about that WV poll - ACTION NEEDED!!!

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

a lot of bush's support is because of a smear campaign in Charleston Daily Mail ( a self-declared GOP-leaning paper) - the GOP is going all-out to put bad shit about kerry out there. nearly every day, there's a new letter (from out-of-state) bashing kerry and demonizing him. They did it to Gore in 2000. they're trying it again

feel free to counter it:
http://dailymail.com/static/letters/

many of these letters are blaming out-sourcing and globalization on clinton and the dems and acting like the GOP is the one opposed to it. Yes, I know, how stupid that sounds. But if this isn't countered it can be damaging. (and i can only write so many letters). They also like to claim that Bush cares about the state because he campaigns here so often


and the most-read part of the paper, the vent line (which is getting really nasty):
http://dailymail.com/news/Vent+Line/

this is basically an 'idiot's letter to the editor' feature in which people call in and leave anonymous messages on the daily mail's answering machine. these messages are then compiled and printed every day.

you can send in a 25-word rant by email- just send it to:
[email protected]

believe me, this paper is very influential and even a small effort by DU folks will go a long way to counter some of this.

the state's other major papers:
The WV Gazette (one of the last great independent voices in news left in the country)
http://wvgazette.com/section/letter/200404183

The Huntington Herald-Dispatch
Another rightwing leaning one:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/hdinfo/onlineform.html

Beckley's Register-Herald (distributed in a lot of Bush-voting counties in the southeast)
http://www.register-herald.com/letters/

So if you have any stock letters lying around, please send them in!

[MidwestTransplant]

1. KICK

:kick:

[WVhill]

2. I wish it was that easy.

If you look at the counties that went for Gore in 2000, they are the ones around the larger cities. Those are the ones those newspapers serve. To make a difference you need to get the message out to the folks in the rural areas who only get a local weekly newspaper.

If you send a letter into one of the county newspapers, you'd better have a local address.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

3. actually

both the gazette and daily mail are distributed statewide. and the register herald delivered from beckley to the virginia border, covering almost the enitre republican s.e. sectionof the state

my family lived in jackson county for years. no one read the jackson herald. we got the charleston papers. that's what most people do in the areas of the state I know.

and again, I want to stress what I said last night, The Charleston daily Mail, with it's new tone set by the likes of local Ann Coulter wannabe Don Surber is setting new standards in smear tactics

The capitol city's evening paper is quickly turning into newsmax's wv edition

[WVhill]

4. I seldom read the Daily Mail.

I often buy the Gazette at the Go-Mart. In central WV there's one place I know that might have the Daily Mail. Around here the most widely read papers are the Clarksburg papers, the Weston Democrat, the Glenville Democrat and the Calhoun Chronicle. If Kerry came to West Virginia and went someplace other than the big cities, he'd win a lot of votes. You're not going to see Bush visiting the small cities. Seeing that on the news would help a lot of folks see that Kerry was more concerned about the average family. The local reporter has a column and she's done a consistent job of discussing Bush's screwups. Even with that I don't see where Kerry is getting his message out.

I'm sure he picks up lots more money in metropolitan areas but visiting rural areas would attack Bush's base. I'll make a point of finding a copy of the Daily Mail.