Kerry defends NH primary

[ProSense]

Kerry defends NH primary
By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter
55 minutes ago

Snip...

Tomorrow’s New Hampshire Sunday News opinion page will publish a commentary by Kerry that says:

“I have consistently supported Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation status for as long as I have been involved in national politics. That’s why I am not in favor of the Democratic National Committee’s current plan to place a caucus event between Iowa and New Hampshire, nor am I in favor of placing a primary election during the seven days that immediately follow the New Hampshire primary.”

Snip...

Some DNC members have said New Hampshire and Iowa do not deserve to have such important roles in the nominating process because they lack racial and ethnic diversity. Some have hinted that siding with New Hampshire equates to opposing more involvement for minorities in the nominating process.

“I absolutely disagree with that,” Kerry said. “That’s a distortion, and it’s kind of a twisted argument that is unbecoming of the Democratic Party.”

He said such logic suggests “that everyone in New Hampshire and Iowa is incapable of being sensitive about those issues. They’re not, and I can attest to that.”

Kerry’s position puts him at odds with the calendar shakeup’s chief proponent, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, who opposed Kerry for the 2004 nomination.

Kerry dismissed the difference of opinion.

“It’s my position,” he said. “And my position is my position.”

more...

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=006ef32c-f967-4363-b71a-f6bb05c979d5&headline=Kerry+defends+NH+primary%22%27%25%3c%3e%3a%24

[JI7]

1. i imagine this will get a lot of response in the other forums

and the whore sites.

but the fact is Kerry and every other candidate who ran said the same thing during the primary debate in 2004 before they voted.

[politicasista]

2. I wonder what does he think about southern states being a factor?

I know Tavis Smiley was not too fond of Iowa and NH.

[JI7]

4. Virgnia and Tennessee

that was another major primary date . and Kerry won both of them.

the fact is that Kerry always had this position. and Kerry won the southern states in the primary also.

[politicasista]

5. I remember when he came to TN

with Harold Ford Jr. working with him. :) I also remember when he was criticized for not reaching out for minority help during the primaries.

I don't know what the minority population is like in Iowa and NH, but there were some who felt it was a slap in the face to the South. I didn't follow it much in 04, but it was him, Clark, Edwards and Rev. Al Sharpton that came (I don't remember Dean coming though)

[fedupinBushcountry]

8. Politicasista

that is such a myth about him not reaching out to minorities and I believe it was srarted by the Dean camp. I was involved in his campaign here in Virginia and Kerry campaign staff was very diverse.

[politicasista]

10. Thanks for the up close and personal view fedup

I figured it was RW media spin, and Tavis and other AA leaders bought into it. :)


Thanks again. :patriot:

[jenndar]

16. Well, everyone could always do more.

So I wouldn't overestimate anything. That said, JK always does strike me as pretty committed to better relations between races.

If primary date shake-up is a big issue for an individual, then it's really easy to say somebody who's opposed to it is racist. But like anything else, it's way more complicated than that. I've read and seen other interviews with JK on why he thinks IA and NH should stay where they are, and while I don't agree or disagree with him, he's obviously bringing a lot of perspective to his arguments, and none of that perspective is anti-southern.

[politicasista]

20. I agree n/t

[ProSense]

13. Kerry won

91% of the African American vote in TN, which was 2% higher than the national. He got the same in AL, 90% in MO, MS and LA and 88% in GA.

[politicasista]

17. And it's more than Clinton's was right ?

Anyway people will complain that it's just cause we hated Bush and were ABB. :sarcasm:

[fedupinBushcountry]

6. You are right

and Kerry came to Virginia (Hampton Roads) before the primary, as did Clark and Edwards, but you know who didn't Dean. Kerry won with 54% in this area and his percentage was either higher or just a bit lower throughout the state. He won hands down.

[WildEyedLiberal]

3. Oh, waaah, Kerry just sez that cuz he won!!!1

:eyes:

Dean thought they should be the first primaries, too, until he lost.

Whose position is more consistent?

[wisteria]

7. Good for him, I happen to agree,and I like that he said his

opinion was his opinion. I see nothing wrong with the current election process either. I think this all boils down to sour grapes from others because their candidates did not fair well in the last primaries.

[politicasista]

9. but AA complained about being slighted

like they didn't have a say in choosing the nominee. I remember the complaints, "I don't know who Kerry is," "What was Iowa thinking?" and "it if ain't Dean, I am staying home." "I'm voting against Bush" "It's the lesser of two evils, blah, blah, blah." :banghead:

[JI7]

11. there were other candidate names on the ballot besides Kerry

[politicasista]

12. True, but

a lot of them liked Clark, Dean, Edwards or Kucinich,

I didn't see much love for Kerry (down here) cause people like Tavis (like he did on Real Time two years ago bragged on the CBC for endorsing Dean and griped that Kerry was "severely lacking" connections to the AA community, then bragged on Clinton for knowing the words to "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing)

We know it was false.

[JI7]

14. Kerry won the AA vote

endorsements don't mean much compared to the candidates themselves campaigning among the people. Kerry may not have got some big name endorsements but he did get the votes of the people.

the same thing happened with labor unions. he didn't get many endorsements from the unions. but he still won the votes of the union members.

[politicasista]

15. It shows that the underdogs rock! n/t

[JI7]

18. it also shows the failure of the media

they could have reported Kerry campaigning among the people and what those who got ot see him were saying about him. what these people say to their friends , family etc go a long way when it comes to the votes they win. much more important than media announcements of big name endorsements.

[politicasista]

19. Agree. The media was a huge factor n/t

[jenndar]

21. He also had tons of volunteers who were

affiliated with unions. And they were incredibly passionate. So just because an organization doesn't publicly endorse somebody doesn't mean that person can't win the hearts and minds of the organization's members.

[politicasista]

22. Maybe I am just reading into the endorsements thing

since I know that he didn't have the support of fellow dems in 04.

[JI7]

23. yeah, he didn't have much big name support

he had people like Cleland, Harold Ford and some others. he had his home state Dems. but he didn't have the support of many senators other than Ted Kennedy.

most of his bigger name support came after he started winning.

but it's like the veteran stuff in the general election. the media tried to make it like all veterans were against Kerry just because of those swift boat liars. and this wasn't true. many veterans supported Kerry and admired what he did by protesting the war. the media never showed these guys. notice how they showed the liar O'Neill more than Rassman. O'Neill refused to debate RAssman and Cleland face to face. the media only brought weak Dems like John Podesta to debate O'Neill.

[sandnsea]

37. He had tons of union endorsements

Almost all of them, even some police unions. He had the airlines, EMT's; all the unions responsible for homeland security endorsed Kerry. There was one police union that endorsed Bush. I guess there were others, but every union I can think of off the top of my head went Kerry.

[sandnsea]

25. I called Tennessee during the primaries

Congressman Ford's district, for one. I never heard that once. Mostly I heard that people were going to vote for Kerry, and a few for Edwards. That may have come from activists, for whatever reason I still don't understand. But it wasn't coming from the actual voters.

[politicasista]

26. That's interesting to hear

Cause the newspaper referred to Kerry as a "northeastern liberal" and "yankee" during the GE. It was an interview with Edwards (as VP candidate) when he came to Memphis about whether or not Kerry could win southern states?

Maybe it was the poster inquiring about the Kerry ignoring the south and running again that I was relating to. I didn't pay close attention until July 2004.


BTW: your rebuttal was funny. :patriot:

[JI7]

28. even southerners couldn't win southern states

and this included 2002 before Kerry was a candidate. the only one that won was Mary Landrieu who everyone on DU seems to want to defeat anytime we have a vote and she votes with the Republicans.

and we have Mark Warner who many are complaining about now because he doesn't want to bash Bush.

so look at those who DO win in those states and what they do. they seem to speak out against "mortheastern libera yankee etc" more than they do against Bush.

[politicasista]

29. I plan to after 2006 n/t

[sandnsea]

33. Somebody to beat Bush

That's what they said over and over, and they thought Kerry could do it. All they wanted was Bush out. I remember one elderly woman with the typical polite southern drawl talking about Bush, "I just don't think that man is smart." Like she was embarrassed to have to say it, but somebody had to; it was hysterical. I never heard anything about northeastern liberal or yankee or anything else. Even the guy who told me he was on the wrong list because he doesn't go for killin' babies and gays marryin', didn't say anything about liberal or yankee. That was in early 2003, so maybe the media hadn't beat this garbage into folks heads yet. :shrug:

[politicasista]

35. Maybe not.

And we have Rush, Insanity, and other conservative radio all the time, there are some smart people here for sure. :)

[wisteria]

30. How can you single out a particular state that would represent AA

better than another? What about a state that would better represent womens' needs or Hispanic needs. What issues are AA concerned about that Democrats in all states wouldn't support? We are voting for our Democratic principles not individual needs. Were these concerns about representation voiced when Clinton ran and won both times. He was elected under the same system in place now and I think most AA would say Clinton understood their concerns and needs.There wasn't a need to change the election process to gain proper representation.

[politicasista]

34. I don't want to single out any state or region

cause they all represent the needs of women, and minorites.

I have no problem with what Kerry says about the Iowa and NH primaries. It's just that people like Tavis and others complained cause they thought that the primaries should include more diverse states. Tavis has mellowed since 04, but he didn't care for Iowa and NH going first. When I first heard that, I thought he was protecting Bill and Hillary.

[JI7]

24. although Kerry did have problems with "minority" communities

i put that in quotes since it wasn't just minority but rather religious communities which included minorities.

the Republicans gave money to minority churches and other religious organizations to get them to support Bush and speak out against Kerry.

Clinton was better in terms of the whole bible and religious talk than Kerry. but that has more to do with their background and culture of where they grew up. while Kerry does attend church regularly , he comes from a place which doesn't talk about it in public, especially in politics. Clinton comes from a place where it's more open. some people suggested Kerry do things that Clinton might have when it comes to religion. but that would have been worse because Kerry is not Clinton just as Clinton is not Kerry. people would not have bought into it.

Kerry is better when it comes to just talking to people face to face about issues that matter to them. i'm glad he took the time to talk to that girl who had problem with him comparing civil rights to gay rights. but i think he needs to work in this area more. he does well when talking about education, health care, jobs , civil rights etc. but it's a little tougher when religion comes into it.

[politicasista]

27. Those people are wacky.

They were going to vote for Bush cause their pastor told them to. What was that Kerry-gay marriage, civil rights comment about if you remember?

The first thing that came out of Tavis' mouth after November 3 was getting a candiate who wasn't afraid to talk about religion and saying the word "GOD." Isn't that how Clinton was succssful and could relate to AA?

[JI7]

31. yes, that is how Clinton's popularity with the AA community came about

plus his own background of not having much growing up. but Clinton knew even as a poor white guy he had huge advantages over minorities.

Kerry's connection is more apparant when you see him talk to people. he is always himself. people tell him he should be more "regular". whatever that means. but he remains himself. people see that he understands them and where they come from. he can talk to them about issues that matter to them. and they will see that he gets it.

even if Iowa lacks diversity in terms of racial makeup. it's still a state that represents people who struggle with jobs, paying for education, health care etc. it was a campaign where we had Edwards and Gephardt who were more closer in their personal background to the voters than Kerry was. but Kerry still won because he does care and people could see that.

[ProSense]

32. Considering that both got

more of the African American vote than Clinton (Gore 6% more and Kerry 4% more), and that Kerry increased his margin by 2.5 million more votes than Gore, I'd say Kerry did very well on that score.

[politicasista]

36. I guess I just need to brush up on state primary research

Hope the replies weren't a problem.

I remember there was an article about JK possibly running again, and someone opposed (no, not my friend I posted about the other night) wondered what in the world was Iowa thinking when they chose him. I felt that comment was an insult to Iowa voters because they chose someone they could trust without the theatrics involved. I guess I remember the criticism Kerry got from minority leaders about not reaching out or being diverse enough (thanks for the facts fedup. :) )

Anyway, I'll do more research on primaries and how they are more after 06, but I hope Kerry and Dean continue to empahasize the importance of diversity in primary campaigns. So many are frustrated and feel like the Democratic Party has taken them for granted for so long, but knows they are the party that will get things done.