Democrats say angry approach at GOP convention won't play well with voters

[Khephra]

Democrats said Thursday the Republican convention is offering an angry vision to America that won't play well in the closing weeks of the presidential campaign.

"Delegates love this kind of stuff, but when this settles down and we get past Labor Day, I think this convention will prove to be a big mistake," said Philadelphia Mayor John Street, who was among Democrats recruited to counter the GOP message in New York "People out in the country's neighborhoods want to know what you have to offer us."

Street said the attacks on Democratic nominee John Kerry's Vietnam War record that have given Bush traction in the polls won't carry over into the latter stages of the campaign.

"People were paying attention to the attacks over the last five weeks, but I think it was a little too early," Street said. "What are they going to do during the month of October when people are really paying attention?"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/09/02/politics1217EDT0574.DTL

[enki23]

1. the attacks aren't going to stop in october

they will never stop. ever.

[Larkspur]

2. They used them in 2000 and 2002 and look where bush and the Repukes are

The control Congress and the White House.

[54anickel]

10. Attacks play well with their base, but I don't think they do with the

undecided. In 2000 and 2002 they fired up their base and got them out. There was no one courting the undecided and most just stayed home. A lot of Dems just weren't motivated either.

JMHO, I think if Kerry can get out his message and show he does have a plan and is in fact much different from Shrub he'll pull it off. Dems are fired up this time. There are a lot of Repugs totally disgusted with Shrub, Kerry just needs to give them incentive to get out and vote for him. I think the term "undecided" is a misnomer for a lot of disgusted Repugs deciding whether to just stay home or be "disloyal" to their party and cross the line.

[Larkspur]

16. In 2002 the Dems also ignored their base

The Dem base will show up in 2004, but the base is still not happy the the Dem Establishment. A Kerry win will be a reprieve from neo-con domestic policies, but Iraq, like Vietnam did to LBJ, could hurt Kerry and fracture his base.

[sangh0]

19. So that "base" voted for Republicans?

:crazy:

[yellowcanine]

21. No - they just didn't get out and vote. Pub base did. end of story.

.

[sangh0]

23. Nice try, but Dem turnout was up in 2002

Your claim that Dem turnout was down is a fiction.

[niceypoo]

28. Lowest turnout ever

the Daschels and other "Bush lite" didn't wash with normal people.

[David Dunham]

3. If we do not attack back hard in ads, we will definitely lose.

The two new Kerry ads out today are positive ads. We will lose if we do not run much harder ads against Bush. He is over 50% approval now, and we need to drive his negatives up or else we lose. F*ck Bob Shrum for his positive ads.

[lancdem]

11. He's at 45 percent approval in the ARG poll out today

The polls having him at 50 percent were done during the Olympics and the SBVT controversy.

BTW, I'm sure Kerry will run hard-hitting ads attacking Bush's record.

[Tempest]

4. The attacks are not playing well with those in the GOP

Andrew Sullivan blasted Miller's speech.

[sandraj]

30. Agreed... All they did this week

is show how out-of-touch they are with the average person. I don't think they care though.

[mazzarro]

5. Democratic party will be making another miscalculation in hoping

and waiting on voters (independents and moderates) to punish the reThuglicans. reThugs know that this has paid off for them in the past and will continue doing this. Their MO has always been to come back after all is said and done to proclaim their insincere and lukewarm "sorry" about the nastiness of their actions. Then they will ask everyone to "move on". These people need to be confronted without giving an inch to their bullying.

[Catfight]

6. I think Undecided voters were waiting for the PLAN, but all that they are

getting is the MeanTeam saying a lot of nothing. Although Americans love mud-slinging they still want to know what they are voting about, and Bush hasn't offered up one thing other than, FOUR MORE YEARS OF THE SAME.

SEE ROVE-er DIG A HOLE
SEE ROVE-er DIG IT DEEPER
SEE ROVE-er DISAPPEAR.

SEE DICK SCREAM AND YELL
SEE DICK CUSS AND BE RUDE
SEE DICK DISAPPEAR.

SEE GEORGE JOKING AND LAUGHING
SEE GEORGE MAKING FUN OF THE DEAD SOLDIERS
SEE GEORGE ATTEND A FUNERAL?

[GRClarkesq]

7. Was Zell's delivery intended

as a counterpoint to make Bush and Cheney look sane?

I think that kind of speech only played well with the party faithful and did not help move independents or undecided voters. Of course, if they have not moved by now, what are they waiting for?

[A_Possum]

8. Instead of hope for the future

the Republicans offer poison for the present.

[GRClarkesq]

9. Zell's delivery may have been intentional

so that Bush and Cheney look sane in comparison. I think Zell's speech fired up the delegates but did little to help with gaining independent or undecided voters.

Bush will deliver a nicey nice speech tonight chock full of new spending, probably not mention Kerry much.

[dansolo]

18. I don't think so

Zell was supposed to show how a life-long Democrat saw the light and come over to the Republicans. The whole symbolism goes out the window if he looks like a raving lunatic.

[MichiganVote]

34. Which he is

[Teaser]

12. Why John Street?

He's my mayor, but dude is terrible at message delivery.

[Khephra]

13. There were other Democrats commenting on last night too

"...Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who joined Democratic Chairman Terry McAuliffe and a half-dozen Democratic mayors in the closing session of the party's rapid response effort."

[CWebster]

14. Vilsack?

This ain't Kansas(Iowa) anymore..

Street? Could there possibly be anyone with less credibilty?

Yeah, those battlements are manned.

[West Coast Democrat]

15. I think the GOP thought it would be okay to send out Zell as an attack dog

but I guess they didn't realize that as the keynote speaker, he sets the tone for the entire convention. People who tuned in saw an angry, ugly person.

[NeoConsSuck]

17. The proof will be in the pudding..

The repukes hammered Kerry during the DNC, and corporate media was more than willing to give them all the airspace and bandwidth they wanted. Result? For the first time in history, the candidate (Kerry) got virtually no bounce in the polls following the convention

For the RNC, the Dems decided to take the high road and keep silent as the Kerry bashing continued. If Bush gets a bounce after the convention, it will prove the Kerry campaign blew it, voters *are* swayed by negative publicity.

[Politicub]

20. The GOP machismo bullshit

Won't play well with the swing voters or women. Or now that I think about it, nearly any thinking person. "Any thinking person" automatically excludes the GOP base.

[ROakes1019]

24. machismo

Republican shills were saying today on Hardball that women would swoon over Zell manliness. The way they did over Bush's sock puppet strut on the USS Abraham?

[TEXASYANKEE]

22. And why so angry?

The Repressive Right controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court. Their convention should have been an orgy of happiness and pleasure. Instead, last night we were treated to a hate fest. Why are they so angry?

[ROakes1019]

25. manly anger

People just love all that manly anger. Can't you see that the elephant dicks are engorged and ready to fuck us all . . . again?

[jumptheshadow]

29. It's all they've got

They can't do anything but try to get people riled up with slurs and slime because they have nothing -- nothing -- positive to highlight in their record.

[The_Casual_Observer]

32. They are about to embark on a campaign to alter the social fabric

of the US starting TONIGHT. The tone that one uses to proceed with something like this isn't a happy one, it is done with absolute force, will, and with threats of violence and most of all fear. They are taking this out of the '33 Germany vs the world playbook.

[sofa king]

26. Colbert calls the theme "unmitigated gall."

But I myself admire the sheer absurdity of the message: "We control a majority of all state and federal government in America, and it's time for a change.... Hey! Look over there!"

[Skittles]

27. at one campaign stop

Bush asked for a "chance to be your president" - as if he doesn't realize the damage he's done pretending to be president for the past few years

[Piperay]

31. There was an article that someone

had put up a few days ago (I looked for it but it must have fallen into the achieves) that said the repukes strategy is NOT to go after the undecided. The repukes have decided they do not need the undecideds, they feel the undecided are not worth bothering about and they are aiming for a HUGE turnout among their own registered. The article said it was Rove's plan and risky BUT if they succeed it would be pure genius. This 'strategy' explains why they have invitation only rallies and why they are so intent on energizing their base.

[Joanne98]

33. whoever said this needs to be fired from the campaign

they don't understand that negative campaigning works. their STUPID ideas are killing us. This is more DLC bullshit.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

36. well..lets see..how are the poll numbers doing?

GOP negative attacks...race is now tied.

GOP negative attacks during the convention./.....dont have the numbers yet...

We'll see how well they work.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

35. Go Negative and get out the base and first time voters.

Forget the "swing vote". Americans like negative crap. If they didn't they would not have believed the Swiftboat Ads.