CBS: Dems' Online Coup D'état

[tomfodw]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/01/politics/main646915.shtml

Dems' Online Coup D'état
NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2004

By David Paul Kuhn,
CBSNews.com Chief Political Writer

In an effort to manage the message, Democrats bombarded media websites with post-debate spin immediately following Thursday's Bush-Kerry face-off in Florida – and it apppears to have paid off.

In a survey of non-scientific online polls done by ten major media sites, Sen. John Kerry was running about 20 points better than in traditional, scientific polls. Though Kerry was solidly ahead in three traditional polls as well, in the online polls he was a landslide winner.

In an email prior to the debate, Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe urged the party faithful to "vote in online polls" as soon as the debate ended.

:::snip:::

“Even if no undecideds went into either camp and if no wavering voters were firmed up and more likely to turn out, if all this does is juice the army, that is a plus for Kerry,” Cornfield said. “What it shows is that there is a combination of spontaneous enthusiasm and clever campaigning.”



By David Paul Kuhn
©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[Jack_Dawson]

1. It's called FACT

No spin required!

[girl gone mad]

28. Don't worry, it's a metaphor.

Dems got out the vote for online polls, just like we're going to get out the vote in November.

[Inland]

2. Repugs were too busy crying in their beer to vote, tough titties.

[SammyWinstonJack]

35. Where my husband works, he is one of only two dems

So I asked him if there was any discussion of the debate last night. He said only that no one wanted to talk about it. LOL! Imagine that?

[Inland]

39. Well, he and the other dem could talk about the debates all day long!

[SammyWinstonJack]

40. Oh believe me, they get their digs in with regard to bush*

I think what he meant was that the bushbots were embarrassed by the performance their fearless leader put on and therefore they didn't want open up a discussion with the only two dems in attendance. :evilgrin:

[yardwork]

3. Yeah, Kerry made it easy.

I mean, I did my part. I punched polls and emailed letters and donated money for hours last night (ok the donating part only took a few minutes), but my heart wouldn't have been it it if Kerry hadn't done so well.

[tomfodw]

5. I agree

I was up most of the night voting in polls, and I voted in every poll I saw linked on DU today.

It was certainly easy to do so because of Kerry's wonderful performance last night.

[Minimus]

6. exactly . it was such a pleasure doing it for Kerry 'cause he did

such a great job for us.

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. So, when the polls show Kerry ahead it is the result of a trick!

Fuck these guys.

[Booster]

7. Agreed, like freepers would never, ever think of doing

such a thing. What's good for the goose......

[tomfodw]

9. No - the media would never ever think of...

...pointing it out if it were the freepers doing it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. So if the radicals freep polls

nobody will say a thing, but if we individually go and vote... it is an electronic coup?

Ok anybody else see a problem with this picture?

[Mountainman]

10. Yea and we are all going to vote for Kerry also!

Hey repukes, you taught us a lesson in 2000 that we never got over!

[Jersey Devil]

11. Congrats to all DUers

All we did was counter the freepers who otherwise would have done it alone. Sometimes fighting fire with fire is necessary.

[Malva Zebrina]

12. Too bad

I don't know how long I was up, but I clicked on and voted on every poll that was listed here on DU. Must have been around 2am when I finally went to bed.

I and many like me, are not going to take it any more.

Too bad you wimps-go cry in your beer. I do not feel sorry for you.

You will not get away with another stolen election by a stupid, ignorant man and his stupid brother, who professes to be a "war president" and is killing people right and left because of his stubborn and ignorant policies.

[PassingFair]

15. Burned some midnight oil myself!

But went to sleep just like a kid that got everything she wanted for Christmas!

[Mizmoon]

13. I'm proud

Check us out ... woo hoo!

[AgadorSparticus]

14. clever campaigning? you betcha! and we're finally getting smart

about it! hot damn!!! didn't take much to twist my arm last night. kerry had me at hello. :evilgrin:

p.s. like everyone else here, i was up way past my bedtime polling and writing letters. woke up and started it all over again. it felt great too!

[Poiuyt]

16. David Paul Kuhn is an idiot

He's the one who wrote the article for CBS about the debate being tied

[California Griz]

17. I had fun

I did wonder if Fox decided not to put up a poll after Kerry got done mopping the floor with shrub.

[wryter2000]

22. Welcome to DU

I'm in Oaktown, myself. :hi:

[eleny]

18. The new "L" word is Landslide

I guess there's more of us than them.

[djg21]

19. NBC just rans the same story!

Gosh! I wonder who planted the seed with the large networks. What irony!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

20. These online polls only count votes once, right?

So that means that tens of thousands of INDIVIDUAL Democrats, one-by-one were paying attention and were motivated enough to go to the trouble of voting in online polls. Did Terry McAuliffe reach through the computer screen and force each Democrat to go vote online? It's the same situation in which millions of individual Democrats who have been paying attention will be motivated enough to go to the polls in November to vote to oust the Chimp forever from our lives. Is that a coup d'etat? Or is that just what you call voting? The only reason that I, as an individual, have started reading political blogs, paid attention to them, and have participated in this campaign is because Bush has screwed America. Maybe it's because Bush has screwed America that so many Democrats have gone online, paid attention and voted online. If that's what you call a coup d'etat then so be it.

[Radical Activist]

21. No, it can't be that the corporate offline polls are wrong

it must be a Democratic trick. It's like the media can't stand to question itself.

[California Griz]

23. Young people

who only have cell phones are not being polled by "scientific polls" either. When you add them to all these late heavily weighted Democratic registrations I think a Kerry landslide is in the making.

[Cha]

25. Yeah! And Welcome to DU,

California Griz!

[AgadorSparticus]

24. CHEERS to all DUers who typed and polled like crazy!

:toast::toast::toast::toast::toast:

lets not stop. keep those letters going!!

[MatrixEscape]

26. We are seeing a clear ...

definition of the problem.

I have heard the talking heads use the word "rhetoric" when referring to what Edwards said, etc. Rhetoric has a few meanings, but IMHO, it has a negative connotation. It has been clearly used to denigrate what should be called a statement, reply, retort, etc.

Of course, this is becoming a big, war of words, meanings, and manipulation, particularly on the Right.

When a fact is referred to as spin, and the pot starts calling the kettle black, and then black is called white and white is called black. That signals a breakdown in communication – information starts to become noise to those who think about what is being fed.

In other words, the Right uses distortion and resorts to modern propaganda tactics to such an extent, that it can clearly backfire. In fact, I see it creating confusion underneath the glossy, media representations.

To me, the corporately owned media is now the greatest danger to Democracy. I am hoping that DU's, and others will inform themselves on that issue and trumpet the gravity of the problem. With more and more mergers and a small block of parent companies now, we may want to consider view major media news with total skepticism and call them on their bias.

The interconnected stations and newspapers have one major paradigm: selling. The more channels and newspapers they own, the more they can cross-promote any product. When that product is news or media itself, then it is clear why they continue to merge and gobble up everything in their path.

As this process continues, (due to deregulation) we cannot afford to be naïve. If following the current election coverage on major media news has not convinced you of this, then I suggest more investigation into the process and product.

This is the key element to necessary change and revolution. The media is the battleground. The media owners have drawn the lines very clearly now and shown its overall colors. The owners are not just passive elements who act as simple investors. They have a stake and an ideology that goes from the top down, pyramid-style.

Can anyone say Clear Channel?

[depakid]

27. the traditional "scientific poll aren't really all that scientific

Their samples have major bias in them as well, and typically skew Repulican, though they NEVER admit that fact.

[sysoprock]

29. DAMN YOU LIBERAL MEDIA!

DAMN YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[randr]

30. Someone should remind Mr. Kuhn

that it is votes and only votes that count!

[GetaKungFuGrip]

31. About time we pulled together! n/t

[AgadorSparticus]

33. you got that right! welcome to DU, kungfugrip!

:hi:

[ThoughtCriminal]

32. About the Republican effort

From wired: "Bush Team Prepares Net Assault "

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65142,00.html

"The Bush campaign threw the first punch. Earlier this week, it launched a massive rapid-response effort called Debate Facts to rebut challenger John Kerry's assertions during the debates. The campaign will provide a live feed to about 5,000 conservative blogs that subscribe to its news alerts."

[eridani]

43. Wired also commented on the Dems

From the article--

The rapid-response effort by the Kerry campaign apparently won't be as comprehensive. When asked about Kerry's response operations early Wednesday afternoon, a representative said the campaign was still working on it. Amanda Michel, a member of Kerry's internet team, e-mailed members of its Media Corps -- supporters who contact newspapers, radio stations and TV shows -- telling them that the campaign would provide a response after the debate.

[newyawker99]

34. kick

:bounce:

[otohara]

36. Internet Poll Gate - Damn You Democrats

another scandal we didn't need!

[Doosh]

37. there was no spin, KERRY WON! Even Barnes, Kristol and Hume said Kerry won

what we did is make sure the media didn't try to put a backspin on the story and all of a sudden retroactively declare Bush the winner on monday like in his first debate with Gore.

[mconvente]

38. That report is stupid

61% for Kerry after 2.2+ MILLION votes on MSNBC isn't a dem swing - it's the truth - independents and dems know that Kerry won last night. Hell, even freepers damn well know it.

[beaconess]

41. Did you see Tucker Carlson whine like a little girl about this?

Congressman Al Wynn smacked him down, saying, "Republicans do it too. You just don't like that we did it better this time."

[Ksec]

42. * emailed his puppets after he pulled the Healthy Skies crap and did

the same thing. Told them to barrage media.