Republican ad bashing Dean-do candidates (not the nominee) usually get

[patricia92243]

beat up on by the opposition party.

I thought the one party hits the other party only when they finally get a nominee.

I guess what I'm trying to say is :Are the pubs so scared of Gov. Dean that they are attacking him now - and he isn't even the nominee yet.

[slinkerwink]

1. precisely.

[w13rd0]

2. If you are talking about the Club for Growth ad...

...you might want to do a little digging around. There's more there than meets the eye.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. Actually, no

It isn't usual for a potential nominee to be beaten up like this by the opposition.

The Republicans could be doing this for one of several reasons.

First, as you suggest, they could be afraid of Dean and want to influence rank-and-file Democrats into choosing someone else. If this is their motivation, then their tactics are similar to those used by Democratic California Governor Davis in the 2002 Republican primary, when he used his campaign money to attack the stronger of two potential candidates. In the general election, Davis faced the weaker opponent.

Second, on the other hand, they may think Dean is going to be a pushover in the Fall and think that by attacking him openly this early they will cause rank-and-file Democrats to rally around him instead of choosing a stronger candidate. Obviously, it can't be both this and the one above.

Third, they could have decided that the Democrats will choose Dean regardless of how good or poor a candidate he will make, and are getting an early start on him while he still has to contend with primary opponents. This will cause Dean to spend more money now and have less available to battle Bush this Fall.

Fourth, they could simply be trying to instill as much chaos in the Democratic race as they can. Whatever their real motivations, they will probably achieve that.