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<< Failure of EU Constitution | Main | Racism in Temp Agencies >> December 14, 2003Open Letter to Senator KerryDear Senator Kerry, We write this open letter as a group of bloggers whose audience you respect enough that you advertise on our web sites. We are deeply disturbed that former staff members of your campaign and other Dean rivals now working at the so-called “Americans for Jobs, Health Care and Progressive Values” have resorted to the Willie Horton campaign tactic of linking Howard Dean to Osama Bin Laden. Vigorous competition among Democrats is expected and welcome, but all Democratic leaders should denounce these kinds of tactics. Given your staff link to this attack through your former press secretary, Robert Gibbs—the new group’s spokesman— we feel it is incumbent on you and your campaign to make it clear that this kind of attack is unacceptable. Otherwise, there will be the appearance of covert cooperation by your campaign in supporting this effort. If your campaign does not make clear that you have no link to this scurrilous attack, all of us will have to reevaluate our willingness to allow advertising by your campaign on our web sites. We don’t expect to have to make that decision, since we have faith in your integrity and expect you to quickly make clear your denunciation of this destructive and anti-democratic operation. Yours, Atrios- Eschaton http://atrios.blogspot.com/ Posted by Nathan at December 14, 2003 07:09 AM Related posts:
Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsNicely done. Posted by: cerebrocrat at December 14, 2003 02:19 PM Good for you! Posted by: IssuesGuy at December 14, 2003 03:04 PM Bravo! Posted by: Kevin Block-Schwenk at December 14, 2003 06:07 PM I have posted at the Atrios site that this was unfair to make an unwarranteed assumption that Sen. Kerry had anything to do with the ad in question. You had no evidence and made no outreach to the campaign itself to see if this was true before you published your open letter. At Pandagon the letter has been withdrawn already. Sen Kerry has denied it . Is it correct to assume from Pandagon's withdrawal that you all have withdrawn the letter or was it just Pandagon? As someone who has been intimately involved in the Kerry campaign since Jan '02 ,Gibbs left angrily under his own speed. How is Kerry responsible for the disaffection of an ex staffer? Posted by: Debra at December 14, 2003 07:52 PM Debra- There was no assumption-- in fact, the last lines assumes that Kerry did not have a connection and will denounce the ad. But this letter is meant to demand not a simple denial of connection-- easy to make -- but a full denunciation of this covert Willie Horton assault on Dean. Posted by: Nathan at December 14, 2003 11:11 PM I still do not understand why you have so uncritically accepted the Dean Blog for America assertion that somehow John Kerry has to denounce an ad that he had nothing to do with. And why you let the Dean blog's assertion that because Kerry "attacked" Dean on guns and Gephardt on Medicare that somehow that makes it incumbent on him to denounce any "attack " ad on Howard Dean. You may not realize it but you are letting the Dean people set your own agenda. Does that mean that any other attacks on Dean must be disavowed by Kerry? As I said at the Atrios site and others this lack of knowledge and accountability is one of the benighted results of the McCain /Feingold Act. It absolves the real parties of responsibility and throws it unfairly on the candidates who have no any control over these groups. You may not be aware but the Dean people have cleverly made it seem that this unattributable ad about Dean has now allowed them to smear John Kerry through you. I think you should still rescind the letter and John Kerry deserves an apology. Posted by: Debra at December 15, 2003 12:19 AM Debara- On principle I want the rivals of Dean to suffer due to the ad being made, since the best way to deter this kind of ad is to punish the intended beneficiaries. So the more Gephardt and Kerry suffer due to the ad, the less likely this kind of ad appears in the future. Fear of backlash is the only deterrent to this kind of slime attack-- no kind of campaign finance law will ever stop it. And as I said, there is nothing to apologize to Kerry for the letter. It accuses him of nothing more than a bad appearance and asks him to clarify the situation by denouncing the ad. Posted by: Nathan at December 15, 2003 01:18 AM Kerry is not connected to this ad and it is shame and a sham that Dean supporters are doing this. If Kerry is nailing Dean on the issues, Dean deserves this and this is the best they can come up with to fight back? Reminds me of the lame "Confederate Flag" line Dean used after Kerry nailed him on the NRA. Posted by: kerrygoddess at December 15, 2003 02:43 AM Something tells me that if the situation were reversed, and Kerry was being tied to OBL via a PAC with links to Dean, his partisans would not be picking nits about Dean's direct lack of participation in an attack ad that he benefited from. Posted by: TK at December 15, 2003 09:57 AM TK- You've got it wrong. I was one of the more prominent bloggers early on supporting Kerry. He lost me partly because of his negative attacks. See this post by me in September. Posted by: Nathan Newman at December 15, 2003 10:30 AM Nathan, My last attempt, though my first attempt at this comment was lost in the ether. So excuse me if it's not as coherent as my first try. You say that Kerry lost you because of negative attacks on Dean. Well, the Dean Blog for America site is tying John Kerry to an ad that you know he had nothing to do with. This is a sly attempt to attack Kerry and it is negative smear on his integrity which you seem to be buying it hook line and sinker. This thundering demand that Kerry disavow an ad that he had nothing to do with puts him in an untenable position now and in the future. Check out the Blog for America site and how it touts the unjustifiable anger it has stirred up against Kerry. It was an attempt by the Blog for America folks to get the blog world up in arms over something John Kerry didn't do. I am not sure you really want that outcome. Or that you want to jump to attention whenever they stir the pot? There will be other 527 ads and this seems to make any criticism of Dean in these ads now the responsibility of John Kerry. That is not a fair or reasonable. If you don't like negative attacks on candidates then why let Dean get away with this negative take on Kerry? Please, think it over carefully. Posted by: Debra at December 15, 2003 11:54 AM Me six. Posted by: Max Sawicky at December 16, 2003 12:04 PM The Democratic candidates are our only hope to slay the sinister monster that has hijacked our government. I brightened a bit when they unsheathed their swords -- but was cast down again when the leaders among them turned their weapons against each other. Posted by: Gus at December 20, 2003 05:06 PM Senetor Kerry Peter Avetta Posted by: peter avetta at January 20, 2004 09:02 AM Post a comment
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