Reply #82: leeroy, anyone who thinks Kerry is "status quo" does not understand [View All]

[Leopolds Ghost]

how far to the right the Democratic Party has moved in the past 20 years.

The Democrats who are attacking Kerry out there, off the Internet, are attacking him from the right. They think even LESS of you.

(I would say of you and me, but I don't want to muddy the bracing slap of cold reality I am trying to administer.)

Those of us lefties who attack Kerry and repeat right-wing talking points about Kerry are not doing any favors for their preferred candidates. They are merely useful idiots for the Clinton wing of the party.

The "he had his chance" people and the "he didn't fight for me" people spout lines that are so hackneyed in their ignorantly partisan, knee-jerk campaign-trail speak that they can't possibly be coming from the left.

They probably would prefer Clinton (and would certainly forget all about Kerry or the Dean wing of the party and close ranks behind Clinton if she was nominated, if they have not done so already.)

The rest of us should be realistic. It doesn't matter if Kerry runs again or becomes president: The important thing is to measure consequences. If we allow Kerry to be taken down by Clinton in this fashion with the craven participation of the "he didn't fight for me" crowd, we are doing the left no favors. Do you want Kerry to be treated like Ted Kennedy for the next 30 years, portrayed as anything he says should be run to the right of?

The Republicans did not allow themselves to do that to Newt, though they well could have. Instead they rehabilitated him just as they will eventually rehabilitate Bush. They are masters at rehabilitation. Just look at Kissinger and Nixon and Poindexter.

When was the last time Dems rehabilitated one of their own instead of sending them off to cuddle up with some centrist Republican in the Trappist wing of the Senate for 10 years and come back chastened with some of that "center right credibility" rubbed off on him. That seems to be the DLC strategy for dealing with media character assassination of Dems. Send them to the woodshed until have a Nixon-goes-to-China moment and embrace their center-right captors.