Kerry is just sitting back and letting people compare Bush and Reagan

[kentuck]

Reagan looks like a real cowboy. He could even ride a horse. He could even ad lib speeches. Before this week is over, Bush will hope he never hears the name Reagan again.

Kerry is smart to lay back and let it play out. He visits the library tomorrow and then he should take a few days off and enjoy the machinations and maneuverings... :)

[qanda]

1. Before this week is over

People will be so sick of hearing about Reagan that they'll want to jump in the grave with him.

[Tellurian]

12. The Bushes are regurgitating on their own bile...

because Reagan represents everything they could never aspire to be.. They hate him for it. You haven't seen Bush or Laura funeral side, have you? They are as far removed from Reagan as possible. The occasional quote praising him issued to the press corp.

All you've seen is grandpa singing the praises of the man he sought to replace, any way he could.

Republicans have honed the ability to smile, be complimentary, appear to be your best friend while they covertly plan your demise. They have crafted the use of hypocrisy to a state of the art level.

I believe it's possible Republicans are the Darwinian evolution of the cold, calculating, greed mongering, Pharisees.

[killbotfactory]

2. Reagan: "The Great Communicator!"

Bush: "Not Really Retarded!"

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

4. Ok I literally laughed out loud when I read that! eom

[stopbush]

5. Bush: The Grating Mis-Communicator n/t

[Walt Starr]

29. How about, THE GREAT PREVARICATOR! n/t

[RoyGBiv]

7. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

3. HA!

bush is hanging himself with his own rope on the issues and now really looking like the putzwad he is to MORE people because of the reagan/bush comparisons!

Good!

[maggrwaggr]

6. Kerry is playing everything very intelligently

I have to say.

Kerry wasn't my first choice but he knows how to campaign.

[Dagaz]

8. Kerry is doing the only thing he can do

Be respectful of the office and the deceased. This will be a short term bump for W but it won't mean much come November. Reagan was elected in landslides so I'd bet this is a comparison Bush wants.

[Frodo]

9. Kerry NEEDS to keep quite about this.

Let them self destruct ala "Wellstone" if they make too big a deal of it.

But there's a bigger point. Kerry was elected to the Senate in 1984 and spent the first few years in strong opposition to Reagan. There's no need to open himself up to reprints of unkind things he may have said at the time when the man is dead.

He'll still be dead in a week and the campaign will move on. Breath life into the issue and it just extends things.

[kentuck]

10. Very true....

They are itching to point out where Kerry opposed Reagan...

[Tellurian]

14. Thats ok...

BushI already made a statement...referrencing his differences between himself and Reagan...(paraphrasing) "Ah, that was nothing, things get said in the heat of politics. Reagan was a special guy..blah, blah, blah.."

We can all learn here, for the sake of beating them at their own game. y/n?

[thebigidea]

13. and how exactly will they "self destruct ala Wellstone"...

... if the dems keep quiet?

Wellstone's memorial service wasn't "self destruction," it was wholly a media creation generated by a million talking heads all saying the same thing: "The Democrats are playing politics with his death!"

So who is going to stand up and say the Republicans are "playing politics" with Reagan's death?

"There's no need to open himself up to reprints of unkind things he may have said at the time when the man is dead."

And do you honestly think that ANYTHING he does will prevent the right wing from reprinting and regurgitating whatever he said about Reagan? I'm sure its all being faxed to Hannity/Limbaugh/etc as we speak, and will be blaring from all the usual suspects when Kerry visits California...

[buff2]

17. I heard today.......

the repukes are already digging up everything they can that Kerry ever did or said against St. Reagan. I wonder how many thousands of their demons do they have working on this? Bastards.

[thebigidea]

18. thus proving my point: it doesn't matter what the fuck Kerry does

the usual gang of idiots will remain on the attack regardless.

[Frodo]

22. How?

Oh... maybe if Nancy get up there and shouts "we will win! we will win!" and the service itself turns into a political rally? If they invite Carter and Clinton and Davis to a memorial service and turn it into a rah-rah session for voting republican? If Bush gets up to give a eulogy and the crowd is clearly cheering HIM instead of Reagan? If Bush says "If Reagan legacy of cutting taxes comes to an end this November it will be a tragedy, I'm begging you... do not let this happen"?

Don't put it past them.

The Wellston service was an embarrasment. If we had done the exact same thing a day or two later it would not have been a problem.

[Beetwasher]

30. It Shouldn't Be Kerry Who Does This

But it DOES NEED to be done.

The hypcrisy needs to be screamed from the rooftops.

It's OK for Repubs to exploit the death of Reagan, but the Wellstone memorial service was somehow out of line?

Bush is going to flay Reagan and don his skin Buffalo Bob style from now until the election. It needs to be pointed out that this is shameless, disgusting exploitation, but not by Kerry.

[David Dunham]

11. Bush will get a bounce but it will not last long.

[Octafish]

15. Remember what Ron Reagan Jr said about Smirko...

"My father's crapped bigger ones than him."

Young Reagan's is a charming and accurate description of the Little Turd from Crawford.

[Bake]

16. OMG, that is SOOOOOOOOO FUNNY!!!

And brutally accurate!!

Bake

[Octafish]

20. Forgot the source: Salon.com

To view the full article, you may need a subscription or sign up for a free day's pass. It's well worth it.

Reagan blasts Bush

EXCERPT...

Some observers have compared Bush's persona as an intellectually challenged but politically gifted leader to that of Reagan. But the younger Reagan vehemently rejects the analogy. "The gunslinging cowboy, the actor who just read his lines -- that stereotype doesn't fit who my father really was.

"My father had decades of experience in public life. He was president of his union, he campaigned for presidential candidates, he served two terms as governor of California -- and that was not a ceremonial office as it is in Texas. And he had already run for president, against Ford in '76, nearly unseating the sitting president in his own party. He knew where he was coming from, he had spent years thinking and speaking about his views. He didn't have to ask Dick Cheney what he thought.

"Sure, he wasn't a technocrat like Clinton. But my father was a man -- that's the difference between him and Bush. To paraphrase Jack Palance, my father crapped bigger ones than George Bush."

SNIP...

But Reagan has strong feelings about Bush's policies, including the war in Iraq, which he ardently opposes. "Nine-11 gave the Bush people carte blanche to carry out their extreme agenda -- and they didn't hesitate for a moment to use it. I mean, by 9/12 Rumsfeld was saying, 'Let's hit Iraq.' They've used the war on terror to justify everything from tax cuts to Alaska oil drilling."

CONTINUED...

http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2003/04/14/ron_reagan/

[Hippo_Tron]

19. A week of Bush's smiling face on TV will boost Kerry a good 5 points...

People will say "That guy's absolutely nothing like Ronald Reagan."

[Katha]

21. Everything I've read that compares * to Reagan

makes the Shrub look awful in contrast. All of the quotes in the LA Times (from prospective voters) have said something to the effect of "I miss the good old days when we had a president we could respect." (Their words, not mine; I never did and don't respect Reagan's legacy.) I haven't seen anything putting * in a positive light.

[fishface]

23. Will the little Cowboy wear a cowboy hat during his 'speech'?

<img src="">

[newyawker99]

26. Hi fishface!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Jose Diablo]

24. Encourage the comparisons between Bu$h and Raygun

Absolutely.

Those on the far right that view the Raygun days as the good old days will have a disconnect if Bu$h is presented as Raygun.

Another nail in the coffin for Bu$h.

[Jack from Charlotte]

25. I agree but there are two potential benefits in Reagan's death to AWOL

First, this weeks news has been high jacked by Reagan's funeral. All news for AWOL is and has been bad. Perhaps this weeks story might have been the lawyering up of Stent and AWOL..... That's not going to happen now.

Secondly, it stops the campaign/ fund raisers for Kerry. This might not be bad since things are just postponed a few days.

But, I agree with you..... this will just provide more contrast for AWOL by showing what a loser he is even compared to Reagan.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

27. yup..Kerry headed the Congressional Investagation into Reagan Iraq/Contra

give'em more rope Kerry!!!!

http://www.webcom.com/pinknoiz/covert/contracoke.html

The initial Committee investigation into the international drug trade, which began in April, 1986, focused on allegations that Senator John F. Kerry had received of illegal gun-running and narcotics trafficking associated with the Contra war against Nicaragua.

As the Committee proceeded with its investigation, significant information began surfacing concerning the operations of international narcotics traffickers, particularly relating to the Colombian-based cocaine cartels. As a result, the decision was made to incorporate the Contra-related allegations into a broader investigation concerning the relationship between foreign policy, narcotics trafficking and law enforcement.

While the contra/drug question was not the primary focus of the investigation, the Subcommittee uncovered considerable evidence relating to the Contra network which substantiated many of the initial allegations laid out before the Committee in the Spring of 1986. On the basis of this evidence, it is clear that individuals who provided support for the Contras were involved in drug trafficking, the supply network of the Contras was used by drug trafficking organizations, and elements of the Contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers. In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter.

The Subcommittee found that the Contra drug links included:

--Involvement in narcotics trafficking by individuals associated with the Contra movement.

--Participation of narcotics traffickers in Contra supply operations through business relationships with Contra organizations.

--Provision of assistance to the Contras by narcotics traffickers, including cash, weapons, planes, pilots, air supply services and other materials, on a voluntary basis by the traffickers.

--Payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies.

These activities were carried out in connection with Contra activities in both Costa Rica and Honduras.

The Subcommittee found that the links that were forged between the Contras and the drug traffickers were primarily pragmatic, rather than ideological. The drug traffickers, who had significant financial and material resources, needed the cover of legitimate activity for their criminal enterprises. A trafficker like George Morales hoped to have his drug indictment dropped in return for his financial and material support of the Contras. Others, in the words of Marcos Aguado, Eden Pastora's air force chief:

... took advantage of the anti-communist sentiment which existed in Central America ... and they undoubtedly used it for drug trafficking.<1>

While for some Contras, it was a matter of survival, for the traffickers it was just another business deal to promote and protect their own operations.

[hexola]

28. KERRY: "I served under Ronald Reagan...You, sir, are no Ronald Reagan"

Will Kerry have a chance to drop this one on W? Let's hope...