If you were Kerry's campaign advisor, what would you do?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-09-02 01:49pm

Simple question. It's easy to see that the Kerry campaign is not doing well. The Republican "talking points" are having an impact with the public, regardless of whether they are true, untrue, or massively distorted. And like it or not, the Democrats are doing a shitty job of getting counter-points out there.

So if you were in charge of Kerry's moribund campaign, what would you do? Note: going back in time and selecting a candidate with more charisma is not an option.

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2004-09-02 02:01pm

Have Kerry rip off his latex mask and reveal that he's actually Howard Dean in disguise.

Seriously, get Dean out there pimping the Democratic message and do it HARD. Dean has the charisma and the fire, he can get the party base re-energized and back into the fight. Likewise, get Clinton back out in the media. Draw a clear distinction with Bush. Start putting out ads hitting Bush's shady National Guard service and do it HARD. Definitely not least, take as much advantage of the debates as possible. Kerry can THINK, unlike Bush, and that should be reflected as much as possible during the debates. Come out swinging and give back at least one good punch for every one Bush dishes out.

And last, VERY publically eject Zell Miller from the Democratic Party. You can't ACTUALLY take away his "D", but make SURE the American public knows that he does not speak for the Democratic Party, only his own twisted viewpoint.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-09-02 02:03pm

Kerry needs to be more proactive, go on the attcak more. The democrats have been ambushed by the Republicans by having to be constrained in their convention wiuth ANY hint of criticism about Bush immediately pounced on by the Republicans as Bush bashing, coupled with whining by such fuckheads as Sean Hannity (may a pustule blow up on his ass) and O'Reilly.

Then you get the Republican convention and what you have is a fucking rabid attack against Kerry, accused of pretty much allowing American troops to be without protection (who put them there in the first place under false pretenses?) and Ziller's speech which was good ol' Southern diatribes reminiscent of the KKK rallies accusing Democrats in general of borderign on treason for actually having the temerity to challenge Bush in an time of war and crisis.

The Republican convention pretty much gave up all pretense of appealing to the undecided and are now in full get the base charged up and I say, FUCK the independent voter. If you haven't made up your mind yet then so what? Democrats outnumber Republicans. Its time to get their base charged up and start the full on Bush bashing.

Address the talking points one by one, use Edwards he is a FAR better public speaker and as a trial lawyer knows all about laying out an argument as simply as possible.

In other words, get fired up, address the talking points one by one and refute them in no nonsense way - for instance Zimmer's was rendered speechless by the CNN team when they pointed out that Cheney had come out against those self same weapons systems that he accused Kerry of and that Bush has several times referred to our troops as occupiers.

That needs to be brought out more.

This senstive touchy feely bullshit that Kerry is trying to pull is NOT working.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-09-02 02:06pm

I seriously wonder if Kerry is trying to help Bush win sometimes. I've never seen a more inept campaign. Countless golden eggs have been thrown his way by the events that have taken place during the last year, and he just sits on them.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2004-09-02 02:08pm

Arrange an "accident" for John Kerry, his car somehow goes off the road and plunges into the river like Ted Kennedy's did way back when. Then have either Dean or Edwards run as the candidate after a nice "week of mourning" or something to get some sympathy votes, then go into full attack mode.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-09-02 02:21pm

I remember seeing one of Bush's campaign people on the Daily Show and she was commenting that it take a special kind of talent to take complex ideas and distill them into a few words.

I would say it takes a dishonest little shitfucker to massively oversimplify something to the point that it bears almost no resemblance to the truth, but nevertheless, this is the Age of MTV, and like it or not, the public needs to hear campaign points in "5-second soundbite" form, since 10-second soundbites are already beyond the limits of their attention span. Like it or not, "flip-flop" was an absolutely brilliant campaign tactic, as was "against the military". Both of them are deceptive, but at this point, who the fuck cares? It may be true that nobody wins a mudslinging contest, but it's also true that if you don't fight back, you can sure as hell lose one.

Michael Moore is pretty much the only one out there trying to use the Republicans' own medicine against them, and because he stands out there alone, he becomes an easy target, easily marginalized. Surely the Dems have someone in their organization who has the skill to do this.

Why aren't they pounding on that "Lying to the American people" angle? Why aren't they pounding on the corporate corruption angle? Why can't they MAKE THEIR FUCKING MINDS UP ABOUT IRAQ, GODDAMMIT? Why don't they attack Bush for tying the military spending to tax cuts to the rich, thus forcing Kerry to vote against it? Sure. it's a bit more complicated than that (ie- he wanted an amendment to weaken those tax cuts, didn't get it), but quite frankly, the Republicans have been massively oversimplifying and distorting that goddamned bill for long enough; there's no reason not to return the favour.

CJvR · Post by **CJvR** » 2004-09-02 02:55pm

Well I said it a while back that you can't run as "Im not Bush" and expect to go all the way. Being an ocean away from the campaign limits my insight but from my perspective it seems that Kerry is hardly campaing at all except trying to defend his Vietnam record, and even that seems halfhearted with Bush going for the throat and Kerry hiding in a bunker in no man's land.

If Kerry want to win he will have to present an alternative with a little more passion than the anti-Bush line. He is a technocrat so grand visions and world order aren't his thing. He should make a stand on stuff like the economy where charisma is less important than facts. An other thing might be the issue of separation of church and state where Bush have a rather extreme stance.

In the end Kerry will have to stand for something or else his only hope to defeat Bush will be the Jihadiis in Iraq and Afghanistan and that would be a humiliating outcome.

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2004-09-02 02:57pm

aerius wrote:Arrange an "accident" for John Kerry, his car somehow goes off the road and plunges into the river like Ted Kennedy's did way back when. Then have either Dean or Edwards run as the candidate after a nice "week of mourning" or something to get some sympathy votes, then go into full attack mode.

Edwards/Dean probably would be the best pick - Edwards, as the running mate, is the heir apparent, and Dean still has quite a lot of political capital.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2004-09-02 03:21pm

Call the Republicans on their bullshit. For god's sake, the only person who's done that is Jon Stewart. Time to start getting some of The Daily Show's researchers and writers working for him.

Address that idiotic "Kerry is running on his military record" shit. Though at this point, this myth is so widely disseminated that it might not make a difference. But he could at least try and publicly state very explicitly that he's got more to offer than his military service and that the only people making a huge deal out of it are those Swift Boat Veterans for Truth pieces of shit.

Go to town on Bush's handling of Iraq. Highlight the insensitivity toward Islam that has blown it up into a huge clusterfuck. Highlight Bush's deception. Point out that he did not overtly lie, but instead carefully chose his words to foster plausible deniability in case it turned out that he was wrong later (which he was). The only thing people hate more than being lied to is finding out that a salesman played them like a flute.

Point out that he didn't vote to go to war with Iraq, just that he voted to give Bush that authority. Say something like, "I thought that he would exercise that authority with discretion and due consideration for our troops, but I was wrong. And I'm going to make up for that mistake in November." That would get the party fired up.

And for god's sake, put Edwards out there! He's a handsome guy with a good-looking wife and one smokin' hot daughter. Charisma will get you lots of points, just look at Kennedy next to Nixon. Edwards' family is like one you'd expect to find living next door to you. Put that pretty-boy face to work.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-09-02 03:24pm

It would also be good to get out there and go after Bush's ego. The fact that he will never admit error, the fact that the entire nation is forced to cash the cheques his big mouth is writing, etc.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2004-09-02 03:32pm

Simple:

1. Get Kerry to release all of his Navy records so as to put the Vietnam fiasco to rest (unless there's something in them that's damning of course).

2. Go on the attack against Bush based on current events, such as the Iraq intelligence fiasco or the biggest budget deficits ever.

3. Place some solid proposals on the table for dealing with the issues raised in #2. It's not enough to say 'I'll fix it'. Detail how you plan on fixing it.

4. In the upcoming debates, quit hedging when you make statements. Americans like a plain speaker and that's the one thing Bush does have a rep for.

5. They may be among his biggest supporters, but distancing himself from the looney left nutjobs such as Michael Moore and the Hollyweird crowd would play well in the heartland. Witness what Clinton's attack on Sistah Souljah did for him back in 92.

Lord Woodlouse · Post by **Lord Woodlouse** » 2004-09-02 04:23pm

I'd tell him to take intakes of helium during his speeches to jazz them up a bit.

Bugsby · Post by **Bugsby** » 2004-09-02 04:29pm

Attack ads would be helpful. He's gotta stress the importance of Bush's horrible policy over the last 4 years. But the big thing he needs to do is get some big-name Dems publicly supporting him. Clinton, Dean, Gore... these guys are popular and can really mobilize the base. Clinton won the presidency two years in a row, Gore won the popular vote last year, and Dean just rules (IMHO). He needs a huge, dynamic campaign with real politicians campaigning for him, not just lukewarm speeches about how he values America more than Bush.

Lord Woodlouse · Post by **Lord Woodlouse** » 2004-09-02 05:12pm

Bugsby wrote:Attack ads would be helpful. He's gotta stress the importance of Bush's horrible policy over the last 4 years. But the big thing he needs to do is get some big-name Dems publicly supporting him. Clinton, Dean, Gore... these guys are popular and can really mobilize the base. Clinton won the presidency two years in a row, Gore won the popular vote last year, and Dean just rules (IMHO). He needs a huge, dynamic campaign with real politicians campaigning for him, not just lukewarm speeches about how he values America more than Bush.

That sounds more like it would isolate swing-voters.

Bugsby · Post by **Bugsby** » 2004-09-02 05:43pm

Lord_Woodlouse wrote:That sounds more like it would isolate swing-voters.

Not so much. People spend so much time pandering to the center that they don't realize that sticking to your base is the way to win elections. A large (overlooked) target are registered Dems who just don't get out and vote.

Also, there is a common misconception that swing voters are looking for a centrist. That's not really true. Swing voters will go to the candidate who they feel is best. Bush is spouting ultra-right-wing stuff with the aid of all the Republicans in America, and his ratings are good (not great, but good) right now. Kerry is presenting a moderate liberal platform without the help of big-name Dems, and his ratings are going down. Why? Because the moderate stuff is making him look like a wishy-washy candidate without conviction. The lack of Dean, Bush, Gore, etc. is making him look friendless. These are bad things.

The way to win swing voters is not to let them think centerist and try to convince them that you are centerist, too. The way to win swing voters is to SWAY THEM TO YOUR SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT. Bush is doing that, and has been doing that since 9/11. Kerry hasn't. That is why Bush is ahead right now.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2004-09-02 07:01pm

Darth Wong wrote:If you were Kerry's campaign advisor, what would you do?

Bend over?

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2004-09-02 07:19pm

I would just resign. It's obvious that the campaign I've been running has been totally ineffective.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2004-09-02 07:21pm

Stravo wrote: Democrats outnumber Republicans.

While there are more registered Democrats than Republicans, Democratic supporters don't outnumber Republicans anymore, according to the most recent Gallup polls (which ask which party you more often agree with). The Democratic Party has been shooting itself in the foot for the last four years. It's hard to see anyone being all that excited about their positions, anymore.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2004-09-02 08:35pm

Lord_Woodlouse wrote:I'd tell him to take intakes of helium during his speeches to jazz them up a bit.

No, nitrogen is far better since it gives you a deep, booming voice. It would portray Kerry as Overlord of the Realm and destroyer of the valiant.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-09-02 08:52pm

Point out at every opportunity that Bush is a liar and a coward. In addressing the Swiftboat Shysters, Kerry should mention their connections to Dubya and say "Of course, this isn't the first time Bush shirked responsibility and let others fight for him."

When someone says Kerry is the most liberal Senator AND a flip-flopper, point out that he's so liberal, he CAN'T be a flip-flopper and finish with "But then again Bush and his supporters never could get their stories straight."

Keep digging away at Bush and point out constantly that Bush's lies and cowardice are part of a longtime pattern.

A counter swiftboat ad (to be run only a few times):

The members of Kerry's crew who were actually there when he won his medals will each say in turn "I served with John Kerry -and I'm proud of it." Finish with Lt. Rassman saying "Unlike the frauds you may have seen in other ads, we were there with Kerry and would gladly serve with him again."

Another ad showing GOP delegates ridiculing the Purple Heart and those who received it.

Ads about what a sleazy fuck Cheney is.

Show a clip of the Seven Minutes and say "Bush says he'll protect you, but when it matters, he tucks his tail between his legs and hides in a bunker." Don't just call Bush a coward -ridicule him for it.

The best idea I have would be a commercial that starts as the usual John Kerry ad about being in Vietnam with "Hymn for the Fallen" in the background as we hear testimonials from the men who served with him".

Then the music stops very suddenly and we pan to George W. prancing around on the carrier in a flight suit. In the background is the Three Stooges theme music. The captions read: "AWOL from National Guard duty, reckless with our troops, hides behind school children." We get a closeup of Dubya as the Stooges theme goes "Dah-dee da-dum, da-dum!"

Axis Kast · Post by **Axis Kast** » 2004-09-02 08:56pm

Kerry’s campaign is suffering from his purposeful lack of articulation. It’s one thing to fear that rocking the boat might be detrimental because so many people are clinging to the sides so half-heartedly, but another to avoid rocking the boat altogether when you’re going to die anyway if you don’t get to shore. Unless Kerry takes a risk and tries to better-articulate his platforms before election day, he’s going to continue hemorrhaging people who are swayed by the Republican’s accusations of “flip-flopper” and weakling. Frankly, though, the more I hear about Kerry’s bogus opinions on the military, his ridiculous economic theories, and his quasi-liberal/doomed-to-failure social positions, the less I think Bush has to worry about a campaign of substance from the other side.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-09-02 09:16pm

If you were Kerry's campaign advisor, what would you do?

Kill myself in despair.

That's a serious answer. If Bush were any less feckless Kerry would have been utterly trounced; it would make Bob Dole vs Clinton look close. The thing Kerry needed to have done (and it's too late now largely):

1) Stake out clear positions and plans for acheiving those goals. He's gotten hammered by Bush as a flip flopper and a weak leader precisely because he hasn't done that. It might lead some to critisize him, that's part of being a leader. But he wouldn't be the weak kneed challenger and it would be much harder to say he's running on simple ambition.

2) Be straightfoward. If he's going to bring up Vietnam, be candid about the whole thing from start to finish. The same thing needs to be said about his positions on a variety of issues that have gotten him into trouble, and dare I say it looked very much like flip flopping.

3) Don't critisize the decisions in hindsight unless he's prepared to admit mistakes or explain how he actually would have done better.

Quadlok · Post by **Quadlok** » 2004-09-02 09:22pm

Fulfill GW's apparent plan to turn the US into a third world nation by orginizing hippies and board college students into roving terror squads armed with automatic weapons. I'll show you forceful leadership,you pathetic, peabrained scum!
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem.

Sorry about that. Anyway, just sink to the Republican's level. Cast aspersions, make specious charges, and in general make complete assholes out of ourselves because it seems to appeal to so many people. Plus, the Dems have more comedians, entertainers, and generally artsy folk on their side, so I should have no trouble making a louder, glitzier bunch of ads than the Republicans.

Lord of the Farce · Post by **Lord of the Farce** » 2004-09-02 09:25pm

Elfdart wrote:Show a clip of the Seven Minutes and say "Bush says he'll protect you, but when it matters, he tucks his tail between his legs and hides in a bunker." Don't just call Bush a coward -ridicule him for it.

This would probably have a better impact with: "Bush says he'll protect you, but when it matters, he's a hapless doe caught in headlights."

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-09-02 09:28pm

Start going for disaffected Republicans a lot more. He can afford to do it; 90 percent of the delegates at the DNC were opposed to the Iraq war, yet Kerry really when it comes down to it isn't that far off from where Bush is on the war, and he hasn't really suffered too much in the polls for this fact (where else is the Democratic base gonna go? Nader?). REALLY turn up the anti-deficit, anti-spending rhetoric, and imply that there will be no new major spending projects until the fiscal situation of the government improves.

And distance Kerry from the Michael Moore wing of the party, like Glocksie said; the Democratic party has arguably lost elections before because of antiwar protestors, best not to let this one be lost for the same reason.