WP/Milbank: Diverse Tactics on the Stump

[kskiska]

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- The question is put to Andy Griffin, a supporter of President Bush from Canton, Ohio, after a Bush rally here. On Election Day, will his vote be for Bush or against Democrat John F. Kerry?

"It's 100 percent for Bush," says Griffin, a 22-year-old accountant. "It wouldn't matter who he's running against, unless it was my dad."

A day later and 50 miles to the east, the same question is put to Jack Saling, a Kerry supporter waiting for the Massachusetts senator to arrive in Youngstown for an event. "It's 50-50," says Saling, a veteran and retired trucker. "I've never followed Kerry that much, but we need a change, a serious change."

(snip)

The difference explains why crowds at Bush rallies, though similar in size to those at Kerry events, have been more energetic. The reception for Kerry is warm at Democratic events; the reception for Bush at GOP events is akin to that of a rock star. The different motivation of Kerry and Bush supporters also explains the difference in campaigning styles between the two presidential contenders. Bush's stump speech is packed with appeals to his conservative supporters; his biggest applause lines are typically his call for limits on jury awards and his opposition to gay marriage. Kerry's speech is full of economic facts and figures and paeans to the middle class; he typically gets his best reactions when he mentions job losses and criticizes Bush's honesty.



more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25440-2004Oct11.html

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Difference in audiences - MINDLESS followers, compared with...

people who listen, who think, who can actually process thoughts.....my comparison of * crowds are actually with the hypocritical suckers who show up at Fundy tent rallies, all raise their hands in the air, wriggle on the ground and pretend that they have been saved, healed or found.....equally horrific, scary, and dangerous.

[LeinesRed]

6. NPR exposed this brilliantly today...

Nina T...the audio is on the web

[msongs]

2. furious george is preaching to choir and kerry is

getting people who are commtted to kerry and also giving him serious thought.

and of course there are the loyalty oaths to see bush.

Msongs
Riverside CA

[kskiska]

3. Milbank knows better

The people who come to see * think they are witnessing the arrival of the New Messiah. Of course they're rapturous.

[KittyWampus]

4. Aren't Bush Crowds Pre-Screened, Oath-Taking, Rush-Listening

want-wits?

[dennis4868]

8. yes.....

and that is why the article that was posted in the original thread is a waste of time to read....Kerry's events are open to all (supporters and nonsupporters) and Bush's are only open to those who will bow down to their fearless leader....

[Rose Siding]

5. Limits on jury awards is a big applause line?

Idiots. Do those people KNOW why the regulations to build the stands where they're seated were created? Because I KNOW if they collapsed, the first stop they'd make on the way home from the hospital is to retain a LAWYER.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

7. If people voted in their own best interests instead of emotional

hot-button issues (abortion, school prayer, guns and gays), there would be almost no Republicans in Congress or the WH.

What consistently amazes me is how many people are willing to sacrifice their children to *'s megalomanial endeavors.

[VolcanoJen]

9. Kick!

Depressing, but important and influential, especially since it comes from Milbank.