I'll ask again in 2007, but who is a Dem we can all stand behind?

[Deja Q]

I won't stand for Kerry.

I won't stand for Hillary.

If Gore would prove and subsequently maintain his post-2000 verve in his campaign I'd just about consider him. (and would he be willing to give up his spot in Apple's Board of Directors...?)

Biden need not bother.

In the end, it doesn't matter. The media will always pull a last-minute stunt. The public didn't turn on Dean without being propped by the media...

[panader0]

1. I like Barak Obama

But I'm not sure he has enough time in.

[meg]

2. I won't stand for a Republican, no matter WHO the

Democratic candidate is. Period.

Any Republican is a Tom DeLay Republican. The 'moderates' in the House have proved that point. Republicans stand for the religious right and incredible greed.

[Peggy Day]

3. until the voting system is fixed-it doesn't matter

[dkofos]

22. Indeed

[skipos]

32. CA, NJ and VA '05. Dems kicked ass. We will do it again in '06.

[SaveElmer]

4. Hillary is my candidate...but unlike the Hillary haters here...

I will gladly vote for WHOEVER the Democrats nominate!!!

[pretzel4gore]

10. no hate...just that she's a wine and cheese player

on the bushwashington scene...bill and hill never let their personal interest interfere with what was best for the country: is it okay that a out and out fraud seized power in 2k election? then to go ahead and confer legitimacy upon the criminal bastard by 'supporting' the president....would hillary have voted for an attack upon the usa by a well entrenched 5th column who BRAGS ABOUT ITS HATE FOR liberal USA? she can run away from such questions all she wants, but she might as well go with bill and join the gopigs unless the clintons breaks rank with the dishonesty

[GrantDem]

20. I agree

I will stand behind any Democrat nominated.

[iconoclastNYC]

27. Hillary = Name Recognition, nothing else.

It's not unlike the people who voted for Bush because his Daddy was president.

I swear i'd drop over dead if some Hillary groupies would actually state why they think she's the best candidate instead of just reminding us all how many people find the idea of voting for her in November repugnant.

[skipos]

31. My biggest complaint with Hillary is that

40% of America is already commited to voting against her if she runs for pres. I like her in the senate. I am far from a hater.

[SaveElmer]

33. 40% are committed to voting against any Democrat...

And I disagree with your premise. I believe we are swallowing hook, lin, and sinker the propaganda about Hillary's alleged divisiveness. Hillary is political very smart, and excellent campaigner, and a highly effective senator, and is far more popular than Republicans would like to believe. I think she would have no trouble convincing moderates and independednts to vote for her.

[skipos]

36. Sigh. You know, it is OK for people to disagree with

eachother here. If I had a dollar for everytime some told me my opinion was based on media brainwashing, I'd have a lot more money to donate to the DU.

There are plenty of good things about Hillary, I am not arguing about that. When I talk to friends and family (most of which are diehard democrats who would vote for any dem over any rep) and none of them want Hillary to run, and most DUers don't want Hillary to run, and I don't want Hillary to run, and every poll I see indicates more anti-Hillary votes than for any other candidate, and every poll I see seems to indicate people would actually prefer democrats in power, and every poll I see indicates that more people are regretting voting for Bush, and meanwhile the media and republicans seems to be more into the idea of Hillary running than anyone else, it all adds up to one thing...

Dems have a good shot in 06 and 08, but Hillary shouldn't be our 08 nominee.

That's my opinion and you can feel free to disagree with it, but I'd appreciate it if you don't insult me by saying I am the victim of some sort of propaganda.

[SaveElmer]

43. I'd like to see the polls you are talking about...

Every poll I see by national polling firms of Democrats has Hillary way out front. I agree any poll you see here, or on Kos, or on any other site inhabited (is that the right word?) by more die hard dems, she is certainly not ahead. But in the real world, among rank and file democrats she is the clear favorite currently.

I have absolutely no problem with disagreement here or anywhere else. What I dislike frankly is the "I'll vote for anyone but " mentality here. I don't share it. In my opinion Hillary would be our strongest candidate. She is the most battle hardened, has withstood and beaten back Republican sleaze tactics for 13 years, and is now the most popular Democrat in opinion polls, and is incredibly popular in her home state.

However, there is no Democrat running or being talked about that I would not happily work for...and frankly I think any one of them would have a good chance of winning. IMO however, Hillary is our strongest, and would make the best President.

[skipos]

46. As far as Hillary

getting the nomination, yes most polls have Hillary out in front. Personally, I believe that has a lot to do with name recognition. Most people only know Kerry Edwards Clinton and Gore, so they top 08 nomination polls. As you have probably heard before, Lieberman topped the early polls for the dem nomination. I doubt anyone mentioned Bill Clinton in 1989.

As far as Hillary goes in the presidential election polls, it seems she has a large chunk of the population already commited to voting against her.

Here is one poll. People seem to bitch about these guys having a repub bias, but their polls actually *underestimated* how well dems did in 05.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Hillary%20Meter.htm

Hillary for President in '08?
Definitely Vote For 30%
Def Vote Against 39%
Depends On Who She Runs Against 25%

Favorable 41%
Unfavorable 42%

Thats a lot of people commited to voting against her. We all know how polarizing she is, even within the dem party. And 39% definitely voting against our candidate would be a serious hurdle.

Here is a McCain/Hillary poll. Pretty useless if McCain isn't nominated but it does support my fear of having yet another dem candidate that does well in the northeast, great lakes and west coast, but struggles anywhere else.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1005

"The survey finds that both senators far outdistance their nearest competition for their parties’ nominations—but in a head-to-head match-up, the Arizona Republican bests the New York Democrat by 19 points, leading her 54% to 35%. McCain would also defeat Massachusetts Senator—and former Democratic presidential candidate—John Kerry by a full 20 points, 55% to 35%."

"McCain has majority support in every single geographic region of the country. But more telling may be the fact that, even in the states carried by Kerry in 2004, McCain comes out comfortably on top—leading Clinton by 49 to 38% and Kerry by 50% to 40%. Among the states carried by President Bush, the margin is even wider, giving McCain a 58% to 33% lead over Clinton and 59% to 32% lead over Kerry."

[1932]

5. Napolitano, Sibelius, Obama, Edwards, Fiengold, Boxer, Warner...

[spooked911]

6. Anyone who questions the official 9/11 story

as far as I am concerned.

[Tamarin]

7. I'll vote for the Dem, no matter who it is,

but my degree of participation and donation amount would be upped if it were one of my favorites.

[Senator]

8. Only Barbara Boxer has a clear claim to leadership...

...of anyone in the Senate.

She walked the walk on Jan. 6. It's hers for the asking.

If she opts out, others will have to come clean about their actions/words on Jan. 6th, 2000 and 2004. This was a big reason Gov. Dean "emerged" from what would have seemed a fine lot of "regulars" and the same will happen again.

And for those who have been Pavlovianly trained to have the (non)word "electability" pop into their head, don't even start. ANY nominee of the Democratic Party is "electable."

Anyone the Dems nominate is "electable" (the word itself is just a propaganda tool). Yes, even Barney Frank. Yes, even Cynthia McKinney. Yes, even Al Sharpton. Yes, even Warren Beatty. Heck, Daffy Duck for that matter.

ANYONE -- full stop.

It is only the Mighty Wurlitzer emanating from the DC/Euphemedia Analstocracy that chants the "electability" mantra that "all we need is that last half of one percent of the undecideds."

It's just navel-gazing, masturbatory rubbish.

Don't let them sidetrack us (again).

---
www.january6th.org

[LWolf]

13. Excellent points, all.

I will not ever again have "electable" shoved down my throat like it was in '04. I said then, I'll say now; anyone we nominate is electable with a smart campaign.

I'd be happy to support my former senator in a bid for the WH. There are other worthy candidates, too. I'd like to see them give us real choices in the primaries.

I don't know who the candidate will be, but I do know this:

I will not show up to support someone who is force fed to me as "electable." That candidate will be electable without me along for the ride.

[iconoclastNYC]

28. Right.

Because we all saw how "Electable" Kerry was right?

We have to start with the message early on in the season: "Don't let BIG MEDIA tell you who is electable, that's YOUR CHOICE."

[iconoclastNYC]

30. Has to be someone who cred as a REFORMER

And someone who can distance himself from the Democratic party, but for the right reasons.

It can't be a career dem, has to be someone obscure I think who can build up the persona as a reformer.

[LWolf]

42. Exactly.

I'd be encouraged if I saw this message in thread after thread, instead of the inevitable popularity, and "electable" contest.

And, while we're at it, a little more focus on 2006; trying to take back the house or the senate would make anyone we elected to the WH in '08 more successful.

[DanCa]

9. Clark Edwards Warner Obama Sharpton

[radfringe]

11. EVERYBODY????

good luck. we couldn't even get the list down to 2 people to stand behind even after the primary

[FlaGranny]

12. NO ONE!

DU will NEVER be able to agree on ANYone to stand behind.

As soon as we know who the top contenders (who intend to run) are, we'll start flame wars about them. Every single one of them will have done something to piss someone off. None will have the purity of soul demanded here. No one ever will.

We'll start long threads about why not to vote for one or the other. We will look up disparaging info on them and post it, and do half the work for the dark side to discredit them.

[converted_democrat]

14. I like, in no particular order..Gore, Dean, Clark, and Edwards...n/t

[Mugsy]

15. Barbara Boxer (though I still like Dean).

My personal preference has been Barbara Boxer ever since I saw her go one-on-one with Condi last year (or was it this year?)

I still love Howard Dean, and wish public support for him wasn't so turbulent. He takes a stand and doesn't back down, and more often than not, other politicians eventually find themselves coming to the same conclusions he presented much earlier on.

I'm annoyed that more people don't seem to consider Boxer as a serious contender in 2008. I have no idea why.

For me, Hillary is a non-starter. She voted for the war, and (likely out of paranoid fear of being labeled a "Flip-Flopper") said "even knowing what she knows now" would still have voted for the war. Bzzt. WRONG ANSWER.

And we've already had one President whose greatest credential for the job was "who they were related to". I'm not looking to go down that road again. :(

[laststeamtrain]

16. I'm thinking a Gore/Edwards ticket, but....

...I'd like to see elements of a left populism. I'll never say never, but at this point it's hard not to say I'll never support a pro-war candidate.
End Corporate Welfare.
Cut the military budget by getting rid of military-Industrial complex inside boondoggles.
Clean up Wall St.
Soak the rich. They got rich by exploiting the labor of others.
The wealth that needs redistributing is the wealth of the few hundred 'households' that have annual incomes of 200 million dollars or more.

I think there's a lot of votes out there if the campaign is organized around points like this.
Unfortunately maybe more votes than cash contributions...isn't that the bind?

[ThomWV]

24. I'll Agree .... However

There is a part of me that loves Wesley Clark. He's the only person I know of who is actually over qualified for the job of President.

[DesertRat]

17. Barbara Boxer is my choice n/t

[unblock]

18. note that the banana republicans couldn't even all stand behind shrub

at first.

let's credit the banana republicans with one thing: they know how to win elections. we know how to govern, and hope that that's good enough to win the election. they skip the hard part and go straight to campaigining. kinda like getting a better job by padding your resume rather than trying to actually gain relevant training and experience.

anyway, one thing the banana republicans know how to do is come together behind their chosen candidate. aside from the shoe-ins, they often have contentions nomination battles. think bush vs. mccain, or reagan vs. bush, e.g.

the thing is, though, once they've made their choice, they all fall lock-step behind they guy. granted, they do so to a somewhat scary extreme, but we have to credit them with an effective tactic. as soon as bush had the nomination sewn up, mccain was hugging bush and suddenly bush had 110% support among the banana republicans.


as democrats, we will NEVER find a single candidate that coasts through the nomination process without dissent. but that's not the important part.

the important part is that we COME TOGETHER behind whoever it is that we chose. and it doesn't matter if that person made a bad vote here or there or whatever the reason might be for preferring one democrat over another. the important thing is, once there is only ONE democrat, that we ALL support our candidate.

[emulatorloo]

19. Whoever gets the nomination - I won't stand for a RETHUGLICAN

support whoever you like in the primaries. And then support the one who gets the nomination.

[RandomKoolzip]

21. There is no such animal.

If JFK were alive today, we'd be running down his "elitist Massachussetts" ass for being hawkish.

If Jimmy Carter were running, we'd be on his case for being too close to the Rockefellers and for being a Southern Baptist.

If FDR were running, we'd be skittish about hoisting a handicapped guy up there (image problems, electability, that nonsense).

There is no candidate we can all get behind unconditionally.

[ThomWV]

23. Al Gore

Quit shitting around and get behind a proven winner - a proven winner who has matured over the last 5 years in a way which has had him become a persuasive powerhouse.

Have you heard the man speak these days? He is moving to be sure but more importantly he makes sense as he actually brings substance to the political debate. He is not a man enamored of sound bits. He has become not only eloquent but in fact a statesman of intelligence (something sourly laking in the White House) and a gentleman of the finest kind.

[Uncle Joe]

34. I agree, I could wholeheartedly support Al Gore,

Albert Gore, Al Gore Jr. or even Albert Gore Jr. although my favorite is probably just Al Gore.

[iconoclastNYC]

25. What's wrong with Apple?

They make the best products in thier given category and they were one of the first companies to give same sex partner benefits.

We should be willing to applaud the good corporations as much as we are to condemn the bad ones. I don't see Apple as the enemy and i don't even use thier computers.

Baring a global depression, we're never going to get rid of corporations people or get rid of corporate influence in U.S. Politics. You are a fool if you think otherwise.

[dkofos]

29. We could if we would stop electing

coporatist politicians.

Step up Mr. Dean. No DNC money for corporatist polititions!!!

[iconoclastNYC]

40. More like step up Democrats.

Dean has said the key to drumming out the influence of corporate dollars if for people to sign up to small reoccuring montly contributions. They wanted to get 10 million people to sign up for them but i based on the number on mine it seems they are only up to 8000.

Have you signed up for a democracy bond.

[dkofos]

26. I like

Kucinich, Dean, Boxer.

I will not accept a corporatist of any color or gender.

This time around why don't we take the top two from primaries
for PREZ & VP?

[bbgrunt]

35. conyers? He may not be a bolt of lightening, but are'nt we

ready for someone who is thoughtful and steady and honest and who really has the best interest of Americans at heart as evidenced by his willingness to pursue issues like voting violations?

[Senator]

47. Mr. Conyers is NOT QUITE the pipe dream he might seem

I would wage dollars to doughnuts that the vast majority of "informed" anti-neofascist people (including the rank and file Dem base) would love to "be able" to support John Conyers for our next Elected President of the United States.

I think the reality is that most however are fearful to even think in that direction. (Sort of an unspoken, "Liberal, and aged, and black. Oh My!")

That said, I also think that we here at DU could start the ball rolling and actually MAKE HIM PRESIDENT in 2007. Yes, really.

The process is discussed in this post from a couple months back.

The main thing to keep in mind is that "success" of such an effort (which I'd put at not quite 50/50, but not far worse) is secondary. Engaging in the effort itself could go a long way toward helping the Dems to "run the table" in 2006 and 2008.

----
www.january6th.org

[undeterred]

37. I will work for Russ Feingold

He is a good man and will be a good candidate for President. :patriot:

http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/

[CrazyForKucinich]

38. FYI

Dean lost Iowa before the Scream. Whoever wins Iowa wins the nomination...it was over.

The media's tactics were still low.

[in_cog_ni_to]

39. Wes Clark? Barbara Boxer? John Conyers?

I just hope it's not a DLCer. :puke:

[Peggy Day]

41. down the road

clean elections (public funded) then someone that isn't rich can get elected to a state position, then maybe president.
As it stands now, only the rich can even think about it.

[flvegan]

44. Kucinich.

I can't think of a single thing he's said or done that I can't stand behind.

[LeftyMom]

45. I want a Boxer/Kucinich ticket.

:hi: