Kerry, like Gore, had his chance - I want a new candidate for 2008

[LynneSin]

If Kerry couldn't beat a dimwit like Bush (yes, I know - election fraud in Ohio) then I'm not really interested in him as the candidate for 2008. Kerry failed when the Swift Boat Idiots came after him and had a poor, indecisive message about the war. And I'm not too keen about Kerry being in the DLC either (yep - he is, you can look it up).

I want a new candidate and someone who ISN'T a US Senator. US Senators are too easy to manipulate their voting record and misleading the public with bad information (remember "he didn't support it and then he did" crap?).

I'm not ready to commit myself 110% to a new candidate, hell, I'm not ready to commit to 2008 presidential election when we have so many important elections coming up in 2005 & 2007 (Can we all say "Buh-Bye Santorum!")

But I can commit to this for 2008 and that is I do not want Kerry as my candidate. I wasn't keen on him in the primaries because I didn't think he was the right choice to fight back against the crap you knew that was going to come from the Bush Regime. But when Kerry got the nomination I put all of that aside and supported him 110%. And he lost and not only did he lose but when there were questions coming out of Ohio immediately he didn't even try to challenge it. For him it was better to give up immediately then fighting for us the way that we fought for him. Hell at least Al Gore gave it almost a month until he conceded.

So who do I support in 2008? Ask me again in mid-2007. But I do like some of the governors out there that have been flirting with the idea including my personal favorite of Ed Rendell and also Mark Warner, Bill Richardson and that guy from Montana. I also am keeping an open mind with Wes Clark (although I wasn't too keen on him in 2004).

So no more Kerry and while we're at it - not really interested in Gore either. But like a good democrat that I am, I would support them IF they got the nomination, but you better believe I'm going to fight hard to ensure they don't!

[zulchzulu]

1. Good for you!

I'm leaning for Kerry again in 2008.

Work to support whoever you want for 2008. But please, don't flame Kerry or go into the usual Kerry bashing crap. I always find that those threads are full of ill-informed assumptions about the 2004 race...

As for Gore, I'm not sure he even wants to run in 2008.

[Mass]

2. No right wingers : Warner, Richardson, no thank you....

I take Kerry or Gore any day, and have no question concerning Clark either.

[LynneSin]

7. Kerry is DLC - how does he different from Warner or Richardson

Just curious? Is it because we've mentally blocked that fact out when we supported Kerry in 2004?

From their website:

US SEnators:
Max Baucus, U.S. Senator, MT
Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator, IN
Maria Cantwell, U.S. Senator, WA
Tom Carper, U.S. Senator, DE
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator, NY
Kent Conrad, U.S. Senator, ND
Byron Dorgan, U.S. Senator, ND
Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator, CA
Tim Johnson, U.S. Senator, SD
John Kerry, U.S. Senator, MA
Herb Kohl, U.S. Senator, WI
Mary Landrieu, U.S. Senator, LA
Joe Lieberman, U.S. Senator, CT
Blanche Lincoln, U.S. Senator, AR
Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator, FL
Ben Nelson, U.S. Senator, NE
Mark Pryor, U.S. Senator, AR
Debbie Stabenow, U.S. Senator, MI

[Mass]

9. If you dont know, sorry for you.

As I said often, DLC people are a variety of people with a lot of different opinions.

At least, Kerry is not advocating going to the right as those two are.

[blm]

17. The DLC member who maintained the most liberal voting record. Come on....

don't tell me that you want the DLC populated ONLY by centrists who GOVERN as centrists with NO voice or input from the left.

There are ranges within every organization. Biden is way more a centrist than Kerry and he isn't EVEN a member of the DLC.

Do you want ALL of those more liberal thinkers to pull out of the DLC entirely? You want the centrists to have ALL the pull in that organization?

[shoelace414]

3. I like Feingold.

but I'm biased.. he's been my senator for around 12 years.

plus we have midterms to get through netx year.

[Mass]

5. He is a good guy.

Definitively in the list of people I'd like to see run (as soon as we are done with 06).

[LynneSin]

8. I like him too but...

...twice divorced now and I'm still peeved about his vote for Ashcroft in the Judiciary committee. But that twice divorced thing will definately hurt him in a presidental bid

[Mass]

11. Sure, if you are a Republican and will never vote for a Dem anyway

This is just silly...

[LynneSin]

14. Yes, but the repukes are pretty skilled at exploiting crap like that

And pulling in some of the fence sitters into their voting pull.

It's sad but it's also reality

[Streetdoc270]

4. My thoughts exactly

Thanks LynnSin, I tried to post those same words yesterday in the 'would you support Kerry in 08' poll but I just don't have the ability to put my thoughts into words.

[Mountainman]

6. I agree with you 110 %. We can't look for someone from past wars we need

a new face and new ideas.

I gave the most money I ever gave to a candidate to Kerry and they still call me and still ask for money but I say no. He had his day in the sun and lost. I don't know if I ever felt as bad about an election as I did about the last one. I really had my hopes that Kerry was a different kind of leader but he doesn't do it for me anymore. I could not get excited about him if he tried to run again. He is yesterday's news.

No Hilary, no Gore and no Kerry and no Edwards. Somewhere there is the messiah who can get more than half of the people excited about their future and it isn't a retread from past elections/

[Totally Committed]

10. Warner is DLC, too.

Don't know about Richardson, though. One site I looked up had his name listed and another didn't.

I was trying to stay open to the possibility of Warner, but last weekend, read this, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up:

Still, Warner's wide acclaim is based on compromising with Republicans, not defying them. As he assesses his chances for his party's 2008 presidential nomination, Warner has toured the nation urging Democrats to reclaim "the sensible center" and become competitive again in the South.

http://tinyurl.com/9b9od

".... compromising with Republicans, not defying them". Ugh. And this was no hit-piece. Pretty much it was a fluffer. And, that's what a fluff pieces said. I can't support that. Never again.

[Beer Snob-50]

12. this country is ready for someone who will espouse

the views of most of the country. that was bill clintons biggest asset. he pissed off many on the left and right because he bastardized many of their ideas and made them palable to those in the middle. our 2008 candiate must do this. hillary? yeah she would (she has the big dog as her mentor) biden would also i think.

[rhett o rick]

13. I suspect it doesn't matter whether you "want" Kerry or not.

You (and we) will get whoever the Demo Party wants us to get. Why do you think Hillary has so much backing so far? It isn't because "we" support her. It's because "they" support her. If the Demo powers want Kerry, then he will be the candidate. Unless the "we's" figure out how to work around the power structure of the Demo Party.
After thought added by edit: I think the Demo Party powers would rather have a candidate they can control, than a candidate that might win.

[cally]

15. I want someone who can get the neocons out of power

and will hold them accountable for their crimes. I'm fairly certain that no President will be progressive so I'm hoping for someone who will fight back and move the country forward. Watching the last election, I'm now fairly certain that any new candidate will not win. I think you need to go through a Presidential race at least once to understand the pressures and to win. I'm looking closely at Clark, Edwards, Dean, Gore, and H. Clinton. I want someone who can campaign effectively and has learned the ropes. I think Kerry ran a horrible campaign. I liked Kerry but his campaign was horrible.

[PresidentObama]

16. I respect your opinion LynneSin....

Even though I don't agree with it. Kudos on not turning this into a Kerry bashing session. Because even if you support Kerry or not in 2008 is your business. But John's a real fighter, and a good man. And doesn't deserve some of the crap that some people here like to throw at him. I swear a growing number of Democrats are using the same Republican talking points from 2004 against Kerry now. When will the madness end?

I think Kerry has a chance in 2008, and many do not. I don't think Hillary has a chance in 2008, and many do. It's a difference of opinion. I think everyone should express their opinion, and support the candidate of their choice. But the bashing of people from our own party is getting old. Real old. And kudos again for keeping this thread mild, and just letting your voice be known and expressing why you feel the way you feel.

As far as the Senator arguement, I think it will be a different ball game next time around. This election you had a Senator with a voting record versus the President. The likely candidates for the GOP are mostly Senators- Santorum, Allen, Frist, McCain, Brownback. So even if we nominated a Senator in 2008, the Republicans are bound to nominate a Senator as well. So I think it'll be a really dirty campaign if it comes to Democratic Senator vs. Republican Senator in 08. Besides Governor Warner, I don't see any Governors winning our parties nomination. And I doubt Warner will get the nomination.

[greenbriar]

18. Well in honest elections,

both would have won!

[seaglass]

19. I'd agree with you about Gore and that's about it. I still

think Kerry is a brilliant man who would make an excellent President, I'm not ready to write him off.

I do have an open mind if someone comes along who I believe has the brains and skills that Kerry does, I'd support him/her.

I'm open to some of the primary candidates who ran in the last election.

But I'm voting Dem no matter what. I will not contribute to Republican control of this country.

[PurityOfEssence]

20. Do you feel the same way about Edwards, too?

It IS sort of nutty getting all worked up about '08 with a crucial vote coming up next year for the VERY vulnerable House. People seem to think that the Presidency is the only race that matters, and it drives me up the wall. If we can take the House back, we can call these tin horn Hitlers in and grill 'em under oath. This could rip open the vast sweep of lies and criminality and could deal a death-blow to the Republican party.

Your point about Senators is very true, but I'll go ya one more: there is a very different mindset between legislators and executives, and Governors have a leg up on the gig. Some people are very good at one or the other, but not so many are good at both; they take rather different personality traits.

[election_2004]

21. It sounds like....

LynneSin, out of the likely candidates to run, if you're excluding U.S. Senators, your short list would probably consist of:

Wes Clark
Mark Warner
Bill Richardson
Tom Vilsack

Rendell said he isn't running in '06.

"That guy from Montana" (Governor Brian Schweitzer) hasn't even finished his first year as Governor of Montana yet, and he will presumably be running for reelection as Governor in 2008. If a Democrat wins the White House in '08, then Schweitzer's time may come in 2016.

In the meantime, I'm still supporting my candidate

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln
http://www.lincoln2008.com

Whom I believe would bring together the broadest spectrum of voters to support the Democratic ticket in 2008.