Friday, July 16, 2004

Kerry to Edwards, 'Let's Lose!'

By Josh Frank

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Posted 07/16 | Add a Comment

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  1. i’m torn between disgust at the democratic party and annoyance at myself for getting sucked in again to this puppet warfare between the parties. it would seem that despite all the hard evidence to the contrary john kerry is determined to compete with republicans for their conservative vote when, as kevin phillips eloquently argues elsewhere (in nation), his best ‘winning’ strategy would be to appeal to progressive swing voters. it makes u wonder,as the writer says, does he really want to win?  anyway, if he does actually win the bloody thing, will he be any improvement on bush?  no he wont be u r tempted to reply. and thats the point. the best democracy money can buy is not set up to allow reformers and insurgents to take over power and make the system truly democratic: that is the bottom line. we shouldnt be amazed, outraged or shocked about this: whatever the differences in emphasis, strategy and packaging there may exist between repubs and democrats, its all flummery compared to the differences between the two wings of the war party and say, ralph nader or the socialist candidate. it seems a lot of our time on the left is spent soul searching and hand wringing about the parlous state of the democratic candidacy when perhaps energy and effort is better spent supporting one of the genuine third party candidates?

    Posted by james quest from  on  07/17  at  08:44 PM

  2. Dear Joshua:
    Thanks a million times for your post.  My comment is actually the letter I sent to the chair of the Dem Platform Committee on July 8.  Sorry to be so long.  ~ann, a fan in Wisconsin

    Dear Ms. Tubbs Jones:

    As a lifelong Democrat, I’ve become deeply disillusioned by the leadership of my party.

    The Democrats’ tendency toward “me-too” politics is nauseating and worse, alienating to millions of us disaffected voters who are parched for someone real.  For some substantive issues and genuine action plans.  For true leadership for our genuine hopes for peace, rejection of fake terror and morality in our foreign relations.

    Too often, I see Democrats simply try to stay beneath the radar of the right wing’s attack machine, but it doesn’t work.  Why aren’t you listening to your voter base?  Why don’t you take heart from the millions of anti-war protesters last year?  What about all the state conventions who have passed progressive platforms recently?  Aren’t you inspired by the reception of Michael Moore’s film?  Doesn’t that give you hope that our aspirations ARE the mainstream?  We would be for you if we see that you are for us.

    I’ve got to tell you, that a candidate who campaigns from the mythical center, who distinguishes himself primarily as “not him,” whose campaign strategy is “don’t make a mistake,” is not someone who wins our hearts.  Sadly, I include John Kerry in this category.  His cowardly refusal to support his state’s marriage equality, his failure to denounce NAFTA, and worst of all, his dangerous view of continuing in Iraq - who is he talking to?  Certainly not me.  But I fault the DLC leadership even more.  You are cut from the same cloth as the Republican leadership.  Please listen to your constituency and stand for something! 

    I have voted regularly for 20 years because it was how I was raised.  But for the first time, I am willing *not* to vote for my party’s candidate. 

    I believe the prevailing wisdom of “Anybody But Bush” is not enough. 

    The absence of George Bush is not the same thing as the presence of something positive. 

    “Anybody But Bush” is actually voting for a negative.  To conflate a “vote against” with a “vote for” shows either a vast arrogance or a vast ignorance, and I’m not sure which is worse for my party’s leadership.

    Only genuine leadership can satisfy me at this point.  Genuine, bold leadership is what we crave and have craved for years.  To wit:
    *the firm and long-awaited stand to remove US troops from Iraq;
    *the commitment to federalize health insurance, finally ensuring that 14% of our GDP actually goes to taking care of the health of all Americans;
    *restraining the cold-blooded interests of corporations by canceling NAFTA;
    *the calm and rational pledge to make marriage rights equal for all Americans
    *the rescue of our tax dollars from the insatiable Pentagon

    As you go into platform discussions this weekend in Miami, I ask you please…

    Posted by Ann from Wisconsin  on  07/17  at  10:11 PM

  3. Ann thanks so much.

    Posted by Josh Frank from  on  07/18  at  09:25 AM

  4. The AP reported (and I got it in print in the Japan Times edition of July 18, 2004) that Kerry would be willing to launch a pre-emptive strike against ‘terrorists’. As citizens of the world, we are deeply alarmed that more and more of the US ruling class and political establishment is coming out of the closet in open endorsement of potential subjugation of any nation on the planet. For “make no mistakes about it,” as Dick & Dubya like to say, ‘pre-emptive doctrine’ means the US military WILL be sent to any damned place a few US companies deem ready for ‘regime change’ and the subsequent looting. This cannot be supported by any decent, peace loving US citizen. ANY citizen who votes for a candidate that openly supports ‘pre-emptive doctrine’ is supporting the subjugation of other nations. There are no gray areas left for those who seek them so as to justify an ABB tactical voting. ‘Anybody But Bush’ is a corruption of democracy, and now clearly ANTI-democratic.
    Peace.

    Posted by reza from Japan  on  07/19  at  12:31 AM

  5. Really.  If Kerry keeps running right, and advocating right positions, let him lose.  He doesn’t at all stand for me.  At least Nader’s idealistic rhetoric does.  Who cares if Kerry loses?  What does it matter?  And it’s not because I recklessly think another term of Bush, for whom excepting the Pentagon, I’ve never felt such a visceral feeling of hatred and contempt of anything, will result in some decisive swing of the pendulum back left.  It’s more precisely because there is, to cite the title of the book with Josh’s contribution, not a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties.

    Nice article Josh.

    Posted by Tracy McLellan from  on  07/21  at  10:28 PM
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