Can Clark be tagged as being too liberal by Rove?

[CoffeePlease1947]

So many Democrats have been tagged as being ultra-liberal by the Repukes. I am wondering if it would be possible to do that to Clark.

If not, I think he would be the best nominee.

Mike

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Ok here is what people have to realize

At this point the Democratic Party could field Hitler himself (which is the devil in my view) and Rove will find a way of tagging him as a damn liberal.

In other words, if we continue to let Rove set the terms of the debate, regardless of cnadidate... they will tag anybody as TOO LIBERAL since Liberal has been transformed into the equivalent of Socialist and Communist... and it is time to recapture the word from the Right Wing Fanatics.

[salin]

10. Exactly. To Rove - any dem will be tagged as "ultraliberal" (re: commie)

that is a given. And to the diehard repubs - they will lap it up. Regardless of who the candidate is.

In what alternate reality is Saxy *avoid Vietnam* Chamblis a Patriot and Max *decorated Vietnam Veteran, disabled by his service* Cleland against Patriotism? In Orwell's, in Rove's, in the miniRove Reed's Madison Avenue slick spin campaigns.

No Democrat will be innoculated from such charges - not by policy positions, not by resume (as proven by Cleland). We must be prepared - and have better campaign strategies to fend off the inevitable assualts.

[LoneStarLiberal]

15. Reclaim It

You're spot-on! Under the leadership of Terry McAuliffe we've either meekly accepted their vitriol or just turned tail and run as a national party.

Screw that. AS A PARTY we need to reclaim "liberal" and "class warfare" and a whole slew of other rhetoric from the Republicans.

[MarianJack]

2. Sure He Can!

kkkarl can do anything he wants with words and double talk. Thats an advantage of being a totally unprincipled, Anything to "win", lying, treasonous (see ann, we can use that word, too and be truthful) cheating sociopath bastard.

The challenge to us is that we have to point out just how all of the above adjectives apply to kkkarl, george, dick, rummy, etc. so they can properly see just how much integrity the whistle ass administration has brought back to the white house.

[even]

3. Wrong question .

Can Clark stump the turd blossum? Of course!

[Q]

4. Why do you care so much what the 'repukes' think?

- And what the hell is an 'ultra-liberal'?

[boxster]

14. I think it's important to understand the opposition and to plan

for their tactics.

[Orangepeel]

5. Of course. That's what they do.

They did it to Max Cleland. But, so what? IMO, one of the major problems with our party is that we worry too much about what republicans think and what they'll do. I understand trying to outmaneuver the enemy, but we go way to far.

Just for once, let's nominate the candidate that WE think is best (whether it is Clark, Dean or someone else) instead of worrying about what republicans will do.

[HFishbine]

6. Rove a non-issue

Look ahead. Rove is not going to be a factor.

[Kahuna]

7. He can try. Clark is liberal on most issues....

They will probably say that he's more liberal than even Kerry and Dean. And that it's a result of being a political novice.

Somehow, I don't think this election will hinge on the labels of liberal and conservative. It will hinge on ideas and who can best achieve results.

[Rowdyboy]

8. And Wes has said openly that "liberal" isn't

a dirty word. Rove will pounce on that but who the hell cares. I'm TIRED AS HELL of being afraid to admit that I'm a LIBERAL!

Sure Rove will try to tag him as an "ultra-liberal" but Wes is smart enough to make Kkkarl Rove look like an idiot!

[Cocoa]

9. Since Clark is the least liberal one running

Clark is the least vulnerable to Rove calling him a liberal.

I disagree with you, however, that this makes him the best nominee. By that logic, the best candidate would be the one that most resembles a republican, and the general election would just be like a republican primary.

I'd rather the democratic primary result in a distinctly democratic nominee to go against Bush.

[Rowdyboy]

11. What a foolish thing to say...

Wes Clark is one of the two or three most liberal candidates running abd he's not ashamed to admit it (all the others are though). Who else in out primary candidates has DARED use that word?

Give me one single conservative stance by Wes Clark. Just one. Please. Tell me how in God's name you can smear this man by calling him a conservative and not be ashamed of yourself for lying....

[boxster]

13. Perhaps more to the point, I think that Clark is one of the only

ones that can get away with having a liberal stance on the issues. His military service easily trumps Shrub's pathetic Commander-in-Chief facade, which is more important than many of us will admit, so Clark can afford to be socially liberal.

I'm sure Rove will try; the effective of branding Clark as a liberal has yet to be seen. I think it will mostly fail.

There are other candidates in the race that likely wouldn't have any trouble relating to the word "liberal" - Kucinich and Sharpton, for sure.

[Rowdyboy]

16. You're entirely right Boxster

I forgot Kucinich, Braun and Sharpton. However, of the more likely nominees, Clark is the only one daring to use that word.

Thanks. I spoke too quickly.

[boxster]

20. No problem, I think we all have a tendency to focus on the

"front-runners", except for those people who are supporting the candidates who don't get mentioned in every post. :P

I'm impressed at how Clark just jumped on "liberal" when it was brought up. He didn't get defensive and didn't back down. He took the initiative and said (I'm paraphrasing), "Look, America was founded as a liberal democracy" and left it at that.

In nothing else, he might end up having a lot to do with "liberal" losing its negative meaning in the press.

[Cocoa]

17. because I see his liberal stances as mere positioning

In the absence of an extensive voting record, I think the question of what his politics are is a matter of judgement, rather than fact. From what little I know of him, I consider him to be a pro-business candidate, and I consider his party affilitation and his ideology on social issues to be secondary.

[boxster]

21. "From what little I know of him"....

Then perhaps you should do some research.

Check out issues2000.org, for starters, then read some of his recent speeches (there are links everywhere) and read the transcript of the debate and other appearances.

There's a lot out there if you take the time to look. No offense, but claiming he's a conservative with little substantive evidence isn't going to get you far with the people on DU, especially the people who HAVE done a lot of research into his positions on the issues.

[Hippo_Tron]

12. Rove doesn't need to bother...

Rush Limbaugh will do it for him... Then again he may be on a drug high when he's doing his radio show and forget the difference between liberal and conservative.

[Kool Kitty]

18. Hopefully, Rove won't be around next year to

participate in the election. (I can only hope.) I believe that he would try to paint Clark as a liberal (if Clark gets the nomination), but I don't think it will have as much impact.

[Brian Sweat]

19. Rove can only tag Democrats as being to liberal

if we let him get away with it by running away from the label.

Instead of running away from the label, we should reclaim it. We should say that we are liberal and proud of it and point out what it means to be liberal and how liberal made this country great. People need to hear the truth.

[boxster]

22. Yes, excellent point. We have to remove the power the

Republicans wield with the word, "Liberal." (Certainly, a capital "L")

If we counter the Liberal label by discussing the issues and pointing out what traditional liberal issues really are, their label can be turned into a positive.

For example, I don't think that anyone can argue that health care, education, and the economy are all important. If we get people to re-learn that those are all OUR issues, then link them to "Liberal", maybe we can get people to understand how dumb it is to think of liberals in a negative way.