Awesome post - Re: Hey Mary Beth Cahill - WAKE UP!

[tomfodw]

At Hoffmania (http://hoffmania.blogspot.com/):


The DNC Desperately Needs to Crank Up the Machine


| A diary at dKos:

| Hey Mary Beth Cahill - WAKE UP!

| I'm watching Meet the Press right now with Jane Harman (D) and Pat Robert (R). Harman has just been asked about John Kerry's attendance at Senate committee meetings and was skewered by Pat Roberts with Republican talking points that mirror the Bush campaign. When it was Harman's turn to defend the attack she hemmed and hawed and stuttered her way to finally saying -

| "Well, I haven't heard John Kerry tout this...I I can't speak to that specifically."

| What the f***??? How can you let a prominent democrat go on a Sunday morning talk show and not have her prepped to respond to attacks on her Presidential candidate? This representative was incredibly unprepared and was obviously not prepped unlike Roberts who whenever he's on television seems like he spent the whole day before in a boiler room being prepped by Karl Rove.


This should be the final straw. This incident should send up fireworks in the DNC and Kerry campaigns signaling that there is a horrific communication gap within the Democratic Party.

In this race, being right is not enough. The one thing we have in our favor over BushCo is the truth, but it doesn't mean jack if you don't arm our spokespeople with it...or if they completely mishandle it as Harman did this morning.

Everybody - and I do mean EVERYBODY - needs to have our talking points. No exceptions. The press. The general media. The GOP (imagine them reacting to US for once). And for GOD'S sake, the DEMOCRATS! Every last one in the Senate, the House and on every goddamn level should be using the same battle plan and should stick fastidiously to the script.

You can keep Kerry's and Edwards' hands clean. But dammit, you've got to train and motivate every one else to be the bad cops here, because the bad cops are winning this one.

Forget this nuance crap once and for all. It's not working and it will never work against this administration. We need points and rebuttals that can be repeated over and over and over, and we need them NOW. The GOP is so far ahead on this, it's not funny.

Get the Democrats on the same friggin' page IMMEDIATELY. Pound it to death. Make it front of mind in voters' heads. And if we don't have a page yet, I'd say right now is a reeeeal good time to make one, wouldn't you?

Because I'm getting real tired of otherwise normal people spitting out the words "Kerry's a Flip-Flopper" without even thinking about it.

[Nite Owl]

1. Amen to that.

We can email and fax all we want but the Dems that are our voices and faces on tv got to get it together. It never should have gotten this bad but sometimes it's like watching those guys get run over by a freight train.

[cybildisobedience]

2. I couldn't agree more

I happened to be watching Meet the Whore and my thoughts mirrored these exactly. Harman sat there like a bump on a log while Roberts pummeled Kerry. She said basically nothing.
I am sick to death of watching timid, weak-kneed, ineffectual Dems allow themselves to be bullied by these monsters who are destroying our country.
What the Cheney is it going to take for them to freaking get it? These are not nice people. They don't play fair. They will lie and cheat and steal and destroy anyone and anything in their way. Stand up and fight, for God's sake, or kiss this country and democracy good-bye.
It is ALL on the line right now.
The real killer is that it can't be all that hard. Nine out of ten people on DU could have handed Roberts his ass, but Harmon was clueless.
Kerry people, Dem strategist, Cahill, or whoever else is reading DU -- do not ignore this any longer.

[tomfodw]

6. I read this post on Hoffmania and I wanted to stand up and cheer...

...except I was at work, where it might have seemed a bit odd...

Anyway, I read this and thought, "Damn! At last! Someone else is saying what I've been thinking for the past two weeks!"

Didn't they learn anything from Carville in 1992? You can't be unprepared and you can't let 24 hours go by without quashing any lie, rumor, distortion, sneer, misstatement, or even snarky question.

It's happening again, just like in 2000, and there's nothing we can do about it.

[KittyWampus]

3. Example: Topic Was Cheney Mocking Kerry's Sensitivity Statement

on Hardball. Matthew brought it up and Kerry's representative FAILED TO MENTION THAT BUSH USED SAME WORD IN SAME CONTEXT TO THE SAME CROWD AT THE SAME FORUM ONLY DAYS BEFORE AND SO DID CHENEY.

How the HELL did Kerry's camp not get this short, easy rebutal out to his reps?

Anyone?

[bigtree]

7. Simple

All of the noise about the IWR, swiftlies and cheney jibes is completely irrelevant to most voters, especially those in the swing states who have been hit hard by the Bush economy and have seen their heath care costs rise and are losing insurance. The media and the Bush campaign want you to believe that these smears are the most important thing in the campaign but most voters have indicated that the economy, jobs and health care are their main concern.

To spend all of our time bantering about the distortions plays right into the Bush campaign's attempt to draw attention away from their poor management of the economy. The Bush campaign is off message, not the Kerry campaign.

BTW, Harman is an independent rep., not a Kerry spokesperson. I would suggest that you pay less attention to the media shills and their circus shows and more attention to Kerry's campaign which is racking up som impressive numbers against Bush in the states that will matter in November by remaining focus on the issues that actually relate to voter's daily lives.

[Nite Owl]

12. It is possible to do both.

Kerry is doing real well. It's the rest of the Dems. And what is an independent rep not a Kerry spokesperson? We are all on the same team wanting to get Kerry elected and a Dem congress. They have to come trough and do their part.

[tomfodw]

13. If she's a Democrat...

...she's a Kerry spokesperson. If she goes on national television, where she has to know she's going to be asked about Kerry, she's a Kerry spokesperson.

You can't give an inch to the Republicans. You can't give a millimeter. Sure, the economy may be the thing in the battleground states, but why take any chances? Why give the bastards anything they might possibly use? This election is going to be close as it is - why make it any closer than it absolutely has to be?

[Generator]

47. I like the way you think

It's the theme song of the tour dammit!!

No retreat, no surrender.

Not an inch.

I never was never could be a wimpy Dem. I thought Howard Dean buried that corpse. Let's pray it's not the day of the living dead coming back.

[KittyWampus]

15. IMO, This Was A Golden Opportunity MISSED COMPLETELY

the perfect opportunity to point out the hypocracy and, indirectly, the complacent and complicit media.

[cybildisobedience]

16. No one expects Harmon to be a Kerry surrogate

But she can simply tell the truth, can't she?
Or is that too freaking much to ask of her?
Can she also be sort of, I don't know, well-informed?
Is that so hard, considering it's her JOB?
As I said, most of the people on this site can handle these situations better.
And while we're on the subject, why is that rabid, hateful partisans like Roberts are almost ALWAYS matched up against weak Dems (who, as you say, are not obliged to support Kerry) or "objective" reporters or media types who either try and play it straight, or just outright shill for Bush?
Granted, it may the fault of those who set these things up -- i.e., program producers, etc. -- but that's all the more justification for putting out your sharpest people who are WELL-PREPARED and capable of handling these situations.

[bigtree]

18. Harman is Harman. She is an independent thinking rep.

She is in her own world. Ignore her.

I thought all of the Sunday talkies were boring rehashes of stale news. I'll bet most who tuned in thought the same.

[tomfodw]

25. What do you mean?

Of course she's a Kerry surrogate. She's a Democrat in the House. Unless she's a Zell Miller or a Rodney Alexander, she has no choice this year. Especially in a situation where she has to know she's going to be asked difficult questions. If she doesn't want to be a Karry surrogate, she shouldn't go on TV. Not this time of year. Not this year.

[Cheswick2.0]

23. Wrong

If you go on the talk shows you play the game to win otherwise don't go on.

[ContinentalOp]

4. It's the media!

Call, email, write to MSNBC and complain that they let Harman say those things. :crazy:

[John_H]

33. Sounds like a job for a Dem Strategist. n/t

[jackstraw45]

5. Said it two years ago....NO ONE is steering the ship at the DNC

Win or lose, Terry needs to GO after November.

[MidwestTransplant]

8. I'll repeat what I said last Sunday...

Jane Harman sucks.

[oasis]

9. Harman is a DINO. If Kerry wins she's okay with it. If Bush wins, she'll

muddle through somehow.

I have a feeling that Gen.Clark is going to be front and center from now on. He can handle the press and is well respected as a passionate patriot.

[jpgray]

10. She said on Crossfire she believed weapons would be found

Carville looked at her like she was nuts--totally torpedoed his argument.

[oasis]

11. I cringe whenever she's the Dem spokesperson.

[ruggerson]

14. Hey Dem STRATEGIST

Can you please let us know that Mary Beth personally has seen this thread, read it, comprehended it?

And to add to this, what's the deal with the guy today on Major Garrett's piece on Fox News who said that Kerry was vice chair of Senate Intelligence and then was forced, on camera, to bumblingly admit he was wrong because it was actually Bob Kerrey.

These are the people you send out in front of the cameras???!!!! What's the deal? Aren't you guys professionals at this? For crying out loud, what is going on?

GET THE TALKING POINTS OUT TO EVERYONE EVERY DAY, NO EXCEPTIONS! KEEP ALL SURROGATES ON MESSAGE AND NEVER EVER SEND SOMEONE IN FRONT OF A CAMERA IF THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY"RE TALKING ABOUT!

Is you sense frustration here, that's because we ARE. You guys are majorly screwing up the communications side of this thing.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jackstraw45]

19. Go back to your RNC intern cubicle....

Your talking points are STALE.

[stldemocrat]

20. Whatever...

Kerry's performance since the convention has been miserable. All he wants to talk about is Vietnam, instead of things that matter like healthcare. If you are satisfied with his performance, then so be it. I'm not. I will vote for him, but I'm not feeling good about where this is headed. I don't have to be happy with whatever politician the Democrats put up for a particular office (especially here in Missouri), so get off my back.

[Sparkly]

22. "All he wants to talk about is Vietnam" - ?

I've been hearing him talk about healthcare, the economy, jobs, education, current foreign policy issues, and much more.

[stldemocrat]

27. Maybe it's just me...

but I wish he would have had a group of people who lost their healthcare coverage during the Bush depression at the convention rather than a bunch of his war buddies.

[Sparkly]

29. Maybe it is

because to help those without healthcare, he first needs to win the election. To win the election, he has to have voters' trust that he can lead as commander in chief. To project an image of a competent, tested commander in chief dedicated to serving his country and defending it, the veterans were very effective. And if you listened to his speech that night, he spoke about a range of issues.

[stldemocrat]

30. I listened...

I just didn't like all of the militarism that Kerry projected. I thought that all that jingoistic stuff was what repukes do. I shouldn't be so negative. I will be glad to have Bush gone (and will vote for Kerry to get rid of him). I just don't like some of the things Kerry is doing (like saying he still would vote to give Bush the green light for a war of agression).

[Generator]

49. You don't get it do you?

Vietnam is two things. An actual event that Kerry participated in and a a METAPHOR.

That means when you compare one thing to something else.

Candidate A) too chickenshit to defend country

Candidate B) defended country

Meanwhile candidate A acts like a HERO because he did nothing while his country was being attacked (9/11) but uses that tragedy and it's insuing fear (real and manufactured) to prop up his total FAILURE at doing anything to prevent it or doing much to prevent another attack but attacking the WRONG country while Candidate B actually has the medals and A LIVING HUMAN BEING who's life he saved.


It's a metaphor for manhood. (not that you had to go to war to be a man but that's what they want us to play by, being fit for war so..)

Kerry=a man
Bush= not much of a man

We are playing on their "talking points". To them, that dare to say we are cowards and don't love and won't defend our country.

We love our country. And I love Kerry for being the man to take us out of our nightmare.

[WilliamPitt]

21. pzzzzzcheeeeeezzz

[hippiegranny]

26. no, this crap wouldn't be a problem

but you can bet your ass there would BE a problem. Of some sort. The pukes are the masters at creating problems and Dean would not have been immune to their machinations. Look what they did with "the scream." Kerry is the nominee. Work with it.

[stldemocrat]

28. I didn't say...

I wouldn't "work" with it (and vote for Kerry). But I think I have the right to complain about his performance. Incidentally, I originally supported Edwards, but in retrospect I think that Dean would have been the best able to lead against Bush. Note that he led Kerry to vote against funding the mess in Iraq.

[Gloria]

24. Troop redeployments: Campaign slams, sends out Clark to talk about it...

on Inside Politics ( and later, Hardball)....and Carl Levin, also on Inside Politics, pretty much says the OPPOSITE of what Clark says....

WTF??????????????????????????

[Feanorcurufinwe]

31. Wouldn't it be great if the Kerry campaign got to choose who is on MTP?

But, they don't.

[John_H]

34. Do they not get to speak to MTP guests or their staffs first either?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

36. What makes you think Harman is willing?

I don't know the answer to your question. Do you? I assume nothing. But I am guessing that MTP doesn't go out of their way to give the Kerry campaign access to their guests.

[WillyT]

37. Well, Harman OUGHT To Be Willing !!!

If she ever wants to be in the majority in the House, she DAMNED well ought to be willing! I don't know if we'll be able to swing gettin the House back this cycle, but you'd think she might wanna jump on-board the Kerry bus just in case, no???

:shrug:

[Feanorcurufinwe]

38. The Supreme Court oughta let them count the votes.

There are a lot of things in the world I'm not happy about.

[John_H]

41. In fairness to her, a nice lady, lots of things could have happened but

it seems to me as an armchair strategist that one of three things happened.

Somebody called her up to say, look, you're up against roberts and sweetie-pie is going to ask about the ad--here's how many times the Senator attended closed meetings, here's what we'd say about the ad if we were on the show. All of which Harmon promptly ignored.

Or

Nobody thought to call.

OR

Somebody thinks it's a bad idea to influence our surrogates,helping them stay on the campaign's message--an opinion not shared by the our oponents. Perhaps these people believe it's part of the rope-a-dope for our surrogates to let their surrogates go to town, perhaps even nodding as they do.

Whay I do know is that nobody on our side didn't know what would be discussed.

When Ms. H--smarter than me to be sure, but never political operative--- saw the MTP press promo she said "Fuck, they're going to talk about the ad the whore show."
If she knew, and I knew, and the dog knew, someone on our side knew.

[John_H]

32. The sweetness-and-light people always demand specifics.

Add these to the above:

1) Did you notice that MTP's director went to long wide shots twice while roberts was speeking. Think it might be 'cause Harman was NODDING while Roberts lit into Keery? Ever seen Delay NODDING while a Dem lit into bush? In fairness, I probably wouldn't ask Harmon if she could stop doing that, but I know smart people who might.

2) Was Harman unaware she was going to be on MTP with the chairman of the Committee that is germain to the ad? Was she unaware of the ad, even?

3) Can we assume that nobody from either the DNC or the Kerry campaign was in contact with her to let her know that she could say for sure he was at the closed meetings?

4)Would it have been a good idea for her to comment on the ad's veracity?

5)Can anyone provide an example of a Republican of Harman's stature doing as milquetoast job as she did and was a seemingly unprepped ams she was, on ANY show in which issues relevent to the campaign were discussed? Anyone care to opine about why many will not be able to come up with an example?

[senseandsensibility]

35. Please forward to Dem Strategist

who, I believe asked for specifics. I don't know what else to suggest. It's very depressing that we have to point these things out. They're so obvious. But I agree with every word, and I can't fathom that anyone on this board doesn't.

[shraby]

39. Wasn't it Harmon

who recently said that Goss shouldn't be opposed for the head of the CIA? Dems shouldn't cause trouble this close to the election or some such shit?

[tomfodw]

40. I read a fascinating blogpost yesterday...

...that argued that bad as Goss is, Democrats should not worry about attacking him now. If Kerry wins, he's gone anyway. Bush appointing him can be used against W as a sign of his politicization of 9-11 and his own failure to take things seriously. Bad that we have to let some things get worse so that we can eventually get the chance to make a lot of things better, but it's only a short-term tactical maneuver in the service of a much greater good. If it works out, Goss won't be there very long.

Wish I could remember where I read this argument, because I found it persuasive. If I can find it, I'll post it here later today.

[John_H]

42. Shouldn't 1 or 2 Senators who ARE opposed be attacking him loudly

I heard Durbin doing a great job, as per usual--but he seems to have been all by his lonesome and also seems to have stopped.

[mzmolly]

43. The've been blowing it all week. The campaign needs to send out

talking points PRONTO, to surrogates and supporters in the wake of Republican slander.

The R's are always on the same page. We can't afford to hem and haw.

[tomfodw]

45. Actually, they aren't...

...always quite all on the same page. There are evangelicals a little upset that the RNC will be featuring mostly moderates-for-show (wonder if the press will make as big a deal of that as they did to try to persuade viewers that the DNC was likewise hiding its true liberalism). There are gays and pro-choice Republicans actually threatening to force a floor-fight on the platform.

It's just that the press seems to ignore Republican drift while focusing on Democratic phumphering.

Still, that's no excuse for Jane Harman and others not being prepared when they step onto the national stage.

[mzmolly]

46. I agree that liberalism encompasses many beliefs as it should ...

I think that when it comes to "formally representing the Kerry campaign" Kerry needs to clearly articulate his position especially when it comes to damage control.

Hope that made sense :hi:

[ContinentalOp]

44. nt

:kick:

[gulfcoastliberal]

48. F an A Right!

Discipline, backbone, and a coordinated party is the only hope we have of defeating the thugs. If this wish washy floundering shit keeps going, we're doomed. Literally doomed.