Kerry is surely and slowly catching his stride

A keen observation.

He has caught on to the freaks, and has developed a method to combat them with:

Kerry is on the right track when he patiently observes the mindless smears thrown his way, then cautiously and confidently unloads a return volley that shows the silliness—and hypocrisy—of the Republican attack machine.


http://www.counterbias.com/019.html

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so you are saying that he should just shrug off the right wing attacks?

kerry doesn't bring up the ribbons until the republicans challenge him.

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First, Republican House members go to the floor attacking both Kerry's voting record and his anti-war activities after he returned from his tour in Vietnam. One Republican called him "Hanoi John" on the House floor.

Then, according to The Washington Post, Republican operatives gave a newspaper and a network tape they had dug up of Kerry talking to a local D.C. television station in 1971 where he gave an account of what he did with his medals that is different than his current account.

Then the Bush-Cheney campaign released an attack ad about Kerry's national security record in the Senate using the tried and true technique of taking old votes completely out of context.

Next Karen Hughes went on CNN and says that Kerry is a phony for "pretending" to throw away his medals. She also manages to sleazily imply both that Kerry may have committed atrocities in Vietnam AND that he accused good, honest, innocent American boys of committing atrocities.

And then the Stealth Warrior, Mr. Vice President, goes to Iron Curtain University in Missouri to make a high profile attack speech.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/30/opinion/meyer/main614915.shtml

Is he to stay silent when being attacked from all sides???

From the media (in conjunction with the GOP), the White House and Congress?

Which makes them damn close enough to the GOP. Do you trust the conservative media? I don't.

I think Kerry should shrug off these attacks. He is in a position were he is reacting rather than acting. That is not a good place to be in a campaign. He can reply to the attacks quickly and then return to his message.

The medal thing is easy answer. (At least he has some medals/ribbons whatever, to throw away. He volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam. What was george up to?) Unfortunately by getting caught up in responding to every right wing charge he loses a lot of time that could be more productively spent and/or defining bushco as a failure.

to his detriment.

I don't want to get caught up in rehashing 2000.

My main point is that if Kerry or Gore or any candidate for that matter get caught up in responding to every attack leveled at them that is all they will end up doing. As a result the other side controls the message and successfully defines their opponent.

Talk is cheap and my opinion is just that, but for what it's worth (and it ain't much) Kerry needs to decide on a few broad themes and hammer away on them constantly.

This election by and large is a referendum on bushco. People have had four years to make up their mind about him. Kerry has had only a few months on the national stage and really not that many people have been paying attention. He needs to sell himself. By constantly responding to every nit picky attack he plays into the right's hands and allows THEM to define HIM.

On Edit: Sloppy typing

Bingo.

the biggest hero to come out of Vietnam ? Didn't think so.

I agree with you 100%. It's going to continue to be a tough fight, but I believe that it can turn into a landslide by fall. Bush isn't handling the pressure well, at all.

He slam dunked that speech.

it's damaging when the republicans use the medals thing to call kerry names, but it's FANTASTIC when kerry gets the airtime to respond.

almost no matter what, kerry comes out looking good (unless he just dwells on 'flipflopping').

for example: "i'm delighted that mr. cheney wants to talk about the medals i earned in vietnam. i'm proud of my service for the country as i am proud of the troops in combat today, and i thank the vice-president for recognizing the honors i achieved in defense of my country. i'm surprised he's so eager to talk about them, though. perhaps it's because neither he nor mr. bush nor anyone in the administration other than gen. powell earned any medals or even faced combat themselves."

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when Republicans (who were way more decorated Vietnam vets) took the floor of the House on the anniversary of his Senate testimony to the Foreign Relations committee and blasted him.

Can you clue me in, please?

Have a link?

Who were these highly-decorated Republicans?

I've got to go re-google that and find the stories, k?

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who are NOT chicken hawks.

This guy has credibility as a decorated soldier -- I concede.

But Chicken hawks don't have that credibility.

You are mixing apples and oranges here.

Plus, to my knowledge, it was other Democrats in the House attacking the Republican house members -- not Kerry.

Finally, why would a decorated veteran even stoop to such a low level in calling a fellow decorated veteran "Hanoi John"???

BTW: That doesn't look like 10x the amount of medals Kerry has either.

Would you care to go back and address the issues I rebutted you with (above)?

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Kerry was NOT counterattacking the House Republicans!!!!!

House DEMOCRATS were.

Democrats were not in the chamber when Republicans began what one denounced as "a sneak attack," but several rushed in to defend Kerry. They noted he won awards for bravery and heroism in Vietnam as well as three Purple Hearts.

Representative Jim McDermott, a Washington Democrat, took the offensive in speaking up for Kerry by appearing to allude to questions about whether President George W. Bush shirked his duties while a member of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Without mentioning Bush by name, McDermott said: "For anybody to come out here and attack his (Kerry's) war record, you have to have pretty good credentials."

"If served and showed up for drills at your local National Guard, I think those would be acceptable credentials," McDermott said. "But if your were in the National Guard, and you didn't show up ... you have real nerve to start an attack on John Kerry's character."

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Don't shoot the messegner.

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The GOP congresscritters are CHICKENHAWKS. The GOP fuckers in Congress AND the White House are chickenhawks who ducked out of service. Where do you get this bullshit "10x as many" figure?

Whereas the Democrats served, like Kerry, Cleland, and Bob Kerrey. Can't say that about DeLay, Kyl, or the other repuke cocksuckers.

Seems like youare doing a good job of providing that ammo, without citations, the usual M.O.

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He is a prick, but he is a vet. I also think Johnson of Texas is but I am not totally sure.

The poster said "10x"... I know there are decorated vets from both parties, but the GOP does NOT have "10x" the number in Congress. That is all I was getting at.

& despises Kerry, as most POWs do.

McCain even hated him, but they got to know each other & became friends.

:shrug:

If you are talking about the Republican attack dogs, that's one thing.

Other than those idiots, which POW's hate Kerry?

I was asking Leilani the same question. Leilani claimed that most POWs "despise" Kerry.

So I'm seeking the same answer as you.

:hi:

I agree that Kerry is hitting his stride...and I will say, why should he use all of his ammo, when the WH is destroying itself? Hell those goomers can't catch a cold legitimately, they have to steal it...:)

Anyway...There is plenty of time before the election, and Kerry is a seasoned campaigner. He'll come out blasting when the time is right. He did a fine job today, his speech was excellent, and it will be some time before he pounds the final nail into the coffins of the usurpers in OUR WH!

:loveya:

O8)

:hi:

:loveya:

:* :* :* :* :* :*

You've got it EXACTLY right. And the more they attack, the more he can expose their tactics for the nation to see and that will END them permanently. They will have to start talking about the issues, not just in THIS election, but ALL of them.

And he can't very well expose their smear campaign tactics if he's doing the exact same thing himself. Which is why he has to show restraint on attacking Bush, until THEY attack first. Then make hay with the attack. Push his gravitas while exposing their deception.

It's brilliant and it WILL work. It may not be as gratifying in the short run, but by the fall, they will be cut to ribbons. Gone. Never to rear their ugly heads again.

An Indiana poll conducted back in January by The Indianapolis Star-WTHR-TV showed that 48% of respondents disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy with 47% approving.

Source: http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/113180-5088-009.html

I am certain that Bush's numbers of support for his handling of the war have since plummeted.

There is opportunity here for Kerry to become the first Democrat to carry Indiana since LBJ did in 1964. Our state ticket is strong, being led by war hero and former POW Governor Joe Kernan. Indiana Democrats are totally united in getting our own JK elected to office in his own right (Kernan succeeded the late Governor Frank O'Bannon)!

The GOP primary is hotly contested between Mitch Daniels and a fundie homophobe by the name of Eric Miller.

I think the repubs will have some serious problems dealing with Kerry the way they want to.The smears wont work with Kerry the way they did with Gore.

I know some don't like the way Kerry seems to be laying low right now but I think his strategy is sound in this instance.The repubs are throwing a lot of stuff at him and he's deflecting it better than Wonder Woman's bracelets.

After the primaries people would be foolish to discount him at this stage.