NYT, pg1, Seelye: Kerry in Struggle for a Democratic Base: Women

[DeepModem Mom]

Kerry in a Struggle for a Democratic Base: Women
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Published: September 22, 2004


WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 - It was no accident that John Kerry appeared Tuesday on "Live With Regis and Kelly'' and recalled his days as a young prosecutor in a rape case. Or that he then flew from New York to Jacksonville, Fla., to promote his health care proposals. Or that on Thursday in Davenport, Iowa, he will preside over a forum on national security with an audience solely of women.

These appearances are part of an energetic drive by the Kerry campaign to win back voters that Democrats think are rightfully theirs: women.

In the last few weeks, Kerry campaign officials have been nervously eyeing polls that show an erosion of the senator's support among women, one of the Democratic Party's most reliable constituencies. In a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted last week, women who are registered to vote were more likely to say they would vote for Mr. Bush than for Mr. Kerry, with 48 percent favoring Mr. Bush and 43 percent favoring Mr. Kerry....

***


Democratic and Republican pollsters say the reason for the change this year is that an issue Mr. Bush had initially pitched as part of an overall message - which candidate would be best able to protect the United States from terrorists - has become particularly compelling for women. Several said that a confluence of two events - a Republican convention that was loaded with provocative scenes of the Sept. 11 tragedy, and a terrorist attack on children in Russia - had helped recast the electoral dynamic among this critical group in a way that created a new challenge for the Kerry camp....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/22/politics/campaign/22women.html

[Gore1FL]

1. I proves something I always thought was true

Deep down, women like jerks.

[truthisfreedom]

2. oh, pish. not as leaders of the US.some may have poor taste in boyfriends

but they aren't looking to make the world into a worthless place for their children.

[glitch]

Spewage from Seelye - ptooi! nt

[LizW]

3. I just don't buy it

I'm one of those women who votes for my children. I don't see how Bush has ever done one single thing to make the world better for children.

And what is this crap about Bush keeping people safer? As I recall, a bunch of children have lost parents on his watch, and he plans on more if he gets his way.

I think this is crap. The only thing I can think of that might have hurt Kerry with women voters is that he didn't show up for the March for Choice. I was disappointed in that, but I still don't think for a second that he won't support women's right to choose.

I realize that I underestimate the religion effect, and I also probably overestimate the intelligence of many women voters. But, jeez, the choice just seems so clear! A vote for Bush is a vote for The Handmaid's Tale!

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Amen and then some!

[The Stranger]

14. The Handmaid's Tale

Ah, yes, the religious dystopia penned by Margaret Atwood. Recommended reading for anyone living in the Bush America, and prophetic as to things to come.

[The Zanti Regent]

5. Liar, thy name is Seelye

Bob Somerby has this liar nailed cold in his Daily Howler

http://www.dailyhowler.com/

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. Bullshit article based on a bullshit poll.

[rocktivity]

18. This may be a bullshit poll, too, but

as of September 22:

...George W. Bush is at 47% and John Kerry is at 46% in the weighted national popular vote.

...Among women nationwide, 42% say they would vote for Bush and 50% say they would vote for Kerry.

http://www.americanresearchgroup.com

:headbang:
rocknation

[Just Me]

19. As a member of a huge and growing "Women for Kerry" movement,...

,...I'd say this is utter bullshit, too!!!

:bounce:

[Larkspur]

7. This single woman isn't voting for Bush

[sandraj]

11. This woman isn't voting for * either

For me personally it's not only about women's issues. The fundamental questions for me are: 1) does an administration uphold its responsibility to govern according to Constitutional principles and 2) is it willing to maintain a dialogue with the people it governs?

It's very easy to demonstrate that the answers to both of those questions are "no." Just one example of many - "free speech zones." Bush closes his ears, eyes and mind to anyone who disagrees with him.

And his administration continues to push its myriad failed policies forward by one rule and one rule alone: Never Apologize. Bush, no matter what words come out of his mouth, could not care less about anything except enriching himself and his cronies at the expense of just about everyone else. I've never seen a more disconnected and pathologically self-serving administration in my life.

[Larkspur]

8. I'll never forget that during the primaries, Kerry took women for granted

Didn't he call women a "special interest group?"

He also failed to show up at the NOW Prez forum in July and he also failed to attend the NOW forum on women in NH. Even Joe Lieberman showed up for the NH event.

I'd have to say that because Kerry took women's votes for granted, he could be experiencing a backlash. Would these women really vote for Bush? Maybe, maybe not, but the polls could be a way for women to exact revenge against Kerry or send a warning to Kerry that we should not be taken for granted.

[JI7]

13. that's a bunch of crap

Kerry won the women's votes during the primary. he even did better than Edwards among women voters.

his lifetime of work shows he doesn't take women for granted. and he attended many women's forums.

[Larkspur]

22. What forums did he attend in 2003-2004?

He didn't attend the 2003 NOW Prez forum. Some of my fellow CT NOW members attended it and said that Kerry sent a statement to be read to them. They were PO'd that Kerry didn't show up at their forum.

And Kerry didn't attend the Women's forum in NH during the weekedn prior to the primary.

So what women's forums did Kerry attend? :shrug:

[goclark]

24. Sorry he missed the forums BUT

I am sure that he will show up for woman far more that Bush!

Kerry cares more about the status of woman than Bush could ever imagine.

Please, let's keep our eye on the prize.

Woman... if you really want to get our feelings hurt,vote for Bush and see how he hurts your feelings.

[rocktivity]

9. PREVENT 9/11? Bush practically CREATED it!!!

If I were motivated to vote out of fear of being attacked, Bush is the last person I'd run to for aid and comfort. A majority of women will put up with unemployment, outsourcing, no health care, no reproductive rights, bad public schools, high gas prices, unafforable housing, and being drafted as long as they don't get bombed? As Judge Judy says, I don't believe it because it doesn't make sense!

:headbang:
rocknation

[vetwife]

10. Spin..who did the Jersey girls pick?

[rocktivity]

12. If worst comes to worst, Kerry can always bring out his secret weapon, LOL

:headbang:
rocknation

[JI7]

15. he just has to convince the nation he will protect them

this isn't surprising considering the attacks on kerry for being soft on defense . he just has to turn it around.

[annabanana]

16. Suuure.. Women CAN'T WAIT to give their kids to Bush.........

They trust him to take the best possible care of them as he shovels them off into war. This "slippage" isn't just false.. It's Laughable.

[delete_bush]

27. I hear that Ashcroft

is channeling Himmler for some ideas on establishing a Lebensborn Program in phase II of the regime, updated to include tests for religious purity.

[robbedvoter]

17. Yup. As a woman I can't wait for the right to choice to go bye bye

and I want to feel as safe as I felt on 911 for 4 more years.

This is a talking point the whores were trying to sell on talk shows for some weeks now - the "insecurity moms"

P.S. I am also a mom and I can't wait for my kid to have to study for the stupid tests only to have vouchers take the founding of her school.
Yup. Them kids in Russia changed my whole outlook on life.

[Lucille]

20. Seeley's basing this on the polls that were skewed Republican

The CBS/NYT poll showed that their respondents had disproportionately voted for Bush in the 2000 election. It's not surprising that Republican and Republican-voting Independent women will vote for Bush, is it? To get an idea if Kerry is really losing his base, you'd have to look at the internals of the polling that showed Kerry's earlier lead. Was it similarly Republican-leaning? Seeley acknowledges that Kerry's campaign spokesperson said that Kerry's own polling shows they're winning w/women, as do other polls. However, Seeley is intent on discussing the "nervous" Kerry campaign and makes his chat program visits look like acts of desperation instead of smart campaigning. Not surprising; if anybody is unfamiliar w/ this reporter's "work," do a search on Seeley at the Howler as recommended up thread. Pretty loathsome.

[yellowcanine]

23. Exactly. And how many 18-25 yr old women were included? They are

going Kerry big time.

[Lugnut]

21. For the life of me

I can't fathom why any self-respecting woman would support *. I just don't understand it.

[robbedvoter]

25. Ha!Ha!Ha! Check out the pic on NYT website next to the article:

[progressivebydesign]

26. Oh Katharine, tell us.... do tell!

"In the last few weeks, Kerry campaign officials have been nervously eyeing polls that show an erosion of the senator's support among women, one of the Democratic Party's most reliable constituencies". Are they "nervously eyeing"??? Really? Did you see their eyes looking "nervously" at the numbers? Did that woman win the Bad Hemingway Writing Award, or what?