Is it better for the primaries to drag out to the convention or not?

[bloom]

Here a question for ya'll to debate...


Does it make a candidate seem stronger or weaker to have to put up a longer fight in the primaries. Assuming, for instance, that Kerry keeps up his momentum - but does not have a clear overwhelming victory and has to fight tooth and nail to the convention- would that make him stronger or weaker against Bush?

I got the idea that Dean was saying the debate the other night - that they NEEDED to have some disagreements. For interest, if nothing else. Who wants a debate where everyone agrees? No drama.

Also - with the democrats debating each other - they have more control of the message.

OK - so one idea is - the longer that this continues, the more media coverage the democrats gets. That would be a positive.

The negative being the candidate doesn't look like he has all THAT much support - a perception and perhaps a fact, to overcome.

(Not that we can do anything about it).

[Paulie]

1. Pick Kucinich

The one canidate we can all agree on. ;) ;) ;)

Put a clear choice in front of the electorate, and we WIN. Whoohoo! :)

Seriously, lets let this play out. It's only what, week 3? I'm waiting for my primary on March 16th.

[mdmc]

2. Go, go, Dennis

:kick:

[Fleshdancer]

3. This Party has some major issues to work out

if it takes the entire Primary season to work out the issues, then so be it.

[Edge]

4. Drag them out...

let the voices be heard. :)

[sallyseven]

6. There are several people running

who are far superior to bush. If it has to come to the convention think of the fun you can have. I hope it doesn't because I want the person who wins to have plenty of time to get money to fight bush.

[youngred]

5. Issues have to be worked out amongst ourselves first

and it keeps Bush from concentrating on any one candidate.

Further, the longer its undecided the longer this is a NEWS story, which means a lot of invaluable publicity for the Dems, in which Bush cannot make many advances

[Auntie Bush]

10. I totally agree with you

Drag it out!
Get the message out!

[freetempe]

7. I want it to drag out

Here's why, because the longer we have 2 or 3 or 4 people running and competing more people will watch and the Dems will continue to get their message out. The GOP won't be able to focus its attacks on just one person for several months, it will keep them guessing.

I'd rather have a long primary season with a few guys bashing Bush at every turn than have one person for the GOP and media to trash for several months.

[AntiCoup2K4]

8. It's really a double edged sword.

Positive is that it reduces the perception that the corporatist DLC are shoving their chosen candidate down our throats. Party unity is more likely if it appears as though the people have truly picked the candidate.

Negative is that it will essentially reduce the campaign against Bush to only the month of August. The 'Pukes are already planning to monopolize September with Junior's coronation/9-11 exploitation pukefest. :puke:

And while we don't know exactly what their "October Surprise" is gonna be, just about everybody agrees they're gonna pull some shit.

[pacifictiger]

9. dragging it out

as long as possible will condense the one-on-one bush attacks into a 4 month period (convention time to election time) and whatever attacks launched before then will be split among all the candidates, diminishing their effectiveness on one over another. If it can remain as if it is possible for any of them to get the nomination, it will keep them guessing as long as possible as to what their strategy against the final contender should be. If it remains a horse race, that means more press exposure for bush bashing (look at what has been happening to his polls lately with so much democratic coverage.) The "lets pick an early winner" strategy comes from a strategy used in the past, and it has not exactly worked very well over the last 30 years. Clinton was his own best strategist, not the party "leaders." Lets not play the game that works best for Bushites, lets make them meet our terms.

[jsw_81]

11. Get it over with, already

We need to be united against Bush. All of this idiotic "Anyone but Kerry" or "Anyone but _____" crap could tear the party apart -- just what Karl Rove wants.

[bloom]

13. I had to turn my view sigs on - in the preferences

I imagine most of the Kerry people would want it over.

It seems agonizing to drag it out if your candidate is the one who seems to be in the lead... :)

[MikeG]

12. A brokered convention would be the news event of the year.

The networks would cover it 24/7 instead of the one or two hour coverage it gave to the scripted conventions.

The nominee would have bought free publicity worth millions of dollars.

[ibegurpard]

14. Yup

Not to mention that it would actually not be boring to watch because there would truly be something at stake instead of just being a formality consisting of bland and banal speeches.