Kerry Fortifies War Chest, Keeps Momentum for 2008

[kerrygoddess]

Kerry Fortifies War Chest, Keeps Momentum for 2008
9 March 2005

There has already been a lot of speculation for the 2008 election, which has been discussed here in recent days. There are certainly far more pressing matters to be concerned about these days, like Social Security, the Bankruptcy Bill, and regaining control of the House and Senate in 2006.

However, in my opinion John Kerry sits in a unique position these days, which places him ahead of the game with other mentioned possibilities for 2008.

There is his email list that is 3 million strong and participants on his list remain active when Kerry sends out a call to action. Then there is the fact that Kerry’s financial backers have not shied away from support of Kerry, either. Finally, Kerry has shown since getting back to work in the Senate that he’s not backing down.

He's been actively pursuing legislation that he campaigned on in 2004, such as healthcare for kids, support for Military members and their families and small business legislation that supports that true members of the small business community, not the big business community that Bush supports.

The Boston Herald reports today that Monday night John Kerry hosted an “intimate political gathering” with about 100 of his top fundraisers.

MORE - http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=495

[whometense]

1. Great news.

Thanks.

This is what I've been thinking about lately: I listen to AirAmerica a lot (and Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz, who are not AAR but are on our local (Boston) lineup. When they talk up the "fighting dems" they never mention Kerry's name. It's always hooray for Barbara Boxer, even Hillary or Biden, but Kerry never gets the credit he deserves for holding the liberal line.

These are the actions I'm taking to keep his profile elevated, but I've been thinking they are just not enough.

*Posting here - which helps keep our troops' spirits up.

*Blogging - which is fun and all, but I'm not convinced I'm preaching to anyone but the converted.

*Responding immediately (and positively) to any requests issued by the man himself.

These are open questions. I don't pretend to know the answers. Maybe it's too early to worry about this, but from watching JK's actions I'm thinking maybe it's never too early. Maybe we can brainstorm and come up with some strategies. Do you think enough pro-Kerry blogs equal some kind of critical mass? Am I even coherent? ;-) I'm just starting to gather together some of the things I've been thinking about recently.

I also wonder aloud, idly, since no one here has the power to make it happen, whether JK should take a higher profile at this point in regard to progressive talk radio? Talk to some of these people? A lot of them would - guaranteed - love to have him on, and having them talk about him in a positive way would help keep his name out there on the left in a good way. Counteract some of the weeping and wailing from the post-election walking wounded????

[ginnyinWI]

2. whome,

I think if what you are doing is multiplied over and over by people all around the country, it's got to make some difference. Even talking positively about JK to people helps dispel the "has-been" meme. And painful as it can be sometimes, defending him in GD or GD/P here at DU is necessary, so that people know that those anti-Kerry feelings aren't universally accepted! We must be warriors! And when we get wounded in battle, we can come back here for some R&R (or a medic!). :)

In the end, money will make a lot of the difference. If he's got a good "war chest", as they say, he has a very good head start. He's also got the advantage of experience.

[whometense]

3. Thanks, Ginny!

You have officially bucked me up. It gets so frustrating listening to them dismiss him. I never feel like I'm doing enough. I admit to not venturing much into GD. I'm not a great face-to-face warrior.

Two of JK's greatest character traits, in my opinion, are his Kevlar® hide and his dogged persistence. :loveya: I'm pretty persistent myself, but I can't even approach his toughness. I need to keep reminding myself of that.

[Firespirit]

5. They don't have the power to destroy him.

They do not yet have the power within the Party to tear him down. Dean's DNC Chair, but (1) he is on good terms with Kerry and doesn't necessarily go for the "eating one's own" mentality, and (2) these people might be surprised to find out that they don't have as much in common with him as they'd like to think. Nobody in the Party's inner circles is going to take people seriously who claim to profess liberal ideas but advocate purges and tear down political figures who do fight for liberal principles.

I'm more concerned about the actual "establishment" types (to use a favorite word of theirs), third way, the Clinton people, etc., picking somebody and trying to force him/her on Dems. Even if election theft is proven between now and then, allowing Kerry to say "hey look, I didn't lose," I think that that group just might have the cajones to try to create their own frontrunner in spite of it.

I mean, there's certainly nothing wrong with having an open race, but I do think that if Kerry has thrown his hat in the ring and it's shown conclusively that he ought to be running for re-election, then there ought to be some acknowledgment of that. Such a scenario would be uncharted territory, of course, but it seems right to me that he should be acknowledged as the defacto frontrunner if theft is proven and he wants to try again for it.

[whometense]

6. Interesting point.

Of course, I'd love to see that happen. People did appear to be ready to defer to Gore in 2004 (though I don't know to what degree).

I know it's (relatively) meaningless at this ridiculously early point, but it does make me a little crazy to hear all the glowing Hillary talk. In her swerve to the right she's "just doing what she needs to do to position herself", while Kerry is a "Bushlite sellout". What is WRONG with these people? Ok, no need to answer that. They're either lefty freepers or freepers masquerading as lefties. I know.

[Firespirit]

7. They're right about one thing...

that they're on the outside looking in. But it isn't because of money or lack thereof; it's because of the crazy irrational things they say and do.

Not that we're the DNC Insiders here, of course. :)

[JohnKleeb]

8. If you shit on my lawn and call me an asshole

Will I let you be my friend or you have my respect? Thats basically how I think of them. They're always calling the Dems traitors and being terrible to them yet they want respect by the party.

[cestpaspossible]

13. I don't understand that kind of attitude either.

Yes, I'm not always happy with how every Democrat votes, but, I'm not going to form a circular firing squad for every heartbreaking Senate roll call vote.

[ginnyinWI]

10. I'm not worried about Hillary, really

and here's why:

1. She's great material for the cable pundits right about now, so they give her a lot of coverage. But I think she's going to become stale before the next campaign season rolls around. I don't watch cable news talk shows any more, so I've heard nary a whisper of talk about her. There is nothing on the PBS, Cspan or network shows about it.

2. She's going to the right, but I don't think it will work. Kerry's campaign showed that the grassroots is alive and well, and I think they are more left than right in the Dem party, wouldn't you think?
They don't want a repub-lite. Bush ran hard right and got support, and Kerry ran toward the left--he didn't run to the center as much as Gore did, but stuck fairly true to his left-of-center principles. He's anti-corporation, anti-elite, and for the middle class. We are a polarized electorate, and hard-left balances hard-right.

3. I still don't think this country is ready for a female president. Not with terrorists running around. She's courting the center, but those aren't the types of people likely to vote for a woman--so she's kind of stuck. I still think Dems want someone like Kerry! Military record, experience in government, and toughness combined with intelligence and heart.

[whometense]

11. I think you're probably right

about several of these things. Staleness, for one. The talking heads do get sick of trashing the same person after a while.

I agree about her being too far right too. The radio people can be hard to figure. Marc Maron of Morning Sedition is inexplicably smitten with Biden. Ed Schultz is currently in love with the idea of Hillary.

[karynnj]

12. Also, Kerry with a 20 + yr record of being a liberal

got a lot of flack because of his IWR vote and Patriot act vote in the primaries. I'm actually glad the press is not pushing Kerry, because 3 years is too long a time. Collectively the press has ADD and could never settle on a candidate and stay with her (him) for three years. Too boring - how many positive things can you say. then it's time to destroy the candidate. (Last year with Dean, their mood swings were so drastic and so fast, that within a month from Dean being on the cover of Time and Newsweek as a savior, he was on covers as too hot- headed. They also thought Hillary was the star in 2004 and that she should run. I like Hillary and could support her, but not over Kerry. I do worry that in the privacy of the voting booth, if the Rep have a credible candidate, some may opt not to vote for a woman.

Also, if McCain is the candidate, Kerry might be the best counter - Kerry could suggest people read McCain's book, in the section on POW/MIA committee, Kerry comes across as exactly the type of person you want as a leader, McCain doesn't. Also,Mr clean money McCain is less clean than Kerry. Also, Kerry was investigating corrupt money flows, when McCain was one of the Keating 5.

I think they would want the Kerry all of us think is Kerry - but the question is how does Kerry redefine himself in such a way that he shows that that is who he always was. Not easy when most of the press doesn't seem to like him. Although there have been those articles that seem surprised to see Kerry acting like all of us who saw the rallies on C-SPAN (or those lucky MA or swing state people who saw him in person) would expect.

[ginnyinWI]

14. me too--

(on giving Kerry a break on coverage for a while) You never want to be overexposed in the media. It's great that he stays visible to us loyal followers, and he is doing that, easily. What an energizer bunny! Like Teresa said once, it's metabolic: "he just goes,'bzzzzzz'!"

I wonder how the Clark, Edwards and Dean fans are doing with so much less to read about? Esp.Clark (?). Maybe that's why some of them spend their time complaining about Kerry? :shrug:

[TayTay]

17. I agree. I also think about how the media turned on Dean

In a way, Kerry benefited from being 'under the radar' in Iowa. Many of the press folks had written his campaign off and he was pretty free to campaign without undo press scrutiny. (Maybe. There is a counter-argument that Kerry could have benefited from more press scrutiny in Jan/Feb and that this would have exposed his campaign to the types of smears that the Rethugs used later on. We'll never know, sigh!)

I'm not sure why the press doesn't like Kerry. (I have posted a lot about how this goes way back in MA. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's jealousy because Kerry is good-looking, respected, intelligent, successful and has married well. Yeah, jealousy. I have had some rather rude suggestions for what the press can do with their biased coverage, but I will restrain myself because your posts are so well thought out and classy.)

Interesting point about McCain. That would be a hell of a race. I haven't seen Kerry embrace McCain lately, so the prior restraint he had about saying bad things about his fellow Vietnam Vet might be off. McCain is not the teflon candidate that people seem to think he is. There is some dirt on him. Although, I don't think McCain will run. He will be 72 in '08. That is too old.

[politicasista]

18. Smirky is soo folksy

The way that some media put it. :puke: :puke:

[karynnj]

19. Thanks for the compliment, I'm flattered as I love your posts

I agree that it could be jealousy - for all the reasons you mention plus the fact that some people may be too cynical to believe or trust that he is as honest and principled as he appears - because very few people really are. Or if they believe it, it makes them uncomfortable, because, they know that they've cut corners.

I also don't think McCain will run, but if he did I think Kerry would kill him in the debates. McCain doesn't seem to have the same encyclopedic knowledge of almost every political issue. Also, I would be willing to bet that, just as Kerry got under Bush's skin, by mentioning his dad, he would fine an innocent looking way to get McCain to explode.

That and the fact that Kerry would look robustly healthy next to an almost pasty, sickly looking McCain (unkind, but realistic)

[TayTay]

20. Agreed.

Mutual compliment society reporting for duty. (And thanks!)

I think the most fun race would be Kerry vs. Guliani (sp.) As the Bernard Kerik (sp) Dept of Homeland Security nomination proved, there is a lot of dirt to be dug up on St. Rudy. That would be the best race ever! I think Kerry would stomp Rudy into little bitty pieces. (But it will never happen, as the Rethugs don't consider St. Rudy one of their own.)

I think Frist Vs. Kerry would also be a keeper. The press would hate that one. (The press thinks Kerry is dull? Holy mother of Gawd, wait until they have to be on the bus with Frist. They'll be unable to wake up long enough to file stories. Frist makes Kerry look like one of those contestants on 'The Price is Right' ferchrissakes.)

This is fun. We will have to come up with other pairings. It beats being all angry over the lefty freepers. (Gawd Grant me the ability to change what I can, accept what I cannot and refrain from braining the bastards who are so annoyingly self-righteous! Amen.)

[ginnyinWI]

15. you have to try to stay detached

and not get emotionally involved (mad !). I know it's not always easy! I'm more likely to get mad at some idiot hack on CNN or somewhere, than on this blog. Potentially more damaging to JK, I guess that's why.
I think of these DUers as just not being able to reason things out very well--a lot of them are black-and-white thinkers. Learning to see more than one side of an issue is a skill that you learn, either from life, or from higher education, or both. So I try not to hold it against them. If they get me too mad or are hopeless to reason with, I just put them on Ignore. I go there only when I am in the mood to be challenged!

[JI7]

4. Kerry himself

can do it just by staying active. blogs and online forums and all that stuff isn't that important compared to candidates themselves just staying out there themselves and in contact with people.

[politicasista]

9. Thanks for posting this

Love the blog at LUTD.

[Hans Delbrook]

16. I definitely need things like this

I read GD etc. for a while and I start to lose hope. This bucks me right up. I know I should respond and defend JK more but I hate getting into flame wars. My job is so stressful this is supposed to be my downtime. But I'll give JK all the positive support I can and all the $$ I can spare. I've campaigned for a lot of candidates but never one who meant as much to me him.:bounce: