Kerry to Launch Attack On Clark at Monday Press Conference

[slinkerwink]

Kerry To Launch Attack On Clark At Monday Press Conference
by Rob
Mon Jan 12th, 2004 at 07:34:26 GMT


USAToday reports the Kerry campaign fearing a humiliating defeat in New Hampshire will launch an attack on Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark on Monday. Kerry himself will apparently not appear at the press conference but will use former Gov. Shaheen as his surrogate. Kerry, who is behind activist Al Sharpton in most state polls after New Hampshire, will attempt to stop Clark's momentum by attacking his work in the private sector.

The beleaguered Kerry campaign, facing the specter of a humiliating third-place finish for the Massachusetts senator behind Dean and Clark in New Hampshire, has scheduled a press conference Monday to focus attention on Clark's stint as a lobbyist for a defense contractor. But the person who will be leading the attack on Clark on Monday will not be Kerry, who is in Iowa, but former governor Shaheen serving as his surrogate.

Rob is the founder and editor of the progressive news site robwire.com and is a frequent contributor to rob.dailykos.com

[VolcanoJen]

1. Too much, too little, too late?

He sure has dragged his feet, hasn't he?

:eyes:

ON EDIT: File this under "Famous Last Words." Very disappointed in Kerry, but politics is politics, I suppose...

[slinkerwink]

2. I say he should've done at a week ago when polls started to show

Clark's momentum.

[RogueTrooper]

29. True

but Kerry has always been a little slow on the uptake. Wasn't he slow to realize Bush was making shit up about Iraq

[BurtWorm]

3. How can that be? I thought they were best buddies.

Is this a plot by Kerry to turn off his own supporters and send them flying over to Clark out of sympathy?

[hellhathnofury]

4. YAY! Attacks on Dem's other than Dean.

Victory is assured.

[slinkerwink]

10. I say it's about damn time.

[hellhathnofury]

16. I was hoping and hoping for it.

The others were even making jokes about it during the debate.

It's infightin' time!

[slinkerwink]

21. it's time for every candidate to get their own.......

[hellhathnofury]

25. Share the love, I thought we were for diversity in media content?

[wndycty]

33. I think Clark has been jumped on before by a few including Dean. . .

. . .I am just so glad we won't won't crying to Terry McAuliffe. . .hey its politics and as you know the Clark camp (both the campaign and its supporters) do pretty well when faced with criticism.

[CWebster]

45. Mary! Mary!

...

[tameszu]

34. Oh, whatever--Lieberman and Kerry have been taking shots at Clark

for weeks. And Dean has been going after him relentlessly--although I suppose he shamelessly denied that his national staff authorized responsibility for his NH state staff's attack flyers when they backfired. That must have been splendid for the morale of the NH Dean staff. Even Edwards is attacking Clark. And does anyone remember the second debate in Phoenix?

Clark and Edwards have been the only candidates in this race to keep things almost completely positive. Dean supporters play the victim card way too easily. But if it keeps the bat going, even if it's blatantly untrue, should we complain?

[Padraig18]

40. "Attack flyers"?

If the Clark campaign thinks that those flyers containing verbatim quotes from Gen. Clark were 'attacks', then they will be reduced to quivering masses of Jello when they see a REAL attack from KKKarl Rove. Perhaps that's a good reason for folks to take a second look at another candidate, all by itself...

[bain_sidhe]

51. Actually, the Clark *campaign*

never called them "attacks." They called them "politics." And they dealt with it superbly, thank you.

[grannylib]

47. How about some attacks on Bush for a change instead of other members

of one's own party?

[SahaleArm]

5. LOL - Kerry's attacking by proxy?

Pimping your staff to do your dirty work? I expected more from John Kerry.

Kerry doesn't like hostile takeover decides to engage in proxy fight: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/shapiro/2004-01-12-hype_x.htm

[QC]

6. Doesn't strategy work better when you don't announce it beforehand?

Why do they do this kind of thing?

"I'm going to attack ___, but in order to distance myself I will use a surrogate."

[slinkerwink]

8. beats me....

:shrug:

[tameszu]

9. To give the national press time to write it up, I guess?

Or maybe a leak.

[hellhathnofury]

11. It's Kerry, not Einstein.

[NV1962]

14. Let's assume this has a ring of truth to it...

If so, it could be a warning to give Clark's team response time ahead.

The dea of "priming his supporters for Clark" sounds interesting, but I don't think many politicians with Kerry's record would put so much faith in their supporters as to call them lemmings: willing to jump off the edge and selfdestruct the campaign on command.

Nah, I think it's courtesy: who warns ahead is no traitor.

[mouse7]

15. This is a leak from inside Kerry's staff.

Someone that knows just how slimy this tactic is tipped off the press.

[SahaleArm]

17. With IWR and Patriot act votes Kerry can't play the purity card...

He's in trouble in NH and knows it. If this fails he's done and it will be confirmed on Jan-27th.

[tameszu]

7. Interesting--will Shaheen be able to pull this off?

I would like to say that this will backfire, just like Kerry's attacks on Dean have, but you never know due to Shaheen's credibility in NH.

On the other hand, there isn't that much there in Clark's record as a lobbyist that really sinister. Clark's ability to respond to this will be big--and I think he has a bit of an advantage, in that he'll be actually present in the state. We'll see.

[SahaleArm]

12. At this point with Kerry trailing by 10 points it looks desperate n/t

[ClintonTyree]

26. There isn't much in Clark's record....................

period. He's pretty much a blank slate, not even being a Democrat for more than a few months. How can anyone support a candidate that we know virtually nothing about? This is the main point in my being very wary of Clark. What is there to base my support on other than him being a General? Is being a General enough of a qualification to be President?

[SahaleArm]

27. Nothing can quite prepare someone for the role of President...

The responsibility of the role goes beyond the borders of the country. Each of the backgrounds have pro's and con's whether it be General/Nato SACEUR, Governor of Vermont, or US Senator.

[PatrioticOhioLiberal]

38. Maybe you could check

with the folks who supported & voted for that other "blank slate" Eisenhour...you know...the general who was elected to 2 terms as president.

:-)

[mouse7]

28. Shaheen MIGHT have been the leak. n/t

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RafterMan]

18. Yet more Dean supporters

Pitting Kerry against Clark.

Isn't their candidate's message enough?

[hellhathnofury]

19. Blame USAToday and DailyKos.

Your name is great.

Don't start on our message. They've folded, it's time for new blood in Washington.

[Maddy McCall]

20. Where is your link? Who the fuck is Rob? A guy with a blog? Wooptee!

[SahaleArm]

22. USA Yesterday...

But this period is coming to an end. The beleaguered Kerry campaign, facing the specter of a humiliating third-place finish for the Massachusetts senator behind Dean and Clark in New Hampshire, has scheduled a press conference Monday to focus attention on Clark's stint as a lobbyist for a defense contractor. But the person who will be leading the attack on Clark on Monday will not be Kerry, who is in Iowa, but former governor Shaheen serving as his surrogate.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/shapiro/2004-01-12-hype_x.htm

[killbotfactory]

23. Shocking. I would have never guessed...

Oh wait, I did.

[Mattforclark]

24. Oh boy...

Politics is a game, and it is a game played in a mud pit.

[Crunchy Frog]

30. This means that Clark has arrived!

Now instead of "Dean, Dean, Dean" it's "Clark, Clark, Clark".

I'm hoping that Kerry's attacks will help Clark as much as they helped Dean.

[JNelson6563]

42. that is the right attitude

If the success of the Dean campaign is an indicator, Clark could benefit immensely from this.

Julie

[ima_sinnic]

31. what a sore loser

very UNstatesmanlike.

don't they teach whiny rich kids that one must be gracious in losing as well as in winning? Carol Moseley-Braun has shown herself to have more class than all of them put together.

[zulchzulu]

32. Lots of undecided voters in New Hampshire

I like Clark, but he can't just have a free pass. His background as a defense contractor lobbyist for a few companies does indeed need to be put under scrutiny.

Since Clark hasn't been participating in recent debates, he seems like he's trying to hide from the limelight and scrutiny about how he's not willing to get beyond any simplistic level of detail about domestic policies.

Like Madonna's music, I'm not seeing much there for me. Sorry, I had to say that. :->

[tameszu]

35. So his participation in the first 6 debates immediately after he entered

don't count?

You don't think that the 3 debates principally related to Iowa have anything to do with it?

Clark's skipping of the debates is directly related to the structure of the primary system that has profited Dean so much (or so he recently has said). When Clark skips each of those debates, he effectively gains an extra day to campaign in New Hampshire. He has been holding around 3 town hall-type events per day in New Hampshire, with an average attendance now of around 500 people per event. The number of voters who will participate in the upcoming Dem primary only numbers around 160,000 persons. That means that skipping these debates, Clark will actually be able to speak in person to 4,500 New Hampshirites, or around 3% of the potential electorate. This, and not any weird magic, is why Clark has shot up in the NH polls recently--because he is an amazing presence in person and when delivering long-form answers.

Clark's strategy is also an artifact of the primary system, which makes meeting people in the flesh in 2 small localities more important than participating in a nationally televised debate, which in a 9-candidate field will give you maybe 10 minutes of disjointed soundbites that under 2 million people will watch, many of whom will be hardcore supporters and Iowans.

[TacticalPeek]

46. Excellent analysis.

In that it closely matches my thinking. :)


These debates have been ok, but of limited value when sliced into 9 pieces, and stirred by BS moderators. Interested as I am, I haven't watched all of all of them. And the main media play they get is as "x kicks y, y gouges x, z pins y while x stomps". Or as entertainment, quips, etc. The thing I enjoyed most in yesterday's was Kucinich's line about Shrub lookng for WMD on Mars (which got a lot of play on cable news last night).

I guess Kerry's got to do what he thinks he's got to do, but hiding behind surrogates' skirts is not very attractive.

I imagine its very hard to step aside when your supporters have invested money, time and effort in your campaign, and you (naturally) believe in your cause. And, of course, its good to have the clash of ideas, and winnowing by the voters of the candidates, etc.

But when the hand starts writing on the wall, the wise should at least begin considering their exit strategy, in case its needed.

At such a point, I wish these folks would show as much intelligence and perceptiveness as Bob Graham, a guy I truly admire and wish had received more support. But wishes ain't horses.

Being critical of Clark is fine, but what you knock and how you knock it is pretty important. When you make a fist, four fingers point at you.

[SahaleArm]

41. Yeah but hiding behind Shaheen? That's below Kerry n/t

[DancingBear]

36. And if he does, the following things will occur

1) There will be no cries of "Terry, make them stop!"

2) There will be no press releases starting with the phrase "what General Clark meant to say was..."

3) There will be no outcries from Clark supporters accusing anyone of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, bestiality, overdue library books, or wetting the bed

4) No one will claim Clark is "misunderstood"

5) No one will cite a meaningless poll that says Clark leads among pre-op transsexuals in the 18-35 age bracket

6) No handlers will tell Clark he is "not allowed' to speak on any issues

7) Clark will not need to remove his foot from his mouth at any time

8) Clark will actually answer the charges, using honest to goodness facts

9) No one will use four year old quotes to both defend and attack a position, depending on the time of day

Won't that be refreshing???

[Bread and Circus]

43. I love your post, very funny

:bounce:

[DancingBear]

44. Thanks! n/t

[jumptheshadow]

37. Well, this is a primary campaign

It's a good thing to evaluate and discuss the backgrounds of all the candidates.

Clark can handle it.

[mmonk]

39. If they don't go positive

as well as negative, the strategy may backfire by making him look desperate (whether he is or isn't). It won't go over as statesman like (even if he uses surrogates).

[Capn Sunshine]

48. Did he attack yet?

I hope Clark is up to this; it seems any criticism of him is met wth massive whining nationwide

[mmonk]

49. as long as

any defense of Dean can be considered the same.

[Padraig18]

50. kick

[John_H]

52. The soon to drop out always attack the frontrunner--or soon to be

In Clark's case.

[dajabr]

53. I didn't realize that Shaheen showed the Clark video...

Yikes!

--excerpted--

As Senator Kerry focused on Iowa, Mrs Shaheen dealt with his problems in New Hampshire, where Mr Clark has overtaken him for second place behind Dr Dean. She showed a videotape of Mr Clark's appearance before an Arkansas Republican Party fund-raising dinner in 2001 in which he praised President Bush.

Then she said: "I welcome Wesley Clark to our party. I just don't think someone who raised money for Republicans, praised George W. Bush after he had begun his systematic reversal of Bill Clinton's policies, and who as recently as this past summer refused to rule out running for president as a Republican - should be the Democratic nominee for president."

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/13/1073877828072.html