What you saw at the RNC was the GOP method of attack.

[elperromagico]

I hope this doesn't come across as armchair quarterbacking; that's the last thing I want to do here.

Bush didn't get into the mud and attack Kerry - his comments about Kerry (or "my opponent," as he calls the Senator) were really pretty soft.

Bush doesn't have to attack Kerry's voting record. He has the Zell Millers and Dick Cheneys of the world to do it for him.

You'll never hear Bush trash Kerry's war record. Quite the contrary; he says he "honors {Kerry's} service."

Bush doesn't have to attack Kerry's war record. He has the John O'Neills and Bob Doles of the world to do it for him.

This is where the GOP beats us. We had a convention that was almost entirely positive - a great convention - and a positive, uplifting speech from Senator Kerry.

Meanwhile, the GOP had a very negative convention, with attack after attack on John Kerry. But Bush came out, and guess what? He gave a positive speech. Soft soap, yes. But it was a positive speech.

The problem with the Kerry campaign is not that Kerry isn't attacking. The problem is that he doesn't seem to have anybody to attack for him. Bush has surrogates left and right; he has the Millers, the Cheneys, the O'Neills, the Doles, the Giulianis, and the Karen Hughes of the world to do his attacking for him.

Where are Kerry's surrogates?

[NMDemDist2]

1. Dean, Kerrey, Harkin, Pelosi, Boxer, Clinton ( both of them) Gore

Kennedy, Clelland, and many more....

[elperromagico]

2. They are not getting coverage, and if they were,

Kerry wouldn't have had to give that speech Thursday night in Ohio.

Look at it this way: You can have a great baseball player - let's say Barry Bonds. But he won't get much done without a team. Put him on a field by himself against even a mediocre team, and he's going to get his ass handed to him, because he can't play every position.

So assume Kerry is a political Barry Bonds - a great politician, highly skilled at the political game. He can only do so much without a good team behind him, because he can't play every position.

[Julien Sorel]

3. They aren't making the kinds of

spectacular attacks the Republicans are. Partially, this is because Bush is a relatively known quantity, so there's not that much room to define him. How can you attack him for being stupid and stubborn, when his campaign is running as if stupidity and stubborness are positive traits?

The AWOL thing has been hashed out -- people know there's a problem there, just as they knew Clinton had a problem with women. Bush drank and did drugs -- people know it.

That leaves issues-based attacks, and issues-based attacks are boring, so they don't get play. I'm actually surprised to see Bush's AWOL stuff getting re-aired; I think if the Bush people hadn't opened the door with their ridiculous Swift Liars, the whole issue of military service would have lain dormant.

[elperromagico]

5. The point is that Kerry wouldn't have to be doing the attacks

if someone else were doing them for him. And there don't seem to be too many prominent figures within the Democratic Party who are willing to really get into the mud like so many Republicans are.

Can Kerry win the way he's going now? Of course, but it's more of a struggle. It's harder to stay on a positive message when you're having to do most of the attacks yourself.

[Julien Sorel]

7. I agree with the big picture point.

But I also know of several attacks made by prominent Democrats that have received almost no media play. I know Clark blistered Bush on Iraq, and it got a lukewarm response. And he tends to get more coverage than most Dems. Dean has done some attacking, but he carries baggage. Now you're seeing Bob Graham, one of my favorite Democrats, come out swinging with this book; unlike the Swift Hoaxers, Graham has credibility.

I do think the Democrats need a more unified, structured attack message, that is repeated endlessly. After this election, one thing I think the DNC must do is create what would essentially be a permanent department of sleaze, to carry on attacks on the talking heads shows. The Republicans obviously do this, and the media have stopped doing an effective job of pointing out the lies and distortions, so for better or for worse, it's time to get in the mud with them and play the game.

[liberal N proud]

4. Democrats never thow mud!

As I think Bill Clinton put it:
"It isn't negative if you are defending yourself."
Kerry came out Thursday, Friday and Saturday and is hitting back.
I was at a Kerry ralley Saturday and he was hitting back without throwing any mud. I thought he defended him well enough

[Lovecrafty]

6. Thats what WE do here..everyday!

We're the footsoldiers in this fight. Wasn't it a DU'er who exposed the Ken Cordier connection? Us Dems are NOT a party of Nascar Dads and Rednecks! Liberals are generally very educated and definately more internet savy than your average Freeper! Just look at your average Freeper post: misspelled words abound, grammical errors, gross ignorance of domestic or foreign policy! We are more valuable to Kerry than Freepers are to Bush! Bush can expect nothing from your typical Freeper than a parrot..just another nod to whatever the party line is for the day. We Democrats are generally very pro-active and more involved in our politics. Hell we invented activism!! Remember that it was the left that changed an entire nation's attitude towards Vietnam. Without our influence the US would have dragged out the Vietnamese War for another five or ten years, with millions more casualties! WE ARE THE FOOTSOLDIERS...never forget that!

[roseBudd]

8. Volunteers needed for guerilla marketing

Create an issue that brings the media to us using viral and guerilla marketing techniques.

please help me get the word out:

most people have not read the 8/6/2001 PDB. I created a postcard size version.




Please print and distribute the image above. High res version for printing available below. Put them on car windshields. Hand them out on street corners. Drop them on driveways in the suburbs.

We don't need TV buys to get some attention on this issue. We have to undermine Bush's perceived strength. We all are potential disseminators of printed media. We do not need a newspapers permission or lots of money for TV commercials. We need viral grass roots marketing. We need to create a buzz. If we create a buzz with massive distribution of printed ads we will get media coverage. If these start miraculously appearing and no one knows where they are coming from it will start to get media attention. We must also go after and mock Rice, Cheney and Ashcroft. It is the whole package.


Bush admin. INCOMPETENCE is key to undermining his strength.

high resolution version for printing here:
http://somnamblst.tripod.com /