Kerry: Already on the GOP Firing Line

[gWbush is Mabus]

welcome to "electability"-land Mr. Kerry



Kerry: Already on the GOP Firing Line
His flip-flops, cozy ties with lobbyists, Massachusetts-style liberalism, and newly adopted populism will make tempting targets

Propelled by five big wins in the Feb. 3 round of Democratic primaries and caucuses, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is steadily advancing on his party's nomination. But even as Kerry gathers momentum, he hears the sound of not-so-distant thunder. That's because President Bush's megabuck reelection campaign is starting to train its big guns his way. Advertisement

Kerry, of course, must still mop up entrenched resistance, especially from an energized Senator John Edwards (N.C.), who posted an impressive win in South Carolina, and a still-lurking Howard Dean. That means weeks of close combat -- and perhaps some setbacks -- stand between Kerry and the nomination.

MAN FROM "TAXACHUSETTS." Republicans aren't likely to wait until all the delegates have been counted, however. Before the emerging image of Kerry as a populist fighter for working folks takes hold, Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and GOP surrogates are trying to paint him as a "Taxachusetts" pol whose values are outside the mainstream. "Kerry is the son of Dukakis," charges senior GOP operative Ron Kaufman. "He's a legitimate Massachusetts liberal, which means he backs policies that only the most left-wing side of the Democratic Party agrees with -- leaving the center-right to us."

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/feb2004/nf2004025_6529_db016.htm?c=bwinsiderfeb6&n=link4&t=email


if link does not work, i will post entire article. let me know

[D G]

1. Why does the GOP firing line look so much like the DU firing line?

And is it news that the GOP will be challenging Kerry with talking points? Golly, I never expected that to happen, Paw... :dunce:

[lancdem]

5. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!

:)

[stepnw1f]

2. Glad to see how desperate

they are getting.;-) ;-) ;-) illegal codesmilie_remote(';-)')

[lancdem]

3. Yeah, none of that stuff scares me

Frankly, I think the liberal canard won't fly like they think it will. Plus, Bush's growing credibility problem and his favors to big business hardly make him one to talk. People who live in glass houses ...

[izzie]

4. Well for starts Kerry could point on the place Mass education is

when you line it up with Texas and every other Southern state. Maybe they do some thing right in Mass. Of course that is the state that did so much for civil rights. A feather in their cap unless your from the South. Well we all knew it was coming. The WH fights dirty.I was also born in the state so have a soft spot for it plus my family came from their since 1620

[Larkspur]

6. Tax-achusetts citizens almost voted down the state imcome tax

in the 2002 election. It was a referendum on the ballot and it almost succeeded. A lot of Mass residents hate the hight rate of taxes in Mass. Wonder when the GOP will use that line to attack Kerry?

[janx]

8. They're going to save most of it for if/when Kerry gets the

nomination.

Then the fur will fly.

[Monte Carlo]

9. It wasn't that close.

It was sponsored by the nutcase Libertarian Party and their certifiable candidate Carla Howell. No income tax? I guess we really don't need schools, police, and fire fighters, anyway...

[D G]

10. You mean the GOP is going to attack the Democratic Party frontrunner?

That's - unpossible!

[Monte Carlo]

7. Kerry won't make Dukakis' mistakes.

Kerry is not a taking-it-sitting-down guy. I have had the benefit of having him as my Senator for a long time, and he is a fighter. He has faced some tough election battle before, fallen behind, come back, and win them. He knows that you can't magically rise above the sewage like Dukakis tried to do. Massachusetts has produced some smart and scrappy politicians.