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FEBRUARY 17,
2004 – Yes, we told you they'd turn on Kerry the second Clark
was out.
It's not just
the affair rumor. In a matter of a week, beneath the radar of
most Americans, the right-wing machine has turned veterans in hordes
against John Kerry, making him out to be a Hanoi John who spoke out
against his fellow soldiers while they served in Vietnam. A
week ago, our Republican sources were telling us nothing but
positive stuff, that many Republicans would seriously consider
Kerry, who they thought of as a good ol' veteran. Then, just
within days, one of my favorite sources came to me in shock, saying
he had just been at a meeting with many veterans there and all of
them - all - were furious - not just unhappy, but completely hateful
against - Kerry, because of the claims he betrayed "the code."
The soldier "code" that one soldier doesn't speak out against others
while combat is still going on. Never mind that John helped
start the MIA/POW movement or fought his butt off to end the war so
they could stop dying "for a mistake." Within days, they've
gone from absolutely considering him to absolutely hating him, and
the right-wing hate and lie machine is directly responsible for it -
as we told you they would do.
And no, none of
it is true - they are, again, taking him out of context. But
it doesn't matter.
General Clark
dropped out of the race prematurely - if you had any question, it is
answered now. Even in Wisconsin Kerry barely won.
California and New York would have been prime territory for a
challenge.
Now we have to
tell you - though usually we don't mention rumors - about a certain
rumor regarding General Clark, only because it is being talked about
by one of his 'former' top people, and someone close to his son,
Wes, Jr.
The rumor is
that Clark never intended to drop out, that the night of the
Tennessee and Virginia primaries he had planned on firing his staff
and was considering staying in the race, but instead his staff
announced he was withdrawing to the press without his knowing.
The rumor then says that Clark went and dropped out because of this.
Absurd to us,
but the source of it is not someone who would entertain sketchy
rumors if they were not based on something.
It gets better.
The rumor then
goes on to say Clark's exit is only - possibly - temporary, that he
ducked out and was waiting to see if Kerry faltered, most likely due
to the intern gossip thing. And that he would then get back
into the race.
That is the
rumor, from a top former Clark source. In support of it is
that Clark launched a fundraising appeal the day after dropping out
- something no other candidate had done. In addition, his
supporters are still meeting and being told to stay active, that
there is still an important role for them.
However, to us
this rumor is nonsensical. Quite simply, General Clark had no
business dropping out when he did, as tonight's Wisconsin results
showed. Super Tuesday, with states like New York and
California, each with independent, active people and a multitude of
delegates, could have been his potentially.
But, he dropped
out. And so rumors aside, we must look at the current reality.
Kerry barely
won Wisconsin, and that is with Dean still pulling 18% of the vote.
Now, pull back
for a second and remember something - in Wisconsin, Republicans and
Independents get to vote in the Democratic primary, and the
right-wing machine completely took out Kerry for that group this
week.
As we told you
early on, their absolute control and domination is astounding.
We've taken you each step of the way as the Bush/Limbaugh hate and
smear machine, as soon as Clark dropped out of the race, started to
take Kerry out. So far, they haven't come up with one negative
fact about him, just lies, rumors, and misquotes.
But the
Republican strategy is simple. As one strategist said this
past week, "Most people don't know who John Kerry is yet - our goal
is to make their first impression of him a negative one. It
doesn't matter if later facts point out what we said was nonsense.
If the first impression is a bad one, they will always have a
certain doubt about him and look at him with a bit of a negative
stigma."
Let's be clear
at this point. Edwards can not beat Bush - he is simply not
qualified or experienced enough. Dean, not a chance.
Kerry would have shot, and it is mainly because he realizes the hate
and smear machine is the number one threat, that he looks
presidential, and that he is experienced enough. But even so,
he couldn't stop it this week from nearly taking him out in
Wisconsin.
So, do we
follow the right-wing storyline, where suddenly Edwards is the hot
one and a real challenger to Kerry in the upcoming Super Tuesday
races?
Not for a
second. New Yorkers won't go for Edwards, neither will
Californians. Dean will get a bit of a showing each place, but
likely Kerry will crush, quite simply because there is no other
choice now who has the potential to beat Bush.
And about the,
"Should Dean drop out?" line of questioning. That is bunk.
Dean should stay in for one simple reason - so many people,
especially in New York and California, have been working so hard for
him for so long now - weekly for over a year - that he owes it to
them to give them a chance to cast their vote and show him what they
can do for them. That is the same chance Clark owed his
supporters in those spots who worked so hard. There is no
reason, nor excuse, for Dean to drop out now - what else does he
have to do? This is a democracy and the people of the most
powerful, wealthiest, most influential Democratic states, New York
and California, have a right to have their say.
And as
Wisconsin showed tonight, a press storyline does not make a thing
so. The press can say things are over, but even one result
showing something out can completely change that storyline.
Stop paying attention to what the press has to say. We don't
mean ignore it - it is too powerful and influential not to deal
with.
But stop
letting it influence what even you believe to be the storyline.
I can't tell you how many Clark supporters wrote us to take
exception with our analysis that Clark had no business dropping out
so soon. We said that he owed it to the people who supported
him, the vast majority of whom had not had a chance to have their
say yet, to stay in the race, as Edwards, Dean, and even Kucinich
and Sharpton have. Clark's public line for dropping out was
that the press momentum Kerry had was too much to overcome.
Many of his supporters wrote us to say they agreed with what he did.
Well guess
what? We at The Moderate Independent are up against
exactly that same biased hate machine. And yet we are in this
for the long haul. We have dedicated ourselves to this fight
because America needs us to do this.
And so, with
Wes out of things, the Democrats have to pray that Kerry can survive
the coming onslaught and somehow find a way to counter it, because
he is the only one of them that has a chance in hell of beating Bush
this fall.
One note:
If, John, the thing about the affair is true, you must admit it and
drop out of the race right now. If you do not, you are
threatening America's future for nothing but the sake of your own
ambition.
And General, if
there is anything to the rumors, it is not too late to admit a
mistake and get back in. A week or two off to regroup, heading
off a big smear is allowed. The nation truly needs you.
Or else, dear
M/I readers, we can't help but say at this point anything but that
it seems like Bush may just have a very easy ride back into office
this fall. As unfathomable as that may seem with the
President's horrific record in every single area, do not
underestimate the absolute power of the Bush/Limbaugh domination of
the media.
Clark was taken
out. Kerry has been hit hard. We will see now if John is
really up to the challenge of taking on the machine.
Make no
mistake, though, Edwards' Wisconsin rise was an aberration born of a
state where Republicans and Independents get to choose the
Democratic nominee. It means nothing.
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