John Kerry and Hillary Clinton strike the most fear in the GOP

[bigtree]

(AP) GOP Chairman to Single Out Kerry, Clinton

Mar 10 2006
WASHINGTON
http://www.townhall.com/news/ap/online/gov/other/D8G8Q3...

The head of the Republican Party, launching a broad indictment of the Democratic Party six months before midterm elections, is expected to charge Friday that the opposition can't find an election-year slogan, let alone agree on a broad agenda.

In an address to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Tennessee scheduled for Friday afternoon, Ken Mehlman will single out party leaders and two potential 2008 presidential candidates _ Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Kerry _ for criticism on a range of issues, from national security to the economy to judicial nominees.

Mehlman will assail some Democrats for calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, for challenging President Bush's warrantless surveillance program and for pushing for greater attention to civil liberties in a revision of the Patriot Act.

full article: http://www.townhall.com/news/ap/online/gov/other/D8G8Q3...

[stray cat]

I get the impression they are trying to paint them as the nominees

and want them to be the dem candidate

[bigtree]

9. Is it smart politics to give them a platform this far out?

I'm not convinced the republicans have a nominee who can beat either of them. That's what you're getting at isn't it? They think they can beat either of them?

[rodeodance]

14. after they smack them down and ridicule them endlessly.

[bigtree]

24. too much credit to the chimp handlers

not enough to our party

[ClassWarrior]

67. I get the impression that they're trying to distract us from 2006.

Don't let them get away with it. Remember...

16+5=2006

NGU.

[bigtree]

72. They may end up nationalizing the races

which would allow our candidates to run against the unpopular WH.

[still_one]

no they don't scare the republicans

if we do not learn from the past then we will repeat our mistakes

[bigtree]

10. They should scare them . . .

I don't think the republicans have a candidate that can whoop them

[still_one]

17. If Hillary is the nomination we lose

Hillary unites the repukes and divides the Democrats

[bigtree]

28. she divides?

The division comes when we focus all of our energy on tearing into our party's candidates along with the opposition, doing their dirty work for them.

[Clark2008]

59. She divides. Believe me.

I know hardcore Dems who won't vote for her: half because they think she's too liberal and the other half because they think she's too conservative.

She's never thought of as a in-the-middle uniter.

[bigtree]

62. half see her as liberal - half see her as conservative

she may not unite the two, but you've just defined her appeal as in-the-middle.

If she decides to, she'll run a campaign. That will determine her appeal.

[Clark2008]

66. No - I specifically said she doesn't fit in the middle.

She really does rub a great many people the wrong way.

And, I don't think her campaign will determine her appeal - I think the right-wing media will make her a foregone conclusion in the primary and we'll lose, pitifully, in the general. That bothers me.

[corbett]

74. A McCain/Giuliani Or McCain/Collins Ticket Has A Chance IMHO

http://www.loosechange911.com

[bigtree]

75. in hell?

[corbett]

76. Yes, There, Too But...

This time last year, I would have bet that McCain would have wanted to eschew the dirty tricks used by KKKarl and the Rove cadre to help fool 100,000,000 voters in 2000 and 2004. In the intervening months, I've been proved wrong. McCain is hiring BC2004 consultants and strategists by the boatload.

As for Giuliani, he was content to play right along with the 9/11 cover-up and knew that it wasn't a terrorist attack on the day it happened so treason is nothing new to him.

Nevertheless, since I am convinced that the Democratic ticket will be Kerry for president and Clinton for veep, there will be plenty of hard-right voters who will vote for anyone who isn't named Kerry or Clinton.

[pocket]

15. not one little bit, esp Kerry

boo

[blm]

18. Tell that to Nixon, Reagan and Bush1. GOP had to BUY control of media to

pull off taking down Clinton in an impeachment and protecting Bush2 the past 6 yrs.

[still_one]

23. why do you think the repuke echo chamber has been pushing hillary?

they know the polarization she causes. Divided we fall united we win, and I will tell you right now I will NOT vote for Hillary if she gets the nomination

[blm]

27. They already know that Clintons won't open books to public.

They know Kerry will.

I would say they will use this time to assure that Clinton comes off as a more competent nominee now because they know that it is difficult to beat Kerry in a debate format - and face it - Most Dems do wait to hear our nominees debate.

[bigtree]

21. I just don't have a very high opinion of the sellability of the republican

crop of potential candidates. That's what this will come down to, not some replay of the last election. The issues that the republicans ran on last time turned sour for them and I predict they will be scrambling to eat their words and hide their actions.

republicans. Pfft.

[still_one]

26. I'll tell you who they will run

mccain

Yes, mccain is a neocon puke, but they will sell him as a moderate, and the idiots in this country will believe it

We need a candidate who doesn't divide our party and unite the repukes and independents

Russ Feingold
Richard Clark
Al Gore
Edwards

[bigtree]

29. I don't think McCain can win

I don't think any republican can

[blm]

36. That depends on if Dems expose GOPcontrol of media and vote machines.

.

[matt vw86gti]

48. If Hillary or John Kerry runs...

...it will be another 4 years of a republican in the white house. Mark my words.

McCain could beat out Hillary or Kerry pretty easily, I imagine.

We all saw what happened to Kerry, and I am sure Hillary's stand on censorship would come to bite her in the ass.

Nominating Kerry, or Hillary for the Democratic seat for Prez would be the worst possible Idea.

[bigtree]

54. I think McCain's popularity is a pollster's creation. He's lost a lot

of ground with his own party regulars. He'd have to appeal to Democrats, something I think we could counteract quite handily.

[blm]

34. Read McCain's book - he says he couldn't have gotten through the Vietnam

normalization efforts without Kerry leading on the issue and keeping him calm when he wanted to fall apart.

No one knows McCain's vulnerabilities and emotions better than Kerry.

[Mass]

43. Richard Clark - Do you mean Wes Clark.

As for Gore, he is as divisive as Kerry or Clinton. So is Edwards. That you like them is one thing. I like Feingold and Gore and do not like Hillary, but they will divide people the same way the two other do.

[still_one]

50. wes clark, sorry about that

Feingold is who I really am for

[Clark2008]

60. Richard Clark?

Nevermind - you answered.

[WI_DEM]

1. or else they are two names which help with their fundraising

or they are two candidates they would like to face in 2008?

[bigtree]

13. The fundraising angle makes sense

I think they should be careful what they bring on though if this is some ploy to pull them into the race. Otherwise, it's a desperate attempt to knock them down early on.

These two would be strong candidates.

[Mass]

44. First case, I think.

[SnoopDog]

2. Both of them voted for the Patriot Act renewal....

oooohhhhh so scared....

[jedicord]

3. OK, this sentence makes my head mushy.

"Mehlman will assail some Democrats for calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, for challenging President Bush's warrantless surveillance program and for pushing for greater attention to civil liberties in a revision of the Patriot Act."

Now, tell me, what in the hell is wrong with wanting to get out of Iraq, being against warrantless surveillance, and wanting to safeguard our civil liberties?

Has the friggin' world turned upside down and I missed it?

[stepnw1f]

4. Imagine They Both Ran Together?

Wooo boy.

[WI_DEM]

5. Well we would probably carry NY and MA

and a few other eastern states and DC.

[oasis]

7. I get it, Boxer must be our nominee in order for us to carry California.

[WI_DEM]

8. oh yeah, we may take California too

but a Clinton/Kerry or Kerry/Clinton ticket won't do the trick.

[still_one]

20. they would probably get California too, but we would lose big time

[harpo]

6. screw them both, they both voted YES and support the war

I would rather have someone who has some balls and isn't afraid to say "the WAR is Wrong!!" and we will pull out as soon as I get sworn in.

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. SRLC is projecting

They're in dire need of Luntz. Where's he been lately?

The best the GOP has for the American people is, "BOO!!!"

[rodeodance]

12. they are going back to Kerry's 'position"--the one that was ridiculed--it

works! (ridicule).

.....The speech comes amid growing concerns in the Republican ranks over Bush's diminishing standing with the American people and the GOP's fears about maintaining its majority control in the House and Senate this November.

The three-day conference in Memphis, Tenn., is attracting not only the party faithful but several potential Republican presidential candidates in 2008.

Mehlman's text reflected his intention to argue that Clinton's solution to support U.S. troops in Iraq was higher taxes and poked fun at Kerry for joining in the unsuccessful challenge to Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito's nomination from a conference in Davos, Switzerland.

In the 2004 campaign, presidential nominee Kerry was widely criticized for his comment about voting for $87 billion for U.S. forces and then voting against it. Mehlman will parody that line in his speech.......

[bigtree]

16. Those things aren't so funny these days

Alito is clearly showing himself to be a threat, the war is an unpopular bust, tax cuts for the rich won't work for them any more than their failed attempt to hijack Social Security . . .

bring it on!

[seabeyond]

19. i want kerry so bad. he is mad, that is good. he has been attacked,

there is nothing new. he can say i told you so all the way thru. he can speak out on election theft thru out. and he has a wife that wont put up with shit. i really want kerry

[Mass]

45. I agree. The most amazing is that the RNC is attacking democrats and

some Democrats here apparently do just the same thing: attack Democrats.

LOL. This will not help us in anyway. We need to get Democrats elected this year in the house and the senate. Attacks for 2008 will come later.

[SaveElmer]

22. You can't have it both ways...

First everyone says the Republicans are saying nice things about Hillary because they want her to be the nominee...now that t hey are attacking her...people say it's for the same reason!!!

Fact is, Hillary does scare them...and has all along!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. Yeah, they're scared they won't run and a progressive will be nominated.

Instead of another DLC shill like Hillary or Kerry that will try to outRepublican the Republicans.

[bigtree]

32. This time our party will nominate a progressive?

This time a progressive will go all the way? Really?
Voters don't seem to show up in the numbers required for a progressive to succeed. But, we'll see.

[Mass]

47. All I see are people who want to run somebody from the South who can

speak about religion and connect with right wing people with Christian value because Kerry was too liberal (even here). I dont think we are going toward an ultra-liberal. But some will dream.

[Individualist]

30. Transparent briarpatch psychology

They want Kerry or Clinton to run.

[bigtree]

33. big mistake elevating them this far out with their own generic models,

Dick and Less

[Guaranteed]

42. They're trying to broaden the association of these two WITH the Dems.

They want people to think Kerry or Senator Clinton when they think Democrat.

Oh, and put out the idea that "these two are the strongest the Democrats have."

[bigtree]

51. first of all they are strong Democrats, maybe not the strongest

but, I've been through enough of these contests to know that a judgement like that can't be made this early out, especially when we don't know who they'd be running against if they ran. I don't view any republican as a strong candidate.

Events and media coverage usually shape the race, not conventional 'wisdom'. That's why I think it's important to avoid casting ANY of our potential candidates in an unfavorable light. Let the other side do that. There's no sense in doing their dirty work for them.

Our candidates WILL reflect the party. There is no republican who I feel has anything to offer that is superior to ANY Democrat. Whatever differences we may have with our candidates, the republicans can be counted on to field someone far worse. That makes all of the petty differences between our candidates moot, except for the purposes of our primary.

Too much focus is placed in our Democratic primary on discrediting one candidate or the other instead of putting all the energy into making certain the voters know where the candidate we DO support stands on the issues and on their agenda.

But, we lose the most focus when we forget that, in the end, real voters (hopefully) will decide who our nominee is. I know there is real concern about voter fraud and tampering, but in most contests it's the Democratic voter who will decide who gets to face Bush in the general. If they do choose either of these two, I'm certain that we can win, IF we don't spend all of our time tearing at them right along with the opposition.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

31. Hillary makes them cream their panties...

Who was it who said that if the Dems nominate Hillary they have a death wish? I concur 100%.

Hillary as the '08 nominee is a GOP wetdream....

[FreedomAngel82]

35. I'm just glad they aren't in my town!

Blech. I'm glad Kerry and Clinton still give them fear. Good.

[bigtree]

37. DNC response to Melman

Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney issued the following statement on Chairman Mehlman's speech:

"Ken Mehlman's childish temper-tantrum is a desperate attempt to change the subject from the Republican incompetence and growing list of failures. Time and again - from the reasons behind the war in Iraq, to Katrina, to the new Medicare drug benefit - Republicans have misled the American people. The American people aren't buying it anymore. This election comes down to the one question Bush Republicans don't want people to ask themselves: do you want change or more of the same?

"We can't continue to have an Administration and Republican congress with a pre- 9/11 mentality who would turn our port security over to a foreign country and our economic security over to foreign debt holders.

"Democrats offer a bold vision of honest leadership, and national security that recognizes homeland security begins with hometown security and America's security is America's business. That means we will hunt down the terrorists, provide our troops and agencies with the tools they need to stop future attacks, while reigning in Bush's deficits and restoring economic security.

"We have to do a better job securing our shipping ports and nuclear power plants, equipping our first responders and our national guard. And we have to do a better job of securing good jobs for American workers, the retirement security for our seniors, affordable health care, and college opportunities for our children.

"We will not be lectured to about defense and the security of our nation by Republicans whose dangerously incompetent leadership has made America less safe and led our country in the wrong direction."

full release: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=62187

[Moody Bluz]

38. The South, the Southwest, a huge chunk of the Midwest...

Would all chose more of the same over Hillary. The Republicans are not afraid of Hillary. They would love nothing better than having the pleasure of voting against her no matter who the Republican nominee is. Some of them would enjoy it so much, they would vote twice.

Kerry, I am afraid would not get anyone to vote for him in 2008 that did not vote for him in 2004.

These are the dream candidates of the Republicans because they are the ones they have no fear of.

[politicasista]

39. To be honest...

None of us know what the political landscape is going to look like two years from now. I think this GOP Kerry-Hillary threat is just another Rovian prank to take our focus off Blinky, Cheney, the GOP congress, Iraq, Katrina, and other serious issues that are facing this country. We won't know until after the 2006 elections or 2007 who is really running.

Whomever is the Democratic nominee, I can support, but for him or her to win the presidency, we will need to get behind them and stay on message. That is one of the things that has plagued Dems in the last two elections. If we don't do that and take back Congress this fall, we can just forget about 08. Someone is going to have to have a strong background and determination to clean up and get us out of the mess that Blinky has created period.

My two cents.

[bigtree]

52. so much credit given here to the strength of some unnamed republican

Every poll has them in the ditch on every issue they plan to run on.

And, there's still a big chunk of time for this lame duck president to seal his party's fate with some abomination.

Too much credit given to the chimp handlers, not enough to our own party.

[Moody Bluz]

57. Early polls in 2004...

Had * getting soundly trounced by "A Democrat." But when that Democrat was the name "Hillary Clinton" *'s poll numbers skyrocketed. I think that was the beginning of the realization that Hillary was not going to be the juggernaut everyone thought she would be.

[bigtree]

58. There hasn't been any progression of events that would widen the gap

Bush's numbers have plummetted since. I'd be surprised to see him polling above anyone, irrelevant as all of that is to 2008.

[Moody Bluz]

70. What I find disturbing is...

that even with the subterranean numbers * is putting up as far as popularity, Democrats are not making any gains. That could spell trouble.

[bigtree]

71. the low Bush number is a gain. Democrats deserve some credit

for the pressure on the wiretapping, Abramoff, Plame, Dubai, privatization of Social Security . . .

The time Bush has to invest in ass covering has put his 'agenda off track. That's the capital that will give us a good grab at control of Congress and beyond.

[Mass]

40. I agree - Then they will try to tell us how such or such will get

republican votes and will be better for us, particularly if he or she is from the South and totally inexperienced.

And of course, a few people including our dear strategists will believe them. However, I doubt the Democrats will follow Rove. They will listen and judge. So we will see what happens.

[Guaranteed]

41. Nope. This is an attempt to characterize and connect the party

to two unpopular figures.

He's not afraid of them. He wants to associate these two with the party in Americans' psyches.

[ginnyinWI]

49. it's the money that has them scared!

Hillary has a very well-funded warchest, and Kerry just showed, the other day, that he has the ability to raise $400,000 in about a day--and it wasn't even for himself--it was for three other candidates.

[bigtree]

53. for iraq veteran candidates

[cynatnite]

46. The repukes think the dems should have a bumper sticker slogan...

and Mehlman highlights all the failures of this administration as well.

That's a great idea! I'm all for it. I hope he does it. The majority of Americans want us to pull out of Iraq, even some repukes want to investigation the domestic spying, and he'll help bring to light the concerns some dems have expressed over the patriot act.

This will backfire no matter how he tries to spin it.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

55. Kerry knows the depths of the criminality associated with many

in the GOP, he is therefore, a very, very scary Kerry.

[bigtree]

56. He looks pretty formidible to me as he continues to fight from the Senate

[wtmusic]

61. 2008 will be a race to snag moderates

Hillary has little appeal to Republican moderates or left-leaning Democrats. McCain has a broader centrist appeal and would win against Clinton.

Feingold would pull in a lot of moderate Republicans if he continues to demonstrate solid leadership skills, which are in such stark contrast to those of Junior.

My $.02.

[bigtree]

63. what about the numbers of voters who didn't participate . . .

. . . or whose votes weren't counted?

Why do we assume that votes can only come from right of center?

[wtmusic]

68. Hillary won't get anyone out to vote

who didn't vote in the last election, or McCain for that matter. Both are so bland that the parties' respective bases would carry the election. For us to win, we need "right of center", although IMO center is quickly moving leftward.

[bigtree]

69. Sounds like you're still pitting our potential candidate

against some republican dream candidate. I can't think of one. A strong republican campaign may emerge, but, I don't see it today with their numbers in the tank.

Who knows what type of dog they'll nominate? The ones who look to be running will likely devour themselves before we need to pick over the bones of their baseless campaign.

Truth is wt, no one will ever get me to admit that ANY of our Democrats couldn't prevail in a tamper-free election.

The right of center thing can be manipulated by the candidates, so, I don't think that's an obstacle to a smart campaign.

[wildbilln864]

64. Hillary? Strike fear?

Come on?

[ClassWarrior]

65. Actually, the 2006 midterms strike the most fear in the GOP, and...

...let's not lose focus on THAT. They're hoping we will. Disappoint them.

16+5=2006

NGU.

[Clarkie1]

73. They want them. We need Clark.

Clark is the one they would truly fear, if they thought there was a chance he'd get the nomination.

I hope they underestimate the Democratic Party; I hope it for the sake of America and the world.

I pray to God (and I'm not even much of a believer) the Democratic Party will come to it's senses.