Alert - GQ found a Democrat who badmouthed another Democrat (Kerry)

[Mass]

This reported by Lloyd Grove. Some may remember that Lloyd Grove is the person who wrote the gossip (that turned out to be totally unaccurate about a certain movie about the campaign.

NYDN gossip: Kerry spokesman battling upcoming GQ story


NY Daily News, Lloyd Grove "Lowdown"
GQ gives its read on Kerry,
and it doesn't suit him


Sen. John Kerry's flack traded barbs yesterday with the author of a soon-to-be published GQ mag article claiming that loyal Democrats, especially former Kerry aides, wish the once and probably future Presidential candidate would just go away.

"You read GQ to pick suits and ties, not to pick a commander-in-chief," Kerry's mouthpiece David Wade E-mailed me concerning Michael Crowley's hit piece, which claims party activists believe the Massachusetts senator "blew his best chance and that he's 'delusional,' as I repeatedly heard, to think he's still wanted."

Wade responded hirsutely: "As a GQ fashionista would say, the magazine's political coverage has the longevity of the Soul Patch and the sophistication of The Mullet. I won't lose sleep over the inside-the-beltway musings of a reporter too young to shave and the Chardonnay-drinking pals he met on the cocktail party circuit."

Crowley, who pointed out that he's 33 while Wade is only 30, retorted: "David Wade should show more respect for his elders. A juvenile response like that is what you get from someone without a real defense. And, by the way, maybe if John Kerry understood fashion better, he wouldn't have gone on those windsurfing outings, which made his own staff cringe."

Kerry, who was in Iraq yesterday visiting U.S. soldiers, hasn't announced whether he plans to run for President again. But Crowley quotes an anonymous "big-name Democrat" who "worked hard for Kerry in 2004," as trying to throw cold water - make that boiling oil - on Kerry's prospects....

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/383967p-32...

[ProSense]

1. Didn't Kerry meet with campaign staffers during the holidays?

A "big-name Democrat," is just another term for disgruntled person. This is not national security, why the anonymity? Sheesh! And everyone is bantering around the term coward.

[TayTay]

2. Big deal.

There will be more of this. Some people don't want him to run. They are going to use their contacts in the press to say, 'As an insider with special knowledge of these things, I think he shouldn't run again. I know, cuz I'm a special insider who was there and helped in 2004. I was a big muckety-muck in 2004 but nothing bad that happened had anything to do with me, just him and maybe his wife. So, I know what I'm talking about, cuz if he runs, the new guy I'm working for might not be able to suck up his fundraising money."

Bite me! Btw, we also need to grow a thick skin on stuff like this. It will get much, much worse. That's politics for you. If this guy was really a friend, then they wouldn't do a tell-all book, not even 'for the good of the Party.' (hahahahahaha! It's for the good of a few people who want to shut off fundraising and air time. Again, Bite me, assholes!)

[whometense]

5. I do envy

your thick skin. This stuff makes me squirm. I wonder if I'll ever get used to it.

[TayTay]

6. The 2008 race is wide open

Remember that. There are about 8 Dems who are vying to be 'first tier' candidates. A lot of 'talent' has already been locked up for the next cycle. These people earn their keep by making sure their knives are very sharp so that when they plunge them into the backs of former friends and allies they just slide right in. (Oh, nice and smooth.)

Douchebags. Ask yourself who benefits if Kerry bows out? (And guess who would be the first one to the microphone to praise the Sen. from Mass as a statesman and a noble hero and could we have some of your money left over from '04?) There are a number of people who have strongly hinted that they are running in '08. Kerry has money. He has name recognition. So, how do they knock him out this far in advance. How about the tried and true equivalent of the 'whispering campaign' along with the smarmy and hypocritical phrase, 'we're only doing this for his own good and the good of the party.' Bullshit, they are doing it to raise other Dems and get the money.

Douchebaggery at it's most predictable and smarmy. There will be more of this because, for some reason, it's pleased the Almighty to create a lot of Dem douchebags. Go figure.

[whometense]

8. ummmmmm......

how many guesses do I get?

Never mind - I only need one. Or maybe two. :eyes:

[TayTay]

12. Also, Kerry's PAc has been doing a very good job of fundraising

for others. Consider the following:

Claire McCaskill, candidate for the Sen. against current Sen. Talent, raised $681,000 for her run in the 3rd quarter of 2005. According to the Repubs, $63,000 of that (roughly 10% of her take in that period) came from Keeping America's Promise. (Oh my! 10%. Hmmmmm. That came from that e-mail appeal? That's some e-mail list. It raised that much for a candidate from Missouri in an off-year? Oh my!)

How about Sen. Robert Byrd: Between July and Sept. 30, Byrd received $133,395 from PACs. Keeping America's Promise, a PAC affiliated with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also served as a conduit for $57,340 contributed by individuals. The PAC for the Council for a Livable World similarly relayed $18,000 in contributions.
(AP Political Alert 10/17/05) Hmmm, not bad from that e-mail list, eh?

Someone wants that list and wants that money.

[ProSense]

14. Agree. And you know what else they can't get to?

His foreign policy experience, and this recent trip---at this key time---puts it even further out of their reach.

[whometense]

3. Is this the

TNR Michael Crowley??

http://www.tnr.com/showBio.mhtml?pid=8&sa=1

As in:

Long Run
Post date 09.23.05
Would someone please tell Kerry he can stop running for president? web only
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050919&s=crowley092305

This is discouraging. He also wrote this one:

Class Conflict
Post date 02.23.04
In Massachusetts, working-class politicians and journalists endlessly mocked John Kerry as elitist and aloof. So how come he won so many working-class votes?
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040301&s=crowley030104

[Mass]

4. Probably. You have a good point here.

[whometense]

11. Anything I see written by a TNR writer

automatically has one strike against it.

Did you happen to see Shattered Glass? Aside from the whole made-up news-story thing, the average age of the writers over there seems to be about 24. And when it comes to real-world experience, well, let's just say they batted about zero in their 2004 coverage.

[ProSense]

13. Yup!

The Peter "PNAC" Beinhart crew.

[Mass]

7. After having visited their website, I understand David Wade's quote

about choosing ties.

[jenndar]

9. GQ is a fashion magazine.

I'd be devastated if this were going to be in Harper's or even Esquire, but GQ? Whatever.

[Mass]

10. When I read the article, I got confused with CQ (Congressional Quaterly).

[globalvillage]

29. If you consider this fashion (from GQ's website)

:rofl:
WTF is THIS???



Maybe they've turned to parody.

[jenndar]

31. I guess he was riding his motorcycle to a paisley convention

when he collided with a truck carrying a load of fun fur?

I have no idea, but I can't believe that guy insulted the clothes of, like, the best-dressed Senator EVER.

[globalvillage]

34. I hope that thing comes with a big stick

or a shotgun. Just in case.

Is that what's passing for good taste in GQ? What a joke.

[whometense]

37. hmmmm...

...androgynous Martian?

[TayTay]

15. Well there was a sweet opinion in this same thread on GD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2378379&mesg_id=2378569


Awwwwwwhhh, now that's sweet.

[ProSense]

16. Well events will certainly keep the board on fire.

People are engaging in a lot of doublespeak and making a lot of insinuations, trying to be divisive. Then reality hits them in the face.

[Mass]

17. It may be the same article or another one. and it is Michael Crowley (TNR

http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_4129

[ProSense]

18. It is the article.

It's on page 5. I'll have to read the whole thing, but it has another really silly quote in it:

“He thinks it’s about him,” says a former Kerry campaign aide who had significant responsibilities in a key swing state. “He thinks all those people worked so hard and gave so much of their time because of him. And that is a gross misreading of the situation. I think he’s under the illusion that over 50 million Americans voted for him, as opposed to the reality that they voted against George W. Bush.”


Which kook said this?

[jenndar]

19. That article is horrible.

It's written in a way that makes the author and "party insiders" look like the scum of the earth. It's critical of JK for allegedly not moving on, but refuses to give up an ounce of petty anger and resentment left over from 2004. And, like so many other critics of JK, Crowley can't offer a better leader for this country than the one he's ripping apart.

It's sound and fury. Screw it.

[ProSense]

28. Is this a reference to

LIHEAP?

"A budget amendment to increase spending on home-heating oil awaited him."



Anything else needed to prove this a-hole is an a-hole?

[LittleClarkie]

20. Who the hell is Michael Crowley? Anyone have background on him?

And if this is what passed for a staffer, then somebody fucked up when they hired him. No wonder we might have lost, with loyalty like that.

What an asshat.

[Mass]

21. TNR reporter. Remember, those who wanted Lieberman and now

want Hillary.

[whometense]

38. Michael Crowley

http://www.tnr.com/showBio.mhtml?pid=8

SENIOR EDITOR
Michael Crowley

Michael Crowley writes about Congress, national politics, and other topics for The New Republic. Before joining TNR in 2000, he worked for The Boston Globe and The Boston Phoenix. Crowley has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Slate, The New York Observer, The Washington Monthly, New York magazine, and other publications. He is a 1994 graduate of Yale University.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES BY TNR STAFFERS
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=tnrlive&s=tnr_live

Thursday, January 19, 2005


Michael Crowley, Senior Editor
CNBC, Kudlow & Company
5:30 p.m. EST

Appears to be a regular talking head on Kudlow.


Typical TNR smartass. He wrote a decent story about JK early in 2004, but has been on his case since. This story http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050919&s=crowley092305
is a definite precursor to the GQ one:

UNFORTUNATELY, KERRY ISN'T GIVING UP.
Long Run
by Michael Crowley
Only at TNR Online | Post date 09.23.05

Remember John Kerry? It's been a busy week for the 2004 Democratic nominee. On Monday, Kerry delivered a long speech at Brown University blasting the Bush administration's inept response to the Katrina disaster and just about every other thing it's laid a finger on. Two days later, Kerry gave a floor speech in the Senate declaring his unsurprising opposition to the John Roberts nomination...

Get that? His "unsurprising opposition to the John Roberts nomination". And why is that a bad thing? It goes on and on and on. Let me know if you want to see more of it.

[WildEyedLiberal]

39. If I ever need to induce nausea, I'll know who to turn to

Any more of that rubbish and I'll vomit all over my keyboard.

[whometense]

40. JK baiting

Kerry dissing is a prerequisite for membership in the TNR Kool Kidz Klub.

Here's your antidote:



And here's mine: :evilgrin:

[WildEyedLiberal]

41. Mmmmm - he's the cure for what ails me, that's for sure

From Dr. WildEyedLiberal's Compendium of Political Health Ailments, Volume Four (Revised):

Diagnosis: Kerrycrat Obsessive-hypertension Syndrome (also known as KOS Disease)

Symptoms: A sudden and extreme spike in blood pressure, heart palpitations, tightness of the chest cavity, intense nausea, minor body tremors, and on rare occasions patient may enter a fugue state, during which the patient becomes violent and unpredictable and may throw or destroy objects. Patients display no memories of these violent fugue states, but once over, the patient displays no further symptoms.

Cause: Exposure to intense, irrational, and insidious lies and smears about U.S. Senator John Kerry can cause an episode of KOS in a percentage of liberal Democrats. The vast majority of affected victims are female.

Risk Increases With: Continued exposure to certain forums of discourse which often express juvenile and unfair attacks against Senator Kerry, including but not limited to: DailyKos, DemocraticUnderground (GD and GDP), The New Republic, Free Republic, MyDD, and much of the mainstream media punditocracy. (Note: The occurence of unfair and base attacks on Senator Kerry is exceedingly high at the website DailyKos; the owner of which thus lends himself to the colloquial name for this disorder.)

How to Treat: Methods vary depending on the patient. Carefully studying the details of Senator Kerry's life and principles can help to defuse the bashers, which may prevent onset of KOS. Patients with KOS should take at least fifteen minutes of Johnpic therapy each hour until the symptoms begin to subside. If needed, additional Johntherapy may be undertaken, including but not limited to audio, video, written communications including letters or speeches, or donating funds to John Kerry's PAC.

Please contact your political health provider if KOS symptoms persist after two days. A more radical treatment method may need to be taken. :o


:evilgrin:

[ProSense]

42. That's so great.

Diagnosis: Kerrycrat Obsessive-hypertension Syndrome (also known as KOS Disease)

LOL!

[TayTay]

43. WEL: that was brilliant!

I love it. You rock my dear!

[Dr Ron]

22. Bad Ass Politician

One of these magazines, such as GQ or Esquire had a good article on Kerry calling him a bad ass politician in the past. (It's in the Kerry Refernce Library but I don't have time to hunt it down now).

Even if there is a bad article on Kerry in one issue I bet they are just as likely to have a favorable one next time.

[jenndar]

23. I'm 99% sure it was Esquire.

They did a great job for him in '04. I think they really "get" him.

[whometense]

26. Esquire

Written by the excellent Charlie Pierce (Boston guy himself), and my favorite article on JK to appear during the whole campaign. Pierce "gets" Kerry.

http://kerrylibrary.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=4&st=20&p=114&#entry114

The Misunderestimation of John Kerry
Beware of this man. He's won every race that he was supposed to lose.

by Charles P. Pierce | Jun 01 '04

...It's been an eye-opening experience to me in a lot of ways," says the candidate in the way that candidates say things. "Just the reality of people's lives right now in America that I don't think a lot of people in Washington are aware of—how tough a lot of people are as they fight big problems every single day, and how they do it as the system seems to get more unfair every single day."

He's always looked a bit like an Ent, one of Tolkien's long-jawed, slow-talking tree creatures. His face is now more set in its sharp angles and down-running planes, and it better suits the depth of his voice and the way that his thoughts tend to wind around one another into extended, nuanced answers that are the bane of anyone who makes a business of sound bites. Now, glancing out the window of the campaign plane, he seems fully formed, as though something finally has set that took God's own sweet time about it.

"I've learned that what I'm doing now requires a precision on my part about what I say, and that's part of the learning experience of any campaign," he says. "I will be disciplined."

Yet sometimes, even within the most conventional moments of a conventional enterprise like a presidential campaign, which is now as ritualized as a high pontifical Mass and not half as many laughs, Kerry can take any moment by surprise. On an MTV special, Kerry is asked if he is now or ever was cool. He does not staff out the answer. He doesn't draw it from Machiavelli or de Tocqueville but, rather, rings a true change on the gospel according to Duke Ellington.

"If I were cool," he explains, "if I told you I was cool, then I wouldn't be cool."

He'll turn up with a football out on the tarmac, and the surprise is not that he does so but that he throws a perfect spiral, thumb rotating down counterclockwise the way they showed you in the old Johnny Unitas videos. He'll wander back through the plane and talk about sailing or about the right kind of hiking boots, and these are easy moments when you realize that, for all the wonkish camouflage he can throw up, while there may be a few finer minds than Kerry's in politics, there are none more purely discursive. (After all, how many politicians can boast a campaign biography whose index includes both Elmo Zumwalt and Warren Zevon, or has the Paris Peace Talks listed right after the bass player from Mountain?)

He calls people "man" more often than any politician since Adam Clayton Powell, and a handshake with him can be an adventure not unlike meeting a fellow Mason for the first time. Thumb up or thumb down? Straight-ahead grip or soul shake? The guitar comes with him on the plane, which happens to be one that once transported the Rolling Stones, with floor-to-ceiling mirrors in the bathrooms, a wet bar in the center of the cabin, and residue of God alone knows what on the seats.

Kerry ran in those circles once. Back in 1971, he was photographed with John Lennon, which was cool, and spoke to mass demonstrations on the National Mall, which was also cool, and argued against his own war passionately on television. Kerry's face was young and angular then, while his voice was plummy and wise, and he appeared to be a set of handsome yet mismatched parts. He was in that passionate moment, but he also was looking down the road further than were a lot of people who were sharing the great platform with him.
...

[WildEyedLiberal]

24. My only question...

... is whether my contribution should go to Friends of John Kerry or KAP. I think I'll send it to Friends of JK - it's my early primary donation, because THIS Democrat wants no one besides John Kerry for President.

Edit: Just donated $20.08. What happened to that thread where we were all donating money for John to throw in Kos's face? It might be a good time to kick that thread up and recount the total, with people adding in donations they've made since, and send the list to GQ.

[globalvillage]

25. Thanks for the reminder

I have not made my $20.0 for Jan. Time to get out the credit card.

[whometense]

27. Mine went to "Friends of"

I used the link in today's email. :-)

[jillan]

30. oh-

F*CK THEM!


http://www.taylormarsh.com/images2/[e-mail]
This man belongs on the cover of GQ!

[jenndar]

32. Yeah he does!

That is a fantastic picture :loveya:

[TayTay]

33. Ahm, pirahna, not without severe protection.

These TNR people are highly toxic and carry several unknown diseases that have been known to melt brains and cause odd behavior.

That bastid Beinhart still hasn't forgiven Kerry for being reasonable and lucid in the '04 race. This is just another attempt to discredit Kerry so that he can get a DINO in to run. (Hey, cuz Joementum worked out so well for them last time.)

Ah, I agree. Motherf*ckers.

EDIT: I would put JK on the cover, but I would prefer the blue tie! It's just me, but I like the blue ties better.

[ProSense]

35. Nice! n/t

[JI7]

36. i hate assholes

i always imagine some asshole angry at Kerry for some personal reason (jealousy) with some ugly embittered look on his face trying to think of ways to "stop Kerry".

and they are such assholes that they make up shit. this fool supported Lieberman in 2004. he sures knows a lot about what the Dems wanted then.