Kerry takes on Bush and his minions Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie...

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21555-2004Feb7.html

By RON FOURNIER
The Associated Press
Saturday, February 7, 2004; 1:31 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - As Democrats in two states went to the polls, front-runner John Kerry vowed Saturday to aggressively counter Republican critics, drawing a stark contrast between his party and the GOP. "They're extreme. We're mainstream, and we're going to stand up and fight back," he said.

The Massachusetts senator, under fire from White House allies, sought to assure Democrats that he won't repeat mistakes of 1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, who responded cautiously to George H.W. Bush's assertions that he was a Massachusetts liberal.

"This week, George Bush and the Republican smear machine have trotted out the same old tired lines of attack that they've used before to divide this nation and to evade the real issues before us. Well, I have news for George Bush, Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie and the rest of their gang: I have fought for my country my whole life. I'm not going to back down now," Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, said in remarks prepared for delivery Saturday night to Virginia Democrats in Richmond.

<>"This is one Democrat who's going to fight back, and I've only just begun to fight," he said. "George Bush, who speaks of strength, has made America weaker - weaker economically, weaker in health care and education. And the truth is George Bush has made us weaker militarily by overextending our forces, overstraining our reserves, and driving away our allies."

more...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. If Kerry stresses

the way Bush has made us weaker, it will resonate with a lot of Americans. Economics/military issues are Bush's weak points, and should be hammered and hammered.

[ochazuke]

2. That's a great line of attack

Get the message out that the 'thugs are a bunch of craven cowards who can only use a negative campaign. So, when they attack Kerry, he can use a line from yesterday's birthday boy:

"There you go again!"

[Jack Rabbit]

3. Good for Kerry

For too long, liberals and centrist Democrats have treated the rantings of the extreme right of the GOP as legitimate discourse in a democratic society. Afraid to be accused of hyperbole, they failed to point out the gap between these rantings and fundamental democratic principles. The results are now upon us. An election is stolen in broad daylight. The once proud federal budget surplus is now in the pockets of members of the Pioneer Club. An attack on American citizens on American soil is cynically used as a pretext to institute proto-police state legislation and send young and poor Americans off to die in a colonial misadventure with no relation to Osama's crimes.

The most important thing we need to do in 2004 is win. In light of the 200 election, perhaps we should add have that win validated and respected. Rank-and-file Democrats realize that Bush is not just another conservative Republican with an obnoxious pro-corporate agenda. That would describe Reagan and the elder Bush, but not not this administration. George W. Bush is a threat to American democratic institutions and constitutional government. His defeat is imperative.

The shift to Kerry in recent weeks reflects this desire to defeat Bush. Rightly or wrongly, Kerry is perceived as the candidate most likely to unite moderates and progressives in a movement to defeat Bush and restore American democracy. Those who have preferred other candidates for purely ideological reasons are now saying that Kerry is good enough and more likely to accomplish the most important thing: ousting the junta.

That Kerry is showing a willingness to fight back against the kind of slander that has become the hallmark of the extreme right will serve us well in the coming weeks and months.

[HFishbine]

4. Ed Gillespie?

Kerry sure has taken enough in the way of contributions from Quinn/Gillsepie, Ed's lobbying firm.