Posted on 08/19/2008 5:27:42 AM PDT by edzo4
Is U.S. Senator John Kerry really feeling that threatened by a first-time, relatively unknown, challenger?
First it was an allegedly torrid Senate summer schedule that Kerry said made it impossible for him even to think about debating his Democratic primary opponent, Edward O'Reilly, before the Sept. 16 election.
O'Reilly, a Gloucester attorney, had asked Kerry for a series of 23 debates in public forums and television appearances. That's obviously excessive, but wouldn't one or two be a good compromise?
Apparently not. Roger Lau, Kerry's campaign manager, said on July 28 that Kerry couldn't even discuss debates until he knew when the Senate would recess.
That rang hollow on its face, of course — very hollow. Yes, it was a long four years ago, but surely voters recall how eager Kerry was to debate when he was running to unseat President George W. Bush, and it didn't matter whether the Senate was in session or not. When Kerry was just the presumptive Democratic nominee, in March 2004, he called for monthly debates with Bush. By August of that year, he was demanding weekly debates.
But this year, just a couple of days after claiming his Senate duties were too pressing even to discuss debates with O'Reilly, the senator famously found time to have dinner on Nantucket, where he posed with a number of tipsy coeds for photos, which made it to the entertainment-gossip Web site TMZ.com. The day after that, he spoke at Yale University, in New Haven, Conn.
And the Senate has now been in recess for more than a week. But according to the O'Reilly campaign, the only thing they have heard from the Kerry camp is, "We'll get back to you."
Kerry press secretary Brigid O'Rourke said this week that discussions with the O'Reilly campaign, "continue," adding that, "people in Massachusetts are looking for a full-time senator, not a full-time candidate."
Kerry and O'Reilly are, of course, merely playing the parts that all incumbents and challengers play. It is in the interests of the challenger to debate as often as possible — the incumbent has a record that can be attacked; it is always possible the incumbent could stumble or say something silly that would end up on YouTube, and the challenger needs the publicity, since he or she almost always lacks the name recognition of the incumbent.
The incumbent, meanwhile, has everything to gain by keeping the challenger as invisible as possible, all while looking "senatorial" — delivering speeches, posing with enlarged checks, attending major fundraisers — to project an aura of inevitability.
Nobody expects Kerry to debate O'Reilly 23 times. But it would do the senator's own reputation some good to agree to a debate or two. He owes that much not to O'Reilly but to the voters. According to recent polling, the Kerry act — claiming to be vigorously serving the state while being largely invisible except when it benefits him — is wearing thin.
Kerry never tires of saying how proud he is of his record. So, let him defend it to someone other than campaign contributors.
which one is Brigid?
Hey Lurch, how do you spell form 180?
"I am one wild and cr-azy guy!"
One thing Kerry and Obama have in common - their Senate records of accomplishment.
Hopfully the folks of Mass. will finally get their colective heads out of their rectums and throw this assclown Kerry to the gutter where the gigalo belongs.
Will the people of Massachusetts finally wake up and rid the Senate of that dilettante?
Is that Kerry with a beer in hand? Drinking while on the taxpayers dole?
Second why is he being challenged by another Democrat? Did the Republicans concede Massachusettes because it is so liberal they won’t even attempt to unseat a Democrat?
Kerry’s campaigns usually involve staying out of the public eye and letting the Boston Globe run things.
Last time he ran the Globe, right up to election day, insisted he was running “unopposed”. Even so his opponent got 20% of the vote.
As long as nothing happens to make voters aware that there is a choice, Kerry will win as usual, but a debate will start people thinking about choices, records, statements, and the VVAW.
For the first time in my memory, Kerry is facing a Democrat challenger in the primary.
There is also a Republican running against the Democratic primary winner in the general election. Jeff Beatty is his name and he is a decorated Army Delta Force Officer who was wounded in actual battle.
I guess the only difference is Jeff Beatty did all the things Kerry pretended to do, ie. wounded in battle; Purple heart medals; Was considered a true American Hero.
He’ll do one debate on a Friday night on NECN.
That way no one will see it.
A dream come true would be for O’rielly to beat Kerry in the primary and then Beatty beat O’rielly in the general!
he should bring his goofy ketchup wife too!
she’s always a blast.
Shouldn't that be enlarged chicks?
Sorry I'm too busy to debate you....
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