Primaries and general election, if Dean wants nomination-toughen up!

[wndycty]

In light of Joe Trippi's "Open Letter" I felt the need to post a thread addressing the brutality of the upcoming general election and the tone of the primary which is just over a month away.

First of all let me say that the attack ad aimed at Dean was in poor taste and I don't condone it at all. However I am equally as disturbed by the reaction of many who are just besides themselves in anger. Wake up folks its POLITICS!!! And whatever is thrown at any Democrat in the primary is small potatoes in comparison to whatever Rove and Bush will dish out. Whomever has the ability to deal with this crap, rise above it without crying about it will show that he or she has what it takes to go toe to toe with Bush in the general election.

I keep hearing complaints about the Dems attacking each other when they should be attacking Bush, but the reality is they have to fight for the RIGHT to attack Bush as the Democratic nominee. Just because there is a front runner does not mean the other candidates should not put up an offense. Additionally the front runner shows his or her worth by how he or she handles this. It would be irresponsible for any Democrat to sacrifice their candidacy for party unity at this point. What the hell will party unity get us if we have a weak candidate? Absolutely nothing!

How Dean handles and reacts to the crap thrown at him at this point will go along way in giving those of us with doubts about him confidence in him as a nominee. Crying about it (or having his campaign manager cry about it) is not going to endear anyone to him.

Go back to 1992, what did Clinton face in the primary? Draft dodging as well as Gennifer Flowers and Jerry Brown even went after Hillary Clinton's legal billings (I watched "The War Room" the other night). But he won. . .why? Not because he ran away and whined about it being unfair, no he stood in there and showed the swagger that many of love him for today. Whomever wins the Democratic nomination has to be strong and that strength can he shown in the primaries. You don't show that strength by constantly complaining about the other candidates not playing nice!

[wndycty]

1. Shameless kick

:kick:

[WiseMen]

12. Trippi Letter is Smart: It is part of a pretty brutal all-round Strategy

Is there anyone on the board that doesn't realize the
"Democrats don't attack Democrats" and "11th Commandment" rhetoric is part of an defence operation skillfull orchestrated by the Trippi organization to mussle the opposition.

For you few: It absolutely is.

And it make perfect sense.

[wndycty]

2. Is this thread being read. . .

. . .or was it so accurate that no one wants to respond?

[blm]

3. Absolutely. They applauded every elbow thrown by Dean but squeal

at the top of their lungs when any reciprocation comes Dean's way.

[LuminousX]

6. So supporters aren't supposed to defend their candidates?

Don't be disingenuous. When Dean attacked others, it was called unfair. It works both ways. THAT is politics. THAT is the only consistency. You aren't supposed to just stand still and get pegged. You've got to decry every attack made against you that you can. To fail to do so is to fail to put up a defense.

[blm]

16. I know that. I'm pointing at those who applauded Dean's attacks

who also happen to be whining when someone hits him back....As if he has done nothing to deserve the hit.

[wndycty]

18. I am not sure if he deserved the ad. . .

. . .but if he is the front runner, and he has thrown some elbows himself he should not get too upset when it is thrown back at him.

[wndycty]

8. When Clark is attacked. . .

. . .I swing back, I don't cry. If Clark is going to win this nomination he is going to need to deal with the crap, he cannot whine about it.

[dajabr]

9. No squealing here...

I just like my RNC style attacks to actually come from the RNC.

Despite what you say about Bush-lite, there is a line accross which most Dean Supporters would not follow their candidate - the Ossama thing would be an example. "Unfit to Serve" would be another.

Bush-lite seems to be the paragon of attacks for you, so be it.

[wndycty]

10. Any attack on Dean --RNC style

Any attack by Dean on another candidate fair game.

[Rose Siding]

21. Uh, no- the Osama ad is what Trippi's dealing with now

Or maybe you like the idea of dems poisoning the well with warnings of killers and bush's prowess?

[blm]

20. Or "corrupt Washington insider"

or marching next to a Kerry = Bush sign before a debate. Or pushpolling. Or playing the inevitability card.

Cry me a river. Dean and Trippi act like thugs and throw the first twenty punches and now Dean sez he's pulling buckshot out of his ass? Oh please. Dean was attacking Kerry when Kerry was in recovery from cancer surgery and off the campaign trail. Dean set the tone for this campaign, why don't you give him all due credit for THAT?

[stickdog]

27. Do you actually SUPPORT an ad saying that ANY leading Dem candidate

cannot compete with wonderous foreign policy of our War-Monger/Profiteer-in-Chief, Commander Bunnypants?

Have you lost that much sight of the big picture here?

[windansea]

28. Bush-Lite Osama-Lite

whats the dif?

insults are insults

[Rose Siding]

19. Nonsense. His success draws fire and gets answered.

And the elbows thrown were for support of bush policies. I did applaud and it's good to see that the candidate who threw them is still coming on so strong- Up 29 now in NH!

[Cheswick2.0]

4. You think Dean isn't tough enough? Really?

The problem is not whether Dean is tough enough (I think he has proven he is plenty tough). The problem is how much damage are the candidates willing to do in their self interest, while refusing to do what is best for the greater good of getting rid of bush.
Everybody should be trying to win. No one should be acting like the Bush campaign. It is not a matter of tough, it is a matter of creating cracks that can not heal.
I think the Stop Dean people are the most dispicable group of "democrats" I have ever run into. Joe Lieberman has slit his own throat, I hope the others won't follow suit.

And I am not a Dean supporter...yet. The antics of the self distructive party insiders are driving me towards his camp.

[wndycty]

5. Jerry Brown

Attacked Clinton with the Rose Law firm which hounded him for 8 years, but it did not deter him.

[jonnyblitz]

7. I am not a Dean supporter yet either but I sure feel like one

for the same reasons you feel like you are driven to be one.

[billbuckhead]

14. The most despicable Americans are the NRA crowd Dean caters to

"I STILL want to be the candidate of the guy with a pickup truck with a Confederate flag bumpersticker." Dean on the stump explaining his gun regulation policies.

[dsc]

11. the problem with the ads

and with the behavior of many people here is that no one is giving anything like a positive reason to vote for Kerry, Clark or anyone. If DU were my only source of info I wouldn't have the vaguest clue what Kerry or Clark stood for (that is an exaggeration but not by much). And what is even worse is all the attacking of Dean supporters. I have directly been called a diaper wearer, a homo, a cultist, an idiot, ignorant, evil, and several other things by people here. For the record that doesn't make me warm and fuzzy about your candidate when it happens.

[wndycty]

13. I have been called lots of names as well. . .

. . .but hey I am a big boy I can take it. Can you?

[dsc]

22. it isn't whether I can take it or not

it is whether I am being convinced to vote for your candidate or not. Frankly I have been, if I only looked here, given damn few reasons to vote for Clark. If I were a Clark supporter that wouldn't make me happy.

[patricia92243]

15. HOGWASH

[Droopy]

23. I think the original poster has a valid point

Care to tell us why you don't think so?

[wndycty]

24. As long as I am not kissing Dean's butt. . .

. . .I am in the wrong according to many on this board.

[Rose Siding]

17. There have been disgusting repub style attacks

but who is beside themselves with anger? And since when should pricipled statements be called "crying"? Addressing what comes up as it comes up is appropriate and has been, so far, successful.

In case you hadn't noticed, the "front runner" attacks are nothing new for Dean and he just keeps coming.

There's WAY too much concern around here for how Dean supporters act or feel. If the preaching is a form of encouragement, thanks, but it could be easily miscontrued as condescention.

[stickdog]

25. Any Democrat who actually approves of a Dem commerical that says Bush's

foreign policy is better than that of ANY Democratic candidate has his or her head firmly and perhap irrevocably lodged in a dark and smelly orifice.

[wndycty]

26. Did I say I approved of the ad. . .NO!

Read my post.

[stickdog]

29. Your post misses the entire point. The ad is a f*king commercial for Bush!

It's not politics as usual. It's self-destructive, scorched earth Repuke-lite shit slinging at its absolute worst.