadow headquarters:

Groups like ACT/Grassroots Campaigns/21st Century Dems, etc. are in the process of establishing headquarters in the 18 states. By law Kerry's campaign is forbidden from talking to them (and vice versa). Those groups are using what was formerly known as soft-money (large donations from wealthy donors) to hire field staff, and implement what I understand to be a pretty detailed canvassing/voter registration/targeting drive. They're out there, they just don't have John Kerry for President on their office door.

From Kerry's point of view, if other people are doing the work, why spend money to piss people off and be redundant.

[adadem]

53. I was worried til I saw

the new ads....

http://www.johnkerry.com/features/heartandlifetime/email.html