Who would you nominate for the Democratic Tough Guys Corps?

[Stinky The Clown]

Okay .... first ... 'tough guys' is an accepted colloquialism. Used here, it is gender neutral.

Second .... There is no such thing as the Democratic Tough Guys Corps. I made that up. But there should be. These would be the go-to people who would assist any Dem candidate anywhere when the inevitable Republican manufactured shitstorms start this campaign season.

The Republicans have, for quite some time, trained - and trained quite well, I would add - their candidates in messaging and tough talk. In essence, they have an established candidate boot camp that all their folks go to. It is the various think tanks funded by the likes of Richard Mellon Scaife and others of his ilk.

We, obviously, having nothing of the kind. So we'll have to just wing it with our heaviest heavy hitters leading the charge.

Who would you nominate to be a part of this? What tough, fearless, well spoken, hard hitting, committed Dem - not currently running for office and free to help as needed - would you have faith in to not only do the job, but do it successfully?

[CottonBear]

1. Ann Richards of Texas & Sam Nunn of Georgia. n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

16. Ann could easily be the leader of the pack!

[Neil Lisst]

2. Tom Harkin, Lloyd Doggett, Russ Feingold, Dennis Kucinich

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Lloyd and Dennis are (necessarily) running and therefor excluded

Harkin and Feingold are great ......

[Neil Lisst]

9. I probably missed that part in my haste to give MY opinion!

Kind of an Evelyn Wood approach.

[Stinky The Clown]

36. S'okay ......

.... Ev :)

[Neil Lisst]

40. the important thing is ...

your thread gets a kick!
and another!

[PuraVidaDreamin]

3. When ever one of our guys talks tough- they are labeled angry

or given another debilitating adjective. Even if
they talk the straight honest truth. I'd like to
know how to overcome that.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Talk calmly ...but more .... uh .... directly .... armed with facts

When a liar calls you angry, say you're damned right you're angry. Angry that **that** guy has the nerve to call me angry and then refuse to call me that to my face.

Call the sons of bitches out. That's how you stand up to bullies. They fold every time.

Trouble is, our people, with too few exceptions, fail to stand up for themselves ..... hence the need for a Democratic Tough Guys Corps.

[aden_nak]

25. Thats because most Democrats don't know how to counterpunch.

Whenever they are accused of anything, they drop whatever they are doing and set out to prove that what's been said about them is false. Clinton never fell for that trick. And what kills me is that he's been very up front about how he handled those attacks, he practically spelled it out when he was on The Daily Show. They need to USE those attacks as oppertunities.

"After 5 years of Republicans screwing everything up, the whole country is angry."
"Liars make me angry. Crooks make me angry. All of these Bush people make me angry."
"Well of course the right attacks me. They have to. They don't have a solution for (insert issue)."

Most people really are angry and frustrated with their government right now. There's no shame in that. It's a natural reation. It's a human reaction. And it's a tap-able reaction.

[sutz12]

42. So what?

They have a right to be angry, and people around the country are starting to understand why, too.

I'd say angry is a good thing.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

43. I tell everyone I'm angry- but the dem leaders run from any conflict

Russ seems to be able to handle it the best.
He doesn't flinch

[Stinky The Clown]

44. You betcha

Righteous anger might put some passion and conviction into the speeches of a few more candidates.

[saltpoint]

4. Mario Cuomo, 3-term governor of New York, and Bill Moyers, author

and analyst.

Neither of these guys sidesteps or acquieces to the status quo if meaningful reform is an imperative.

And although she currently holds office and will (I hope) run for another term later, I'd also throw in Barbara Boxer. The woman's a wonder.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. She's allowed cuz she's not running this year and is therefor available

to fight for others.

[saltpoint]

24. Hot dog! Because Senator Boxer is terrific!

Thanks for this thread, Husb2Sparkly.

[welshTerrier2]

6. Louise Slaughter ... n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

10. I love her, too, but she's running and therefor outside the parameters.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Wes Clark.

[Stinky The Clown]

14. "I'll beat the shit out of them"

Wes Clark on C-Span, thinking he was off camera/off mic, responding to to a questioner in NH during the 04 primaries.

Yeah ... he'll do just fine!

[FrenchieCat]

12. Gen. Wes Clark.....of course!

Fits here! the go-to people who would assist any Dem candidate anywhere when the inevitable Republican manufactured shitstorms start this campaign season.- Wes is welcomed in every state by conservative to progressive Democrats!

Fits here! tough, fearless, well spoken, hard hitting, committed Dem - not currently running for office and free to help as needed - would you have faith in to not only do the job, but do it successfully?

Fits here! Talk calmly ...but more .... uh .... directly .... armed with facts.

:hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

18. Yanno, if you're a typical Clark supporter, and are a reflection ......

...... even a tiny bit, of the man himself, he's one tough, tough guy and lucky to have supporters like you.

[iconoclastNYC]

13. Ivins, Hartmann, Malloy, Hackett, Hightower, Sirota, Rhodes, Kucinich

Dean, Feingold.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. All perfect .... 'cept for Dennis .... cuz he's gotta run hizownself

[longship]

17. AlGore has got to be there.

He's been talkin' very tough for over a year now.

[Sparkly]

19. I've been thinking of him recently, re calls for Rummy to resign

Remember that fiery speech he gave a couple of years ago, when he called on Rummy, Condi, and others to resign?? I would love to see that again.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. For more than a year ... and he deserves to carry the flag *and* the sabre

[krystine]

27. If Gore ran again he is tough,

Needs to apologize for Lieberman though.

[acmejack]

21. Murtha!

Has to be, he did the heavy lifting...

[Stinky The Clown]

23. There ya go .... but he's running so .... nope

[Stinky The Clown]

22. I'll add max Cleland, cuz he's NEVER given up

.... and cuz I simply love the guy.

[Donna Zen]

26. General Clark

n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

28. By the way, I want to put Howard Dean on the sidelines for this job ....

He has more than a full time job as DNC Hair. He's proven his worth by having viable candidates in 431 of 435 House races - a new record. He's a tough guy, to be sure, but his voice and efforts are needed elsewhere ..... except, maybe, for a special case here or there.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. What's DNC Hair?

It's certainly got to be more attractive than Republican Helmet-hair (like that of Trent Lott and Dr. Frist-Mengele), but I'm not sure I'm familiar with that style.

Sorry. :)

[Stinky The Clown]

30. hahahahahaha

My fingers are slower than my head!

And speaking of hair .... this is me ........



Hero/Zero DU shirt on ... at The Wall in DC last Memorial Day. See that head? ***THATS*** DNC Hair! :)

[SaveElmer]

31. Hillary Clinton...

What Democrat, other than Bill, has had to put up with so much for so long from the Republican Slime Machine. Yet everytime they attack her she gets stronger....


So I nominate Hillary Clinton for the "Tough Guy" award!

[Stinky The Clown]

33. She fits right in ........

And to be honest, it was she who prompted me to remind everyone that the term 'tough guy' is gender neutral ... she and a few other great, strong women.

[LiberalEsto]

32. Dennis Kucinich

Dennis K. has more tough in him than people twice his size.

[Stinky The Clown]

34. You're the third of fourth person to nominate him

... and he's a great choice .... but he's running himself and therefore, along with the likes of Louise Slaughter and Jack Murtha, can't play in this game.

[Lefty48197]

35. Carville and his war room

You just can't deny that he ran a great campaign...

[Stinky The Clown]

37. He did .... and he sure was a pit bull back then

Dunno where he is these days ...

[blondeatlast]

38. Love him or hate him, I gotta say Ed Schultz, for touching a nerve

with a demographic formerly out of our reach.

And now I must :hide:

[blondeatlast]

39. Do WE need an Anti Coulter? I'm curious about her effect and celebrity.

We know she's one of the hand-picked Heritage foundation debs, an odious bunch of femininity. Malkin is another example, but she seems to have faded into the woodwork--although she does have a forthcoming book, the HF doesn't seem interested in booking her (and they DO have a booking agency at the HF).

She frequents enough political chatfests that she has to be effective.

So I'm curious, do we need one of our own? Preferably someone calmer but steadfast who can take it on the chin and come back for more--and is comfortable in high heels (I know this might be offensive, but that's exactly the role AC was designed to play).

If we do, do we have any nominees?

[Stinky The Clown]

41. I don't think we need to develop a clone and then liberlize as needed

But Randi Rhodes comes instantly to mind. She can mix it up with the best of them, has a scary-smart way with words and an even more fighteningly accurate recall of facts both big and arcane.



For a classic beauty who also has more than a fair share of brains, but with less vitriol (righteous or not), there's Katrina vanden Heuvel from The Nation.



And of course, there's Stephanie Miller, who I think is perfect for this role cuz she's so damn good at just laughing at asshats.



If you wanna go with the most admired (by me), then we have to include Rachel Maddow. Of course, they'll go after her for her .... uh ... ways. Rhodes Scholar, PhD, pretty, incredibly smart, a brain crammed with facts and ideas and rationality. Hoo Boy!



Then there's Elaine Boosler, who might well be looking for a seasonal gig. She's a true lefty, smart and informed, and knows how to work a crowd.



Yanno ..... lefty women are HOT!

[melissinha]

45. add Laura Flanders!!! My favorite is Thom Hartmann...

If you are including radio hosts.. I like her alot.... and Rachel Maddow, Randi Rhodes.


But my favorite is Thom Hartmann for how he disseminates information without the hint of "superiority" is unbelievable. The man is a walking encyclopedia. He can disarm anyone without raising his voice..... Not that I endorse any talking head show, but he would SLAUGHTER ANYONE... and bring reason to the viewers.