| The Democrat Nominee Doesn't Matter |
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May 26 2004 |
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BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Okay, back to the stacks of stuff here. Off the top here, the Kerry delay on accepting the nomination. The real question is, will he delay accepting the nomination until after the election? If he tried that, how much money could he spend? What if he doesn't accept the nomination till after the election? It won't make any difference. Everybody thinks he's the nominee.
 I've got two stories here. Some people are all excited about his strategery, and others are not so excited. First off from the Boston Globe today [reading], "It is the big payoff of every political convention, the moment that makes the years of backbreaking ward and precinct spadework worthwhile. The party's pick takes the stage and speaks the magic words: [Kerry sing song voice] I accept your nomination for president. The crowd goes wild. The balloons drop. Triumphant fists pump the air.
"As the political world knows by now, the presumptive Democratic nominee, John F. Kerry, might not speak those words at this year's Democratic convention in Boston. He is considering delaying his official nomination to raise more money this summer. But to hear Democratic party [hacks] from across the [fruited plain] tell it, delegates won't mind missing out on the traditional climax of the national political convention one little bit. Kerry must do whatever it takes to beat President George W. Bush, they say." [Laughing] If that means don't accept the nomination then go for it! |
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"'We're all excited,' said Derek Wooley, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic party. 'We've known for a long time who the nominee is going to be, and the convention is a formality at this point. Democrats, especially in Louisiana, believe that if there is something we can do that's legal and ethical and all above board, any help we can get to beat George Bush, then we want to do that.'
"Delegates will wait for their payoff this year, Wooley and others said yesterday. If Kerry needs the nomination maneuver to keep monetary things even with Bush, then so be it. They'll still show up in Boston and wave their signs and shake their noisemakers. 'I don't think it's a letdown, because we want him to win, and if that's what he needs to do to win, why, I think all of us are pragmatists about it,' said Scott Sterling, chairman of the Alaska Democratic Party." So they're hot for this in Louisiana and Alaska. He says, "I'm still gonna go. Hell yes! Any excuse to get out of Alaska. I'll be in Boston."
Can you imagine these Democrats showing up and the nominee is not there, doesn't accept the nomination. Why go? It doesn't matter to them. It literally doesn't matter. |
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"'Our delegation is just excited to have a strategic thinker as a nominee,' said Jon Summers, communications director for the Nevada Democrats." Who's he talking about? Strategic thinker? "Everyone here seems to think it's a smart move . . . It's going to be every bit as exciting as it was going to be before…"
The truth of the matter is, if this convention is going to be as exciting as it was before, and Kerry is not going to be there, what these Democrats are all telling us, folks, is it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where he is, doesn't matter what he says, doesn't matter when he says it, as long as he beats Bush.
In fact, if you stop and think -- all of these people that are on board for this -- I have to tell you something, folks. You know how politics works. For the people that get to go to a convention, it's a big deal to be a delegate. It's no minor thing. And part of the big deal is to see the nominee accept and be there, because that's the show. That's the whole reason for gathering.
The platform doesn't mean diddly-squat. The platform gets converted to toilet paper two days after the convention ends, nobody remembers it. The platform is where you take the malcontents in your party and give them a position of power, "All right, you be on the platform committee," and the malcontents and whoever else you don't like, you're trying to grease and buy off, let 'em have the platform committee, and then when their work is done you trash it. But they think they've mattered. I mean both parties do it. Both parties, I mean, you saw Jesse Jackson on the platform committee every year and his cronies, whatever it took. So if there's not going to be a nominee there, if there's no candidate at this convention, and yet they're still going to go, it means their candidate is meaningless to them. And that to me is something here that's not being reported.
"One top aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Kerry was discussing the issue with aides yesterday and gave no sign a decision was imminent. For example, the aide said, Kerry still had not reached out to the Federal Election Commission, seeking an advisory opinion on the legality of the move. He has received briefs from campaign lawyers expert in election financing laws." |
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 Anyway, then you go to the Boston Herald and you get an entirely different take. You know that Senator John Kerry is in trouble when even his close ally Teddy Kennedy is ridiculing him. Democrats are so furious over Kerry's waffling about whether to delay accepting his nomination that, "Kennedy privately mocked Kerry at a party fund-raising event this week for failing to consult him, pretending to take orders from the junior senator over the phone." This is from the Boston Herald today. Massachusetts' senior U.S. senator pretended to be on the phone with his protégé and said, "'Yes, John, yes John, whatever you say, John,' one eyewitness reported." Kennedy picks up the phone and pretends to be on a call with Kerry and acting like Kerry is ordering him around, and one prominent Democrat told the Boston Herald, "People are kicking the (expletive) out of Kerry over this. I can't find anybody who thinks it's a good idea."
Well, Louisiana, Alaska, and Nevada. Go there, you'll find some support.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
[Reading from AP story] "Democrat George McGovern, [one of the biggest losers in Democratic presidential history in 1972] warned yesterday John Kerry should not delay the party's nomination schedule out of a concern over money. The liberal South Dakotan told the AP that Kerry's proposal to delay accepting his nomination would show that money is king and everything else takes a back seat."
I thought we got money out of politics, too. I don't understand this. I mean campaign finance reform, and all, I'm surprised money still plays such a large role in politics, after what McCain and Feingold and all these people told us.
"McGovern said, 'It's the worst idea I've heard on timing since gave my acceptance address at two a.m.', [which he did.] His middle-of-the-night speech accepting the Democrat nomination missed most television viewers. 'I don't believe in monkeying around with things like that.' McGovern said the Boston convention should be Kerry's shining moment. 'To tinker with the timing, he said, would send a signal that the convention is not all that important.'"
It isn't. When you get right down to it, it isn't. They're fund-raising vehicles for the host cities. But even Boston doesn't want this thing. The whole town is going to be shut down. 40 miles of Boston metro streets shut down, every vehicle checked for security. All this for a guy not even showing up to accept the nomination. It's not going to be televised, well I don't know. See, I think this may be a trick in part to get some of it on TV. [Announcer voice] What goes on when your nominee is not at the convention? We must tell you!
END TRANSCRIPT |
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Read the Article... |
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Source: Some are All Ayes for a Kerry Delay on an Acceptance
Source: Boston Globe
Dateline: May 26, 2004
Byline: Yvonne Abraham
It is the big payoff of every political convention, the moment that makes the years of backbreaking ward and precinct spadework worthwhile. The party's pick takes the stage and speaks the magic words: I accept your nomination for president. The crowd goes wild. The balloons drop. [EIB Note: In Kerry's case, the ballons failed to drop.] Triumphant fists pump the air.
As the political world knows by now, the presumptive Democratic nominee, John F. Kerry, might not speak those words at this year's Democratic convention in Boston. He is considering delaying his official nomination to raise more money this summer.
But to hear Democratic party officials from across the country tell it, delegates won't mind missing out on the traditional climax of the national political convention one little bit. Kerry must do whatever it takes to beat President George W. Bush, they say.
"We're all excited," said Derek Wooley, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic party. "We've known for a long time who the nominee is going to be, and the convention is a formality at this point. Democrats, especially in Louisiana, believe that if there is something we can do that's legal and ethical and all aboveboard, any help we can get to beat George Bush, then we want to do that."
Delegates will wait for their payoff this year, Wooley and others said yesterday. If Kerry needs the nomination maneuver to keep monetary things even with Bush, then so be it. They'll still show up in Boston and wave their signs and shake their noisemakers.
"I don't think it's a letdown, because we want him to win, and if that's what he needs to do to win, why, I think all of us are pragmatists about it," said Scott Sterling, chairman of the Alaska Democratic Party. "It's still worth [going], absolutely, you bet."
Indeed, some state party officials said yesterday that they admire Kerry all the more for coming up with the maneuver.
"Our delegation is just excited to have a strategic thinker as a nominee," said Jon Summers, communications director for the Nevada Democrats. "Everyone here seems to think it's a smart move . . . It's going to be every bit as exciting as it was going to be before. Everyone knows this is a strategic step. Would it be nice to hear the words? Sure. But it's better to win."
Kerry had nothing to say publicly yesterday about whether he will be nominated at the convention, despite a media report saying he was within 48 hours of announcing a decision.
One top aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Kerry was discussing the issue with aides yesterday and gave no sign a decision was imminent. For example, the aide said, Kerry still had not reached out to the Federal Election Commission, seeking an advisory opinion on the legality of the move. He has received briefs from campaign lawyers expert in election financing laws.
"Generally, we know what's on the table," the aide said. "We just have to decide if we want to do it or not."
If Kerry does decide to do it, he will not face widespread rebellion. For many delegates, the Democratic National Convention will be about beating Bush, said Gordon Fischer, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.
"Iowa Democrats are so concerned and angry about the direction of the country, and we just want a change," Fischer said. "The only thing Iowa Democrats want is for John Kerry to win, and set a new course that will help create jobs, lift the economy, and bring us out of chaos in Iraq. And if Senator Kerry and his campaign team determine the best way to do that is to not officially accept nomination at the convention and accept it down the road, that's fine."
Not every delegation will be thrilled, however. Ron Oliver, chairman of the Democratic party of Arkansas, said Kerry would be making a mistake if he were to delay his official nomination so that he can continue to raise money.
Accepting the nomination before the delegates is a "decades-old tradition," Oliver said. Bucking that tradition will take the wind out of the convention, he said. Whatever advantage Kerry gains in fund-raising will be offset by "bad feelings and bad publicity," he said.
"I think that dampens the whole feeling. I just think it's a mistake," Oliver said. Accepting the nomination on the convention's final night "is one of the most exhilarating moments. If you love politics, that is the holy grail of American politics, that speech and the balloons coming down is the most magnificent part of the whole political process. It will feel empty if he doesn't accept."
The general mood in the Democratic leadership contrasts sharply with the view of political pundits, who question Kerry's strategy. One of them, Garrison Nelson, professor of political science at the University of Vermont, called the proposed maneuver "the tail wagging the dog." The moment when the candidate accepts the nomination is "the whole point" of the convention, he said.
"The point is to be there at the moment when you have turned your party's nomination over to the great man and he has accepted it," Nelson said. "That's what you're paying for, what you busted your buns years and years for, to get through county committees and state committees and you're finally there at the national stage. It's one of the great dramatic moments of American politics. And just to take it away because you want to have more money to spend. . . I hope this is just some silly trial balloon."
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