As a Dean supporter, I'm switching to Clark

[Frangible]

:wtf: Yes, sad but true.

Ever since his ... WWF speech, I've been reevaulating my support for Dean as a candidate.

Please note, I've been a supporter of Dean for a long time. (feel free to look at my post history, in case you think I am lying) A smart, internet savvy medical doctor running for President-- sounded good to me!

I knew he had changed his stance on many issues, but I was willing to overlook this. I know his attacks on other democrats were rather silly but I was willing to look past that as well; politics are politics.

What made me decide to switch to Clark upon reexamining Dean are two main things: issues, and electability.

I like Clark's stance on the issues better than Dean's. Dean can attack Bush easily, but he has not done a great job building his own positive message. And I just don't think after studying both candidates that Dean's positions are as well thought out or would work as well for America as Clark's. (I put my emphasis primarily on economics)

Next, is the issue of electability. I've always known the Republicans thought Dean was the "easiest" candidate they could defeat, but dismissed this-- after all, who cares what the Republicans think? The real issue is that Dean isn't even trying to be that electable.

Dean's strategy involves energizing young voters to vote, and to get people who usually don't vote to "take back America". (and then do what?)

The problem is, all of his communications have been tailored to do exactly that, especially in Iowa. A lot of his message was to people who already supported him, or attacking the other candidates, rather than reaching out to people on how he can make America better.

He's also very volatile. We know this. But it's a fine line from "angry" to "insane" and his speech made it seem he crossed it. It was just tragic, embarresing to watch. I do not believe this man is electable any more. Playing that speech back, even if he does not slip up again, will guarantee many steer clear of him.

Originally, I had a lot of misgivings about Clark, but the more I read about him, the more I liked him. (thanks also to the people who gave me that information and didn't call me a troll, heh)

I'm supporting Wesley Clark because I believe he has the leadership and vision to make America better, and will not be an easy opponent for the Republicans to defeat. As Michael Moore says, he is a gift.

[Jack_Dawson]

1. Welcome Home

It's chilly out there!

:scared:

[ACPS65]

2. Good decision

.

[genius]

3. Congratulations. That's an improvement.

We need a credible candidate.

[Skip Intro]

30. NOT flame - an honest question -

You say we need a credible candidate, and I wholly agree. But how will Clark and his supporters reply when rove and the gang start playing clips of Clark praising bush, saying "we need them there" - ?

I know that's out of context, and, I'll be honest, I haven't looked at the context - but do you think most Americans will see a repuke commercial quoting those Clark statements and then rush to the net to find the "context" - ? They won't.

He would have to address it, and don't think the rw, from the WH to radio to faux, won't replay it over and over again. Look what they're trying to do to Dean for simply being, in some people's opinion, "overexcited."

So, for the lazy "mainstream" electorate who will proably vote based on sound bytes, what would Clark's response be to that?

[incapsulated]

45. The soundbites they have on Clark

Are tiny compared to Dean, for one. And many are not effective. The swing voters we will need don't care, in fact they are far more likely to identify with someone who has voted for both parties. Most Americans hate partisan politics, and Clark is more effective at being neutral in that regard. He will bring in dissatisfied Republicans and Independents.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

4. Welcome Aboard!

Clark is going to win!

DTH

[Dookus]

5. congrats....

You'll get called a few names in this thread, but don't worry about it. Welcome to the winning team.

[bhunt70]

6. Cthulhu is my second choice. :)

[patricia92243]

7. The Republican Party congratulates you.

[SeveneightyWhoa]

34. LMAO. No.

This Canadian congratulates him!
Clark, Kerry, or Edwards are the only ones who can save the world in 2004.

[incapsulated]

44. I guess they appreciate

real competition, eh?

[incapsulated]

8. Yay!

I still love your banner.

[Mattforclark]

9. Welcome to the Clark side

Sorry, I just needed to say that ;)

[Loren645]

10. You made my day Frangible. Thank you.

I agree with Michael Moore; we've been handed a gift.
We are so lucky to have a candidate like Clark, in any
year, esp this year.

[Jerseycoa]

11. (Let me slip in here quick before it starts)

Great news for all of us.

Welcome to the Clark camp. We are very happy to have you.

:toast:

[Killarney]

12. It's all about electability

We have to nominate our best chance to beat Bush. Dean is a great man, a great Democrat. I like and respect him. But he will not beat Bush. He has been ridiculed by the media (his own words, his own actions, but still the media didn't have to play it thousands of times) and now he has become just a joke and an SNL skit. We cannot nominate him if we want to win.

I think our best chances for a win are Clark, Kerry, or Edwards and hopefully a combination of the two.

[bowens43]

24. If it's only about elecatbility then why bother?

We used to be a party with principles, now it's win at any cost. With Clark we may win the battle in November but we will have lost the war.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

29. Clark Is the Most Principled Person Running, IMO

He has honor and integrity, as just about anyone who knows him (discounting Republican hacks) or knows much about him will tell you.

DTH

[Killarney]

33. This year is different

If we had someone in office that wasn't *that* bad... maybe like McCain or something, then we could be idealistic and vote for the most liberal or whatever. But this election is like an emergency. Bush is horrible! We cannot afford to lose. If we lose, it's more war, possibly a draft, PNAC, horrific economy, etc.

That's why we need THIS YEAR to go for electability. If you cannot see that we need to win this year, you haven't been paying enough attention to the Bush administration.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

40. It's not just electbility - it's a great package in every way...

His stances on the issues, his intelligence, his experience on the world stage, his diplomatic experience, his integrity, his record and his compassion.

[onecitizen]

13. Buh-Byyyyyyy nt

nt

[madmax]

14. Welcome Frangible

Great post.

[Nite Owl]

15. I had some misgivings about Clark at first too

but once you hear him it becomes clear. The guy is sincere and he is a liberal. We've got a good chance with Wes. He doesn't take anything from the media either.

[ronnykmarshall]

16. Welcome!

Do you have a Honda Civic?



Join Honda's for Clark!!

[DoveTurnedHawk]

21. Hey, You Got the Stickers!

Awesome! :D

DTH

[madmax]

39. I've got a Honda and that bumper sticker

I don't live in a primary state but, I'm thinking of putting up a Clark yard sign.

[bowens43]

17. That's too bad

you could have given your support to another Democrat.

[Democrats unite]

32. innuendo's will get you nowhere here.

eom

[Hoppin_Mad]

18. Bye Bye - If you felt that speech was 'tragic' - he's not right for you

No hard feelings

[Clark4Prez]

19. Welcome Aboard!

We welcome your support, thanks for joining the Clark team.

:toast:

[KittyWampus]

20. Welcome, Wes Has A GREAT Blog Going. Please Join

We love welcoming visitors from all across the political spectrum and have people posting from Sweden, Germany, Belgium etc as well.

www.forclark.com

[Hawkeye-X]

26. Wes' blog is a JOKE

:zzz:

Hawkeye-X

[incapsulated]

43. Haha!

Your smilie didn't work!

:P

[RandomUser]

22. Thank you

I'm always humbled when someone switches to Clark because it's not about one-ups-manship and a lot of the petty bickering that sometimes goes on here at DU. It's about the fact that someone sees what we see in Clark and believes Clark is worthy of their support. And that is humbling because it's the utmost and heartfelt compliment.

I know it must not have been an easy decision and doubtless many others are still trying to make it. Thank you.

We're all in this together. Welcome aboard.

[MoonRiver]

23. I made the transition and I've never looked back.

Wes Clark is the best! Welcome! :hi:

[Democrats unite]

25. Welcome aboard...

Glad to have you. After reading what you wrote it sounds like you took time to come to this decision & did not make it a rash decision. Kudos to you!

[liberalhistorian]

27. I totally agree with you, and I

think you made the right decision. I also used to lean toward Dean, but, as my parents said, anyone watching his speech last night wasn't likely to vote for him. He's simply not electable, and I don't trust his issue flip-flops, especially since he's not the liberal firebrand he's been making himself out to be.

A candidate needs far more than the "politics of anger" to sustain a campaign. I don't see him appealing to the majority of Americans we need in order to win, especially the independents and the undecideds.

I will give him this, though, his campaign has served to bring far more younger voters and those who normally don't bother with politics into the political process, and interest them in it, which was hard to do.

[La_Serpiente]

28. Congratulations

I am supportive of people making independent choices.

[5thGenDemocrat]

31. Damned glad to have you with us

We'll welcome everyone who wants to join us. And we'll beat Dopey in November, too.
John
Again, welcome.

[Quixote1818]

35. I changed as well

Welcome to the Clark camp! I use to be a Dean supporter as well and came to many of the same conclusions you did. I am a historian and I have read dozens of books about our founding fathers and how important reason and free thought was in creating our constitution. How the Enlightenment helped shape the philosophies of our founders and our country. When I found out what a huge fan of the Enlightenment Clark was it took me all of two seconds to move over to the Clark camp. I think Clark thinks like a revolutionary patriot. He is like Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison and Washington. A real free thinker and probably the most liberal of the bunch.

The Age of Enlightenment

The ‘Age of Enlightenment’ is a term used to describe the trends in thought and letters in Europe and the American colonies during the 18th century, prior to the French Revolution of 1789-1799.
Enlightenment meant an emergence from centuries of darkness and ignorance to a new age guided by reason, science and a new respect for humanity. New discoveries in science such as Newton’s law of gravity gave mankind a new way of looking at the world. If mankind could unlock the laws of the universe, God’s own laws the possibilities of reason were thought to be endless. People came to assume that through a judicious use of reason, an unending progress would be possible; progress in knowledge, technical achievement, and even in moral values.

From Bill Maher:

CLARK: That’s in our Constitution. Let me follow on this, okay? I think we should be very clear on this. You know, this country was founded on the principals of the Enlightenment.

MAHER: Right.

CLARK: It was the idea that people could talk, reason, have dialogue, discuss the issues. It wasn’t founded on the idea that someone would get stuck by a divine inspiration and know everything right from wrong. I mean, people who founded this country had religion, they had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, in dialogue, in civil discourse. We can’t lose that in this country. We’ve got to get it back.

Wouldent it be awesome to have someone like Jefferson back in the White House?

[knight_of_the_star]

36. Welcome aboard!

We're glad to have you!
:toast:

[kerry-is-my-prez]

37. Glad to have you... welcome!

n/t

[meow mix]

38. *HUGZ*

Welcome Home!

gifts are rare, and really good =)
and need all the help possible too see that this one doesnt get tossed away. TY TY! Muah!

[Mz Pip]

41. Welcome

I, too, was a Dean supporter early last year when I first heard about him and he looked so good on paper. I had heard about his temper and volatility but hadn't seen it so thought it was just BS. But after hearing him speak a few times, where others saw passion, I saw an over the top arrogance that turned me off. Then I saw Wes Clark on Meet the Press in June, and his calm, thoughtful and oh so knowledgable demeanor really impressed me.

Your not the only one who had that reaction to Dean's speech last night. It was a truly uncomfortable moment. Manic is how I would describe it. One of my apolitical friends called it bizarre, another called it scary. So it goes.

MzPip
:dem:

[xultar]

42. Welcome aboard! We're glad to have you!

Please sign up for an account on CCN at http://www.clark04.com

[kayleybeth]

46. Welcome!

From one Dean-turned-Clark supporter to another... We are glad to have you aboard!

GO WES GO!

[Moderator]

47. Dupe...locking.

You have already posted this message here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=147041

Thanks,
DU Moderator