Posted on 11/23/2004 5:16:28 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
Many Democratic lawmakers are interpreting Sen. John Kerry’s active participation in selecting the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as the strongest signal yet that the defeated presidential candidate is keeping his options open for a bid in 2008.
Last week, Kerry contacted nearly every elected member of the House Democratic leadership, and other powerful lawmakers, on behalf of Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa. On Monday, Vilsack issued a statement that he was no longer pursuing the chairmanship.
But Kerry’s aggressive support of Vilsack has convinced many key House Democrats that Kerry wants to install a chairman who would be in Kerry’s debt and would not attempt to dissuade the Massachusetts senator from seeking the highest office again.
Lawmakers and top House aides say that Kerry’s involvement in the DNC race is the latest of several clear signals that he does not plan to fade into the political horizon. They speculated that Kerry could depend on Vilsack’s loyalty, noting that he was on Kerry’s short list as a potential vice-presidential running mate and that Vilsack’s wife publicly campaigned for Kerry in the Iowa caucuses.
Kerry sang Vilsack’s praises in his first meeting with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the new Senate minority leader, Harry Reid (D-Nev.), two weeks ago, according to Pelosi’s public statements. Kerry has also contacted caucus Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, in addition to several other lawmakers who did not want to be named. It was unclear if he had any conversations with House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
Word of Kerry’s staunch backing of Vilsack, and Kerry’s intent to stay involved in internal party politics, has spread throughout the caucus.
“Obviously, Senator Kerry, notwithstanding his loss, is still very much in the mix and cares about where the DNC is heading in the future,” said a key member of the caucus who was contacted by Kerry.
“He has contacted me, and he has shared his opinion. He wants to be part of this process,” Cummings said.
Kerry’s attempt to play kingmaker was met with a range of reactions, from polite courtesy to private derision, among lawmakers and aides.
Some lawmakers said they were taken aback by Kerry’s aggressiveness on this issue.
“He not only lost, he lost badly,” said a key member of the Congressional Black Caucus who did not want to be identified. “Is anyone going to listen to him after the way he ran his own campaign?”
Maybe in '08 there will be a "knock down, drag out" primary fight between Hitlery and the Poodle consuming vast quantities of Dem money.
Then, by the time of the election, both of these two scumbags will be exposed, by each other. Hitlery for sure will have to drop the charade of being a moderate to toady to her fellow Stalinists of the Dem party in the primaries.
Sometime in the next year or so, the Hitlery attack machine will start on Kerry if he tries to stick his head up. She will probably release her own set of Swift Boat ads.
He won't get very far in the primaries.
Cruel thing to watch an old French Poodle torn apart by a Cocker Spaniel.
I hadn't even read the whole article and I just laughed out loud at the visual of Kerry on the famous "cellphone" calling all of these important Dems about Vilsack and the guy goes right out and takes his name out of consideration.
Can you see Kerry's face? Actually, he is so self-absorbed he is unaware that even his compadres are laughing at him. What a maroon!!
John Adlai Kerry
I agree with this sentiment--I know a lot of the dems and even some here like to point out about how W won narrowly over Kerry, but IMO just winning, and winning decisively, was a huge accomplishment. Sure, Kerry is an uncharismatic, unlikable Frost Belt liberal (weird-looking, too) with a lot of Vietnam and legislative (not to mention lack thereof) baggage, but look what W was up against--a MSM shilling as never before in recent memory for Kerry (he had 70+% favorable coverage compared W's mid 30%), an extraordinarily united anti-Bush democrat party, the vicious 527's and their ads and their billionaire backers, the draft scare lie, the trumped-up flu shot "crisis," etc.
Plus, W had huge, potentially fatal liabilities of his own--the perception of a stagnant economy, the highly conflicted, ambiguous sentiment about the war. Also, the "lesser" liability of high gas prices. His dismal 1st debate performance was damaging, too.
So with all this, Kerry STILL COULDN'T win! That says it all.
If John F'n Kerry wants some more, then I SAY Bring, It, On.
He might want to take the next four years to try to think up some lines and ideas of his own though. And "W is for Wrong" was not a brilliant example.
Ain't going to happen!
That is Kerry's ass talking. His head knows better.
If he is even thiking of running in '08, he better stay out of airplanes and Ft. Marcy Park.
2008 belongs to Hillary.
I think Submariner Kennedy might be behind this, as a move to block the Klintons. However, I think the Klintons will win out, with Icky installed as DNCC.
The Swift Boat Vets may be called upon for another tour of duty should Kerry run again. The media will give Kerry another free pass and make believe he is a Vietnam War Hero.
They are looking at his millions and millions of dollars he will raise for advertisements on t.v. The big media will have another record year in advertisement sales in 2008, should Kerry and Hillary run for President and Vice President. So the liberal media will be Kerry's biggest promoters for the next 3 years. He will raise money for them!
One major hedge against this happening is for Mass. voters to deny him re-election.
What I'm wondering is whether kerry's endorsement may have been the kiss of death for Vilsack. Certainly hillary would not want anyone in the position who owed kerry for the job. She wants her own man in there.
I think if he wants to serve in the United States Senate he darned well OUGHT to cough up his military and health records. Can't believe they never pushed him on this. I'd like to get some pressure on him now if I knew how. The hell with healing, I want a pound of flesh. You don't do the things they did and then say it was just politics. They were over the line. Way over the line.
BTW I'm passing out sweet cake and candies to the children on the news that Rather is going away.
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