Will Zell Miller endorse the nominee

[bluestateguy]

I'm sure people here would be inclined to say "who cares?" given Miller's almost unanimous support for the Bush agenda, but we all should realize that the whore media will see it differently. If Miller were to endorse Bush or refuse to endorse the Democratic nominee for president it would be depicted by the media as some kind of a mass defection of Democrats and a sign of the Democrats' inability to rally their party. Yes, it's unfair, but that's how it would be portrayed. I'm guessing that Zell Miller would endorse Clark, Edwards and Lieberman, but no one else. One should remember that he still wields a lot of clout over Georgia politics and failure to win his endorsement might be costly in the South (I'm not part of the South-bashing crowd).

[ShaneGR]

1. It doesn't matter who he endoreses for President

It matters whether he backs the Senate Nominee, whoever that is.

[Hippo_Tron]

4. Oh so true...

We really need that Senate seat. If he did have a chance of winning I'd like to see Newt Gingrich run against the Democrat for the senate seat so we could get to bash him more.

[burr]

12. No...just read his new book. He hates all the primary candidates.

And according to Bill Shipp, he is now one of shrub's biggest advocates in the state. He may not endorse shrub publically, but he will probably vote for him on election day. It reminds me of what Governor Joe Frank Harris and the state Democrats did to former U.S. Senator Wyche Fowler. But Fowler was still able to beat the incumbent Republican in 1986, even without the support of the Governor and the state party.

<http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/092103/opi_20030921012.shtml>

[Dob Bole]

13. Ah...another Bill Shipp reader

I figured I was the only one here.

[Hippo_Tron]

2. Well I did kinda just label him DINO but...

A DINO is still better than a neocon Republican. I think there's a chance Kerry and maybe Gephardt could be added to that list. All I can say is he'd better not endorse Bush, then he's kicked out of the party.

[tlb]

5. Kicking Miller out of the party is no threat to him.

First, he is retiring, and I see no probability he will wish to run for yet another office. Secondly, I know of no procedure to make someone stop calling himself a democrat.

He can endorse anyone he wishes. I really doubt he will ensorse Bush though. If the democratic nominee is not to his liking I expect he would simply remain silent.

Don't think his endrosement is worthless though. As mentioned elsewhere in thix thread he carries great weight in his state and with centerist democrats. Calling him a DINO doesn't do much to appeal to either group, and like it or not they would be needed in 04.

[Erika]

3. Zell Miller is a DINO...Who cares What He Thinks!

Let him cause all the damage he can to the democrats while calling himself one. He's not and I hope he leaves the party as soon as possible. He's a Bendict Arnold that I would say as you exit, don't let the door hit you on the butt. Get rid of the traitor.

[elperromagico]

6. South-bashing?

South-bashing is counterproductive.

Sure, we could pull off a victory without winning a single Southern state. We could win with 20 states. But we ought to play like can win all 50. I think that would probably scare the GOP at least a bit.

It's counterproductive to say, "Screw Miller, who cares what he thinks?" Miller is popular in Georgia, and an endorsement could go a long way.

At the very least, 15 more electoral votes under our belt wouldn't hurt...

[fujiyama]

8. Georgia's virtually impossible...

I somehow doubt it'd be possible for the democratic nominee to win Georgia, with or without Miller's endorsement.

After all look at what happened to Cleland. They superimposed his picture with Ossama and Saddam. And to give Miller some credit, he did endorse him, and he may have even campaigned for him (I don't remember if this ws the case).

Clinton won it in 1992, but that was extremely closely and with Perot getting 13% of the vote there.

I suppose Clark may have some chance there, but it seems unlikely for any democrat to win that state. Maybe, if the turnout in Atlanta was so great, nah...I doubt that'd be enough.

[elperromagico]

9. I'm not saying we can win it

I'm saying, let's play like we can.

[fknobbit]

7. Apparently in Georga

Diebold endorsement is critical.

[Dob Bole]

10. Yes, he will....

Miller, though really conservative since he's entered Congress, almost always supports the Dem nominee and the Democratic Party. The coalition of rural whites and urban blacks in Georgia keeps the Democratic Party strong despite ideological lines and they always dominate. 2002 was a fluke based on internal politics.

Every Democratic President in the last century carried Georgia. Lieberman and others recently scoffed at Clark's remark that people thought Bush was a "compassionate conservative." However, that is really what people thought, and the message that Bush is a poseur really needs to be hit home. Then Georgia can be won.

[NewJerseyDem]

14. Not anymore

Zell Miller already said he isn't going to campaign for the democrats or for the republicans in the battle to succeed him in the senate. I doubt that he will endorse anyone in the presidential race especially since the demcratic nominee will probably be more liberal than whoever is running in Georgia. However, he is good friends with Max Cleland so I guess it is possible that Cleland could convince him to back the democrats but I severely doubt it.

[ulysses]

11. I'll say it.

Who cares?

Really, who gives a lukewarm shit?