Posted on 10/20/2004 4:26:02 PM PDT by txradioguy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. John Kerry, bracing for a potential fight over election results, will not hesitate to declare victory Nov. 2 and defend it, advisers say. He also will be prepared to name a national security team before knowing whether he's secured the presidency.
In short, the Democratic presidential candidate has a simple strategy for Nov. 3 and beyond: Do not repeat Al Gore's mistakes.
The Democratic vice president prematurely conceded the 2000 race to George W. Bush, then had to retract his concession after aides said Florida wasn't lost. He never declared victory, an omission Kerry's advisers -- many of whom worked for Gore now believe created a sense of inevitability in voters' minds about Bush's presidency.
Gore didn't plan for the legal showdown, though few could have predicted it before Election Day. And he watched as Bush seized political advantage during the 36-day recount by publicly discussing a transition to the White House.
Not this time, promise Kerry's advisers. If there is doubt about the results, they will fight without delay.
"The first thing we will do is make sure everybody has an opportunity to vote and every vote is counted," said Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. "We will be ready to hit the ground running and begin a fresh start in this country, given that so many critical issues are before us."
The prospects for another contested election loom with every poll showing the race neck and neck.
Six so-called "SWAT teams" of lawyers and political operatives will be situated around the country with fueled-up jets awaiting Kerry's orders to speed to a battleground state. The teams have been told to be ready to fly on the evening of the election to begin mounting legal and political fights. Every battleground state will have a SWAT team within an hour of its borders.
The Kerry campaign has recount office space in every battleground state, with plans so detailed they include the number of staplers and coffee machines needed to mount legal challenges.
"Right now, we have 10,000 lawyers out in the battleground states on Election Day, and that number is growing by the day," said Michael Whouley, a Kerry confidant who is running election operations at the Democratic National Committee.
While the lawyers litigate, political operatives will try to shape public perception. Their goal would be to persuade voters that Kerry has the best claim to the presidency and that Republicans are trying to steal it.
Democrats are already laying the public relations groundwork by pointing to every possible voting irregularity before the Nov. 2 election and accusing Republicans of wrongdoing.
On Election Day, Whouley will head the so called "boiler room," probably in Washington, that tracks vote counts and ensures Kerry doesn't concede too soon. Whouley was the aide who, after noticing Florida was too close to call in 2000, called Gore's team in Tennessee and told them to put the brakes on the concession speech.
Campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill will be with Kerry in Boston, where they will field Whouley's calls.
Jim Johnson, who headed Kerry's vice presidential search team, former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman and longtime Kerry aide David McKean lead the team planning Kerry's transition to the White House.
Aides say the transition process is behind schedule, but Kerry will be ready to name a national security team shortly after the election. They say he has candidates in mind, but is reluctant to discuss the transition while campaigning.
The advisers spoke on condition of anonymity because Kerry wants the focus to be on his campaign for now.
The plan to quickly name a national security team is partly practical (at a time of war, continuity is necessary) and political, aides said, because if there is another recount Kerry will want to show he's ready to take power.
Amid the tumult of the 2000 recount, Bush sought to make his presidency appear inevitable time by leaking word of his national security team and bringing news cameras into his transition meetings. Gore and his staff were more reluctant to talk about the appointment process.
Kerry's advisers say Bush would have a natural political advantage in a re-count in this election because he is the president, with a national security team in place and a public relations spotlight that comes with the White House.
What's this jerk gonna do when he's NOT heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in January?
Counter with the Billy Shakespeare Brigades.
I hope this jerk is beaten so badly he'll retire to his Idaho mansion for atleast 4 years!
And he says W shows no humility......
Let's see...do not repeat Al Gore's mistakes? How about actually getting enough votes to win the election?
How many times is this story going to be posted?
Bad news, bad news: Bad news, this has already been posted elsewhere. I know, I saw it. Bad news is, this thread will likely be pulled. Sorry man, don't shoot the messenger.
Bush won the election in 2000, that's the big difference. none of these theatrics is going to make anyone accept that Kerry, haiving lost on election day, is going to use the courts to hand him the presidency.
The Rat bozos in my neighborhood are holding a Kerry Victory Rally--on October 23! They are practically telling us they will steal it if they have to.
Even if he's elected, he'll spend most of his time skiing there....and windsurfing....having his nails done....etc., etc.....
Michael Whouley is the guy to keep an eye on
I hope this jackass of the party whose mascot is the jackass is beaten so badly that he and his wife buy back their mansion in France and go their to live.
John Kerry is not a well man. What is the next step, a coup attempt, calling for revolution?
what is he makeup of the Ohio state legislature and Ohio congresssional delegation?
Just asking, because to me, I find it a bit hard to believe the Bush Campaign in 2000 waited until all was said and done in 2000 to start laying out plans for positions.
he can't add - his orders to push fradulent votes through in Florida, was 538 short.
Kerry's sheisters will be jailed the moment they cross the line.
"the Democratic presidential candidate has a simple strategy for Nov. 3 and beyond: Do not repeat Al Gore's mistakes. "
He already is repeating Gore's mistakes. In 2000 the DNC set up a phone bank on the day of the election. That morning the DNC tele-marketers phoned elderly florida residents and told them they probably voted for bush by mistake due to the butterfly ballot. They cynically whipped them up into a frenzy so that by the end of the day there was mass confusion. Then Gore declared victory. Despite having lost he dragged it out for days with teams of lawyers clogging up the system and making a mockery of democracy. It seems like a big turn-off for swing voters and is a strategy that Kerry intends to repeat. Probably a big reason why he will lose.
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