That sure didn’t take long. Kerry named Edwards as his running mate a few hours ago and entire new websites dedicated to slandering the guy are up and running.
You have to check this site yourself — it was obviously all set up in advance. They are slick, and they are mean. A mean, mean slime machine.
Politics is a dirty, ugly business. But how come those awful libruls play so much nicer than their conservative brethren? Whatever happened to Bush Sr.’s vision of “a kinder, gentler nation” and “a thousand points of light”? Do they think they look better going into instant smear mode, when they had the opportunity to congratulate Edwards and appear just a bit gracious, if only for a few seconds?
But no, we’ll have none of that in this election, at least not on the Republican side. It’s kill or be killed, a vicious, no-holds-barrred fight to the bloody finish, in which any trace of sportsmanship or geniality may be misconstrued as a sign of weakness. So go straight for the jugular.
It’s going to be a long 4 months. But now that Kerry has shown he can make the right decision, I’m more energized and optimistic than ever. Smear away, Karl and Karen — it says a lot more about you than it does Kerry or Edwards.
1
By jeremy
It comes down to this – the RNC has always been a well-run machine. I’m sure that they had pages for everyone all ready before Kerry knew who he was going to appoint as his VP candidate.
They also have a John Kerry / John Edwards site set-up already (it was mentioned this morning on KTAR, but I don’t remember the URL).
Give them credit – they are organized, and the DNC could learn a trick or two from them.
July 6, 2004 @ 11:52 am | Comment
2
By richard
If you follow this bolg, you’ll know I always give the GOP pr machine credit. Their ability to stay on-message and sing from the same songbook is awesome. And of course they put sites like this together way in advance; that’s a given.
But this looks a bit ugly to me. Being prepared is one thing. But being too mean — I think the public is just growing weary of it.
During the primaries I saw how Edwards could diffuse all the meanness in the world by smiling and sticking to his own messages, which were upbeat and hopeful. All of the Bush messages now are negative. They have no choice, since there is virtually nothing Bush has done that they can be positive about except pretend to be tough after 9/11. (Luckily, the new movie puts a big hole in that nonsensical myth.) So it will be interesting to watch how the GOP handles Edwards infectious charm and boyish smile. Cheney can say “Fuck yourself” ’til he’s blue in the face, but each time he does it’ll just make Edwards look better.
July 6, 2004 @ 12:00 pm | Comment
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By jeremy
I like Edwards. The New Yorker profile on him was really good, last year. I think he has wheels.
July 6, 2004 @ 1:16 pm | Comment
4
By richard
Everybody likes Edwards. That’s why the GOP is going totally ballistic. Full frontal assault,
July 6, 2004 @ 5:17 pm | Comment
5
By Jim
The liberals play nicer? Like the poster of Bush eating a dead baby, or Bush’s face morphing into Hitler? Come on, both sides are nasty, mean and vile. This is what PR in politics has become.
July 6, 2004 @ 5:38 pm | Comment
6
By richard
The Hitler ad was submitted to a contest by a private “artist” and immediately rejhected and pulled. It was never a part of the Dems’ campaign. It never appeared on their national web site like the Edwards smear. Has the picture of Bush eating a baby (a satire of a Goya painting) ever appeared on an official Dem web site? Have they ever made it a part of their literature? Have they endorsed it? Is Kerry behind it? Absolutely not. It was put up by a private group, pleasevote.com. Go to the DNC web site and compare it with what you’ll find on the RNC site. I think you will see a dramatic — and I mean, like really dramatic — difference in tone.
This is the kind of distortion that is really troubling. Sean Hannity loves to point to that “Nazi ad” as though it represents the Dems, when exactly the opposite is the case. Exactly the opposite.
July 6, 2004 @ 5:52 pm | Comment
7
By Conrad
Ohhh how awful. Those wicked, nasty, evil Republicans cite Edward’s record and quote John Kerry’s own past statements about his vice-presidential pick. The outrage! The horror! Have they no shame?
July 7, 2004 @ 1:50 am | Comment
8
By andrea
I visited both John Kerry and George Bush’s campaign websites for the first time ever today.
Good Lord, are the Republicans obsessed with John Kerry! Practically the entire sidebar on georgewbush.com is devoted to slamming Kerry.
If it was any other website, we’d call him a cyber-stalker, eh. This is not a good look for a president. Very immature and desperate.
July 7, 2004 @ 2:25 am | Comment
9
By vaara
Yes, and the total number of overtly anti-Bush links on John Kerry’s front page is precisely nil.
In fact, the word “Bush” appears nowhere at all.
Republicans: the party of negativity.
July 7, 2004 @ 2:58 am | Comment
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By richard
Conrad: Ohhh how awful. Those wicked, nasty, evil Republicans cite Edward’s record and quote John Kerry’s own past statements about his vice-presidential pick. The outrage! The horror! Have they no shame?
Conrad, my friend, you are too smart to post crap like this. Don’t you see that you only prove my point about the difference between the Republican’s approach? You sound mocking, condescending and supercilious, just like the Republicans are sounding toward Kerry/Edwards. Andrea expressed her dismay over the nasty tone of the RNC site vs. the DNC site, and with good reason. The RNC site sounds like you, spewing insults and on the attack. It’s not “evil,” it’s just disgusting and more than anything else it underscores how scared the GOP is right now. You can point out a man’s voting record without sounding like the town bully. You can make your points without foaming at the mouth and hurling insults. Why have Republicans made thuggishness and rudeness their signature?
Other than that, I loved your comment.
July 7, 2004 @ 11:17 am | Comment