The Dean People Are Desperately Trying To Smear Kerry For The Osama Ad

[DrFunkenstein]

There have been many threads dedicated to the issue, and not one has bothered with any, you know, proof and all to their attacks.

Sadly, this is not a few knuckleheads working on their own. The talking point came from the Dean campaign itself, suggesting Kerry and Gephardt by name at first, and now it has moved to unnamed "rivals."

Pretty lowdown in my book. This kind of whisper campaign smacks of Bush's treatment of McCain in 2000. I don't like Dean, but at least I hit above the belt.

<>

[Scott Lee]

1. Actually, I think it was more likely Gep or LIEberman

But it matters not - keep those attack ads coming. They swell the Dean For America bank accounts every time they air.

[slinkerwink]

2. It was pretty much Gep all along

[_Jumper_]

4. Do you have any evidence proving that?

?

[chocolateeater]

13. It's not definitive but here are

a couple of articles on the subject:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3412-2003Dec15.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/12/16/politics1842EST0673.DTL

Maybe Gephardt himself got suckered by these people. The Unions certainly did.

[Cocoa]

3. I don't think Dean supporters have to do this

Dean is a fine candidate, I suggest to all Dean supporters not to believe the hype. Dean CAN win on his qualities, not just on a persecution complex.

[pruner]

5. persecution complex?

are you suggesting that the Dean campaign is imagining this attack ad?

:shrug:

[seventhson]

6. ohhhh Shusssshhhh!!!

Who's smearing who NOW???


it all sounds the same from you guys.


lalalalalalalalalalalalal (covering my ears) lalalalalalalalalal

Dean is refraining from these ugly attacks and is looking better as a human being and candidate every minute oif every day.

Oh well, Chris et al.... smear away....

[_Jumper_]

11. At least this smear was factually correct...

...unlike Dean's smear of General Clark.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

7. It reminds me of McCarthyism.

n/t

[_Jumper_]

8. Maybe Dean and friends are behind this ad

I have heard many theories with respect to who is behind this ad. The most interesting theory that I've heard so far – which is nothing more than a theory, it can't be proved – is that the Dean campaign is behind the ad in an attempt to increase sympathy for Dean and his warchest, as well as sink Kerry and Gephardt in Iowa, which would effectively destroy their chances of victory.

[Myra]

9. I agree that Kerry and Gephardt have footprints all over them from this Dr

All for an alleged attack that was only "leaked" to
a newspaper and shown on CBS "News" (and used for fund
raising of course), but apparently not broadcast.
They appear to be the fall guys.

[unfrigginreal]

17. This ad is being payed in Iowa and SC in part of a $500,000 buy

nt

[Melinda]

10. No I'm not. Look at my reply in the "Is Kerry responsible" poll thread.

Pretty broad brush. And the rest is your own speculation, nothing more.

I consistently support all the candidates - why do you try so hard to alienate me and others like me?

[Fleshdancer]

12. I can't speak for every Dean supporter

but as for myself, I just wanted the Kerry campaign to denounce the ad and that would be enough for me. If the role was reversed and an ex-Dean campaign worker joined a shadow group that ran disgusting, GOP-like ads against Kerry, I would denounce it and expect the Dean campaign to do so as well. I would also expect Kerry to make the same legitimate points Dean did and ask the same questions.

For anyone who's interested, here is exactly what the Dean campaign said the night the story broke:

"Who are the Americans for Jobs, Health Care and Progressive Values? Their press secretary is Robert Gibbs—who, until recently, worked on John Kerry’s campaign. Their Treasurer is David Jones, who used to raise money for Dick Gephardt. The president of the organization, Former Congressman Edward Feighan, was one of the earliest $2,000 contributors to Dick Gephardt’s presidential campaign.

And as their press release says, they plan to air this ad in other early primary states, and they’ve bought “over $400,000 of airtime in Iowa for ads focusing on Howard Dean’s positions on the issues of guns, Medicare cuts and NAFTA.”

We know John Kerry’s been attacking Dean on guns, and Dick Gephardt’s been attacking Dean on Medicare and NAFTA. And just two months ago the New York Times reported that, “at least at a staff level, the Gephardt and Kerry campaigns… are sharing information about Dr. Dean that helps fuel each another's attacks.”

Maybe it’s all a coincidence that this new secretive group-- founded just last month-- has picked up the same line of attack that Kerry and Gephardt have been using for months.

We hope that their campaigns would have nothing to do with this ad—the type of ad that Senator Kerry denounced as “political hate speech” when one like it was used against Senator Max Cleland in the 2002 election.

Will the Kerry and Gephardt campaigns, as well as the other campaigns, now step forward as Kerry did for Cleland and denounce this ad, as all Democrats should do?"

[kerryistheanswer]

14. Kerry's campaign has denounced the ad

[Fleshdancer]

15. Great news!

deep down I knew the Kerry campaign would.

[frustrated_lefty]

16. Second that

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.