Posted on 09/02/2004 1:09:09 PM PDT by ambrose
'Give 'em Hell' Zell gives Bush a feisty and bipartisan boost
Thursday, September 02, 2004
DAVID REINHARD
NEW YORK CITY -- They call him "Give 'em Hell" Zell, and this year Georgia's senior senator is giving his own Democratic Party fits, if not hell. Twelve years ago he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic convention and flayed President George H. W. Bush. Last night, the Georgia Democrat gave the keynote speech at the Republican convention and hailed President George W. Bush.
He's not changing parties. He was born a Democrat and has said he'll die a Democrat. Why, then, is he keynoting a GOP convention and supporting a Republican -- a Republican so hated by so many in his own Democratic Party -- for president? And does Miller's bipartisan Bush-backing represent anything more than the action of one lonely Democratic senator?
So what got into Zell? Well, 9/11 and the fact we're at war, for starters.
"Like you," he told an appreciative throng last night, "I ask which leader it is today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family. The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party."
Or, as Miller declared at the end of his keynote address, "Right now, the world cannot afford an indecisive America. In this hour of danger, our president has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him."
The Georgia senator also thinks the Democrats and Kerry are, well, weak on defense.
"For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong and more wobbly than any other national figure," Miller said after reviewing his Democratic colleague's record. Miller's view of Kerry's approach to terrorism: "From John Kerry, (terrorists) get a 'yes-no-maybe' bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends."
This from one of Kerry's Democratic colleagues -- a Democratic colleague who served in the U.S. Marines.
For his apostasy, Miller is now receiving the Democratic war-room treatment. Georgia's Democrats are running ads against him, and party leaders are working to explain away their 1992 keynote speaker's support for Bush. He's trying to gin up sales for his book ("The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat"). He left the Democratic Party years ago. (Miller says the party left him. "What has happened to the party I've spent my life working in?" he asked last night.)
Hell hath no fury like a Democratic Party and presidential candidate scorned.
You hear lots about Bush 2000 Republicans who are now Kerry 2004 followers, especially if you're from Oregon. Former U.S. Air Force Gen. Tony McPeak, now an Oregonian, is the Kerry campaign's marquee former-Bushie. But the Democratic convention didn't feature a GOP keynoter, and Miller, it turns out, is not the only Democrat for Bush. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch has come out for Bush. So has George McKelvey , the Democratic mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, who is here attending his first GOP convention. Saint Paul, Minn., Mayor Randy Kelly has also endorsed Bush.
"We need unequivocal leaders with resolve because it's a very dangerous world out there. We cannot have a leader who can in any way be seen as equivocating when a tough decision is required," Kelly told me yesterday afternoon. He also thinks a Kerry victory could halt the economic recovery.
Miller, it also seems, may have himself an audience beyond Madison Square Garden. A recent Mason-Dixon Poll of Democrats and Republicans showed 11 percent of Democrats would be willing to vote for Bush, compared with 5 percent of Republicans who would be willing to vote for Kerry. A full 18 percent of Democrats consider themselves conservative, and one-third of those said they would vote for Bush.
The Georgia Democrat may also speak to voters who long for greater bipartisanship in Washington, D.C. Democratic leaders, of course, cast "My-way-or-the-highway" Bush as the problem. But Miller's worked with Bush on tax cuts, education reform, the farm bill and the healthy forests legislation. Moreover, White House communications director Dan Bartlett told me Tuesday, "It kind of undercuts that argument when you have a Democrat as the keynote speaker."
Especially when that GOP convention keynoter lives up to his "Give 'em Hell" Zell moniker.
David Reinhard, associate editor, can be reached at 503-221-8152 ordavidreinhard@news.oregonian.com
I'd like to have been a fly on the wall in Kerry's room as this speech was on.
I just had to go watch the video again between Zell and Chris Matthews that happened last night. I was laughing so hard I had tears coming down my face. It gets better every time.
As another gutsy Democrat Harry S. Truman said "I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell."
"Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch has come out for Bush. So has George McKelvey , the Democratic mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, who is here attending his first GOP convention. Saint Paul, Minn., Mayor Randy Kelly has also endorsed Bush."
I wonder if Ray Flynn will come out for Bush again like he did in 2000.
Amazing speech!
I had to leave NYC today. As I tried to get a cab at the Sheraton Manhattan, two minivans with Bush haters were talking and blocking the cabs. There were about 14 police officers standing there and one of them approached the guy in the van that had "Mission Incomplete: Bush must go!" or something to that effect. The guy said that he had the right to talk to his fellow protestor and how would the news like a story of the police harrassing a pro-Kerry protestor. The cop went silent.
I didn't. In fact, I blew my stack. A cab whipped around the two minivans and pulled in front. I tipped to doorman $1 (hey, I'm from Ohio) and then turned to the two protestors and screamed: "F*** you, you stupid a$$holes! F*** you, you god*** cowards! F*** you! Say one thing to me and I I'll kick the $hit out you!!!!!" I admit, it wasn't a very Judeo-Christian thing to do. In fact, I was embarrased. I looked at the 14 police officers, waiting for them to intercede or arrest me for assault. Instead, they were all smiling and several of them were laughing. The doorman said "Right on, brother!" and gave me a big smile.
I apologize on behalf of any Republicans for acting like Michael Moore.
You have nothing to apologize about (except maybe taking the Lord's name in vain- :) ) I'm proud of you. These protestors are ridiculous and are just trying to push the envelope with the cops.
Spoiled f**ing brats--the parents should've whipped the tar out of them when they were children. (I know my mother would've if I had acted like that)
You wouldn't need to be a fly. I am sure the elephants in the National Zoo heard him.
I'm glad you yelled.
BTW, does anyone else find the idea of a Dem War Room hysterical? A War Room for girlie men. Snort.
You sir are what is lacking in this pubbie party. It takes people like you & a democrate like Zell (I'll throw in myself) who WON'T let those sniveling a$$holes get a pass when they spew their hatred for this country. I have seen that scene many times where the sheeple won't stand up on their own but it only takes ONE of us & guess what - they will follow like an 1880s linchmob. Interesting, huh?
BTTT
ya ougtta here McCauliff spewing on Fox right now.. claiming Zell hurt the republican party.. that Zell is an angry old man trying to sell books... if the election were held today, Kerry would win... blah blah blah... man.. the face of true insanity.
That is PRICELESS!!!
For anyone who gets into the inevitable argument with a liberal (I just heard Al Franken spew these DNC talking points on Michael Medved's show) that John Kerry was only voting against pork-laden Omnibus bills, NOT against specific weapons systems...Look at and remember this thread from a while back, which PROVED that Kerry is weak on defense:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1082762/posts
Good job..I would have enjoyed being there with you.
y'all need to buy his book=great read
I remember him saying the same about whats-his-name that was going to unseat Jeb Bush in Florida in 2002...said it was "the key race for the Democratic Party" and would be "pay back for what for the 2000 presidential race."
Maybe, with enough experience at it under his belt, Terry will come to realize he is a loser.
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