Why is Terry McAuliffe trying to destroy the Democratic Party?

[markus]

Rather then hijack the Clark thread where I posted this, I want it to stand on it's own. It is a response to Clark/McAuliffe thread in LBN.


I my view, scramble for Anybody But Dean is not much different from the left's defection to Nader. It refelcts an unwillingness to accept the will of the majority of the Democratic base if it strays from their particular ideology.

It is the same recipe for defeat, just with new ingredients.

Dean is lighting a fire with Democrats because 1) he walks and talks like a Democrat, which means he 2) largely talks about the issues that people care about, and usually vote on (economic issues).

The only reason to dislike Dean is if you fear that hiss War Was Wrong stance is going to hurt him in the general election. With Bush et al foundering in Iraq, how can our Strong Wartime Leader play that card?

The Busistas are like the dog that acutally caught the car, uncertain what do actually do with it, and in grave danger of getting run over.

Absent some huge sea change in the middle east, I don't see how Bush gets to remain the hero of Iraq. There's no terrorists, no WMD, and no democracy. The Iraqis hate us and our guys keep dying.

ABBB is going to be a very popular position in about a year from now, and not just in the Democratic core.

[ArkDem]

1. Please do not slur

the Big Dog's best friend.

[meegbear]

2. Good little elf ...

Holding to dean's May 19 call to "annoy the DLC" I see.

[markus]

13. Please, master

markus is a *good* little elf. He doesn't mean to annoy the DLC.

:p

I don't get fax blasts from anybody. I read my torrent of Dean-related e-mail about once a week (since they're too much to keep up with when I'm not committed to him or anyone else yet).

[tjdee]

3. Terry said NOTHING about Dean. Don't ASSUME that's what it's about.

Everything is not about Howard Dean.

So WHAT Terry said, hey, Clark might run?

I mean, really. So what?

Terry MacAuliffe doesn't hold the hand of every voter during every primary.

Dean loves Clark, anyway--what's a little competition?

If Clark wins, the voters have spoken.

If he doesn't, the voters have spoken.

I don't know why some people are so upset with Clark's entry.

[diplomats]

7. Exactly

The stronger field of candidates we have the better.

[robbedvoter]

4. Terry Mac is not directing candidates in (although he might

have pushed Gore out - I dunno for sure). Also, Clark is not running to piss off Dean - in fact Kerry thinks he is meant to burry him



> Clark to decide candidacy before Iowa visit
> http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/22098774.html

> "I expect to have my decision made by September 19th."
>
>
> Kerry, who campaigned in Des Moines and Adel on Tuesday, said a Clark
> campaign could take support from several candidates.
>
> "I think he takes away from lots of different people and different
> things to whatever degree he earns votes," Kerry said after an event in
> Des Moines with Iowa veterans.
>
> "His positions are similar to some other people in the field, too, on
> certain different things, and he'll undoubtedly have an impact."
>Which only goes to show how myopic people become. This is a race against W. A primary. Who ever wants, enters (whenever). Whoever wins, I support. No ABD, ABB!

[BlackRhino]

5. Has Dean had a single interview where he's come off well?

He might have a bombastic and "outraged" stage presence that appeals to the choir, here, but in live interviews, he always seems stiff, nervous, unprepared and easily knocked off balance to me.

Kerry/Clark (or Kerry/Edwards, or Kerry/Graham) in 2004!

[Jim Sagle]

11. Clifford, is that you? You seem a little punch drunk.

[BlackRhino]

14. Who is Clifford?

I am Jerky, posting as BlackRhino because somebody doesn't know the difference between irony and sincerety.

[diplomats]

6. You make it sound like McAuliffe is the only person

in the Democratic Party who thinks a Clark candidacy would be positive. So does practically everyone else. I fail to see how that means "destroying" the Democratic Party. Clark is liberal on social issues, as far as I can tell. BTW, I will gladly vote for Dean or Clark or whoever wins the nomination. If Dean is the stronger candidate he'll win. What are you worried about?

[JI7]

8. clark will if he wants (not because of terry)

all terry said was that clark will run. since he is dnc chair he has inside info and is just telling it. i'm sure the general can make decisions on his own. you think terry is controlling clark or something ?

[HereSince1628]

9. Nothing in the LBN thread I read suggested that anyone was

trying to destroy the party. But maybe I read the wrong thread.

So a press secretary says Clark may get into the race any day now...that is status quo for that issue over the past several weeks.

And if he does, he does, that's what primary season is about.

The candidate out in front and candidates that show movement toward the front become targets. Dean and supporters should accept and enjoy that problem.

[pippin]

10. aside from clark

aside from Clark, McAuliffe should have been fired for his bungling of the 2002 bi-election disaster.

[markus]

12. It's not all about Clark, either

Its about a rush to come up with an "alternative" candidate, when the preferences of the inside-the-beltway bunch are not being met by the available pool.

Dean is raising a lot of money outside of the usual channels, which have been a mechanism for DLC/corportatists influence for over a decade now. He who controls the purse strings and all that.

I haven't even committed to Dean yet, for cryin' out loud. But I am certainly committed to the anti-DLC camp. I see moves to try to squelch Dead as 1) anti-democratic (and anti-Democratic and 2) as ultimately misreading the tea leaves.

Bush can't beat up on Dean in the general on the War on Terra when the war is in a shambles. Dean is in many ways the center's man, with the few exceptions of civil unions and his commitment to providing some sort of umbrella health care.

I think most people who've actually been sick in the last few years actually understand that the health care system is badly broken. And major corporations wouldn't be giving in on partner benefits if gay partners hadn't moved into the mainstream comfort zone.

I think in the end neither of those issues plays about against Dean.

I have not committed completely to Dean. (I'm not getting sucked into any campaigns in an off year until I get my sailboat out of the water in some weeks. I've paid my dues enough to have every other summer off).

I am highly suspicious of this sort of completely "outsider" candidate with no political track record.

am also highly suspicious of the notion that we have to buy into the Bush War on Terra mythos and run a candidate that fits with it.

That is ultimately a defeatist notion. Bush's greatest weakness (even greater than the economy) is that 1) he can't demonstrate Iraq was anything but a distraction from dealing with international terrorism and 2) his Iraq policy is in complete disarray.

P.S. on Edit: Well, I certainly seemed to have stirred the pot. Which was my intention, in a non-disruptive sort of way.

[Cathi]

15. Terry McAuliffe is doing a great job.

:wtf:

I think Terry McAuliffe is doing a great job for the Democratic Party! He has it more organized than it has ever been! Maybe you should start looking at the members! We have to pull it together and soon!!