tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56041452009-02-20T22:24:34.715-08:00This is a how-to manual and handicapping report of the chances of electing a Democrat in 2004Steve Highnoreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1108488953496801662005-02-15T09:08:00.000-08:002005-02-15T09:36:32.836-08:00

RNC Ken Mehlman is gay and should be ridiculed for it at every opportunity. Why? Because all's fair in love and war. In particular, every attack on DNC Chairman Dean should answered with the information that he's married with kids, not like some people we could mention. With repetition, the RNC's chairman's sexual orientation will become late-night comedy fodder, and this will be a significant

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1107892981501569282005-02-08T11:48:00.000-08:002005-02-08T12:19:16.380-08:00

I told you Dean was going to be the DNC honcho, but you wouldn't listen. Rich Bond and other GOP galoots have been running with line, "I think it's a scream." Very funny, frat boy. But what about your RNC chairman? I mean it was nice you picked someone who shops for underwear at Victoria Secret, but why not pick a woman? Dean, at least, is married, with kids, like a lot of the so-called normal

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1102785217506475912004-12-11T08:57:00.000-08:002004-12-11T09:13:37.506-08:00

The 2000, 2002 and 2004 elections were damned close. There is no doubt that the GOP had a little of the best of it going for them in Fla. all three times. They cheated, but how much? If we had a Democratic governor there, we would have cheated too. I believe that 2004 was just about as fair as elections always are, which is not entirely. Joe Kennedy begged, borrowed, bought and stole every vote

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1102543582606274122004-12-08T13:39:00.000-08:002004-12-08T14:06:22.606-08:00

I say the guy deserves it. He and his supporters did less sitting on their hands than any defeated Democratic Party faction in history, left or right. They poured money and energy into Kerry's Campaign as if they had been for him all along. Harry Reid is exactly the right guy for senate minority leader. He is well-liked by many Reps, which could come in handy since they run the place, and he is

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1102345527043256542004-12-06T06:22:00.000-08:002004-12-06T07:10:26.686-08:00

Dems picked up a seaton Dec 3 in a Louisiana district Bush won by 58%. We're gonna need a lot of these. It's a long road ahead. There were two seats up in Louisiana. In one, the Dems were bitterly divided and lost. In the other, the Reps were bitterly divided and lost. Why does this come as no surprise? That's why I'm glad to see John Kerry acting like a candidate. When we come as close as we

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1088869833972459772004-07-03T07:52:00.000-07:002004-07-03T09:12:46.640-07:00

VICE PRESIDENT GRAHAM I have little doubt that Graham would already BE vice president, had Al Gore done the sensible thing last time. In retrospect, the notion that Lieberman would help more in FL than Graham is as asinine as any campaign decision ever made. The Lieberman pick was too clever by half--a Hail Mary pass that was supposed to help with Florida, fund-raising and Gore's largely

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1088700246611779472004-07-01T08:29:00.000-07:002004-07-01T09:44:06.613-07:00

Today, it looks like Dicky G. for VP. For a guy like Kerry, who likes to keep the ball on the ground, Gephardt is the logical choice. An eagle scout as a young man--and a boy scout in public life--Dicky G. is the least likely candidate to produce any Ferraro-like distractions and surprises. It's not at all clear that he can bring along Missouri, but his chances of doing so are better than

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1086627085426491512004-06-07T09:30:00.000-07:002004-06-07T09:54:21.986-07:00

Kerry wisely cancelled campaign appearances this week in deference to the funeral ceremonies for former president Reagan, praising Reagan for his "non-partisanship" at every opportunity. This deft and unanswerable thrust was Clintonian in both its subtlety and deadliness toward the snarling Bush-Cheney Campaign. Clinton himself, as he often does, gave Democrats a heads-up on how to act with an

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1085149971696376872004-05-21T06:45:00.000-07:002004-05-21T07:32:51.696-07:00

John Breaux is that rare politician who could deliver the election to John Kerry practically single-handedly and therefore deserves at least a look as a potential vice-presidential running mate. Although decried by some Democrats for his centrist-right views, Breaux is in truth much more liberal than John McCain. He is similar to Bentsen and Lieberman. In the 2000 Congress, McCain's voting

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1084556100761284672004-05-14T10:02:00.000-07:002004-05-14T10:37:22.600-07:00

Two polls in two days from the battleground states of Fla and OH show Kerry in the lead. The seven point spread in Ohio is esp. notable since this state went GOP by four last round. Very little from the wise guys in the press about the Kerry spots because they don't fit the Dems are stumblebums story line they're so enamored with. But the Kerry Campaign's decision to "go positive" may have been

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1084472143894698162004-05-13T10:36:00.000-07:002004-05-13T11:15:43.893-07:00

Florida seems to have tightened up, according to this Orlando Sentinel story. Scribes Mark Silva and Jim Stratton quote a poll that was fielded 4/29 through May 3 showing Kerry 48, Bush 46, Shitbird Nader 3, adding that said poll has been confirmed by others. If this is really the Fla environment, then anyone in the Kerry Campaign with access to a pocket calculator would have to love Graham.

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1084040720886153342004-05-08T10:41:00.000-07:002004-05-08T11:29:53.996-07:00

Dem radio address today, Meet the Press tomorrow... ...no accident. Key variables: Looks good as commander-in-chief. Voters will accept him as qualified. Clark leads the pack here, with serious competition only from Bill Clinton and John McCain, neither of whom will take the job. Turning red state blue: Only a tiny handful of candidates, led by Breaux of LA and Byrd of WV, could for sure do

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1078873743156814102004-03-09T15:06:00.000-08:002004-03-09T15:14:19.950-08:00

That cracking sound you hear is the "Bush Wins" story line about to fall through the ice. Most of what The Note (ABC News) calls "The Gang of 500"--writers, pols, consultants and wiseacres who talk out of the corner of their mouths--thought until recently that Bush was unbeatable. The crack Bush Team, led by the "genius" Karl Rove and backed by limitless GOP bucks--so the story line went--would

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1078612179260012382004-03-06T13:51:00.000-08:002004-03-06T14:31:51.403-08:00

Bush is playing defense two days after dropping a very premature $10 million in TV advertising. When Election Day gets close, the Bush Campaign is going to wish it had that money back. True, they are loaded, but there's never enough. Somebody at the RNC should ask Joe Trippi what he thinks about dumping early money on TV for Dean (Hint: he calls it his biggest mistake). Moreover, the Reps are

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1076279250326032432004-02-08T14:15:00.000-08:002004-02-08T14:30:13.373-08:00

The thing about a champion fighter, you drop your left hand an inch and a half and he'll hit you in the eye. A lot has been said about how Kerry is "immune" to attacks on his patriotism because of his war record. That's hooey. Bush and the GOP smeared McCain, they smeared Cleland and they'll for damn sure smear Kerrry. What Kerry's war record gives him is a platform to attack from. His latest

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1075830442339614092004-02-03T09:13:00.000-08:002004-02-03T09:52:25.060-08:00

John Kerry is winning because his campaign resembles a Republican campaign. His personal style may be a little bit boring, but it follows the rules of winning GOP campaign managers: Rule Number One: Avoid mistakes. Since everyone makes mistakes, the next best thing is to make your mistakes in private. Republicans do not allow the press promiscuous access to their candidates, and neither do John

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1075583479424238062004-01-31T13:01:00.000-08:002004-01-31T13:12:56.653-08:00

Kerry's campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, wisely disclaimed any hopes for a 7-state sweep on Mini-Tuesday, saying "It's never happened before." Actually, it has happened before. First, it happened in 1976, when Jimmy Carter started off a sparkling drive for the nomination by winning IA and NH back to back. Asterisk: Carter beat all the candidates in IA but came in second to a very sizeable "

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1075569378227408182004-01-31T08:43:00.000-08:002004-01-31T09:23:03.810-08:00

Howard Dean's strategy according to Neel is to lose 15 straight and then win the Wisconsin Primary on Feb. 17. Does this even deserve comment? This guy Dean is a spring training phenom who can't hit the major league curve ball. So far, he's a guy who says he has a lot of supporters but who doesn't win elections. There's a difference between running for president and running your mouth. Rank and

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1075406152551015972004-01-29T10:20:00.000-08:002004-01-29T11:57:27.140-08:00

The NYT reports that political pros are breathing a sigh of relief as Kerry moves into position to seize the nomination. But I think the rank and file share this feeling, and would like nothing more than a quick finish to the intra-party wrangle so that Kerry can get on with the job of beating George Bush. If we were Republicans, we would already be calling on the other candidates to get the hell

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1075331564644717342004-01-28T13:26:00.000-08:002004-01-28T15:14:18.966-08:00

The last time the back-to-back winner of IA and NH failed to win the nomination was never. No one finishing third or lower has ever gotten a whiff of the nomination. The closest also-ran to make it to the late primaries was Jerry Brown in 1992. Kerry, wisely, doesn't wish to be known as a front-runner. He's been there, done that, and damn near got pushed out of the race. However, he has a

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1075048571957755032004-01-25T08:08:00.000-08:002004-01-25T08:37:42.686-08:00

It looks like Kerry and Dean the rest of the way, with the red-faced doc doing a heel-nipping imitation of Bill Bradley or Jerry Brown until his cash runs out. SC and the other Feb 3 states seem to offer hope to the rest of the field, but I think it's an illusion. Historically, third or lower in NH is a ticket to the boneyard. What Clark, Edwards and Lieberman are fighting over isn't worth

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1074961941510927742004-01-24T07:52:00.000-08:002004-01-24T08:54:20.950-08:00

Granite State boosters would have you believe the NH Primary is determinative of the nomination. It's not. The Democratic winner in New Hampshire has secured the nomination just about half the time. On the GOP side, the eventual nominee won NH nine of twelve times. Year NH Winner Nominee 1952 Kefaufer Stevenson 1956 Kefaufer Stevenson 1964 Lodge Goldwater 1968 Johnson Humphrey 1972 Muskie

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1074876149532071812004-01-23T08:10:00.000-08:002004-01-23T08:43:58.186-08:00

All of the media--from the hard-core Bush partisans at Fox News to the anonymous and generally fair-minded print reporters for local newspapers--were disappointed by the Democrat's Debate. I wasn't. Like a political Convention, the real purpose of these debates is not to make news but to showcase the Democrat Party's advantages over George Bush and the GOP. In John Kerry, the Democrats have a

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1074789152666796302004-01-22T08:01:00.000-08:002004-01-22T08:34:00.436-08:00

He's going to win the nomination. Howard Dean, all kidding aside, is a goner. He'll never get back over the threshhold of acceptability again. Even if campaign manages show signs of life, a single well-timed 30-second spot will ruin him all over again. Tom Eagleton had to leave the race when it was revealed he'd had electroshock treatments for mental illness. To the average voter, Dean is simply

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604145.post-1074619332603647752004-01-20T08:39:00.000-08:002004-01-20T09:23:38.576-08:00

George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger prove that anyone can get elected to anything, regardless of qualification. Any of the Democratic candidates, even Al Sharpton, is much more qualified than the ignorant prejudiced killer, George Bush. Unfortunately, if your daddy isn't a president, however, the standards are higher. Iowa voters, who are not so terribly different than any others, looked at

Steve Highnoreply@blogger.com0