Kerry/Flip Flop .... SATURATION

[napkinz]

Hardball, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Crossfire, The Capital Gang, Imus, et al, that's all you hear is Kerry/Flip-Flop, Kerry/Flip-Flop, Kerry/Flip-Flop

It's obvious the White House has told its surrogates to use that term in EVERY interview and as OFTEN as possible. Plus, they have numerous television ads depicting Kerry as a flip-flopper. They are defining Kerry by SATURATION.

Why aren't Kerry's surrogates doing the same to Bush? Whoever is running the campaign is being awfully remiss. You've heard of fighting fire with fire. This calls for fighting SATURATION with SATURATION.

Ads Defining Bush:

Bush The Straddler

Bush The Flipper


:silly:

[jobycom]

1. Bush the failure. That's being used a lot. nt

[napkinz]

4. a lot isn't enough

The Kerry campaign should put out a memo instructing anyone being interviewed about Bush to use the words "flip-flop," "vacillate," "equivocate," "straddle," "waver," "waffle," etc. And they should have television and radio ads depicting Bush as a flip-flopper.

Otherwise, this will be 1988 all over again.

[jobycom]

7. No, Dukakis was leading in 1988.

Gore in 2000 let Bush blast him with ever insult and slander in his arsenal, and barely responded. He went into the convention down in the polls and looking like a joke. At the convention, he briefly addressed the essence of Bush's charges, then he moved on. "Let's not talk about the past, I'm interested in the future." And he laid a clear agenda. He wrapped it up by pledging that he would run a clean campaign as long as Bush did.

It totally hamstrung Bush. He had no issues, only insults, and Gore had wiped away all his months of spending and mudslinging all in one night. And if he attacked Gore, he would look like the bully. Brilliant campaigning by Gore. Of course, Bush reverted to form eventually, as I'm sure Gore expected, but Gore let Bush tire himself out without responding, and started the whole campaign over at the convention. If he had been sniping with Bush all along, that wouldn't have worked.

There are many workable strategies. Watching Kerry, I'm convinced he's up to something. Bush is expending a lot of money right now to define Kerry in ways that won't be remembered in September. Meanwhile, Bush's numbers are falling because everything is going wrong for him, without Kerry pushing him.

Kerry has plenty of time, plenty of money, and right now, Bush is revealing everything to him, and Kerry is revealing nothing about himself in return. I think he's doing fine.

Dukakis was a different animal. He tried to play a fair game against an opponent with no scruples. He was naive, and ran a weak campaign. That;s not what's going on with Kerry. He's been here before (he worked with Dukakis, so he saw those mistakes firsthand.). He's doing good.

Nothing matters until after the conventions, anyway. Everything before that is just interference to keep the other guy from getting a toehold.

[Toots]

30. "Miserable failure" ~ to be more accurate

:-)

[napkinz]

31. He doesn't seem so miserable

Latest pictures show him happy, smiling, and overall in good spirits.

[Redleg]

36. That's because he is too clueless and misinformed to know what is really

going on.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

35. bush* = DEADBEAT DAD. The family values and marriage theme, for sure.

Our DEADBEAT DAD:

-Left us unprotected on 9/11 and now
-Emptied our bank account for years to come
-Poisened our air and water
-Endangered our troops
-Impoverished our women, children, and elderly
-Had affairs with CEOs instead of the American People he took an oath to.

Even more on this theme:
-We need a restraining order against this abuser called IMPEACHMENT

Read linguist George Lakoff's writing about word framing on issues to appeal to family values that work so well for the conservatives. He has advised Dean and Kerry but still says the Dems don't really get this concept but better soon if they want to win anything ever again.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml

The most important imagery the 'electorate' responds to is the old traditional family with a strong dad and a supportive mom. Yup, TV Nation is ruled by their old lizard brain amygdala where males do the battling for territory and to protect 'their' females. Welcome to voting by chimps.

Leaders must appear to be good 'father' figures:
Strong, protective, decisive, moral, responsible.
You know, Fuhrer Knows Best. That's why Bush's* fascist tone WORKS for him even though he doesn't produce what he promises as the Dems must emphasize.

Hitler knew this sad human trait and wrote about it in 'Mein Kampf.'

"The masses of the people prefer the ruler to the suppliant and are filled with a stronger sense of mental security by a teaching that brooks no rival than by a teaching which offers them a liberal choice. They have very little idea of how to make such a choice and thus are prone to feel abandoned. Whereas they feel very little shame at being terrorized intellectually and are scarcely conscious of the fact that their freedom as human beings is impudently abused...physical intimidation has its significance for the mass as well as the individual...For the successes which are thus obtained are taken by the adherents as a triumphant symbol of the righteousness of their own cause; while the beaten opponent very often loses faith in the effectiveness of any further resistance."-Adolph Hitler, 'Mein Kampf'

These are the primal emotional buttons the conservatives have pushed successfully and kicked ass with for the last 60 years while Dems and liberals sputter "but we are right and nice and multi-this and tolerant of that."

Remember: * is a DEADBEAT DAD!

[napkinz]

37. Deadbeat Dad?

George is the FATHER of our country ... George Washington that is.

(Our George is a deadbeat DUD.)

:silly:

[goclark]

2. The Flop

Bush has been flipping all over the place.
In one word, He is just a FLOP.

[napkinz]

38. Flop 'Til You Drop!

:silly:

[fearnobush]

3. Kerry only needs an other $100 million to catch up with Bush in

order to launch such a smear effort. I just gave an other $25... You can too.

[TruthIsAll]

9. Kerry will NOT smear Bush; he WILL tell the TRUTH about him

Like HST used to say about the Repukes: I tell the TRUTH about them and they think its Hell.

[Frances]

5. I like Bush the Flop

[goclark]

34. No Matter How You Flip It

Bush resides in the Imperial House of Pancakes


Bush is a FLOP!

Bush is the one that is the unPresident.
Why is anyone holding Kerry responsible at this moment? It is the Flips of the Bushthugs that are changing this country around. They are making this country FLOP all over the world.

Kerry is/has been one vote in a Senate that holds the Repubs in the majority.Whatever he voted on would not change one thing that happened in the pass.

Bush on the other hand, can flip on the war/economy/medicare/outsourcing/Enron/UN/tax cuts every day and it results in FLOPS that have ruined this country.

Give um hell Kerry.
Throw this right back in their faces.

[sandnsea]

6. No credibility, no credibility, no credibility

We just don't have people who get on board with the talking points of the day, that's all.

[napkinz]

10. don't have enough people?

You have enough people, but they're not responding in kind.

From recent viewings of Crossfire, Hardball, Capital Gang, here's a sample of surrogates:

Flip-flop, waver, waffle

The following surrogates used one or more of the above words and used them often:

JD Hayworth yes
Laura Ingraham yes
Ed Gillespie yes
Charlie Black yes
Haley Barbour yes

John Edwards no
Leon Panetta no
Eleanor Holmes Norton no
Tad Devine no
Terry McAuliffe no

That is not a scientific study, just a recollection, though a vivid one, of the stark contrast between the Bush surrogates' "talking points" and the Kerry surrogates' "talking points."

Bush's flip-flops far outnumber Kerry's. But you wouldn't know it from the dialogue on all the news/talk shows.

you have to fight saturation with saturation, or it's 1988 all over again

[sandnsea]

11. "enough" people?

I didn't say that. I said people, people who just don't get on board. That's Democrats. They all think they have a better idea so they run with their own idea instead of sticking with what the campaign puts out. That's just the way it is.

[shraby]

27. Bush has one more flip-flop

of his to add to the rest of them.
"No more rape rooms"
"Rape rooms in Iraq"

[napkinz]

29. From now on, let's refer to him only as President Flip Flop

If enough people say it, maybe it will stick.

[bpilgrim]

8. from the PUNCH/DRUNK himself

from FAILING his FLIGHT PHYSICAL to FAILING HIS 'MISSION' in Iraq.

psst... pass the word ;->

peace

[napi21]

12. I agree 100%. Kerry needs to point out GW's flip/flops NOW!

There are so many I don't even know where to begin!

Homeland Security Dept.
911 Committee
Rice testifying
Him testifying
and on and on

Why aren't the Dems jumping on this?

[napkinz]

15. Just take a look at this "piece of work"

List Of Kerry Flip Flops

Where's the list of Bush's flip-flops? On nation-building, on finding Osama, on deficit spending, on education, on mideast policy, etc. Where are the commercials? Where are the surrogates?

Where oh where ...

[imax2268]

13. I say...

we wait for the debates...because I think that Kerry will destroy BushCo...if there even is a debate...!

I think Kerry is doing just fine...he's out there defending himself against the bullshit that the attack dogs are throwing out there...

one example...I was talking with a friend of mine today who is a repub and he said that he did some research on Kerry after seeing one of BushCo's campaign ads and he said that he believes that the attack dogs are wrong...he didn't say he was going to vote for Kerry yet but he says that the BushCo ads will do more harm than good...the more bullshit they try to spread the more people will see what the actual truth is...

I think Kerry is doing just fine sticking with the issues...that's what we need to focus on...

BushCo has the mess in Iraq going against him...

[napkinz]

14. Wait for the debates?

That doesn't sound like a good strategy.

Delay = Defeat

Remember the Clinton war room. Every time the other side attacked they immediately responded, with equal or greater force. Kerry is being defined every minute of the day by some surrogate spewing "flip-flop" (along with "waver" and "waffle") over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Multiply that by dozens of surrogates and you have the cement around Kerry drying so fast that a concrete mold is soon to hold.

[napi21]

16. I agree with the Delay=Defeat!

A problem I've seen within my own family is how quickly they believe almost everything they hear in the TV ads.

I still haven't been able to convince anyone that Clinton didn't turn down an offer to take Osama when he was freely offered to him.

It's good that Kerry is sticking to the issues, but his surrogates should be pointing out all the Bush flip-flops! One advantage to this is that the Bush ones are still recent enough that most people whould remember them thus giving them much more credibility than statements about voting records over 20+ years or medals 30+ years ago.

[napkinz]

21. the surrogates ...

It's good that Kerry is sticking to the issues, but his surrogates should be pointing out all the Bush flip-flops!

That's the problem, they're not. Ed Gillispie was on MSNBC yesterday and he always managed to get that phrase "flip-flop" in even when the issue of flip-flopping wasn't being discussed.

Matthews or Blitzer could be asking a Bush surrogate about what the president's favorite snack is or how his daughters are doing in college and that surrogate would still find a way to slip in "Kerry flip flops, waffles, etc." You could ask a Bush surrogate, "How are you feeling today" and "flip-flop" would come out of his or her mouth.

The Kerry surrogates had better start doing the same, and not only with "flip-flop," "waver," and "waffle," but also "no credibility" and "no foresight."

[IronLionZion]

19. What debates?

Everybody knows Kerry will mop the floor with Bush. That's why it will be declared "unpatriotic" to have debates.

[napkinz]

22. Cheney will have it seized as WMD

Weapon Of Mop Destruction

[Norquist Nemesis]

17. Kerry's going to have to be careful defending "flip-flops"

Simply because some of the votes, particularly the ones being highlighted as cuts to defense, were based on recommendations by Powell & Cheney during Bush I. I can see them spinning it to moderates in that well-honed twisted way they do along the lines of Kerry supported them then proving that they (Bush administration) were correct then and so they're correct now--they deserve another four years.

(note: spin not clearly explained, but the way they twist things it's hard to explain anyway LOL)

[caffefwee]

26. Bush is going to have to be very careful defending his presidency!!!

How do you defend FAILURE?

[caffefwee]

53. Why doesn't the media point out his waffles?

http://bottleofblog.typepad.com/bottleofblog/2004/04/bush_waffles_co.html

[IronLionZion]

18. He even flip flops when he's snowboarding

Sometimes he snowboards to the left side of the mountain, sometimes the right. Why can't John Kery pick a side and stick to it?

As if Bush never flip flops. Compared to Kerry, Bush is a circus acrobat!

[napkinz]

24. re Bush is a circus acrobat

Which just goes to show he's multi-talented (he's also a clown).

[PurityOfEssence]

20. How to counter this: only crazy people, fools or egomaniacs never change

Kerry, a man who understands complexity, has changed some positions and modified some stances on occasion, but his through-line is very clear: he's for the little guy, the environment and responsible foreign affairs.

Bush never changes his mind, regardless of the mountains of proof against his bigotries. No amount of science will ever convince him of global warming, because it might hurt his rich friends. When the economy's good, bad, tapering off, ramping up or anything else, the only solution is tax cuts for the rich. It's always better to curtail people's ability to sue corporations. Saddam must be overthrown, even if he's the enemy of our enemy and doing so saps our ability to tackle our real foe.

People who never change their minds regardless of anything are NOT TO BE ADMIRED. They are messianic, imbecilic, arrogant and deceitful. It's not something to be proud of.

Kerry doesn't flip-flop. He gave the President authorization to go to war if all other avenues had failed, but that didn't mean he had to just give whatever money the President wanted with no accountability.

[Davis_X_Machina]

33. This is why Bush is even money to be elected:

Crazy people -- He's one of us -- "Jesus told me to bomb you."
Fools -- He's one od us -- 'Hey, I'm no smarter than you are. Probably the opposite. Thank God I'm not one of those smarties who make you feel inadequate'
Egomaniacs -- He's one of us, he's "Strong", "determined", has "moral clarity..."

That plus a tame Court and it's term two....

[caffefwee]

23. I'll flip out if Bush wins

nt

[napkinz]

25. Bush portrayal of Kerry makes Democrats fear he's getting 'Gored'

Here you go, just what we were talking about:

"It's a recurring nightmare for Democratic strategist Tony Coelho the party's presidential candidate portrayed as a flip-flopping opportunist, ill-served by a strife-torn staff. It happened in 2000, when Coelho ran Al Gore's campaign. Now, it's happening to John Kerry."

Kerry Being Gored

[Tellurian]

28. Tony Cohelo doesn't seem to be a good fit for the Kerry Campaign...

especially if he's clashing with Shrum. I think I slightly remember Shrum from an appearance on MTP. IIRC, He was an an effective, authoritative speaker capable of reaching down pulling facts out of his hat leaving Russert completely decimated . And thats a good thing!

[caffefwee]

32. Encore

:kick:

[sadiesworld]

39. It's funny how the left will criticize the RW media...

until the cows come home, but forget that bias (and, yes, that means blackouts and disproportionate coverage) when their candidate loses.

[caffefwee]

40. when whose candidate loses?

Did you mean to say when the right wing candidate loses? I'm not sure what you're trying to say.

[sadiesworld]

44. Sorry, that was VERY badly worded.

My point is that Kerry doesn't have nearly as much control over the media as some would like to think.

[napkinz]

45. Thanks

At least you didn't mangle the pronunciation like someone we know.

:)

[UTUSN]

41. But, When "flip-flop" Is HERE, & Associated with OUR Candidate

it don't help.

[leesa]

42. Same old, same old. Their techniques are so predictable

Why they would continue to support Bush when he lied to get us into a war and when he is actively trying to undermine the 9-11 investigation and the energy comission investigation is beyond me. Do they try the media for treason?

[AlinPA]

43. True, they are completely saturating TV with the flip-flop line,

but Kerry is hanging in there. While he has been defined already, I'm being a little more patient now, believing he will strike back hard this summer. People won't pay attention until after Labor Day. I still stand by the belief that he will get the same vote as Gore plus Democrats who voted for Nader and Bush* because of Clinton fatigue.

[napkinz]

50. re True, they are completely saturating TV with the flip-flop line

In the past 15 minutes I've heard the term used on both MSNBC and CNN several times. On Countdown one pundit said it best: The Republicans are good at coming up with SIMPLE labels and applying them. Democrats are more complex. Well, being complex is "a good thing" but Democrats are going to have to come up with some SIMPLE labels for Bush, even if they find such simplicity distasteful.

How about:

"A Reformer Without Results" (or bad ones)

"A Divider, Not A Uniter"

"Bush, The Flop"

[Redleg]

51. Or Bush the "miserable failure."

Or the "failed CEO."

[napkinz]

52. from a gentleman's C

to a miserable "F"

:silly:

[napkinz]

46. Kerry Flip Flops, Kerry Flip Flops

Did anyone see Crossfire just now.

There was Bush operative Barbara Comstock repeating the Kerry as flip-flopper line, how he has 8 different positions on every issue, etc etc etc. Comstock, like every other Bush operative, delivered her lines, defining Kerry.

And there was Tad Devine, on the defensive.

If the Kerry operatives don't start "fighting saturation with saturation" in this war to define the candidates, it's going to be 1988 all over again.

Tad, all you had to say was, Bush flip flopped on nation-building, he straddled on tariffs, he reversed on the 9/11 investigation, and on and on and on and on.

It's not that hard a script to remember. Write these on your hand if you forget: Flip-Flopper, Straddler, Equivocator, No Credibility, Misleader.

[deacon]

47. I like DC Bob after Baghdad Bob-- it fits perfectly n/t

[lumpy]

48. Reagan the Gipper

Bush the Flipper
All right !

[napkinz]

49. Hey, Flipper was a cute dolphin

And Dolphins are intelligent creatures; they have the intelligence of a 5-year-old child.

Naming Bush "Flipper" is like calling Osama "Pooh"

:silly: