It's OK--Hell...It's Healthy To Have A Rough Primary

[einsteins stein]

Let's stop being so sensitive about some minor in-house fighting. Its healthy! If a candidate can't withstand attacks from within ranks, where the fire isn't so hot, how the hell can he/she stand one from the Repukes?

On an individual basis, we need to give these candidates all we have, and damn the torpedos! If we lob the best we can get at our candidates, they learn how to respond to the attacks, the questions get asked and answered now, rather than 1 week before the general election, and we apply a bit of natural selection to the nomination process.

What we should NOT do is attack each other. "You're a fool for supporting _____!" or "If you don't like _______ then you are not a Democrat" etc, etc, etc...No reason for any of that, we are all on the same team. Fighting down here at this level will only drive people out of the party, or create apathy when it comes time to unite behind the one candidate that will eventually carry the banner for us all.

Save your rhetoric for the candidates, and hold nothing back. The party will end up with the candidate best able to duck, dodge, and come back fighting, which translates into the candidate best able to kick GW's ass out of the Whitehouse.

...and what could possibly be wrong with that?

[fertilizeonarbusto]

1. Agree only so much

Let's attack the candidates' positions, but let's refrain from personal attacks and distortions that will later prove useful to Rove and his minions.
But, I like your main thrust. It reminds me of Will Rogers's remark; "I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat." :-)

[einsteins stein]

6. Agree, only so much?

Don't want to steal your subject tag, but what the hell :-)

I agree with your post, but where do you draw the line on what is, and what is not a personal attack?

Is it a personal attack to say I can't stand Liebermans voice? The way he does this thing thats half way between whinning and condescending? If it is, then should we refrain from praising Sharpton's speaking style? Isn't that a defacto attack on those who don't speak well?

Or, is it personal to say that, IMO, America isn't ready to elect a Woman as POTUS, so CMB doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of beating Bush, even though she is a far superior candidate?

Define personal attack, as opposed to an attack based on the tactical advatage of one candidate over another. That's not a challenge. its just an observation :-)

[joeybee12]

2. Candidates should be CHALLENGED not ATTACKED

Things like saying the "Dean Recession" and comparing Dean to Newt Gingrich is not a healthy debate--it just gives Rethugs sound bites.

A healthy fight is good, but I don't see the fight as all that healthy right now.

Politics is very easy--define your message and say it over and over again. Some candidates have been unabel to define their message, and as a result are simply attacking.

[Brucey]

3. I agree.

Is there any evidence or reason to think that the things we post here will have any influence on the candidates popularity or the repug's strategy? Are we worrying too much, or is there a real danger of bashing Dems? Either way, I prefer not to bash, but to discuss who and how to beat Chimpy.

[joeybee12]

5. Yeah, do you think any candidates or their staff looks here?

I mean, do you think what we say and post is read and relayed back to anyone?

I tend to doubt it.

[Friar]

7. Aar!

I think they do look in. I would if I were them. Aar! And anyway, I assume most of us email our reps and that shit, y'know, doing what we can and all that. Aar!

[Donna Zen]

4. Disagree

This is about character asassination and is popping up word for word all over the net. It has completely blocked all informed messages of policy, strategy or debate...look over there...it's a baby killer.

[einsteins stein]

8. Live! I Command This Thread To Live!

GIVE MY CREATION LIFE!

BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (mad scientist cackle)

In the background - sound of thunder, wolf howls, Igor muttering about, general secret laboratory sounds, etc...

[einsteins stein]

9. I cant believe this thread is losing...

To NNNOLHI's new post of a week old story (about Dean inviting Clark to join his campaign), that already been discussed to death! LOL!

No offense NNNOLHI! It's just a little depressing to realize that, though I thought I had something important to say, I apparently don't. :eyes:

[denverbill]

10. I'm hoping for a long primary season.

I support Dean, but I hope after Iowa and New Hampshire it isn't a done deal. I ALMOST hope nobody gets enough votes to get the nomination, and we actually have a convention battle.

Hell, when is the last time a party convention actually meant anything. Can you imagine the drama? Can you imagine night after night of people talking about the real life Survivor battle for the Democratic nomination? Not to mention all the publicity DURING the primaries. Instead of being all over the news in January, and out of the news by March, we'd have MONTHS of free primary coverage from the media.

[einsteins stein]

11. I agree, Dems should fight it out (with honor)

coronations are for kings and their coutiers, not a free people.

Drama! Give me late night, nail biting, number crunching, coffee drinking, tv railing, speech making, democratic drama! Will my guy make a mark, or go down in history as an asterisk? I love the political process! I'm kind of a geek that way, lol.

Maybe not a geek, but I am certainly a junkie for democracy!

on edit, geek started out as gook, and I have no idea how. The E and the O are nowhere near each other...

[sham]

12. geeks like us!

Gawd, I would LOVE that scenario! I would be sitting up into the wee hours with my beer and nachos, watching it all happen, and watching the Repubs go into total meltdown because the people in this country will be LOVING it too. Can you imagine the publicity and the energy that would generate? It would be a dream come true!

And Bunnypants's little party in New York will be, like, soooo anti-climactic that no one will give a shit. (Except the protesters, who will still show up, just to unnerve the little chimp.)

:dem: