Josh Marshall's got "the secret memo" on Clark..

[AngryYoungMan]

Go to Josh's site, talkingpointsmemo.com, to read the memo that's been distributed amongst right-wing politicos on how to handle Clark. It's pretty amazing.

[trumad]

1. link

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/sept0304.html#092303125pm

[returnable]

2. But gee whiz!

I thought Clark was a PNAC plant!

:)

[Sliverofhope]

3. As worried as I am about getting a good Dem nominee

We really should keep this in mind. I am somewhat suspicious of Clark, seeing how the media doesn't seem to want to attack him enough... but if the right is worried, this can only be good. It's hard to be strategic with so many pieces on the board.

[TioDiego]

4. Thanks, That was amazing

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

[Another Bill C.]

5. Backfire?

I think the strategy of using Clark's "I would have been a Republican...." statement against him may backfire. I think this might be interpreted by lot of moderate republicans as "he's really one of us."

[KittyWampus]

15. There's No Basis For Attributing That Statement To Clark

Other than highly partician Republicans close to Rove.

Referring to "I would have been a Republican"

It's bullshit on the order of Gore claiming to have invented the internet.

[Brian Sweat]

16. I believe he said

I just think he was joking. You know, some people do that. Clark had a couple of Republican friends who didn't want him to run as a Democrat. He told them he would have been a Republican if Rove had returned his phone calls. They knew he was joking, they just decided to use it against him.

[Kahuna]

17. Yepper!

Que stupidos! :puke:


The repukes were counting on Dems shunning Clark because of course, 'dems hate the military and will never warm to a military man.'

I'm sure they saw the letters on the draft Clark sites where thousands of people pled with Clark to run and rid our country of the empty-headed monster, Bush.

[hedda_foil]

6. Okay ... now I've read it twice.

What makes this amazing? It's SOP.

[ignatius]

7. God, these people are diabolically good at spinning.

Is there a school that teaches how to lie,deceive and misinform the public wothout any facts whatsoever.

[Cappurr]

8. Actually....there is

Conservatives have seminars for young politicos, still in college all the time. Nationwide.

[davidinalameda]

9. keep this one kicked

I want all the Clark bashers to read this

[seventhson]

10. Maybe Josh Marshall is a DLC plant. I found this very telling:

This is from the above link at the very end in his "okay to bash Dean" finale to this column:



September 21st, 2003 -- 9:50 AM EDT // link)
A sampling from the mailbag ...

From:
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2003 14:54:04 EDT
Subject: destroying dean
To: [e-mail]
X-Mailer: 7.0 for Windows sub 10693
If you have time, wander over to Billmon and see what's being said about your attempts to torpedo Dean. I think it's sickening that you are determined to stamp out an exciting and potentially successful grass roots effort to choose our nominee. A lot of us are tired of the arrogance of the DNC, DLC and Josh Marshalls who are convinced that they know what is best for us. (Your track record isn't that impressive!) If you succeed in using dirty tricks to topple Dean, I will not be voting in 04, and I know a lot of other Democrats who will join me in sitting it out. Watch the hubris, it could be your undoing! Susan P.

My own feeling is that the only real Democrats are those who will support the party's eventual nominee, end of story. There is an awfully distressing tendency among a minority of Dean supporters to serve up no end of lacerating comments about other candidates and then to react with a sort of stunned and outraged shock when anyone criticizes their guy. It's the flip side of seeing the race in such heroic, if not messianic dimensions.
The primary is actually not concluded yet. And, pace John Calvin, I assume the outcome is not predetermined. So it is still permitted to criticize Mr. Dean and not be an enemy of democracy.


-- Josh Marshall

[AngryYoungMan]

14. Don't pick on Marshall!

He's indisputably one of the "good guys." Yes, he was slightly more pro-war than we'd like, but that hasn't stopped him from being one this administration's (and this war's) best and most tireless critics.

[Pastiche423]

11. O-kay I read it

So?

[Donna Zen]

13. kick

...I would hope that a Clark basher might get it, but thinking beyond our bias can be very difficult.

This episode is very dangerous, because while Josh Marshall is correct, the phone call is bs, this is step one in setting Clark up as a serial liar.

Anyone catch Krugman's rules for decontructing bush in last week's Rolling Stone?

• (paraphrase of #5) You can think of nothing that they will not do.

[Snellius]

12. I don't think this is a Repub "secret memo"

It seems to be a description from Charlie Cook's newsletter of Republican tactics. Cook is a (more or less) "independent" political anaylst/pollster.