Kerry Haters

KerryHaters was first to blog on the Christmas-in-Cambodia lie, way back on May 21. Too bad the elite media hadn't cast their net widely enough. They'd have had a scoop long ago.--Hugh Hewitt

Our friends Pat and Kitty at Kerry Haters deserve the blog equivalent of a Pulitzer for their coverage of Kerry's intricate web of lies regarding Vietnam.--Crush Kerry

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Kerry: We'd Make a Great Team, John

"McCain, Vilsack, Gephardt, Graham? Those were just mere flirtations. It's always been you."

- Pat, 4:02 PM

Kerry: Tom, You Know You're the Only One for Me

"We can get over that English-Only thing."

- Pat, 4:00 PM

Kerry: It's Always Been You Bob

"McCain's a little rooster. I want a guy with notebooks like yours."

- Pat, 3:58 PM

Kerry: You Know It's Always Been You, Dick

"I was just kidding about McCain."

- Pat, 3:52 PM

Miltary-Related Blog Roundup

ACE has been continuing to look back at 60 years ago today in WWII. Fascinating series of posts.

Digital Warfighter has a weekend caption contest with a picture that will make you say, "Aw!"

Mudville Gazette reports that Chromedome is almost home! Thanks for your service Chromey!

Baldilocks has a story on the cunning plan to reinstate the draft and the unsurprising folks behind it.

If you're in San Diego, Smash is looking for your help today to counter protest an antiwar rally.

Blackfive calls for unilateral military intervention in the Sudan, and shows why John Kerry's UN will never get its act together in time to stop the genocide there.

The Green Side has another e-mail from Dave.

- Pat, 10:14 AM

New Humiliation for Kerry: Hillary Polls Just as Well!

Deborah Orin reports.

Both Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Kerry would get 78 percent of Democrats and about half of independents while Kerry would get 8 percent of Republicans and Clinton 7, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Election Poll.

The nonpartisan polling group won't release the actual horse-race numbers against Bush, but says the results for Clinton and Kerry are virtually identical.

That suggests it may be easier for a woman to get elected president than many analysts have thought — and that Clinton is now a less polarizing figure than in the past.

LOL! Poll numbers that show Clinton would get 78 percent of Democrats and 7% of Republicans can hardly be cited as evidence that she's less polarizing.

You don't suppose that they're not releasing the actual horse-race numbers against Bush because the President is winning, do you? Me too.

- Pat, 8:55 AM

Reagan Bounce Hits!

Here's one poll that won't be highlighted in the New York Times. The Harris Poll shows President Bush leading Le Fraude by 6 percentage points among registered voters and 10 percentage points among likely voters.

- Pat, 8:48 AM

Kristol Blue Persuasion

Meanwhile, over at Brooks' former stomping ground, Bill Kristol thinks Kerry leapt before he looked.

PERHAPS JOHN KERRY simply made the mistake of believing what he read in the New York Times. There it was, the lead headline on Thursday, June 17: "Panel Finds No Qaeda-Iraq Tie." Or perhaps he read the Los Angeles Times headline: "No Signs of Iraq-Al Qaeda Ties Found." Or the Washington Post: "Al Qaeda-Hussein Link Is Dismissed." Or maybe he was watching CBS News the night before, as John Roberts explained that "one of President Bush's last surviving justifications for war in Iraq" took "a devastating hit" as the 9/11 Commission "put the nail in that connection" between Saddam and al Qaeda.

Of course, the leading Democrat and the leading Republican on the 9-11 panel have quickly rushed out to say that's not what their report said. It found no link between Saddam and al Qaeda with regard to 9-11; they found plenty of other links. But Kerry jumped on the reports to gripe that the Bush administration had "misled America".

This is surely a major moment in the presidential race. John Kerry had, until last week, been running a disciplined general election campaign, carefully suppressing his left-leaning foreign policy instincts, soberly emphasizing his commitment to fighting the war on terror and to seeing through the effort in Iraq. Then he couldn't resist the temptation to jump on the (misleading) press accounts of the (sloppy) 9/11 Commission staff report, in order to assault the Bush administration on the issue of terror links between Saddam and al Qaeda.

- Pat, 7:55 AM

Kerry's RealPolitik

David Brooks has been taking a lot of criticism from the left recently. In part this is because of where he's being published. If he were still the sensible moderate Republican at the Weekly Standard, they'd love him. Now that he's the radical right-winger at the NY Times, they're up in arms.

Today's column is bound to get their panties in a wad. Brooks skewers Kerry, and in such a way that the arguments will probably resonate best with liberals and moderate Democrats. He starts out by pointing to Kerry's negative comments about the Varela Project.

The Varela Project happens to be one of the most inspiring democracy movements in the world today. It is being led by a Cuban dissident named Oswaldo Payá, who has spent his life trying to topple Castro's regime. Payá realized early on that the dictatorship would never be overthrown by a direct Bay of Pigs-style military assault, but it could be undermined by a peaceful grass-roots movement of Christian democrats, modeling themselves on Martin Luther King Jr.

Kerry's comment? ...the Varela Project "has gotten a lot of people in trouble... and it brought down the hammer in a way that I think wound up being counterproductive."

Kerry has embraced RealPolitik, which can be boiled down to dealing with the local strongman rather than encouraging democracy.

Imagine if in the 1980's Ronald Reagan had called Andrei Sakharov or Natan Sharansky or Lech Walesa or Vaclav Havel "counterproductive" because, after all, what they did spawned crackdowns, too.

Read it all, as they say.

- Pat, 7:43 AM

John Kerry, Two-Faced Liar

From the same article down below about the unexpected interruption of Kerry's speech, comes this floater from Nuancy Boy:

Talking about education yesterday, Mr. Kerry also told the largely black crowd at the day care center that there are more blacks in prison than in college.

"That's unacceptable," he said. "But it's not their fault."

Rather than the inmates, the former Boston prosecutor blamed poverty, poor schools, a dearth of after-school programs and "all of us as adults not doing what we need to do."

Where to begin with that one? Well, for starters, let's get rid of the lie: there are more blacks in prison than in college.

My Aisling did the numbers. Turns out there are about 900,000 blacks in prison, and about 2.3 million in college. Now, when you break it down to black men, Kerry is barely right: there are 819,000 black men in prison and only 802,000 in college. However, there is an unfair part of this comparison. Most black men in college are between the ages of 18 and 24; the prisoners presumably range from 18-70+. If we ask how many black men between the ages of 18 and 24 are in prison, the answer is more like 195,000.

Note also the tortured bleeding heart liberal comment that "it's not their fault." I don't buy it; and even if I did, Kerry avoids mentioning the real reason so many young black men end up in prison: because they do not have a father in their lives to keep them on the straight and narrow.

Hat Tip: Best of the Web Today

- Pat, 7:33 AM

Friday, June 18, 2004

Putting Some Weirdnesses Together...

Kerry's really weird, nobody denies that, but today I went back through my stuff to find out how weird, and sometimes what looks goofy at the time, is really quite significant.

We posted awhile ago on Kerry's odd choice of a book to read to children in New York City. This was the classic moment where Hillary accompanied him and kept chiding to him to show the kids the pictures.

The book was Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger.

Recently we were told that Kerry is learning the song "This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land" By Woodie Guthrie.

These are obviously intended to be subtle nods to the left. Seeger and Guthrie, while enormously talented musicians, were hard-core leftists from the "let's hope America goes communist" days, who poured their hatred for capitalism into many tunes. They played together for many years, so this is not some coincidence. They started as the Almanac Singers. According to their bio at allmusic.com,

"All of the Almanacs were involved with leftist political organizations, including the Communist Party. Some of this can be ascribed to youthful naïveté and innocence, rather than any profound philosophical belief in Marx, Lenin, or Stalin. Additionally, it should be remembered that until the advent of Roosevelt's New Deal, it had seemed to many Americans as though the Communist Party offered the only political voice for poor and working-class Americans. Further, many Americans, especially among the intelligentsia, hadn't abandoned their respect for the Communist Party, especially after it proved to be the only political force in Europe that was firmly opposed to Hitler and the forces of fascism."

This is pretty disingenuous. Seeger never dropped communism; I would guess that Guthrie did not either, but I don't know for sure. I heard a 1990s concert where Seeger talked about how his grandson had been down in Nicaragua during the Sandanista era (and got the requisite cheer from the lefty crowd).

BTW, apparently Kerry's campaign heard the outrage about his proposed Religious Outreach Director.

Even though she was giving interviews to USA Today earlier this month, Miss Vanderslice would not be talking to the press, said campaign spokeswoman Allison Dobson.

What Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, found especially problematic was Miss Vanderslice's presence at a violent December 2000 rally in Seattle against the International Monetary Fund and a similar protest in September 2002 in the District against the IMF and the World Bank.

In articles on the protests, the Boston Globe identified her as an organizer and the Denver Post quoted her plans to take part in civil disobedience in order to shut down the IMF meeting in the District.

What Kerry's doing is tapping out a code to the left wing in America. It says, Cool it, I'm on your side, even though I have to pretend to be a moderate to get elected.

- Pat, 11:22 PM

Tootsie Ditches the Glasses

Strange Cosmos has the before pic.

- Pat, 8:32 PM

Bill Clinton's Blog

I have a hunch I know who did this. Really funny, especially the bits about "curly".

- Pat, 5:51 PM

The Legion of Kerry Haters Strikes!

The Washington Times reports on an unexpected interruption of a Kerry speech in Ohio.

Mr. Kerry was telling a crowd of loyal supporters how the middle class built America and how the tax code should show proper appreciation for this when the faint tunes of an old familiar song first could be heard.
Initially, only a few people turned around. But as the sound grew louder, many in the crowd began shifting, turning around and asking one another about the music.
Just across the street, a couple of Republicans had wheeled massive stage speakers out into their tidy front lawn and blasted toward Mr. Kerry the theme song to the 1960s family TV show "Flipper," presumably a criticism of Mr. Kerry's taking more than one side of issues.
"They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning / No one, you see, is smarter than he," screamed the music set to its happy jingle.

Great job!

- Pat, 4:49 PM

Two More New Microbes!

These two come to us via checking our Technorati profile.

Beth, from Mobile Alabama has a new blog called My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. I also love the URL: bamapachyderm.blogspot.com. Kitty's asking what's a bamapa chyderm ;) (inside joke from a comment on her blog). Beth seems to have the routine down--lots of posts, lots of links, and a good sense of humor. I especially liked the joke about the kittens.

Chicago Ray has been a regular reader of KH, and we've often pointed you to his marvelous photoshop creations. He's now started blogging as The Right Is Right, and I can tell that his site is going to be a regular stop for us. Be sure to check out Herman & Lily.

- Pat, 1:50 PM

Splish, Splash, I Was Taking a Bath...

Eric Fettman of the NY Post notes an irony in the Democratic Party's planned tribute to Ted Kennedy, taking place on the opening night of their convention.

He also points out that to Democrats, character doesn't matter, except when they think they have the advantage on the character issue, when it does.

- Pat, 12:06 PM

Oh, No, Not Another Veepstakes Post!

The WaPo goes through the motions again. The amusing part is this:

Some aides expressed concern about selecting a running mate who harbors obvious ambitious for the White House in 2012, another aide said. A Kerry adviser said Vice President Gore's ambitions complicated the final years of the Clinton presidency because election-year politics was always a chief concern. But this was not in the marching orders Kerry gave his selection team, they said.

Okay, so Kerry's team has to pretend at least that their guy is going to win two terms, but they should be looking for a guy who wants to be president. And it is hard to figure out what to make of this:

Many Democrats close to former president Bill Clinton, working at the Democratic National Committee and in Congress, are pushing hard for Edwards. If any Democrat is tirelessly auditioning for the job, it is Edwards, who is giving speeches, raising money and heading campaign rallies.

Do the Clintonistas really want Edwards as the VP choice? Remember, Hillary's plan is to run in 2008. If Edwards gets tapped, that puts him in position as the heir apparent. There are wheels within wheels here.

- Pat, 11:43 AM

Another, Yawn, Thrilled Crowd for Kerry

They can't even fake enthusiasm for this guy.

- Pat, 10:48 AM

Blog Roundup

Viking Pundit explains why Kerry's Veep pick won't be Gephardt, and fisks a speech the Botoxicated Brahmin gave in New Jersey.

Clay Calhoun discovers that Kerry believes oil & natural gas are renewable resources.

Captain Ed comments on Putin's announcement that the Russians had intelligence indicating that Saddam planned terrorist attacks against the United States.

Danegerus highlights the fact that the 9-11 Commission's report details several links between Al Qaeda and Iraq, despite the media's coverage indicating that no links exist.

Michael Totten announces (in an open letter to Andrew Sullivan) that he's back in the undecided camp. Michael's a good guy, but like a lot of people who've left the left, he's not yet comfortable with the right. It takes time, and understanding. Please, no poking at him; reading his post it appears that part of the reason he's back on the fence are some unfortunate comments by L-Dotters on a thread about Andrew. As I mentioned in his comments, I disagreed with my fellow L-Dotters on that thread. AS is a great writer and a solid conservative; but like all of us, he has one issue that he raises above all others. In this country we only have red or blue cars to take us forward; like a lot of people, AS and MT appear to be shopping for the purple choice.

Note: That last bit about "purple choice" simply refers to the combination of blue and red; it's not some sort of indication that Michael's gay; he's not.

- Pat, 10:03 AM

The Kerry-Kerry Ticket

Leonard Albin suggests this on NRO.

The main advantage of Kerry serving as his own running mate is that he could run as a centrist and as a liberal at the same time. The presidential candidate Kerry could use the perennial Democratic ploy of moving toward the center, and position himself as a "moderate." That's the Kerry who voted for the Iraq war. Meanwhile, the vice-presidential candidate Kerry could lurch left and shore up all his liberal followers. That's the Kerry who voted against the $87 billion in funding for the Iraq war.

Of course, longtime Kerry Haters readers will remember that we suggested this solution over three months ago.

- Pat, 7:35 AM

Minimum Wage Madness

Kerry proposes raising it by $1.85 per hour to $7.00 or over 30%. This is classic Democratic "something for nothing" economics. I suspect Brad Delong will be pleased.

- Pat, 7:28 AM

Meanwhile, in the Fever Swamps of the Left

I have seen Brad Delong's website listed in a fair number of blogrolls of people I respect, so I surfed on over there. I already knew he was a leftist economics professor at Berkeley, so I suspected it would have a leftist tinge, but be reasonable.

Guess again. Third post in I found this:

It's not too late for the grownup Republicans to act. There's still time for the House and Senate Republican caucuses to go to Bush and force his and Cheney's resignations. Then Hastert and Stevens can decline the job, and the presidential succession passes to Colin Powell.

This is what passes for deep thought at a reasonable leftist site. See, we Republicans all know that Bush and Cheney about to be impeached (over the prison torture scandal?) and so we should have an intervention now and....

Just moronic. There are no reasonable sites on the left. Be sure to read the comments; most of them are just as dippy.

- Pat, 7:15 AM

The McCain Mutiny, Part MCMLXXXVIII

Now that the media have been refused their dream veep on the Democratic side... can you guess? Yep, they're plugging him for veep on the Republican side. The media are like a lovestruck teenage boy who has found a girl of limited charm and intellect, but some beauty, and he goes on and on about what a wonderful human being she is. (Comparison lifted from Bill James).

Just One Minute takes a look at the McCain bandwagon as well. As I commented over there, Dick Cheney in my mind is a placeholder for Jeb Bush. If Jeb wants to run in 2008 (and I suspect he does), then President Bush is not going to replace Cheney.

- Pat, 7:05 AM

Thursday, June 17, 2004

The Waffler

Esoteric Diatribe has a good post on John Edwards for the Waffler's VP choice. Be sure to scroll down to the part where he takes a close look at Botox Boy's forehead.

- Pat, 10:05 PM

New Member for the Legion!

Actually I seem to remember these folks being in the Legion earlier, but their site went down for awhile. Kerry Quotes is now back up, and it's dedicated to documenting many of the goofy things the Botoxicated Brahmin has said over the years. In a lot of cases they have audio, in some they even have video. Great site.

- Pat, 9:08 PM

Great Flash Animation on Kerry and WMD

Check this one out.

Hat Tip: Waffle House

- Pat, 9:00 PM

Skinny Fraude and Fat Fraud

- Pat, 7:29 PM

THIS JUST IN ...

The Kerry campaign asked a local priest to mention in his homily that Kerry is a Saint.

The priest, a devout Catholic, began his homily by saying, "John Kerry is a crook. John Kerry is a liar. John Kerry is a fraud. John Kerry is an adulterer.
John Kerry is one of the worst Catholics I have ever met. But - compared to Ted Kennedy - he's a Saint."

THANKS, BLUE!

- Kitty, 3:45 PM

New Microbe!

I started a feature a few weeks ago called Microbe of the Day. The idea was to find a few smaller blogs that deserved a larger audience. I'm very proud of the six blogs that I featured, and they have not gone unnoticed in the larger blogosphere. They all graduated from MOTD status to Blogger Favorites.

But they did create one problem. They were so good that they made it tough for me to come up with new microbes that were anywhere near as deserving. I kept checking the TTLB system's microbes, and I'd look at the blogroll and see crappy sites like Daily Kos, Whiskey Bar, Atrios and the like. When I did find a decent conservative-oriented blog, it always seemed to have no posts since mid-March.

Well, today I found a real good one, and it was not from looking at the blogs, but reading comments at other blogs. Timmer posted a wonderful comment on this post. I checked out his blog, Digital Warfighter and found it's a group milblog with fairly regular posts, good writing and good links. They're not actually a microbe (Technorati says 11 links from 10 sources), but they certainly deserve more traffic.

- Pat, 3:14 PM

Kerry's First Elective Office

Anybody remember Le Fraude's first elective office? Beuller?

That's right, Kerry was first elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, where he served as chief flunkie to Michael Dukakis. Crush Kerry looks at Kerry's only experience in an executive role.

To cover the deepening shortfall, Dukakis-Kerry decided they simply had to raise taxes. The list of tax hikes proposed and passed my the Dukakis administration are mind boggling: a higher gas tax, a higher cigarette tax, a higher sales tax on bottled goods, new hospital “assessments” (tax), a new “assessment” (tax) on banks, and an ill-defined (but ominous sounding) economic development tax.

- Pat, 1:48 PM

Ted Rall Writes a Funny Column

I yield to nobody on my distaste for Ted Rall. Well, almost nobody.

But he has an absolutely hilarious take today on Kerry's attempted seduction of John McCain. Turns out that the Boston Fog Machine asked McCain not once, not twice, but SEVEN times if he'd be Kerry's VP candidate!

Hey, John, wanna be my veep?

No thanks.

I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that. So. Shall we print up some buttons?

No.

Come on, man. I need you.

Nope.

You're kidding! You know the Republicans will never nominate you for the presidency! They hate your ass!

Whatever. I said no.

Dude! Don't be like that. Yes is such an easy word to say. Say it.

Get a life, John. Don't contact me unless it's about legislation. Got it?

Look, I'll be honest. The CBS poll says you'll give me a 14-point boost if you join the team. I gotta have you. I can't take no for an answer.

No means no, John. No. No. No.

Hey, thanks, I appreciate it. I'll call a press conference for noon. Kerry-McCain 2004!

I'm getting a restraining order against you, you jowly bassett-hound-eyed freak!!!

Now, that's not entirely original with Rall (Scrappleface had a very similar take), but it's still pretty funny. The column goes rapidly downhill from there with the usual Bush-bashing (leavened by some McCain-bashing). Aaron has a pretty good gag on Rall here.

- Pat, 1:38 PM

Another Reason to Be Happy the Pistons Beat the Lakers

Turns out Nuancy Boy had to cancel a campaign appearance in Detroit because nobody would have shown up; they were all going to a victory parade.

Hat Tip: Dynamo Buzz, who has a good take on this story.

- Pat, 1:38 PM

A Little Cross-Selling

Kitty's been taking a whacking stick to Pat Buchanan, Larry King, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore's daughter. Kitty's cat bites her, and morons of all shapes and styles are paying the price. :)

Meanwhile, over at Brainster's I reveal the surprising Middle East distributor of Michael Moore's new film. Who says he doesn't hate America? Not these guys, that's for sure!

- Pat, 1:25 PM

Kerry's "Grassroots" Supporters are Mostly Lawyers

The Kerry campaign has been boasting about its fund-raising ability and claiming that it's "grassroots" supporters making the cash register ring.

"That is a level of grass-roots support that no American politician has seen in that period of time - ever," said Michael Meehan, a Kerry campaign spokesman.

Turns out about one in every ten dollars the campaign raises comes from lawyers.

Among those shifting their efforts from North Carolina Sen. Edwards to Massachusetts Sen. Kerry is Fred Baron, a Dallas-based trial lawyer who plans to raise millions for Kerry Victory '04, a joint effort of Kerry's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

If you hurry, Fred, you can still chase it!

- Pat, 12:07 PM

Why It's Important to Re-Elect President Bush

Michele Catalano adjusts her dial to the rant setting and comes up with a brilliant post.

So I'm in the pharmacy next to work today and some woman comes running in claiming that "they" blew something up in Brooklyn, it was al Qaeda, they said they would come back and they did, my god they got us again!!! Apparently, crack was on sale half price today. But you know what? For a minute there, before I realized the woman was off her rocker, I was scared. You know why I was scared? Because the war on terror is not over. We have not won yet. This woman's hallucinations are a real, possible scenario made so by the fact that WE.HAVE.NOT.WON.THIS.WAR.YET.

Indeed.

- Pat, 11:14 AM

John Kerry, Man of the People

Did you know John Kerry likes to read People Magazine? Yeah, when he's not hacking around, having a few beers with some working men, writing poems about the desolation of the desert, or listening to rap music, the New-Wonk of Nuance likes to check out what his friends Barbra and Jon are up to in America's favorite celebrity mag.

Oh, and get this endorsement by a union man:

Asked whether Mr. Kerry's patrician — some say French — face and wife worth an estimated $550 million hurts his ability to relate to the working class, Mr. Mullen replied, "Yeah, but he's our rich French guy and we got to stick with him."

- Pat, 9:31 AM

Meet Patrick Hynes

Our buddy, the founder of Crush Kerry, is named a rising star in American politics by Campaigns & Elections Magazine. Good show, Patrick!

His picture reminds us of another reason we both have for hating Kerry. But neither he nor I would take Nuancy Boy's hair if that open, can-do face came along with it!

- Pat, 9:02 AM

The Veteran Vote

David Postman and Ray Rivera take on the task of convincing people that veterans like John Kerry and might vote for him.

Decades of conventional wisdom says veterans vote Republican. But both sides recognize that may not be true this year.

And

A "rough cut" of findings from a Duke University study shows that Kerry does best among veterans from the Vietnam era, said Duke professor Peter Feaver, who studies military and veterans issues. Kerry still trails Bush, but a Democratic candidate without a military résumé would have even less support, Feaver says.

If that's true, it's great news for Bush. Why? Because surveys have shown that the overwhelming majority (like 90%) of Vietnam veterans are proud of their service. But it's been 30 years and many of them may not realize that John Kerry is the man who convinced people that US soldiers did this:

"...they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country."

You gotta figure that folks like this and this and this are going to spend the summer reminding their fellow veterans that while Kerry may have served admirably during the war, afterwards he did his best to convince people that US soldiers were monsters and war criminals.

- Pat, 8:44 AM

Whenever I Get Confused, I Think, What Would Uncle Ho Do?

- Pat, 8:40 AM

Battleground West Virginia

Will Saletan indulges himself in a little prejudice towards a flyover state:

Years ago, I went with some young Washington lawyer friends to a cabin they had rented in West Virginia. We left the interstate, turned onto a smaller highway, then a smaller one, and so on, till we were winding our way up a mountain on a one-lane gravel road. Near the top, a broken-down pickup truck blocked our path. The occupants, a beefy, taciturn family, asked us to take them down the mountain to get help, which we did. I can't remember how it turned out or which of the things I picture when I think of that family—overalls, sunburns, bad teeth—were true. But I know what my friends and I thought: We had wandered into Deliverance.

Sunburns? Never mind. The important thing is whether John Kerry can come down from his throne long enough to mingle with the hillbillies and win West Virginia. Cue the dueling banjos!

I mean, seriously. The piece just oozes condescension. The good news is that Saletan doesn't think Kerry can win in West Virginia.

Now I get it. Until 2000, West Virginia had voted Republican in only three of the last 18 presidential elections: 1956, 1972, and 1984. What did those elections have in common? They featured Republican incumbents. West Virginians respect authority: religious, military, and political. That's why the state's congressional delegation, led by Sen. Robert Byrd, is so entrenched. West Virginia Democrats stick with the party of their fathers unless the GOP nominates an incumbent president, in which case the authority of the White House trumps the authority of family and party.

Really a remarkably ugly article.

- Pat, 8:28 AM

The Return of the Invisible Man

Howard Fineman engages in a bit of wishful thinking.

I’ve figured out what Sen. John Kerry needs to do to win the White House this November: wrap himself in Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloak. If the Massachusetts senator can only stay out of sight for long enough, George W. Bush’s presidency may sink into the sands of Iraq.

The questions of the season are and will remain: was it worth so much blood and treasure? Did it make us safer?

What is it with this "blood and treasure" meme? Do the lefties like to imagine themselves as pirates or what?

We joke about this a lot, but Kerry's not really going to win the White House with a Rose Garden strategy.

- Pat, 8:21 AM

Shocking News about Kerry's Ads

Well, maybe not so shocking:

Watch the daytime soap opera "The Young and the Restless" or the late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and you're likely to see an ad for Democrat John Kerry.

I'm sure they hit the Jerry Springer show as well.

- Pat, 8:19 AM

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

Yeah, baby, keep talkin’! They luv ya!

Mrs. Spin
For her part, Heinz Kerry seems to savor the spotlight. So much so, according to a 2003 article in Boston Magazine, that she's actually turning off potential Kerry backers. At a joint husband and wife campaign event, the magazine spotted one attendee who was visibly vexed by Heinz Kerry's obvious affection for the sound of her own voice. "The problem," noted the woman, "is that she just doesn't stop talking." Some Democrats, it seems, don't want any Heinz with their Kerry.

- Kitty, 5:45 AM

Another Member of the Legion

We welcome Catholics Against Kerry, devoted to exposing Kerry's cafeteria-style attitude towards his supposed faith.

- Pat, 1:19 AM

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

An Open, Can-Do Face?

That's how the Ketchup Queen described Pterodactyl's looks. Can-do what? Trick or treat without a mask?

- Pat, 11:21 PM

Because They're Democrats...

The Washington Post discovers the principle that ex-felons should be allowed to vote. In Florida. The Post presents its trump card with a flourish:

Even the bipartisan National Commission on Federal Election Reform, headed by former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald R. Ford, agreed: Ex-felons who have completed their sentences should be welcomed back into the community fully. If that means anything, it should mean restoring their right to vote.

I vote we let ex-felons live with the Washington Post's editors for a few months, then check with them again on this issue.

- Pat, 10:42 PM

They'd Vote for Kerry If They Could

- Pat, 4:01 PM

More Funny Stuff

Chicago Ray was inspired by the unveiling of the Clintons' new portraits. Great work, Ray!

Filibuster Cartoons looks at McCain Mania among the Dems.

Scrappleface makes a convincing argument that Kerry's extended absence from the Senate is not diminishing his effectiveness as a legislator, and reports on Kerry's plan to expand the middle class.

- Pat, 3:31 PM

Kerry Supporters Ignoring the Law?

That's the word from Colorado, where a group known wishfully as "Colorado Votes Kerry" was trying to raise money for yard signs and other promotional material has decided to disband under pressure from the Kerry Campaign and the DNC because they would be in violation of McCain-Feingold. Note this bit:

"Our decision, by a split vote and after much discussion, was to terminate this committee, particularly in light of the official campaign's efforts to thwart our progress," Willis wrote.

In other words, there were members of Colorado Votes Kerry who wanted to continue breaking the law. Why am I not surprised?

Note: Wrong name of group corrected in the first paragraph.

- Pat, 1:15 PM

Yet Another Member for the Legion--And Many More Coming!

Just found Anti Hanoi John Kerry in my referring pages. Good site, with a TON of links that I have not seen before. I'll be adding them one by one to the Legion, but it will take awhile. Thanks for the link, Viper!

- Pat, 12:30 PM

She'll Be Voting for Bush

- Pat, 12:22 PM

Kerry Plans to Do a Lot with the Tax Increase Money

A few posts ago, we commented on Kerry's plans for his tax increase. As the Philadelphia News said in their endorsement of Nuancy Boy:

Kerry promises to roll back the Bush tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 to help cut the federal deficit and help pay for his health-care program, which seeks to expand coverage.

Turns out that's not all he's going to do with that money. USA Today reports:

Kerry, visiting an after-school and summer school program center, said he would spend an additional $1.5 billion on after-school programs. He said he would get the money for keeping schools open until 6 p.m. from repealing President Bush's tax cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year.

I haven't even started looking and I'll bet Kerry's promised to use that tax increase in lots of other places as well, like his 100,000 additional firemen.

- Pat, 12:12 PM

Teh-RAY-Za's Philanthropies

Mrs Heinz-Kerry's charitable giving gets the once-over from NewsMax.

A Web site partially funded by Teresa Heinz Kerry offers a report glorifying Hezbollah (Hizbullah) suicide bombers as "deified in paradise and venerated on earth for fighting Israel" - and praises the terrorist group's support network for women widowed by their husband's "martyrdom" attacks.

Click on the link to read this really quite disgusting article. The woman being profiled is encouraging her sons to become suicide bombers as well. And they call the Israelis pigs and dogs?

- Pat, 11:00 AM

Oh, Those Weapons of Mass Destruction?

The Am Spec has a must-read article. Here's a taste:

On June 9, [UN Inspector] Demetrius Perricos announced that before, during and after the war in Iraq, Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction and medium-range ballistic missiles to countries in Europe and the Middle East. Entire factories were dismantled and shipped as scrap metal to Jordan, the Netherlands and Turkey, among others, at the rate of about 1,000 tons of metal a month. As an example of speed by which these facilities were dismantled, Perricos displayed two photographs of a ballistic missile site near Baghdad, one taken in May 2003 with an active facility, the other in February 2004 that showed it had simply disappeared.

What passed for scrap metal and has since been discovered as otherwise is amazing. Inspectors have found Iraqi SA-2 surface-to-air missiles in Rotterdam -- complete with U.N. inspection tags -- and 20 SA-2 engines in Jordan, along with components for solid-fuel for missiles. Short-range Al Samoud surface-to-surface missiles were shipped abroad by agents of the regime. That missing ballistic missile site contained missile components, a reactor vessel and fermenters -- the latter used for the production of chemical and biological warheads.

Hat Tip: Crush Kerry. They have more here.

- Pat, 10:53 AM

Jumping the Gun, Jumping the Shark

The Philadelphia News apparently hasn't heard that John Kerry is not yet the official nominee of the Democrats. Regardless, they became the first newspaper to endorse Jean Kerree.

Let's hear the positive things they have to say about the Lord of Louisburg Square on the issues:

Kerry promises to roll back the Bush tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 to help cut the federal deficit and help pay for his health-care program, which seeks to expand coverage. He will withdraw the special privileges given to polluting industries and the oil companies as we work toward freeing ourselves from dependence on oil from the Middle East.

On the tax cut rollback, you may recall that Bill Clinton also promised to raise taxes only on the rich as well. Kerry says now that it only applies to folks making over $200,000, but I have little doubt that he will do exactly what Clinton did: claim shock that the deficit was worse than he'd anticipated, and ergo he is forced sadly to raise taxes on us all. The pollution bit is just bizarre--what special privileges do polluting industries and the oil companies get? I'll have to do a little digging into this issue later.

On homeland security, Kerry understands that if we are attacked again, the first to respond will be firefighters and emergency medical teams, which have been largely ignored by the Bush administration. Kerry is proposing recruiting an additional 100,000 firefighters. Bill Clinton did the same with police during his term. Afterward, crime went down across the country. Coincidence? Hardly.

LOL! So what do they expect to happen when we hire an additional 100,000 firefighters? Fires to go down? And of course, crime did not decline in the 1990s because there were additional police, it declined because we started locking up the bad guys for longer terms. We cannot protect every potential site of a terrorist attack; there are just too many as this week's arrest of a man plotting to blow up a shopping mall in Ohio proves.

On Iraq, there's little evidence that Bush can enlist the international help necessary to bring more of our troops home. There's reason to believe that Kerry, who understands the human cost of war, will.

What is the reason to believe that Kerry can enlist the international help? The French and the Germans are refusing, and that means that NATO troops won't go either.

And then there's this absolute howler:

He has surrounded himself with advisers, many from the Clinton administration, who have real-world experience on the economy, national security and on fighting terror. They know how to win wars. They did it in Bosnia and Kosovo, wars where we actually had an exit strategy.

Uh, what exactly was the exit strategy from Bosnia and Kosovo? Bill Clinton promised during the 1996 election to have the troops home by Christmas. We all know what Bill Clinton's promises are worth; the troops are still not home.

Hat Tip: Hugh Hewitt

- Pat, 10:21 AM

Poll Fault V

A new Ipsos Public Affairs Poll (requires PDF reader) shows Bush leading Kerry by one point. That's the bad news. The good news is that they polled registered voters, which tends to overestimate Democratic turnout, and... can you guess?

Yep. They overpolled Democrats. This time it was by a 49%-42% ratio, which could possibly occur randomly, unlike the 13% gap in the recent LA Times poll.

But there are more gems in this poll. Among those voicing a preference for Bush, 64% said they would definitely vote for him, 21% said they would probably vote for him, and only 15% said they might change their mind. Among those voicing a preference for Kerry, 55% said they were certain, 29% said they were probably going to vote for him, and 16% said they might change their mind.

The poll certainly indicates that DYKWIA should pick the Breck Girl as his VP nominee--the Kerry/Edwards ticket was the only option that improved Kerry's chances. Kerry/Gephard loses by two, Kerry/Vilsack by four, and Kerry/Clark also by four.

There's more good news. When asked whether the US economy has created or lost jobs over the last six months, an incredible 57% of all adults answered that more jobs have been lost (now we know why John Kerry keeps trying to convince people this is the Great Depression; because that's what they already believe). This is good news because we know that sooner or later folks are going to catch on that the economy is in fact percolating along quite nicely.

Hat Tip: Blogs for Bush

- Pat, 10:13 AM

LaShawn Barber on Savage Nation

LaShawn Barber is one of our favorite bloggers. She put up a post yesterday regarding President Bush's admittedly effusive praise for Bill Clinton on the occasion of the unveiling of the portraits of the former President and First Lady. Pretty soon she got a call from the producers of Savage Nation, who wanted her to make a guest appearance on the show. Unfortunately I did not hear it, but she acquitted herself well according to the comments from listeners on her blog. If anybody knows where the last show can be listened to, I would appreciate a heads-up. Unfortunately, KRLA (the station I commonly listen to over the internet), which has Savage from 6-9 PM, does not have his latest show available for listening, unlike Bennett, Praeger, Medved and Hewitt.

Congrats, LaShawn!

- Pat, 9:25 AM

Latest Goofy Idea

Colorado is looking at a ballot initiative whereby the state's nine electoral college votes would be parceled out according to the percentage each candidate gets in the state. This of course is an attempt to gut the electoral college, being pursued in Colorado because of its relatively easy ballot access.

The problem? Well, for starters, Colorado would be engaging in unilateral disarmament. If the ballot initiative passes, presidential candidates would be able to ignore that state, since the most they would probably lose is about 1 electoral college vote. The campaigns would focus their energy and resources on states like Florida, where the difference could be 27 electoral college votes.

- Pat, 8:31 AM

VEEP STAKES

NUNN SO BRAVE
IN the race among Democrats to become John Kerry's running mate, former Sen. Sam Nunn, 65, is ahead by a nose. Sources say the FBI has started combing through records of his business dealings, reviewing files and relationships. No wonder they started early — Nunn, a native of Georgia, serves on the boards of ChevronTexaco, Coca-Cola, Dell, GE, Internet Security Systems and Scientific-Atlanta, in addition to acting as co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. A rep for the Kerry campaign said, "We're not commenting on the process."

- Kitty, 8:08 AM

It's Up to You, New Jersey, New Jersey!

The Washington Times takes a hard look at the Garden State's ambivalence towards Nuancy Boy. Not surprisingly, they come to the same conclusion as Kerry Haters.

Kerry's New Jersey problem has some Democrats puzzled and more than a little concerned. Speculation about the cause ranges from the state's front-row seat for the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center to Mr. Kerry's monied lifestyle and patrician demeanor.

Yep. Now you know why the Democrats scream bloody murder when the President uses 9-11 images in any ads. They know they're in trouble on terrorism.

- Pat, 6:23 AM

Kerry Doing Poorly in Union Households

Michael Putney went along as union members canvassed from door-to-door to gauge the level of interest in Kerry's campaign in South Florida.

It's scant evidence, but my afternoon in a mostly white, middle-class suburb of the most Democratic county in Florida tells me that John Kerry still has a lot of work to do to win the hearts, minds and votes of what should be his natural constituency. All the families we visited have at least one member who belongs to a union; if they're not almost automatically in the Kerry column, who is?

This reinforces that message:

Every presidential successful candidate has a hard-core cadre of supporters who see his candidacy as a crusade. The folks I saw on Sunday weren't Kerry crusaders. He won't win without an army of them.

- Pat, 6:17 AM

IT’S OFFICIAL!

Even before the Democratic National Convention has bogged down Boston, it’s official: John F. Kerry is the “Democratic Candidate.” Says who? Bosley Bobbers, the purveyors of those dashing dashboard decorations known as bobbing head dolls. Personally, I think his bobbing head looks more like that Monkeyshines miscreant, Gary Hart.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bobbing head is

and a really good likeness, too.

Hillary’s bobbing head looks like Ellen Degeneres, but she IS in a skirt, which may make her head worth the bargain price of $14.95. But hurry as there are only a limited number left.

However, the bobbing heads of Bill Clinton, Jimmah Carter (looks like John Edwards) and George W. Bush (looks NOTHING like him), along with those of Felix the Cat and Area Alien 51, are all “retired.”

- Kitty, 6:00 AM

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Kerry Haters Scoops Drudge, Washington Times...

We don't like to pat our own backs around here at Kerry Haters, largely because the resulting chiropractic bills put a dent in our budget. But sometimes...

Drudge has a scoop dated as of Tuesday the 15th. The Washington Times follows up with one also datelined Tuesday the 15th. The scoop? That the LA Times "poll" released last week was skewed because it had about 13 percentage points more Democrats than Republicans (Democrats made up 38% of the sample, Republicans 25%, and independents/don't know the remainder).

Of course, those of you who read Kerry Haters regularly knew this on Friday the 11th, because we sat down with a spreadsheet and worked out that the poll had oversampled Democrats by 13 percentage points. In fact, we did better than Drudge and the Washington Times, because we showed that if the Times had polled as many Republicans as Democrats, they would have found that Bush was leading Kerry by four points, in contrast to the LA Times' report that Kerry was leading by seven.

Hat Tip: Ral in our comments section.

- Pat, 11:00 PM

Teh-RAY-za Explains

The Ketchup Queen revealed that she became a Democrat when the Republicans "questioned the patriotism" of poor Max Cleland, the Georgia Senator who lost three limbs in an accident in Vietnam. Of course, the Republicans didn't question his patriotism, they questioned his voting record. Voting record, patriotism, it's all the same to the Lady of Louisburg Square. Of course, if she had any real conscience, she'd switch back in protest of her own comments questioning the patriotism of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

- Pat, 4:59 PM

New Legion Member

John Kerry Truth is another member who comes to us via Waffle House. That's the great thing about finding new Kerry Haters out there--find one and odds are you'll find a few others in their blogroll. Funny photos, solid writing, and my favorite: Myths About John Kerry. Also, check out "Did You Know He Served in Vietnam?"

- Pat, 3:50 PM

The Electoral College

ABC's The Note takes a look at the electoral college situation. They allocated safe states to the candidates and came up with 172 EVs for Bush, 168 EVs for Kerry. Then they whittled down the battleground states to six really battleground states. Result: Bush 254, Kerry 217 (270 needed to win). The states they see remaining are Pennsylvania (voted for Gore in 2000), Ohio (Bush), Wisconsin (Gore), Oregon (Gore) New Mexico (Gore) and New Hampshire (Bush). Either Pennsylvania or Ohio would put Bush over the top, as would a combined win in Oregon and Wisconsin. Of course, the terrifying prospect is Bush wins only Wisconsin and New Mexico on that list, resulting in a deadlock.

Don't get me wrong, I think when push comes to shove, the voters will go for Bush in a fairly big way, say 53-54%. Not quite a landslide, but enough for the President to claim a mandate. And if that happens, Kerry will lose badly in the EC, by 100 votes or more.

Hat Tip: Just One Minute

- Pat, 3:26 PM

This Bumper Sticker Already Has the Liberals Frothing

Bill Hobbs did a great job.

Hat Tip: Hugh Hewitt.

- Pat, 1:11 PM

McGreevey and McGreedy

Kerry shares a special moment with New Jersey's tax-raising governor.

- Pat, 10:54 AM

Rapid Response from Crush Kerry

Our great buddies over at Crush Kerry, knowing that this was Kerry's week to bash Bush on the economy, have compiled the Real Bush Economic Record. Suffice to say that The Againster won't be mentioning the facts that the CK wizards have assembled.

The U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders. Under President Bush's leadership, we have created 1.4 million jobs since August and the economy is growing at its fastest rate in 20 years. Despite this positive news, John Kerry continues his misery tour and furthers his efforts to talk down the growing economy. Because the accepted Misery Index measurement is at a historic low, Kerry has created his own index to find misery in America's economy, and justify his absurd comparison of our growing economy to the Great Depression.

Heh, we certainly had a lot of fun with the Miserable Index.

- Pat, 10:29 AM

Post #1000

Another milestone reached. I started this blog on February 28th, so it's been running for 108 days, roughly nine posts a day. Thanks to all who come here, and especially thanks to my co-blogger, Kitty. Let's see, 140 more days, at nine posts a day, we should be at 2,260 by the election. Actually I suspect it will be more, because there will be much more news about the Lord of Louisville Square as the election draws nearer.

Oh, and always remember: KILL THIS BLOG!

- Pat, 10:22 AM

Who is Tom Vilsack?

Jim Geraghty has the answer to the question everybody will be asking if Nuancy Boy chooses him for the VP spot.

Vilsack may be the nicest guy this side of Tom Hanks, but the above question would be the most common instant reaction to the news of his selection. His national name recognition is probably in the single digits. A FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll taken from June 8-9, found Vilsack the preferred running mate of 2 percent of registered voters, 3 percent of a Democratic subsample.

Amusingly, Vilsack may not even help Kerry carry his home state of Iowa. Geraghty notes that recent polls indicate Kerry winning over Bush, but with Vilsack on the ticket Bush/Cheney leads.

Past experience has taught me to be cautious about predicting who gets tapped for the #2 job. Most of the time the response is, "Who?" Vilsack certainly fits that bill, but if you read this article, that won't be your response. It'll be, "Why?"

- Pat, 10:03 AM

So Much for Optimism

Nuancy Boy's attempt to paint himself as the heir to the optimism of Ronald Reagan ran up against his schedule this week. Since it's the programmed time to talk about the economy, he immediate reverted to doom and gloom mode.

"The fact is that the middle class is going backward, and those trying to get into it are sliding backward, working harder, two or three jobs, can't get ahead while the people at the top are doing better and better," Kerry said, speaking at a fundraiser hosted by rock singer Jon Bon Jovi.

"I've met steelworkers and mineworkers and autoworkers who are now ex-workers, and every single one of them know that their job has been unbolted before their eyes, shipped overseas," the Massachusetts senator said at the airport rally.

Yeah, that sounds real optimistic to me. Of course, it's hard for Kerry to stay optimistic with news like this:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment brightened in early June as an improving jobs market offset the effect of high gas prices, the instability in Iraq (news - web sites) and higher interest rates, analysts said on Tuesday.

- Pat, 9:33 AM

Kerry: Wrong Then, Wrong Now

The Washington Times takes him to task.

In 1986, Libyan terrorists bombed a Berlin disco that killed one American GI and wounded 51. Mr. Reagan ordered an immediate retaliatory air strike. This response apparently angered Mr. Kerry, who said, "It is obvious that our response was not proportional to the disco bombing ... There are numerous other actions we can take, in concert with our allies, to bring significant pressure to bear on countries supporting or harboring terrorists." Sound familiar?

- Pat, 9:32 AM

Kerry's Religious Outreach Director's Curious Past

Well, curious for a religious person, anyway; not so curious for a Kerry campaign member.

According to Catholic League President William Donohue, when Vanderslice was in college she was active in the Earlham Socialist Alliance, a group that supports convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal and openly embraces Marxism-Leninism.

Upon college graduation, Donohue said, Vanderslice spoke at rallies organized by ACT-UP, an anti-Catholic group that disrupted Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1989 and spit the Eucharist on the floor.

In 2000, according to Donohue, Vanderslice practiced civil disobedience by taking part in a protest of the World Trade Organization in Seattle, and in 2002, she was among those who tried to shut down the nation's capital in a protest against the IMF and the World Bank.

Now you know why Kerry is losing among those who consider themselves religious by something like 25 points.

- Pat, 8:16 AM

A Test for Kerry

Peter Feaver suggests that Kerry should start bashing the president. President Jacques Chirac.

Mr. Kerry also said that the allies would find it difficult to contribute without greater cover from the United Nations. We now have it. Why can't Mr. Kerry find it in his heart to express a modicum of disappointment with, say, the Germans, who for months have vowed not to provide troops even with United Nations endorsement, even if NATO authorizes them to do so?

Feaver points out that it may be difficult to do so, because Kerry's constituency is diametrically opposed to his current position on Iraq, and because success in Iraq would hurt his candidacy.

One way to persuade voters that he is presidential is for Mr. Kerry to put the country's interests ahead of his own, narrowly construed. Turning his considerable critical attention, however briefly, onto the failings of others (besides President Bush's) would be a great place to start.

Indeed. Okay, here's a test for Nuancy Boy. We're going to watch over the next couple weeks to see if he has any criticism for Germany and France. If he doesn't provide it, then we know he's putting his interests ahead of those of the United States.

- Pat, 7:30 AM

FLIGHTS OF FANTASY

L’Fraude was the ar-teest who designed the flag decor on his campaign plane. Gee, I wonder whose idea it was to put “JOHN KERRY PRESIDENT” on the plane, too?

SHOWING HIS COLORS
Kerry personally designed the re-tooled exterior art on his presidential campaign's plane, drawing pictures of how he wanted large American flags placed on the fuselage of his jet.
"He wanted flags that appeared to be waving in the wind," says a staffer. "He wanted the plane to be more patriotic and upbeat. This was Senator Kerry's idea all the way."

- Kitty, 6:56 AM

Monday, June 14, 2004

The Wit of John Kerry

It's obvious that he's got Al Franken writing his material (same article as the one on Bon Jovi below):

"I know it makes a lot of you nervous," Kerry told the guests, "the idea of my coming here to a fund-raiser, leaving at 8:30 with a million dollars and then 11 o'clock I'm on the news at the blackjack table in Atlantic City. I promise I will not gamble with your money the way George Bush has gambled with the money of this country."

He is just such a cutup--everybody thinks he's the funniest thing since Bozo the Clown!

- Pat, 10:59 PM

Kerry Busted

The Borowitz Report has the scoop.

“John is a dear friend of mine, and I was flattered that he wanted me to join the ticket – at first,” Mr. McCain told reporters. “But over the past few weeks he has gotten downright creepy.”

Creepy and kookie? Altogether ookie?

Hat Tip: Roger L. Simon

- Pat, 10:48 PM

Yet Another Member for the Legion of Kerry Haters

Scary John Kerry comes to us via Waffle House. They have three excellent flash animations at their website. Weapons of Mass Destruction is an excellent reference for folks whose friends think "Bush lied" about WMD. It's Good to Be John F. Kerry highlights the Lord of Louisville Square's real estate holdings. And Taxes 2004 has a good dig at Kerry's lack of philanthropy.

- Pat, 10:24 PM

Ancient Rocker: Stop Questioning My Patriotism

Former rocker Jon Bon Jovi put back in his dentures long enough to talk about the harassment he has experienced due to his decision to hold a fund-raising concert for Le Fraude.

"I've received hate mail at my house. I've had people drive by my home and shout things out," Bon Jovi told guests gathered outside his home along the Navesink River. "And I think that they question my patriotism because I decided to stand up and have a voice."

Isn't that hilarious? Whenever anybody gives you a hard time, just moan that they're questioning your patriotism. Who do you think could have taught him that lesson?

- Pat, 8:21 PM

Kerry's To Do List

Joel at No Pundit Intended got a peek.

Blame: "the family", speech writers, secret service agents, Vietnam, Bush, Cheney, unfair questions from republican citizens, the schedule.

- Pat, 7:08 PM

Black-Out Drunks for Kerry

- Pat, 6:53 PM

Wish I'd Thought of That!

Kerry Core took advantage of Nuancy Boy's week off to make up some very funny fake news stories about Kerry. Personal favorite:

"Mr President, Bring Back this Wall!"

That's as good as Scrappleface.

- Pat, 6:43 PM

Stemming Kerry's Call for Stem Cells

Catholic Kerry watch does a good job of summing things up on this issue.

- Pat, 6:05 PM

Klaatu Barada Nicto

The Day the Planet Stood Still with John Kerry reprising Michael Rennie's role in the 1951 classic. Very funny and entertaining. You'll want to hear it, so it may not be work-appropriate. Also check out Z-Span.

Hat Tip: Waffle House

- Pat, 5:51 PM

New Discovery for the Legion

I'm probably the last to discover this site, but it's quite good (volume down at work though). Lots of funny pics, lots of cool content.

- Pat, 3:38 PM

Daschle Accidentally Admits Truth

Here's a very interesting story about Tom Daschle's proposal to ban third-party advertising in his race against John Thune.

Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle has signed a pledge that calls for a ban on third-party political advertising in the 2004 Senate campaign and has asked Republican challenger John Thune to do the same.

Well, isn't that precious? How in the world does Daschle intend to get Moo-On & Company not to advertise? Despite the name, it's a voluntary ban. Essentially Daschle is saying, "I can get them not to run the ads." IOW, these are not organizations independent of the campaigns.

- Pat, 2:47 PM

Kerry Election to Touch Off War in the Middle East?

Michael King makes the case. Solid analysis as always, Michael!

- Pat, 1:42 PM

He'd Vote for Kerry if He Could Part X

I keep looking at this picture and wondering if it's a she. Scary thought.

- Pat, 1:29 PM

Kerry Not Appealing to the Left

Our friends over at Crush Kerry have suggested for awhile that a useful approach in this campaign would be to force Kerry to choose between the left and the middle, by highlighting to leftists his attempts to move to the center. The theory here is that if we can suppress the leftist vote, Kerry will lose, and if he tries to tack back to the left, he'll lose voters in the center.

This is somewhat similar to the Republican's attempt to make Democratic Senate candidates pick between Kerry's proposals and what they need to do to win. And here's some evidence that the Crush Kerry proposal would work.

At a forum on the Iraq war, for example, there was obvious unhappiness with Kerry's positions. In particular, the overwhelmingly anti-war participants didn't like his plan to strengthen the U.S. presence in Iraq. "I hope he gets over this notion of sending more troops," said peace activist David Cortright. "I think that is a disaster. We need to abandon any notion of sending any more troops."

This is one of the areas that CK has highlighted as a place where Kerry is vulnerable to a revolt by his left flank. However, there remains one problem: How to target the Leftist audience who could be moved by this information. One possible solution: Airhead America. Unfortunately, Al Franken's network declined the opportunity to make some money (no wonder they're having trouble meeting payroll). This is really not that surprising. As I've commented in the past, if Airhead America loses $30 million and Kerry is elected, they will feel it was a success; if they make $30 million (not likely with boneheaded decisions like this) and Kerry loses, they will feel it was a failure.

The question is, where else can this kind of effort be targeted? Let's do as Crush Kerry has done and think outside the box for a moment. I suggested hitting the Air America affiliates in battleground states like Minnesota and Oregon. Any other thoughts? Anybody? Bueller?

- Pat, 11:07 AM

Them Dems

The Democrats have discovered the downside if Kerry is elected. No, not that he'll rescind the tax cuts, not the fact that he'll conduct an international apology tour, not that his idea of how to battle terrorism is to make sure there are more firemen and police to respond to the catastrophes that will inevitably follow his election.

The Democrats will lose his Senate seat. That's right. Because Massachusetts' governor, Mitt Romney, is a Republican, he will have the power to appoint a temporary replacement until a special election can be held in 2006. However, the Democrats in Massachusetts state legislature are scrambling to try to avoid that by scheduling an earlier special election.

This is typical of the "win at any cost" Democrats. Remember Bob Torricelli?

Fortunately, we here at Kerry Haters have another way to avoid this calamity. Just make sure Kerry doesn't get elected, and the Democrats do not lose his seat. Everybody wins.

- Pat, 10:46 AM

Democratic Senate Candidates Keep Their Distance from Kerry

The Republicans are trying a very smart trick. They are trying to force Democratic Senate candidates from conservative states to indicate where they stand on some of Kerry's proposals, from tax increases to his opposition to a constitutional amendment banning abortion.

This puts the Dem Senate candidates squarely between the rock and the hard place. If they align themselves with Kerry's policies, they'll probably end up losing; if they divorce themselves from Kerry's policies they're indirectly criticizing him.

But one recent prominent race suggests that Democrats can win in conservative-leaning states if they do wash their hands of Mr. Kerry.

Democrat Stephanie Herseth, who did not invite Mr. Kerry to campaign for her, won the June 1 South Dakota special House election against Republican Larry Diedrich, who enjoyed campaign visits by Vice President Dick Cheney and first lady Laura Bush.

Hat Tip: Kerry Spot

- Pat, 9:51 AM

Kerry Sitting on the Floor

Irwin Stelzer says the Kerry campaign is like a three-legged stool.

The first leg is that Bush is a job destroyer; but the economy has created almost 1m jobs in the past three months, and is probably adding more than 10,000 every day.

The second leg is that Bush has antagonised America’s allies and is isolated. The 15-0 Security Council vote to recognise the Bush-backed Iraqi government saws that leg off.

The final leg is that the Bush tax cuts have been a disaster. But Reagan’s death has reminded everyone that the late president’s tax cuts helped to end the recession he inherited from Jimmy Carter, just as Bush’s cuts kept the Clinton recession short and mild.

You know, I do think that the Kerry campaign resembles a stool, but I have a different definition in mind.

Hat Tip: Alpha Patriot

- Pat, 8:01 AM

Mr Kerry Not Voting

Viking Pundit has the updated results.

- Pat, 7:57 AM

Clinton To Help Kerry?

Clinton reportedly plans to use his book tour to help Nuancy Boy's campaign.

Mr. Clinton's efforts to help Mr. Kerry are fraught with risks, Democratic strategists say, including the danger of arousing the legions of Clinton-haters, the possibility of upstaging the candidate himself, and campaign finance rules restricting publicity expenditures around an election. For months, Democratic strategists have worried that if Mr. Clinton's book appeared too close to the election, he could hog the limelight and upstage Mr. Kerry. In the last election, Vice President Al Gore sought to distance himself from Mr. Clinton on the campaign trail rather than risk association with the scandals surrounding his administration.

- Pat, 7:16 AM

I'm Not George Bush, and I Approve This Message

Sam Dealey tackles Kerry's attempt to get elected as the un-Bush. He notes a poll result that I hadn't heard before:

In late May, for example, an ABC News/Washington Post poll showed the contest to be a dead heat. But in the fine print were worrying signs for Kerry. Asked if their vote was more for their candidate or more against his opponent, strong disparities emerged. Among Bush supporters, 77 percent said they were voting for the president. Among Kerry supporters, the opposite held true: Just 38 percent truly supported Kerry, while 61 percent said they opposed Bush.

He notes that is unlikely to sustain the campaign, especially since Bush has done a great job of organization.

"We have a county chair in every single state that was closest in 2000," says Bush campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise. "And in many of those closest states, we're organizing down to the precinct level, building a robust grassroots team."

"I think that they're lying," says Brazile. "I think they're organized down to the block level. I think they've done one step better."

- Pat, 6:41 AM

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Jim Vandenhei reports on the lack of enthusiasm for John F. Kerry among Democrats.

These Democrats say the enthusiasm for defeating Bush runs much stronger and deeper than the passion for electing Kerry. The chief reason: The Massachusetts senator, they say, has been unable to crisply articulate what a Kerry presidency would stand for beyond undoing much of the Bush agenda.

That's largely because he's doing his darnedest to look like the mythological generic Democrat on the theory that's all he needs to be. Indeed, I half expect his next suit to be black and white with a upc code on the sleeve.

- Pat, 9:46 PM

Kerry Strolls LA

The LA Times covers Kerry's brief stroll on UCLA's campus.

As Kerry headed back to his hotel, he passed a couple of medical students wearing white jackets. One stared in apparent disbelief. "That's John Kerry," the man said. The woman with him asked: "Who's John Kerry?"

Don't worry, lady, everybody will be saying the same thing in 2006.

- Pat, 8:37 PM

She'd Vote for Kerry if She Could

- Pat, 11:15 AM

Nobody Excited About Kerry

Boi from Troy reports that Antonio Villaraigosa, a national Latino co-chair of Kerry's campaign was a little too honest on Friday night:

"After all, let's face it. Is anyone excited about electing John Kerry or do you really want to defeat George Bush?"

Hat Tip: Crush Kerry

- Pat, 11:04 AM

Kerry No Kennedy

Mickey Edwards points out that Nuancy Boy suffers not just from comparison to John Kennedy, but to Ted Kennedy.

Ted Kennedy has caught grief for years for freezing when he was asked why he wanted to be president. His answer, you recall, was essentially, "duh." A lot of us have had fun with that (when I was teaching at Harvard I used that moment as an example of why one should have clearly in mind his or her purpose in running -- why a candidate should be able to articulate the passions that drive him or her to seek the power to shape public policy. But fair is fair: Ted Kennedy was caught off guard with a question he wasn't expecting, but there can be no doubt that Ted Kennedy, unlike John Kerry, knows precisely what he's about. Kennedy is an effective -- and respected -- senator because he knows what he believes. It is not in comparison with Senator Kennedy's brother that Kerry suffers (there have been few Jack Kennedys, after all), but in comparison with his fellow senator from Massachusetts. This is the question one might ask of John Kerry. Don't you have even the foggiest idea what it is that you believe? Do you really need to gather a dozen advisers to figure out what your campaign is about? Because in the end, simply being "not Dubya" is probably not going to cut it.

- Pat, 10:27 AM

Buchanan Goes 'Round the Bend

Pat Buchanan has always been a jerk. The good news is that he's no longer a Republican jerk. He claims to be a conservative, but about the only sign of that these days is that he's pro-life. His American Conservative magazine makes the attempt to sell Ralph Nader to the "disenfranchised Right".

Get this question:

Pat Buchanan: Let me start off with foreign policy—Iraq and the Middle East. You have seen the polls indicating widespread contempt for the United States abroad. Why do they hate us?

Why do they hate us? Does that sound like a question a conservative would be asking?

- Pat, 10:01 AM

Teh-RAY-za in Marin

Paul Liberatore went to the Mill Valley fund raiser featuring the Ketchup Queen held last week despite the supposed suspension of the campaign. As usual, the entertainment list included some of the hottest stars of 1973, Maria Muldaur and Pete Sears. As usual, Teh-RAY-za was wearing that brown Armani pants suit (watch for it--she wears that outfit almost constantly).

Speaking with the aid of 3-by-5 cards, she was at her best when she expressed her revulsion at the Bush administration's ruination of the GOP. But when she insisted on saying "if my husband wins" the presidency instead of "when he wins" ("I'm superstitious," she explained), I had to cringe. I could sense her handlers smiling through gritted teeth. And when she derided the Bush White House for operating in secrecy, it rang a little hollow, coming in a speech that the Kerry campaign didn't want anyone outside of the room to know about.

If Teh-RAY-za doesn't like the way Bush has "ruined" the GOP, one suspects she's not going to be happy at the way he ruins the Democrats this fall.

- Pat, 9:46 AM

JUST A REMINDER

"They have managed [George W. Bush] the same way they managed
Ronald Reagan. They send him out to the press for one event a day. They put him in a brown jacket and jeans and get him to move some hay or drive a truck, and all of a sudden, he's the Marlboro Man." --John Kerry's 2003 interview in Vogue, criticizing Bush by comparing him to Reagan

- Kitty, 7:28 AM

McCain for Veep Finally Fizzles Out

Kerry's not going to get McCain to switch parties. The Breck Girl raised $150,000 for Kerry at a recent fund raiser. I still say the smart money's on Gephardt, but I'm always surprised by the pick in the end.

- Pat, 12:27 AM

Gomer Pyle, US Senator