I Am Officially Dropping My Support For John Kerry

[THUNDER HANDS]

And I have chosen to back Gen. Wesley Clark for president of the United States in 2004.

I've reached this conclusion after 48 hours of heartbreaking deliberation. Among the reasons I'm citing for the switch...

1. Kerry still goes around the country touting his (yes) vote as something of a threat of force against Saddam. It was not, it was a use of force resolution, not a threat of force one. This irks the hell out of me from Kerry, whom I'd wish would just either stop talking about the resolution or even stop sounding like he's bragging about it.

2. Clark is a lot more liberal than I thought he was, originally, now that I've looked into his record. There's almost nothing in there that I don't like.

3. I still think Kerry would make a great president, but Clark is about as close to Kerry as it gets, and he is probably more electable than Kerry because he's Southern and better looking.

4. I finally realized I just wasn't turned-on by the Kerry campaign. I think it's too micromanaged and there are too many holdovers from the Gore campaign to make this seem as if they WANT the nomination as much as they EXPECT it.

5. I'm not sure, but I honestly think Rove & Co. FEAR Wesley Clark the most out of any candidate. I truely believe they really want a showdown with Dean and think they could clobber him. With Clark, I think the GOP will find someone who is a lot harder to attack than Dean or Kerry. And ultimately, I want to win in 2004 with ANY Democrat, not just who I picked as a favorite early on and decided to stick with out of blind loyalty.

So I wish you the best of luck, John Kerry, as well as other Kerry supporters. But my heart, and vote, now lies with Wesley Clark.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

1. Welcome, Magic Rat!!!

You're in good company, buddy! It is my genuine belief that many reasonable people will come around to the same conclusion you did!

DTH

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. thank you

It took an incredible amount of pride-swallowing to admit it. But ultimately I'm glad I made this decision.

:)

[joeybee12]

3. I dropped Kerry for Dean...

...not sure if Clark is the magician everyone seems to think he is. But I do think Kerry's campaign is doomed--Clark at least hasn't ruined his yet, and has a chance to do some good.

[CMT]

10. Thanks for joining Dean

Clark is a great candidate and would be a strong asset on national security issues, but domestically Dean is tried and tested with a strong record in Vermont of doing many of the things Clark speaks of such as balancing the budget, providing medical insurance, protecting the environment, and so on.

We are lucky to have men of Dean's and Clark's calibar as well as the rest of our candidates.

[Sandstorm]

4. Good Choice! eom

n/t

[Democrats unite]

7. I still and always will Like Bob Graham first...

But Wesley Clark will do just fine for me. I realize Bob Graham had problems in the beginning with his health & he just doesn't seem to be catching on. He is a great man. I would hope though that there would be a plce in Wesley Clark's Administration for Graham.

[Zolok]

5. Interesting...

George McGovern voted for the Tonkin resolution in 1964 and still managed to end up the darling of the anti war cohort...
I wonder what his secret was?
:)
But somehow John Kerry is tainted beyond redemption.
Odd how that works.
Well anyway I'm glad Clark is in, the more the merrier I say.


****

[THUNDER HANDS]

6. Kerry tainted himself

I can forgive his 'yes' vote and I've defended him over it for months now.

But there comes a time when he has to just stop misrepresenting what the resolution was and start admitting he made an error in judgement.

I'm disappointed in the senator, because I honestly believe that of the 10 now running, Kerry would make the best president.

[OrdinaryTa]

17. Pressure Mounts for Kerry to Withdraw

Kerry's war vote ruined his chances of winning the support of the antiwar Left, a critical constituency. He'd hoped to counter that loss by appealing to the advocates of a strong military; but that effort is undercut by Wesley Clark's candidacy.

Too bad for Kerry. He'd be unstoppable now if he'd showed any guts when the vote on the war came up. Now that the war has turned out badly, Kerry resorts to the lame excuse that he was given misleading information. Twenty-three other senators had no difficulty with the same information. Kerry should withdraw for the good of the party.

[flpoljunkie]

8. Regarding your 4th point, who do you think is running Clark campaign?

4. I think it's too micromanaged and there are too many holdovers from the Gore campaign to make this seem as if they WANT the nomination as much as they EXPECT it.

Horse crap!

Mark Fabiani (partner to Chris Lahane), Ron Klain and others from the GORE campaign have signed up to run the Clark campaign!

BOB SHRUM, who has signed up with JOHN KERRY, is the Gore campaign consultant who urged GORE to run his populist campaign--the BEST thing Gore ever did. Gore surged ahead of Bush and won the popular vote with this "People vs. the Powerful" campaign--Bob Shrum's contribution to Gore's campaign!

[CWebster]

9. HAHAHA

Stunned I tell you, stunned. Not.

[Flying_Pig]

11. I haven't made up my mind yet, ......

vacillating between Dean and Kerry. But now that Clark is in, I am researching him. In the meantime, Diane Feinstein came out and endorsed Kerry. As she is a major AIPAC fund recipient, who also voted for the war, betraying the majority of her constituents in the process, Kerry lost me over this endorsement. It tells me, that Kerry is a lot more "establishment" than he is trying to appear; that he is more pro-war & pro-Likud than he would like us to believe; and, that it appears the DLC likes Kerry as well, which is not a recommendation to me.

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. the DLC

would probably be happy with...

Kerry
Lieberman
Clark
Gephardt
Graham
Edwards
...
and Dean, if he looked more electable, nationwide.

I wouldn't necessarily use the DLC as a barometer.

[CWebster]

21. the question is

will the DLC promote, with the use of the party machine, a pre-fab candidate to ward off the threat of a populus upheaval of the existing power structure? Already the DLC has demonstrated they are not answerable to us, will we allow them to continue to run the show?

[ignatius]

12. Not onlu is he a Rhodes scholar, he has an engineering

degree, an economics degree, and taught economics at West Point.

His resume just keeps getting better and better..Could you imagine Dubya teaching anything but cheerleading and how to empty a keg at the frat party?

This man is electable and in the long run, isn't that our goal, to take back the WH and rid this nation of the BFEE?

[liberalnurse]

14. I am with Dean for the long haul....

I just have to hear Clark on the broad specturm of his issues. He has a good presence and is very articulate. I will follow Clark as a second choice. I need to see him in the field.....

[glarius]

15. If you don't mind a word from a non-American

Clark impressed me early on when I heard him say his big concern was the way the Bush government was alienating your friends in the world...He said America has to co-operate with allies....As a Canadian this was good news to me....Plus what a refreshing change it would be, to have someone in the White House who is intelligent (Rhodes Scholar).:hi:

[chaumont58]

16. Your picture of Clark is reversed

The CIB is worn on the left brest.

[blm]

18. ALL resolutions for force are threats.

They are meant first as coercive tools. It is up to the administration to apply it in that way FIRST.

Go ahead and blame Kerry for Bush's incompetence and his refusal to do what was promised. That's what the RNC and mediawhores want. Just as the Daily Howler and mediawhoresonline warned, but it seems few can comprehend.

[THUNDER HANDS]

20. I'm not blaming Kerry

for Bush's idiocy. I'm blaming him for continuing to state that he threatened force.

If it was just a threat of force resolution, than why did 20+ senators oppose it?

[blm]

29. You're missing the point.

ALL resolutions are THREATS. They use the THREAT of force as a coerrcive tool. Bush and Powell LIED by promising that they would use it as a threat FIRST.

[XanaDUer]

24. Yes, very few.

Explaining the subtleties about it is futile.

[StopTheMorans]

26. so let me get this straight:

stop me if I'm wrong, but by saying this, you are pretty much incinuating that the rest of us are idiots and can't understand nuance and subtle phrasing, am I correct? And if so, that's pretty damn elitist of you:)

[Andy_Stephenson]

28. "Blame Kerry for Bush's incompetence"

No...kerry voted yes...not Bush...Bush wanted a yes vote. Personally I like to see Mr Kerry Self Destructing. I saw it coming the night of the war vote.


"Dean Dean Dean Dean Dean"
John Kerry

[Uzybone]

19. good for you

Im still comtemplating between Kerry and Clark and for the now being still lean towards Kerry. Im really impressed by them both and IMO they are the 2 who have by far the best chance of defeating the moron.

[DemExpat]

22. Welcome! Clark's desire to COOPERATE more with the world

is his biggest pluspoint for me....as an ex-pat.

The world NEEDS a good Democratic President with vision for the world, and Clark can hopefullly win and help turn things around.

What I wouldn't give for the Neo-Cons to be banished for good this time......:nuke:

DemEx

[Marlie]

23. Pretty much agree with you MagicRat

Someone mentioned West Point. He graduated first in his class -
just another remarkable thing about General Clark.

[Demobrat]

25. Kerry can't win because Rove effectively cut him off at the knees

along with everybody else who voted for the war. It's a real shame, but Kerry, Gep and Lieberman blinked and Rove won. So now we have to look outside the senate for our nominee.

[robbedvoter]

27. Good timing! 216 years from the signing of the Declaration of Independence

and a bunch of activists drafted a powerhouse candidate to beat W! You'll remember this day (kust as I remember the day I became a democrat - Dec 13, 2000)