I have a LOT of issues with Ronald Reagan, but his commandment “Thou Shalt Not Speak Ill Of Fellow Party Members” is one that the Democrats would do well to take to heart. Not to mention that this kind of circular firing squad is really insulting to those of us (namely, would be voters) who know that framing it this way might make Republicans feel better, but just really is not so reality-based.
Newsday (h/t Taylor Marsh)
In a speech this afternoon in central Iowa, Barack Obama seems to have widened his criticism of the politics of the past to encompass not only Hillary Clinton but John Kerry and Nobel Laureate Al Gore.
Making an argument for his electability, Obama said, “I don’t want to go into the next election starting off with half the country already not wanting to vote for Democrats — we’ve done that in 2004, 2000,” according to a person at the event.
Update: A lot of commenters seem to think that Obama’s statement is fine. Absolutely your prerogative to think so; however, from my point of view, it looks like Obama is playing into Republican framing:
1) Gore did not alienate half of the voters in 2000; Gore won the popular vote. The election was given to Bush by the Supreme Court. It is Republican revisionist history that it was a close election when there is evidence of election tampering and extra-constitutional decisions on the part of SCOTUS. Further, how much does it help woo Democratic votes to push a Republican meme and discredit a recent Nobel Peace Prize winner and extremely popular public figure?
2) Kerry did not alienate half of the voters in 2004. More Americans voted for Kerry in 2004 than voted for any other candidate in US history, save for (allegedly) GWB. Again, there is demonstrable evidence of election tampering. Why push the Republican meme that Kerry was just so unlikable? Kerry’s problems did not stem with his electability, as evidenced by his votes, but by his unwillingness to challenge the election results.
3) It is ALWAYS a bad idea to serve up a soundbyte to your Republican opponents that reinforces THEIR campaigning. ALWAYS. See Reagan’s quote above. No matter who ends up with the Democratic nod (and for every ridiculous conspiracist in the comments, C&L is not endorsing ANY candidate; we have received no compensation from a campaign or group), that quote may haunt the candidate–including if it’s Barack, by painting the country as far more divided than we really are. Poll after poll show that there is a substantial approval for a progressive agenda in the country, why not stand for that without detraction?
The nature of caucusing as a primary means that candidates are vying not only for being the top vote getter but also the second choice of others, and if the polling is correct, Obama is pushing this frame to woo the center over progressives. Again, a valid political strategy, but not necessarily one that I agree with. Bill W elaborates:
While the Obama camp has earned itself quite a bit of criticism over the last week or so for running to the right of his counterparts, if the Des Moines Register’s latest poll is correct, and although it has a very strong track record its conclusion that nearly 50% of Iowa’s Democratic caucus-goers will be independents and republican crossovers has understandably raised some doubts, that strategy may turn out to work for team Obama.
Trying to grab the center may seem surprising for a primary, but maybe not for a caucus like Iowa’s. It all depends on a multitude of factors like the weather and whose field operation is better and even then it may come down more to who people’s second choice on who to caucus for when their first choice doesn’t garner the needed 15% . Who would have ever guessed a couple of months ago it would be this close at this point? The Democratic Party process for the Iowa caucus is quite complicated but it does have a history for picking the eventual presidential nominee. We’ll all be watching to see how it plays out this time.
No Trackbacks To “Obama slams Gore, Kerry in Iowa“
Trying to cater to the Broderites isn’t cool
Grow Up! All of you guys on the lefty blogs are imploding, trashing Obama at every turn. This is going to make it all the more difficult for you to eat your words when you start supporting Obama as the nominee.
Besides, he’s right. Is there anything wrong with what he said? No, both Gore and Kerry started off with high negatives.
It takes balls to criticize a man who would beat you like a red-headed step-child if he entered the race.
Gore is enormously popular and Obama has nothing to gain by slamming him. The knee-jerk Gore/Clinton haters ain’t voting for Obama anyway.
Sorry, Nicole. He’s 100% right. If we want to win this election, we can’t alienate 50% of the population.
Paul @ 2:
Thank you for your concern
REAlly….H/t TAylor Marsh???
What the biggest HillShill on the net, who exaggerates EVERYTHING Obama says.
He is not perfect, but it is interesting you get that he is slaming Al Gore from that article, I get that he is just saying like it was, ther are such things as FACTS by the way!
How is that statement slamming anyone?
Josh @ 4:
There are about 30-35% of voters who are going to vote for the GOP candidate, even if they nominate Osama Bin Laden.
These are the same people who think G-Dub is doing a wonderful job.
And please explain exactly how Gore alienated 50% of the electorate? Or Kerry? The only thing they did was be Democrats.
If Obama Democrats think they can attract Republicans by being reasonable then they have not taken in the way Republicans in Congress behaved during the last session. If Obama wants to diss Gore and Kerry then don’t complain when they don’t go on the trail during the campaign. Obamites are getting a bit too sure of themselves. Cockiness is great, but it will not help with Republicans.
I don’t see anything wrong with these comments. I voted for gore and kerry and I was disappointed in both the personalities of those candidates and how they ran their campaign. They were outsmarted and outplayed by Republicans…and they often took the hits on the floor and not fighting back. Kinda like today’s Democratic Congress.
I’m glad Barack is saying he won’t be like THAT type of Democrat.
Tarro @ 7:
Well If Taylor mars say it IT MUST BE TRUE.
She has been proven to be a Clinton DLC operative !
Seems to me it’s smart politics for Obama to recognize that many Independents, whom he’ll need to court in the General Election, are a little skittish of the Far Left and that they are already paying attention now to the candidates.
It amazes me how, at this point in every election, candidates have to broaden their base. And yet, without fail, commentators in the right or left wing choose to take umbrage at it.
Too, there is something a little ironic about complaining about a “circular firing squad” while criticizing a Dem candidate for trying to broaden his message to include sympathetic Independents.
The Democrats bashing each other and their own party is giving the republicans lots of time to conspire. Hey, having a divided opposition is what the republicans want and the Democrats seem to be doing the work for them at every turn. If the Democrats lose this year on all levels (and we find the elections weren’t stolen), then I will blame them and the members across the nation who have rallied for months now that they hate the Democrats (based soley on Nancy & Harry no less!) and who have stated over and over that they see no difference in them compared to the republicans. Hey, you rallied yourself to a big loss as far as I’m concerned!
[end rant]
He did not slam one single person. Come on…he was being honest about a situation.
You are trying to make something out of nothing.
he is right on
I HATE kerry and gore!!!!
gore totally caved in 2000…and therefore is in effect partly responsible for bush killing hundreds of thousands of people.
kerry was and is a joke…a sad joke
as crappy as edwards is…he is our best bet
obama is ok, i just don’t want to see his brains splattered all over pennsylvania avenue
The more he talks, the less I like him…………………
Ah I see. So it’s a lie that the country was divided in 2000 and 2004?
You’re grasping here I think.
How do you get from ‘Barack Obama seems* to have widened his criticism of the politics of the past to encompass not only Hillary Clinton but John Kerry and Nobel Laureate Al Gore.’ to ‘Obama slams Gore, Kerry in Iowa’?
Maybe he wasn’t criticizing them as people but the way that they handled their campaigns.
I have been struck by this site’s willingness to (mis)interpret Obama’s actions and statements and use them to paint him as Republican lite yet Clinton seems to get a pass. They are both closer to the center than the left but Clinton’s ties to corporate America scare me just a little more.
*emphasis mine
i have to say more…..
i am sorry but i wish you guys could come to myu old home town and talk to the “real” americans i grew up with.
you could explain obamas platform and they would go “ya ..uhuh..i like that”
then you say he’s african american and they say…”you mean he’s a fucking n______?”
“we need to send all thiose people back to africa”!!!
i don’t think you guys realize the HEAVY HARDCORE racism in this country
to even consider obama as a democratic candidate insure one of 2 outcomes…
1. the dems lose to huckabee
2. obama is assassinated…and a muslim is convicted of his murder
which do you want?
This is an example of the uniquely human ability to find patterns or justification or reason in anything if we look hard enough. It’s a pretty unexciting and uninteresting sentences lifted from the middle of a campaign speech, lacking anything new, and certainly lacking context.
myiq2xu @ 3:
Just how is the above quote slamming Gore? I voted for Gore and think he would have been a fantastic President, would have saved us a lot of heartache. The fact is that the extremely divisive nature of politics in this country has undermined the entire electoral process. It is true the the Republicans are primarily responsible for that atmosphere but, as Democrats, we have to rise above this or we justify their behavior.
Barak can say whatever he wants. The fact remains that he is un-electable in 2008.
myiq2xu @ 8:
Nah, he’s too moderate.
After watching the cover up of Bhutto’s death by the Pakistani government and knowing that George Bush loves Musharraf, I see the Democratic candidate in 2008 being gunned down no matter who it is. The fascists want to stay in power, people! They won’t give up without bloodshed. Sad.
some slam….sounds more like you wanna do the slammin’.
Nice crappy headline.
First of all this wasn’t and “attack” and he wasn’t speaking negatively. It was factual. Gore lived with the fallout from Clinton and Kerry was just not a likable person.
This was not a comment “slamming” Gore and Kerry. Liberal bloggers have to stop drinking the Edwards Kool-Aid.
I, too, am tired of the Obama-trashing at progressive blogs. Every time Obama makes a comment that is at all at odds with what “progressives are supposed to think,” the bloggers jump all over him. We who read and appreciate progressive blogs do have different opinions, you know. And you blame “the Villagers” for thinking with one mind…
There’s no way Edwards can win. 50% of the country say they won’t vote for Clinton. And yes, Gore and Kerry ran TERRIBLE campaigns in 2000 and 2004, and had high negatives.
Obama is our best hope in 2008.
Looks like he’s had his fill of the koolaid and is ready to join the rest of them in the stupidity. Congrats bambam, you’re a big boy now. Not that you impress any of US, but I’m sure the money people you’re trying to make happy were tickled pink.
I think he’s probably doing his best to end up the choice for VP knowing that he hasn’t got a prayer for the presidency.
Because it’s much better to go into the next election with the red state half the country not willing to vote for a black person.
sounds like he doesn’t care about anyone except winning.
All that was wrong with Kerry was he was stiff as a board: he was a great military hero who spoke out about the atrocities of Vietnam. And AL gore was stiff too and he came from a politician father.
Johnny Foreigner @ 18:
It is not just this site, but most of the major blogs. I hope they know what they are doing by h/ting the likes of Taylor Marsh et al.
They may be undoing all of the great things they have done for the progressive movement. They have a right to say what they want but they really need to more open about people like Taylor Marsh and her ilk and who they really work for!!!!
Paul @ 2:
There’s everything wrong with he said. Gore won in 2000 and was deprived of the WH by Republican corruption and EVERYBODY knows that. Kerry make some mistakes, but no more than Obama has made, and there’s very substantial evidence that Kerry won in 2004–first time in history John Zogby’s prediction failed and then all the corruption in OH showed up.
The biggest negative on the Democratic side is that they haven’t hung together. The Democratic Party hurt Al Gore in 2000 because, even though Clinton was the most popular president in decades (Monica debacle notwithstanding) the party refused to run on Clinton’s record and they forced Al to put that putz Lieberman on the ticket. The Party thought Lieberman was “moral” because he was an orthodox Jew. Had nothing to do with Al Gore’s electability.
Actually, the big problems Gore had in 2000 all stemmed from his advisor (Donna Brazile) making him imitate Republicans whenever a controversy arose, now Obama’s out there aping Republicans–that’s what’s wrong.
The Democrats are not in control of the country because they always eat their own instead of hanging tough together, i.e. Jimmy Carter. I’ve said all along, Obama is more Republican-lite than Hillary.
Pay attention to politics if you’re going to vote.
Shared Humanity @ 21:
So, how is criticizing your own party to sell out to the Republicans “rising above it?”
Ruthless People @ 30:
So, from this statement, I must assume that you consider his choice to be black a political liability. If only someone had mentored him as a young man, he could have instead chosen to be English or Scottish, even Irish would have been an improvement. (Don’t get me started about the Italians!)
But now, having made this very personal choice, he should have the decency to step down and withdraw from the race.
Josh @ 4:
The 50% of the country that hates John Kerry and Al Gore won’t vote Democratic anyway. Actually, there’s only 20% of the country that isn’t voting Democratic and they’re the crazy christians–Barack’s crowd if his speeches can be believed.
<strongI was for Kennedy when I was 12, I will be 60 this year and a life long Dem in about the reddest state in the world (SC) , I love Gore , but in 2000 he stunk but I voted for him , o4′ Kerry stunk , I voted for him, Our Dem Congress stinks … I’m tired of voting” anyone but Republican “.. I’m a white southerner and am proud to get ready to vote FOR Obama
This country is tired of Wimps from both parties (Reid and Pelousy) not just (Huckleberry and Giglani)
OBAMA IS RIGHT AND I’M PROUD TO SUPPORT HIM
He’s not talking about Kerry or Gore, but about HRC, who has the fifty percent negatives that may make Iowa and NH Dems think twice about electability. In fact the comment hardly makes sense when applied to Kerry and Gore–two of the most hapless campaigners since, well, Dukakis, whose strategy appeared to be to avoid offending anyone, which led both of them to run rigid, consultant-driven campaigns that avoided any sharp breaks with the past or positive vision of the future [commenter #3–were you even in the country in 2000?].
Which is, I’m sorry to say, where Obama appears to be heading: lots of soft rhetoric and oblique attacks on his rivals (he’s never had to run against real opposition, so he’s just learning the ropes) but not much more.
The new progressive blog memes, if they don’t like what you say;
“You are repeating wingnut talking points”
“You are a sell out to the ReTHUGlicans”
It is getting really old and silly. I agree some use wingnut talking points, but come on, do you really think Obama who with Edwards (among the frontrunners) are the most progressive candidates, would use wingnut talking points?
Geezzzzz
misleading caption. “Slams”? where the hell is the “slam” part.
Those were two fucking awful campaigns, thank you Mr. Shrum.
And Kerry and Gore got what they chose. Shity campagins.
myiq2xu @ 3:
Really? So, it was OK that Al Gore let the Supreme Court nominate Monkey Boy & threw away a presidential election? And John Kerry lost to that idiot? And it would be better to say nothing & act like there ISN’T a problem with Democrats getting elected, or doing what they were elected to do,…
Josh @ 4:
Explain how the Democrats are alienating 50% of the population if they don’t criticize John Kerry and Al Gore? That’s just an illogical statement. Do you want a president who has to constantly trash the Democrats to keep a good rating? That’s just another way of saying that if we don’t sell out to the Republicans, we can’t get elected. So, we’ll have a Lieberman clone in the WH?
If Democrats can’t get elected being Democrats, then this country is lost.
Hmmmm.
Let’s see… Taylor Marsh’s credibility…. ZERO - known Hillary operative.
Accuracy of comment…. 100%
Unfortunate that it came out as negative as it did, but he’s right.
The Newsday.com is so lacking in information regarding the speech that it appears to be a typical MSM slam, if you will, on Obama, designed to get Dems’ knickers in a bunch, which it has, apparently, here. What was it you were saying about not speaking ill of a fellow Dem? I don’t see the “slam,” let alone on any specific people.
Actually, the reason half of the country didn’t want to vote for Democrats had nothing to do with Gore and Kerry, it had to do with all the sleazy maneuvers of the Republicans that got people like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News in the media so that Americans were misinformed and brainwashed.
It had to do with the Reagan/Bush I years when public education was trashed and Americans became ignorant.
It had to do with the impeachment of Bill Clinton over a non-political issue, engineered by Republicans and supported by 13 Democrats.
This country is in a critical condition because of Republican sleaze and corruption. If the Democrats don’t start standing together and promoting truly democratic ideas, there’s not hope for the country. Trashing the campaign techniques of fellow Democrats does not support that agenda.