I asked Kerry today about running in '08

[WilliamPitt]

Managed a quick interview with him via phone as he was heading to the airport on the way back to DC. It was kinda funny for me, as far as interviews go, to be asking questions and getting answers while listening to him barter with the ticket agent for a bulkhead seat so he could stretch his legs out. :)

Anyway...

PITT: You have said that no decision on a 2008 presidential run will be forthcoming soon, and that you are looking hard at the possibility. My question, therefore, is this: if you do decide to run again, what if anything will you do differently in this campaign?

KERRY: Let me just say that I learned a lot of lessons, and we made some mistakes, which I completely take responsibility for. I learned what we have to do, and if I decide to run, I’m going to do it, and I will know how to win.

But I’m not going to get into all of that at this point in time. I’ll go into those things if and when the time comes. The bottom line is that we came within 60,000 votes, and I think I know how to cure the issues that were not properly addressed in the course of the campaign.

...

I am transcribing the rest tonight, so the whole thing should be available sometime tomorrow.

[Trajan]

1. YAY Will ....

and YAY Johnnie .....

[graywarrior]

2. Very interested in what he has to say.

Nice work, Will.

[johnnie]

3. Thanks Will

I am personally hoping he decides to run. What would be even better is if he chooses Edwards so I can use my stickers I still have left..lol.

Kidding, seriously, thanks for posting this.

[WildEyedLiberal]

4. LOL

You can take a sharpie and write "08" on them.

I like your thinking, man!

[WildEyedLiberal]

5. Run John run!

He came out of 2004 a wiser and stronger. He would be a more than formidible candidate in 2008, and, I firmly believe, one of our best presidents ever.

[KoKo]

71. ABSOLUTELY! RUN JOHN KERRY RUN!

We GOTTCHA BACK when you DO...and the more Dems that RUN the more the Repugs will TURN TAIL AND RUN THE OTHER WAY!

:rofl: Can't wait to see the backsides of the GOP!

[mconvente]

6. I will support Kerry 100%

I loved Kerry and I still do. He has led the way against Bush since the election and I believe we owe him our support. I love Gore for 2008 too, among a couple other people, but I still love Kerry!

[Old and In the Way]

7. The only thing he really needs to do is protect his votes.

If he can build a organization that will make that the #1 issue in 2008, he can win easily.

[WilliamPitt]

8. Is that Pigpen in your avatar?

[Old and In the Way]

9. Indeed it is Mr. pitt.....

one of the great white blues-rockers of his time.

[WilliamPitt]

13. Outstanding

:)

[mdmc]

37. kick

HARD TO HANDLE!

Pigpen rocks!

[Old and In the Way]

77. Damn right...

No one delivered the goods like McKernan. "Turn on your Lovelight", "Operator", "King Bee"....even "Hey Jude"....

They don't make 'em like they used to...:hi:

[mdmc]

81. peace

:kick:

[jsamuel]

14. democrats need to PROMOTE their ideas

Ted Kennedy - "I think public financing of political campains are the way to go, but the public isn't there yet."

WELL GET THEM THERE! You shouldn't just wait around and let their heads fill up with Republican talking points... geez... (not blaming ted, just the idea that if the public isn't there, then we do nothing)

[IsIt1984Yet]

10. He should step aside and support Feingold.

Someone who DIDN'T vote for the USA PATRIOT Act or the Iraq war.

[Vektor]

12. You go ahead and do that.

Kerry will do what he sees fit.

[Old and In the Way]

15. Should we do away with the primaries and make Russ our candidate?

I like Russ,too, but I'd prefer to let all the Democrats decide who represents us in 2008.

[IsIt1984Yet]

17. Me, too. And, of course, we will.

I am a Democrat. A proud progressive Democrat. A life-long Democrat, raised by 2 life-long bleeding-heart Democrats. My support will be with a Democrat that has never been "duped" by this administration. Ever. Not with the war, not in regards to my civil rights. Kerry, IMHO opinion, proved to be the wrong candidate for 2004. I'd like to see a Democrat with some courage take on the nastiness that is the GOP. Russ has guts.

[Vektor]

22. Until...

Russ, being human, makes one single decision in the heat of the moment, out of a 40 year career of service to this country, that doesn't agree with some in the party, then BAM!

He too becomes a pariah.

[IsIt1984Yet]

28. Yes, I've seen that happen. However, I am also Russ's constituent.

I've voted for him, campaigned for him and I am a strong supporter of his. I have NOT agreed with 100% of his decisions, and I don't expect there will ever be a candidate that fits that bill. Russ is not someone I personally would turn on in that manner, only because I trust his sincerity and I am very proud of his voting record - more than any other contender from he Senate - including Kerry.

[Vektor]

31. I feel the same about Kerry.

Native Massachsettsian, always supported "my Senator" - so while we could argue semantics all day, we both likely suffer from provincial loyalty, which isn't likely to change any time soon. ;-)

But thanks for being civil in your disagreement, I do appreciate that.

[IsIt1984Yet]

36. Likewise, Vektor.

We, as Democrats, do need to understand that we will NEVER have a candidate that we are all 100% on board with...

And, yes... provincial loyalty, indeed. Russ is "my guy" as much as Kerry is clearly yours. Again, I supported him in '04 and was mad as hell at the results. I do recall being so ANGRY that he didn't fight back when the "flip-flopping" BS was full-force, I was angry when they attacked him via the "Swift Boat" insanity. And, inside... I wanted to see HIM as angry about it as I was. I wanted to see HIM and Edwards be as angry as Ohio as the rest of us were.

Regardless... go DEMS in '08!!

[Vektor]

42. I know.

And though I love JK, I too got frustrated when I thought he could have hit back harder - I realize now, in retrospect that the one mistake the Senator made, above all, was trusting certain individuals who were supposed to have his best interests at heart, but did not.

Meaning, of course, some former staffers.

Who are no longer under his employ.

I think he knows where he went wrong, and I firmly believe it won't happen again.

[IsIt1984Yet]

43. I was equally as angry, in not more, that Gore didn't fight harder in 2000

... because I believe in my heart that, with a Gore administration, 9/11 would not have happened. And, I KNOW we would not be in Iraq. So many lives lost. It all could have been prevented... if only.

I am happy to see Gore and Kerry taking bold stances now. And, I KNOW it won't happen AGAIN; it can't. WE can't let it. Lives and liberties are at stake.

[MaryBear]

79. Just because we didn't see the anger doesn't mean it wasn't there.

I believe John Kerry when he says he learned from the mistakes. Let's get him elected if he chooses to run.

[vickitulsa]

107. I agree with you MaryBear. I keep recalling when JK was caught

when he thought he was off-mic saying outright what CROOKS that bunch in the WH is! He was pissed, and after the 04 outcome, I'll just bet he was doubly and triply pissed!

What keeps coming to mind for me is that we need a strong personality and a wise man to carry our banner in 08, and I think JK is that man. How many people have been thinking ever since November 04 what a superb President JK would have made as opposed to GWB? How many, even those who supported Boosh and voted for him, are now thinking how it "might have been" if JK had been installed in the WH then instead?

This is possibly THE most important reason I'm thinking right now that JK should be the Dem nominee in 08, but I still have an open mind, too. But whoever we pick, it MUST BE A STRONG, SMART PERSON. I think America has had it up to here with a bumbling, inarticulate idiot sock puppet!

And remember what the popular vote was for JK in 04, as well ... I have little doubt that he could win big in 08!

[ginnyinWI]

55. he's my senator,but

I was not pleased with the way he voted to confirm Condi as SecState and Gonzales as AttyGen. And Kerry didn't.

[IsIt1984Yet]

61. As I said, I don't agree with EVERY vote he's made. But, look again.

Feingold did NOT vote to confirm Gonzales:
http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?vote_id=3452&can_id=S0972103
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00003

Though, he did vote Yea on Condoleeza :scared:

And, to me, the war and civil rights are HUGE. I think his Gonzales vote was in line with that.

[MH1]

82. Voted for Ashcroft, not Gonzales.

Both pretty awful.

[Old and In the Way]

70. Please don't forget that Kerry ran the table in the primaries.

I've never seen any Democrat who gained the approval of the Party so fast and so cohesively as Kerry. No Democrat has ever gotten as many votes in the GE. Kerry is the real deal. True, the media has an agenda to assissinate any Democrat. They custom-tailor their smear to fit the candidate. They had real problems doing that with Kerry, although they did managed to promote the Swift-boaters quite effectively.

No, the real problem is figuring out who voted for Bush in 2004. I personally think the results were gamed big time. That's why whoever is nominated, his primary focus has to be on how they will assure our votes are counted properly.

Bush didn't win...it was stolen.

[tblue37]

105. I wish. But all Democrats don't decide who will be the nominee.

Whitebread Iowa and New Hampshire have a disproportionate role in making that decision for us.

[blm]

18. And someone who never exposed government corruption or took on

fierce battles like public financing of campaigns, or CIA drugrunning, or wanted DSM investigated, or even led the Alito filibuster after his OWN committee hearings or is able to craft a military withdrawal plan.

Get real. Every Senator has their strengths and their interests. Kerry was not so far apart on Patriot Act or Iraq War to step aside for Feingold, they both would have voted for the Senate Patriot Act bill which Russ agreed to and voted for because of the changes both of them sought. Feingold IS very far apart from Kerry on the number of times he has stuck his neck out and taken on serious battles.

[IsIt1984Yet]

25. I am "real". That was a bit of an unneccessary "dig", blm.

Of course every Senator has their strengths and their interests. Cripes, every PERSON has their strengths and interests. As a Democrat MY support in the primaries will go to a candidate that has shown more guts than Kerry did during the '04 debacle. I supported Dean in the 2004 primaries because he would not have taken the shit that they flung at Kerry. All the while he sat back and took it. I'm a fighter and I expect a fighter to step up and take on these clowns. In fact, I think it's been proven that is exactly what we need in a candidate. I voted for Kerry, I helped campaign for Kerry, and I will fight for the Democratic candidate in '08, too. I just would like it to be someone with a proven track record of standing up, doing what's right and fighting for this country... at all costs.

[Vektor]

27. It's common to say

"so and so would have never taken that shit...."

But that's just speculation. Nobody KNOWS what anyone would have done in the line of fire, though it's easy to make a pariah out of the one man who was a victim of all the RW smears, while elevating others over what we speculate they would have done differently.

Kerry showed a tremendous amount of fortitude today, and I'm more concerned with that than living in the past, and dwelling on what I assume someone else might have done two years ago. It's moot, really.

[IsIt1984Yet]

30. Kerry does have a good amount of fortitude. However, I PERSONALLY

don't see him as the best candidate to take on the GOP. I would just like to see a stronger Democratic candidate in 2008.

(note, these are my opinions to which I am entitled the last time I checked)

[Vektor]

32. You are.

And since you explained yourself quite civilly upthread, I understand where you are coming from. We're cool. ;-)

[IsIt1984Yet]

38. Excellent. FTR... I *REALLY* wanted him to win in '04.

:hi:

[Vektor]

40. I did too...

And many of us believe he really did. And also FTR, I like Feingold a lot too. :-)

[blm]

29. Pure revisionism.

Dean DID take the shit they flung at him and completely changed his tone after the media pushed and hyped the scream. Dean started to sputter before that when Gephardt hit him at the Iowa debate with the fact that he supported the Biden=Lugar version of the IWR that was very similar to the bill that passed while he spent a year attacking those who voted for the similar IWR. And Dean and Trippi were at odds weeks before the Iowa vote over the campaign collapsing.

Not to mention that EVERY other candidate would have had the exact same crumbling Dem party infrastructure and, nonsupportive dumbass Dem pundits from the DNC that Kerry was stuck with.

Sorry, I don't go for soundbites or revisionism. I do think, however, that Dean will bring a greater strength to the DNC infrastructure around the country. He knows that is where elections are won and lost. There and in the rigged voting machines.

BTW - when I say Get real on DU, it's more like a neighborhood thing here, not an attack.

[Old and In the Way]

72. Hey, blm....glad to see you on this thread!

You are a soul sister with me on your posts about Kerry. We both understand what a real leader is and JK is the real deal.

I'll keep on voting for him as long as he wants to keep on running. There is no person in the Democratic Party who has shown me greater character for a longer period of time than John Kerry. Sadly, people don't want to understand what he had say to say about his IWR vote. They'd rather hold him accountable than the guy who has committed the war crimes.

[LittleClarkie]

85. He hasn't stepped forward yet, so how can he step back?

And neither man has announced yet.

But if he runs, I will vote for him. You, of course, can vote for Feingold. We'll see what happens.

[AuntiBush]

11. Run Senator Kerry. Most People That Didn't Vote for You in 04

Would grab at the chance, now.

[KoKo]

60. A Poll this week has Kerry whipping Bush's Tail by over 10 Points!

"Buyers Remorse" is really kicking in with the Repugs these days...

Sobbing on their NASCAR and shearing their Mullets....it's just too much for the "Freeps" to bear....:D

[vickitulsa]

108. Hey, lighten up on the NASCAR digs, Koko!

;)

Seriously, a lot of us Dems love NASCAR ... and Super Bowls and even American Idol and mullets! Some probably even drive SUVs! :evilgrin:

We gotta start thinking about being less derogatory toward certain groups we like to slam and revamp our lingo to become more INCLUSIVE again -- that is, if we want MOST Americans to feel comfortable putting Dems in office in 06 and a Dem in the WH in 08.

Just saying.... :hi:

I love hearing about that poll, though; makes my heart sing. And I believe you are SO RIGHT about the Buyer's Remorse setting in on the other side.

[AuntiBush]

112. Dont' know a Single Soul Whom Would Vote for Bush Today

Yesterday, and tomorrow. Bush & adm are seriously revealed now.

[tabasco]

16. I hope he learned a lot about the new republicans.

Kerry acted like he was running against the old republican party, which was not entirely corrupted. This is a new and much more malicious republican party, guided by a core of neocons and totally beholden to corporate interests. The welfare of the American People is not a priority for the new republicans. Kerry should not be hesitant to use the "T" word when describing them.

Thanks for the report.

[Sydnie]

19. After hearing his speech today, I believe he will

make you proud to support him this time, even if he fell short last time.

He was not pulling any punches today. The label of the "Bush/Cheney doctrine" is a strong one and one he can hammer home with evidence of their mistakes.

Listen to the speech on C-Span tomorrow. You won't regret it.

[tabasco]

26. I am very proud to have supported him!

And if he wins the nomination, I will gladly support him again. He would make a great President. We need a person of Kerry's ability to try to reverse this awful downward spiral the republicans have put us in.

Thanks for the heads-up on the speech! I will watch it for sure.

[politicasista]

46. Thanks sydnie

Will catch it tomorrow night. :hi:

[symbolman]

20. I hope he runs, if he does I'm gonna go help him out

the last time we met him and his lovely wife they invited us to go hang out with them at the Carol King concert (it was in New Hampshire, the coldest winter on record), we were all sitting around laughing and Theresa told her manager guy to fit us in..

I had to beg for a rain check tho as we (being from Hawaii) were FROZEN and all felt sick with flu, travelling and filming all this - so I thought, "Well, there goes your chance pal.."

But LATER when he won the primary I was able to step into the crowd assembling after his speech and saw Theresa in the back.. she came RIGHT OUT and starting talking to me again, walked right through a ton of people and I was amazed and really honored, must have said something she liked because she actually LIKED ME, and that feels good.. like WIll here it's nice to get access to these people, the trust involved alone..

Their body guard "Marvelous Marvin" was a kickass funny guy, looks harmless as a puppy but is NOT.. he loved us too, and took my card back to Kerry to let him know that Kerry could have my ARMY OF ONE 30 second ad for FREE if he wanted it, it was one of 14 ads chosen as finalists by MoveOn out of 1600 entries in their "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest in NYC, got to go there and see it on the big screen with Michael Moore calling out my name and standing up with spotlights on and all, very high energy moment and worth all the flashs I've made all these years just for that..

But I wanted to hand that ad over to Kerry, I think it would have FRIED the right wing as it ended with "If WE Support the Troops, Why can't BUSH?" with a flag drapped coffin..

I wish they'd used it, I don't think it was too aggressive and it may have helped short circuit the swift boating if used properly.

I know for a fact that Kerry and his wife and SUPREMELY Wonderful people, I've watched him in person STAY in a gym in a small town until EVERYONE who had a question got it answered to their satisfaction, down to the goddam janitor.. I've met a LOT of people in my life and can size them up pretty quick and these are the people who NEED to be running this country. There is not one molecule of evil in either him or his wife, nothing but class.

Good on ya Will, go tell us some more...

[WildEyedLiberal]

39. I have met him, too

He is an absolutely wonderful, warm, kind person with charisma to spare. You're right - he is PURE class. I desperately hope he runs again - there is no one I trust as much as him to right this country. He has solid integrity.

[fedupinBushcountry]

44. You are so right

We had the head of our Kerry group meet him when he came for the Memorial day parade in'04, this guy was originally for Dean, and he did not know what to expect. He came out of that meeting saying, "he's not to hot and not to cold, but just right."

I have met him 3 times and talked to him on the phone after the election,he so loves this country and the people in it.

[LSK]

48. i can totally see that side of him from watching CSPAN

He seems so down to earth and approachable when watching Townhall meetings on CSPAN. I'd love to meet him.

[KoKo]

62. Absolutely.... I worked my butt off for him in '04 and I will make sure

that there's no skin left on my "footpads" this time...in walking that extra mile for KERRY!

He's really seen the "light" and has supported everything that I believe in since '04 was STOLEN FROM HIM just like 2000 was STOLEN FROM GORE!

It's great to see our Dems waking up and smelling the coffee. Finally, THEY GET IT!

Kerry in '08...he's got the "RIGHT STUFF." Seasoned and Mature he will get the vote out for us...we just need to make sure we "have HIS BACK this time. No more "Swift Boat" CRAP.

We Dems understand how to deal with the FREEPER Stuff..we won't be caught this time.

GO KERRY! :applause:

[sandnsea]

66. Where was THAT friggin' ad???

We needed an ad to say exactly what you just said. Where the hell were those Symbolman?

Literally every person I've ever talked to who actually met John or Teresa has said the exact same thing. For the life of me, I cannot figure out where the media came up with aloof.

[symbolman]

100. Here's the first rendition of the ad

I created it as a Flash for our site Takebackthemedia.com and got so many people writing to me with tears in their eyes that I thought I'd enter it in the MoveOn "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest, and damned if I didn't get chosen to be in NYC with the other 14 finalists for the shorter version..

The original version is here: http://66.230.230.110/geeklog/public_html/staticpages/index.php?page=20040602181446868

I worked with someone else on the shorter version and had a falling out with them.. when you look at the entry you'll see the others put their name on my work, even took the travel money for themselves, living it up on our reputation and contacts..

My friend Janeane Garofalo suggested I enter my ARMY OF ONE into the contest and I thought I'd give others a leg up in the progressive world and was taken advantage of. We spent nearly a year while our site suffered from no updates to make THE definitive film on Election Fraud, and so now we're out all that time, OUR contacts that were filmed (my wife had a lobbiest pal who got us into congressional hearings, etc, and we invested enough money to buy a brand new PT CRUISER (which my pregnant wife slept in a RENTED One during the filming so that we could save money WE invested.) which I believe we will never see again.

So as you can see I decided to seek other folks to work with, we work with Buzzflash and others now, people we trust wholeheartedly, and don't claim to have the "smoking gun".. the minute I see the words "smoking gun" in the election get your wallet out and throw your money away, as many folks here attested, and got soaked by Harris with that phrase, and the film was supposed to be ABOUT the death by a 1000 cuts (cheaters everywhere, CNN changing the Graphics at 4 pm in the afternoon, an impossible surge, total media lies.. we ARE Takebackthemedia, and we KNOW how they operate..

We even filmed the last Democrat Gov of Alabama, and he revealed the TEMPLATE for how the elections are stolen on a smaller scale in thousands of places. He went to bed (and this was one of MY WIFE'S additions to the film), thinking he'd won the election, only to find out the next morning that RILEY had "won".. How did RILEY "win"? Well, in the dead of the night they kicked ALL of the poll workers, Media, any progressives or witnesses and fired up the computer in the Baldwin County Courthouse, behind locked doors, where they switched 6,500 votes from ONE Column to the other, and blamed it on a Lightning strike in another section of the state. Computers don't MOVE votes to the OTHER GUY from a lightning strike, they sizzle or shut down, or reboot, any number of REAL problems..

NO OTHER VOTES in the entire state were changed, just those in what I consider the most corrupt right wing county in the country. I was actually sitting in their county jail while my wife interviewed the ex Democrat Govenor on bullshit charges, jailed by a right wing judge who was installed with daddy's money and the help of the Christian Coalition, and the local media doing a hatchet job on the Democrat Judge running against this Ex Prosecutor who is childless, and when sentencing me even admitted that she HAD NO EVIDENCE, I was jailed on her "feeling".. sounds familiar doesn't it?

She KNEW I was making a film about fraudulent electronic voting and had been shown a pile of printouts of my site to make sure she knew I was a Commie Pinko Fag from California, even forcing me to NOT swear on a Bible as SHE claimed I was NO Christian (tho I testified I was a Catholic, had even been an altar boy).. SIX lawyers couldn't keep her from jailing me WITH NO EVIDENCE as admitted by HER IN the court proceeding.

This was No Coincidence. It was the SAME courthouse where they STOLE those votes.

The ex Democratic Gov says in the interview that he was not allowed to get the box open, the usual, "You have to PROVE there was an intent to steal the votes, but we won't let you open the voting box to PROVE IT..and we'll JAIL anyone that opens that box.." Standard Repig looping thief justice.

So here's the MoveOn Entry that I offered to Kerry:

http://www.moveon.org/bushin30seconds/finalists.shtml look for ARMY OF ONE

As a veteran myself I thought it was the GOODS, we HAD THEM, Bush's treatment of the Vet's was OBVIOUS and Destructive. Even tho my entry didn't win I was still on the Joe Scarborough show the next night and MY entry was shown nationwide BEFORE the winning entry :) I'd been on Scarborough's show before, and the last time he'd threatened to turn off my microphone, I don't STOP TALKING and walk all over them with FACTS.

So this time I was prepared to crush that little sparrow fart. DRUDGE had mistakenly linked my "Bush is Not a Nazi - so Stop Saying that.." Claiming that *I* was one of the "Hitler" entries in the MoveOn contest, and was dead wrong. My Bush/Nazi flash had been done more than a YEAR before the contest, and I was looking forward to throwing that in his face... PLUS, if he was going to trash my ARMY OF ONE entry I was prepared to say,

"Gee Joe, I can understand BUSH not supporting the troops, but YOU TOO?" (I call that a "Rovian Moment" where you HAVE THEM EITHER WAY, just like Rove does.. I HAD JOE..)

It was an agressive ad, but had already been running in many states on the east coast thanks to a millionaire (who was a pal then, has gone all 911 KOO KOO since, ROASTED by Penn and Teller's BULLSHIT show in cable, AND had Geraldo TRASH him on his show.. getting trashed by Geraldo has to be just about the lowest you can go, all publicity is not good.. had the millionaire listened to me I would have saved him from these guys gutting him in public, but he decided to get rid of everyone but yes men, and I'm not a yes man, so he reaped the whirlwind of his own ego problem..

BEFORE that however, the ad had been VETTED and was running during the primaries all over the east coast, since it was already vetted, all Kerry had to do was just RUN IT anywhere he wanted to. They couldn't refuse to run it at that point, his win, and a way to beat out the Swift Boating he took.

Aloof? Remember the Media did the same thing with Gore, that he was too ORANGE on tv, SIGHED into the microphone, gave more than a 30 second response to questions, unlike the Chimperor who spoke only in approved sound bites, that being all he could remember.

Anyone with Intelligence is being used by the media as something they can attack, doesn't fit their "democrats don't have a plan" mode if they let the Democrats TALK ABOUT THEIR PLAN.

So there's the ad, not saying that the person didn't do a decent job with it, but in truth, I was told by Janeane G that mine just needed to be pared down and would still be effective.

I also brought up the problems with Depleted Uranium in that first ARMY OF ONE flash, long before anyone else was talking about it - the rest of the team cut it out, didn't think it was important enough to add to the ad...

I went after the Swift Boaters as well with a flash, been making them since 2000 - some credit Takebackthemedia.com (and with the help of American Stranger of Blah3, another Flash master), with being the first on the web to create political flash attack ads, before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon with a great program..

We've got over 50 of them at TBTM, go have a look and enjoy :) (at this time we're pushing my latest film "Rove's War", the entire chronology of Plamegate on two DVDs)

Thanks for the comments my friends, I hope Kerry and Theresa remember me this time around if they run and let me HELP them FIGHT these bastards tooth and nail :)

[Notoverit]

21. Sooo...he's still oblivious about having won last time, huh?

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. A man who learns from his mistakes. I think we need that kind of guy

in office.

[KoKo]

59. Absolutely...he's taken a good stand on "Verified Paper Ballot."

And we all need to support our Dems who have supported us on VVPB's given what we've been through since "Selection 2000."

Go Kerry! He's finally seen the "light." Mo' Power to Him! :toast:

[Vektor]

24. Go Kerry!

Thanks, Will!

[mdmc]

33. thanks for the update

I really wonder what Kerry could do better this time around? I know that the old Nam war vet stick probably won't be the focus again. I know that he will counter-attack quicker. Perhaps some anti-free trade piece?

I voted for Kerry in 2004. If he wins the nom, I would vote for him in 2008.

[Olney Blue]

34. There are a number of Dems that I admire and would support,

and Mr. Kerry is one of them.

:patriot:

[bigtree]

35. obligitory Kerry fan

kick!

[politicasista]

41. Kick for intelligent-minded people

:kick::patriot:

[LSK]

45. what should he do differently? he should come out with both guns blazing

He needs to immediately respond to every swift boat ad, every smear, always on the attack against whoever.

He also needs to learn to say "Bush lied".

[DanCa]

47. Senator Kerry is a great man.

I would vote for him in a heart beat.

[IndyOp]

49. Came within 60,000 votes. Kerry is DEAF, DUMB, and BLIND...

Kerry won by several million votes. He needs to stop lying to himself and stop lying to us. Election fraud is destroying our nation and the powers-that-be are playing 'nice' -- we couldn't accuse them of doing something: Improper!

:grr:

[WildEyedLiberal]

50. Well, we need proof before we can accuse them of anything

I believe in election fraud, too, but I don't think it's a case you can take to court without a whistleblower. No one wants to blow the whistle on Buscho, though, because that means you get "suicided."

[IndyOp]

54. What constitutes proof?

How about 300,000 registrations voided in Ohio in 60-70+% Dem precincts? That is more than enough, right there, to cover the difference.

It was a "theft of 1,000 cuts" -- there is no one smoking rifle, there are many smoking pistols.

At some point one has to decide that it is far more rational to believed that it was stolen that it is to pretend is wasn't.

And Ohio 2005 election-protection resolutions were flipped and primaries in Texas were stolen...

There have been important Dem wins and there continue to be thefts and we can have ZERO tolerance.

If Kerry can't lead this battle then he should fund someone, some activist, some lawyers, some politicians who can. Now. Right now.

[WildEyedLiberal]

57. Oh, I believe it was stolen

But it's next to impossible to prove definitively because of what you just said - it was thousands of little instances of fraud here and there, not one big massive heist.

To actually prove in a courtroom that the Republican party was liable for stealing Ohio's electoral votes would require solid, physical proof - proof we don't have. We know it happened, just as much as a prosector may know beyond a doubt in his heart that a defendent is guilty. But if he doesn't have the hard evidence to make the case, the defendent walks.

I totally understand your frustration and feel it too. But I really do not think the lid is going to be blown on election fraud until an insider - a whistleblower - cops and presents proof of the wrongdoing - not just the wrongdoing, but the conspiracy. I don't think Kerry nor a million well-meaning reform advocates can prove anything until someone confesses. It's kind of like the JFK assassination. Most people don't buy the official story, but yet it remains the official story in abscence of any true ironclad proof to the contrary. It is infuriating... but I think the best thing we can do is just work on bringing down the entire Bush cabal. Expose their crimes and their incompetencies. Once we put enough chinks in their armor and they become vulnerable, we are much more likely to see someone regain some courage and bring the fraud to light.

[sandnsea]

69. Here's what I've asked for

The actual ballots cast, precinct by precint, that were fraudulently given to Bush instead of Kerry.

Of those 300,000 registrations, how many were given a provisional ballot that wasn't counted. When did the voids occur, why, and how many were legitimate. Some Ohio registrations really were fraudulent.

Every single time somebody has reported a "smoking gun" in some precinct or county, I've gone to check it out to discover it's some error that amounted to 20 votes or some other miniscule number. Nothing that would change the outcome and nothing that was part of a pattern.

If there's 60,000 fraudulent votes that everybody knows about, I'd sure like a list of exactly which precincts they're in and exactly how the vote fraud occured.

I really would like to have an honest report to go from, but all I've seen so far is speculation that can usually be explained if one looks with an objective eye.

I'm sure purges, registration fraud, shorting precincts of machines, and other shenanigans are going on. That would have to be connected straight back to George Bush himself to be actionable. I haven't seen anything as definitive on actual ballot fraud, which is more likely to overturn an election.

[ProSense]

51. Several million? If you have proof, cough it up!

Kerry took legal action:

Today, Kerry-Edwards filed a document in support of that statement. Most significant, Kerry-Edwards also filed today a separate document in support of our motion for hearing with two critical attachments: 1) a declaration from Kerry-Edwards attorney Don McTigue regarding a survey he conducted of Kerry-Edwards county recount coordinators; 2) a summary chart of the results of that survey (which highlight the inconsistent standards applied during the recount).

http://forum.truthout.org/blog/story/2005/2/24/183243/756

http://www.truthout.org/pdf/cobbbadnariktransfertatement22305.pdf
http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardsmctiguedecl22405.pdf
http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardsmotionforhearing22405.pdf
http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardssummarychart22405.pdf
http://www.truthout.org/pdf/kerryedwardstransferstatement22405.pdf


They were thrown out by the courts, by partisan players, but if there was solid evidence even partisanship couldn't refute the case. As Conyers report stated:

Whether the cumulative effect of these legal violations would have altered the actual outcome is not known at this time. However, we do know that there are many serious and intentional violations which violate Ohio’s own law, that the Secretary of State has done everything in his power to avoid accounting for such violations, and it is incumbent on Congress to protect the integrity of its own laws by recognizing the seriousness of these legal violations.

B. Need for Further Congressional Hearings

It is also clear the U.S. Congress needs to conduct additional and more vigorous hearings into the irregularities in the Ohio presidential election and around the country.

While we have conducted our own Democratic hearings and investigation, we have been handicapped by the fact that key participants in the election, such as Secretary of State Blackwell, have refused to cooperate in our hearings or respond to Mr. Conyers questions. While GAO officials are prepared to move forward with a wide ranging analysis of systemic problems in the 2004 elections, they are not planning to conduct the kind of specific investigation needed to get to the bottom of the range of problems evident in Ohio. As a result, it appears that the only means of obtaining his cooperation in any congressional investigation is under the threat of subpoena, which only the Majority may require.

http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/issues/issues/election.html

Summary:

The evidence hasn't been found and only the Republicans can launch a Congressional investigation with the power to subpoena individuals. Many of the legal motions were thrown out because there was no smoking gun.

[politicasista]

53. We need solid proof period.

I too believe there was suspicious fraud, but without solid proof, what can you do? One issue at a time.

[KoKo]

64. That just SUCKS! Kerry had a plan...he was keeping his "powder dry."

We all know that there was NO WAY any Dem could win in 2004 against Bush.

Bush was the "Cod Piece-in-Chief" and EVERYONE KNEW that there's NO WAY TO BEAT A BUSH...WHEN HE's GOT A COCK IN THE AIR and his Poppy's Crime Family waiting outside the door.

Kerry was COOL! He has "name recognition" and the polls are in his favor... America knows that Kerry won...and Kerry gets that his first run was just a "test drive."

If we put our power behind him ...he will definitely go OVER THE TOP in '08!

Gawd....I just can't wait!!! Who will be here with me to uncork that Champaign...or beer or whatever.... KOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Iniquitous Bunny]

52. Any party officials going to take election fraud seriously this time?

Or do they feel as though it will be such a landslide in '08 that they can overcome all the fraud? Or perhaps the powers that be will have reaped enough spoils to "allow" a Democrat into the excutive branch again? I don't think his loss has anything to do with any errors, but election fraud and the Media, Inc./stupid distraction news of America.

[seabeyond]

56. will.... q: a lot of people think ohio and the nation was stolen. do YOU

i wnat to know if he has any thought that he had the election stolen.

[WilliamPitt]

89. He thought enough about it

to spend months financing the ongoing lawsuits in Ohio.

[seabeyond]

92. thanks will, this is true.

which me be one of the places he says i know where we made mistakes and ....

i thought about after posting on your thread, we are also going to have a pretty good opportunity to see the system in'06 and see if the dems are aware and are going to do something about it.
dean talks about it too but i dont think he thinks it was stolen. though i talked to dnc not long after election and said it was stolen and the woman i talked to said of course it was.

oh, i dont know

[KoKo]

58. Very nice Will...glad you gave him time to "stretch his long legs."

I'm sure it's cramped in there for him.

[Cleita]

63. I think Al Gore might run again.

Maybe it could be a good ticket, Gore/Kerry. They both could get the presidencies that were snatched under their noses. The good Lord knows we are going to need men of their caliber to clean up the Bushler's gigantic mess.

[blm]

67. And both have the depth to hit the ground running from day one in office.

I come down on the side that it's going to take every honest and intelligent Democrat we have - and we have alot of them - to team together and work their asses off for years to counter the evil that has been wrought.

Seriously.

[TayTay]

65. Hey, Will! 'Twas a pleasure meeting you today

We attempted live-blogging and the Senagtor's staff was extremely gracious to us. The experiment was a half-success. (Sigh, network problems.) But, if this is a sign of things to come, wherein House and Senate people recognize and welcome 'the bloggers' into the speeches and try and integrate 'us' into the communication process, then this was a big success.

Learn a lot today, including the fact that a press pass is a sticky you buy at Staples that someone write in magic marker 'Press' on. LOL! Wow! The big time.

It was nice meeting you. That was a great, great speech. What did you think of the Iraq War vet, Captain Powers? He was amazing. Kudos to the staff on the guest list today. Rev. Waters was great, he invocation was built around the idea of coming home to the truth and built to the theme of 'study war no more.'

Mrs Druz Keyes, the widow of Kerry's co-swift boat skipper from the his service in Vietnam was the most emotional speaker. I caught the hitch in her voice, all these years later at the thought of her husband and his loss, the anger and bitterness over her treatment because she protested that long ago war and her pride in being asked by Sen. Kerry to be there today. That was very emotional.

Great speech, great hall, great speakers.

[WiseButAngrySara]

68. Excellent! and KNR! Kerry already is president , IMO as is Gore! I

sincerely hope that he addresses the issue of voter fraud and how this played a major role in his 2004 'loss!'

[Catchawave]

73. Thanks Will....

I won't rule out Kerry, because Reagan was another comeback kid from a failed "primary", so anything goes, and whatever's best for our country :hi:

[mnhtnbb]

74. Until Kerry publicly recognizes the 2004 and 2000 elections

were stolen, he will not be providing the leadership necessary to beat the right wing machine. The right wing is dedicated to whatever lying, cheating, stealing is necessary to remain in power. Kerry is colluding with them if he pretends that he "came within 600,000 votes."

Cut the crap, Kerry.

[politicasista]

80. Where is the proof? n/t

[sandnsea]

86. Who else has??

Who are you going to be voting for, because no Presidential candidate has or will say the elections were stolen. Not without evidence that would stand up in a court of law. So who's your candidate going to be???

[SammyWinstonJack]

75. Cool beans!

:bounce:

[_dynamicdems]

76. Thanks for posting this! Can't wait for the rest!

I hope he runs.

Did he get the bulkhead seat? (IMHO he certainly earned it after today's speech.) :)

[DemReadingDU]

78. Kerry supporter here

Kerry was awesome in his campaign speeches in 2004. But lots of people didn't hear him cause they drank too much kool-aid. They're sobering up now, and no doubt would vote Kerry if he chose to run in 2008.

Those voting machines need to get ditched first, too many problems in accurate tallying.

[ohtransplant]

83. Anxiously awaiting the remainder Mr. Pitt!

Congrats on the interview!

And I've had those bulkhead seats. The only problem is you don't have a seat in front of you to stow anything under. That said, I'm sure it wasn't a problem for the Senator.

Great speech. I can't wait to see it on C-SPAN tomorrow. Thanks to all who blogged it to us back home.

Kerry is indeed the real deal. It's apparent there's no one *(and his merry band of thugs) hate to cross swords with more than Senator Kerry.

"Truth to power" - Sing it loud and strong Senator!

[Seabiscuit]

84. Sorry, but I just can't cream in my pants along with all the Kerry fans

here.

If he's our candidate in '08 I'll support him.

But I'll go with someone with real, uncompromised cajones like Feingold in the primaries. Or someone new and as yet undiscovered.

Yes, he's charming. And yes, he's a pretty classy guy. But Kerry betrayed us in 2002, 2003 and 2004. No matter how many rallying speeches he makes since then I've just had enough of him for one lifetime. I couldn't get behind Hubert Humphrey in 1968 either.

If saying what I think pisses on anyone's parade, well, so be it.

[blm]

94. Feingold's a good senator but NEVER STUCK HIS NECK OUT to the degree

Kerry has over the years.

How anyone can think that Feingold has shown bravery and motivation that Kerry has not - well - there is no basis in reality for that remark.

[Imagevision]

98. Feingold stuck his neck out for censorship and Kerry supports him

I was deeply disappointed to see Kes time".

[blm]

99. I thought that was Gore

The big dirty lyrics dustup that grabbed the media headlines and attention while IranContra, S&L's, BCCI and illegal wars in Central America got second and third tier coverage.

Can you clarify what Feingold bill you're referring to?

BTW - Curious who you think matches your preferences perfectly.

[JackDragna]

87. That man let Bush walk all over him..

..his response to the vile Swift Boaters and questions about his patriotism was weak. He had his shot. He's done.

[blm]

93. Kerry won EVERY MATCHUP with Bush - Bush needed the corporate media

24/7 to protect him.

Go to the DU research forum - you will LEARN that Kerry's attacks on the swiftliars went UNCOVERED.

Kerry won every man to man match up with Bush. The DNC got outorganized by the RNC, and the left pundits and objective media couldn't tell the truth on a DAILY BASIS as EFFECTIVELY as the RW message machine could lie.

And YOU want to blame the one Democrat who decisively WON his matchups?

[InsultComicDog]

88. I'd rather have Al Gore run again, if I had to pick between them

...but I agree with him on one thing... the bulkhead seat is worth dickering for!

[Twist_U_Up]

90. Ask him about Skull and Bones next time you see him.

There is something about secret satanic fraternities that lead to people holding prestigious positions throughout the world that just fascinates me.
Also ask him if he will be heading to the Bohemian Grove for their annual gathering this year.

[ProSense]

95. It's been covered

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=617615

[WilliamPitt]

97. Bwah!

:)

[Twist_U_Up]

110. Thanks but I prefer better opinions

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers, which are cited to justify it.

President John F. Kennedy
Address to newspaper publishers
April 27, 1961

[ProSense]

111. Do you really thing JFK was talking about a college fraternity? n/t

[Twist_U_Up]

113. Its so secret,they cant talk about it...................

http://www.iwilltryit.com/skullbones1.htm

[jazzjunkysue]

91. Kerry's speech made CNN this morning. Things are changing.

:toast:

[NNadir]

96. In the general election of course I supported Kerry enthusiastically.

But I do not want him as the nominee again. (For the record, I didn't support Kerry in the primaries.)

The fact is that he was defeated by the worst President in history.

Abraham Lincoln said of General McClellan on firing him, "I am tired of trying to bore with an auger too dull to take hold." I realize that we have a press that is cowed by the government, and the machinery of propaganda, and election fraud. But the fact is that Kerry, for all of his talk about himself as a warrior (too much for my taste), ran a timid campaign.

Kerry's best was not enough.

[blm]

101. When every major attack goes uncovered and unreported, of course people

left unaware will think it never happened.

DU research forum can set the facts straight.

BTW - Can you name one news network that informed the public about Bush's crimes and failures? I can name a dozen who were protecting his image fulltime as hero against terrorism, a well=loved commander-in-chief, an honest straightshooter, and stoic Christian with impeccable integrity.

[NNadir]

102. I fully credit what you say.

I acknowledge that our media is clearly controlled by the government and its allies. I also acknowledge that most of it is fluff and fraud.

Still, a candidate needs to create an aura about himself or herself that matches, no, exceeds whatever opposition he or she faces.

Kerry didn't do that.

When I watched the 2004 Democratic Convention, I was more than a little queasy privately, although, again, I did whatever I could for Kerry. There was too much about "war hero" and not enough that set an exciting alternative to Bush.

Keeping command of the audience is a difficult task, especially when one is fighting the "bully pulpit" of the White House itself. I concede that. The media of course makes it worse. But we needed someone strong enough to overcome all of that. I don't see a change in Kerry. His campaign continues to send me emails - and I agree with most of the positions he offers in them, but I'm sorry, he doesn't inspire me.

The man who does inspire me is also a defeated candidate. He began telling a certain truth a long time ago, "inconvenient," he calls it now. He also ran an uninspiring campaign, coupled with the worst Democratic running mate since Thomas Eagleton - shit, most of us now think that the running mate was not a Democrat at all. Somehow though, I think he has learned something by his failure, and is filled with a quiet, but intense, fire.

I have no idea what my man will do - I wouldn't fault him were he disgusted with us all and let us all go to the hell we deserve - but damn if I don't think my country and my planet need him. I don't know that he can win - and the country is now so ravaged, I would be surprised if its problems have a solution.

Personally, I think the worst is before us and not behind us. John Kerry had a shot at stopping what is coming, but now it is almost certainly too late. I am very depressed by what I expect.

[blm]

104. Networks gave Clinton 9hrs to define himself in 92 - They gave Dems 3hrs

to introduce Kerry and gave ONE of those precious hours to CLINTON....again.

Gore and Kerry both won but were not served well at all by a collapsed Dem infrastructure and a corporate media that prevented them from mounting successful counterattacks to assert their victories.

[Renew Deal]

103. Imagine a Kerry, Clinton, Biden, Warner, Feingold, Edwards race

That would be wild. I heard again this week that Gore wasn't running. That would be a tough race. There are some heavy hitters (Kerry, Clinton), a guy with a great track record (Warner) and the grassroots darling (Feingold). And don't forget Edwards who was an ex-VP candidate. Should be fun.

[geek tragedy]

106. Kerry flies coach class?

I hope he at least got an aisle seat.

Re: his run for President. He's a Northeastern liberal Senator. Unless he can change that, thanks but no thanks.

[stevedeshazer]

109. Kerry has my support 100%

Period.

[Peter Frank]

114. Once again...

He has a plan.

His senatorial vagary just doesn't fly.

Brevity is the soul of wit. Please educate him.