Joan Vennochi with a very negative article on Kerry: he is finished.

[Mass]

This is Joannie, so no surprise. All stereotypes are there. Sorry, I prefer the Herald article.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/11/19/what_will_it_be_senator_kerry/?p1=MEWell_Pos5

What will it be, Senator Kerry?

By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist | November 19, 2006

THIS TIME, it will be harder for John Kerry to have it two ways. He can't be for and against a presidential campaign. The pressure is on to choose: Will he run for president or Senate in 2008?

...

...

At home, the common reaction to an '08 bid is "Kerry's done." Said one bigtime Democratic fund-raiser, "I haven't found a human being who is enthusiastic about his campaign and willing to support him. I don't know anyone in Massachusetts who is willing to sign on."

These down-on-Kerry Democrats are still off the record. This is Massachusetts, where people prefer to keep their backstabbing confidential. US Senator Hillary Clinton of New York is popular here. There's also interest in John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina who was Kerry's running mate in 2004. During the gubernatorial campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois came to the state several times on behalf of Deval Patrick, and Patrick's victory tweaks further interest in Obama.

Pre-gaffe, Kerry spent the past year traveling and raising money on behalf of Democratic candidates and finally seemed to have a strong, cohesive anti war message. But the bungled joke heard around the world -- if you're not educated you get "stuck in Iraq" -- cemented the feeling that Kerry won't get another shot at president. "I doubt he could get invited to a party event anywhere . . . maybe he and Karl Rove could break bread together," said pollster John Gorman of Cambridge-based Opinion Dynamics, summing up Kerry's post-joke, skunk-at-the-garden-party aura.


...

Don't expect Kerry to worry about anyone's timetable but his own. Candidates for his Senate seat can first take out papers of intent in February 2008. The deadline for filing the necessary 10,000 signatures is May 6, 2008. That means that Kerry could spend 2007 doing what he has been doing -- retesting the presidential waters, while popping up strategically in Washington. With Democrats now in control of Congress, Kerry will chair the Committee on Small Business, giving him a platform on issues such as healthcare and the minimum wage. He also plans to play a role in the critical debate over Iraq war policy.

...

I think she is right that there will be pressure for Kerry to decide, if anything because a lot of people want to run for this seat. But it is difficult to imagine much more negative as an article about Kerry.

[ProSense]

1. No comparison!

The Herald article was ridiculously snarky BS. This article from an obvious Kerry detractor ends on a very positive note:

Don't expect Kerry to worry about anyone's timetable but his own. Candidates for his Senate seat can first take out papers of intent in February 2008. The deadline for filing the necessary 10,000 signatures is May 6, 2008. That means that Kerry could spend 2007 doing what he has been doing -- retesting the presidential waters, while popping up strategically in Washington. With Democrats now in control of Congress, Kerry will chair the Committee on Small Business, giving him a platform on issues such as healthcare and the minimum wage. He also plans to play a role in the critical debate over Iraq war policy.

But ultimately Kerry must decide whether to run for president or not. Would-be presidential contenders on the Republican side, such as Senator John McCain of Arizona and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuiliani, are lining up quickly. Democrats like Edwards are expected to announce their intentions soon; those now enjoying majority party status in Congress may hold off . At home, Kerry can also expect pressure from the media to make up his mind about running for president or US senator.

As Kerry well knows, politics is not for the faint of heart, nor for the ambivalent.

[Mass]

2. We will have to disagree with that.

[MBS]

3. Vennochi is bad for my health

What is her problem, anyway? Time for another LTE. . sigh

[ProSense]

4. Editorialized comments:

Colleagues in the Massachusetts delegation would have no problem wishing Kerry well if he ran for president. Then they could run for Kerry's open Senate seat. US Representatives Martin Meehan and Stephen Lynch are both considered potential candidates in that scenario. Others mentioned include Joe Kennedy; Christopher Gabrieli, the venture capitalist who lost to Patrick in the primary; and former attorney general Scott Harshbarger.

Additional Bay State congressmen might get into a Senate primary contest, under this wishful alternative scenario: Kerry runs for president, but first resigns his Senate seat. That would set up a special election, opening the door for others, such as US Representatives Barney Frank and Edward Markey, to run without risking their current House seats.

Don't expect Kerry to worry about anyone's timetable but his own....

There is actually nothing wrong with that statement, but it can be taken as snark. Given the points before it, to do the opposite of this statement would be collusion!

Two more:

These down-on-Kerry Democrats are still off the record. This is Massachusetts, where people prefer to keep their backstabbing confidential.

Pre-gaffe, Kerry spent the past year traveling and raising money on behalf of Democratic candidates and finally seemed to have a strong, cohesive anti war message.

Summary: Kerry is being stab in the back at a time when he had the edge.

Now that's really positive coming from Vennochi!

JMO!

[MH1]

5. A much better BG editorial is on the need for VVPAT:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/11/19/the_ballot_box_shell_game/

While Congress has traditionally devolved the running of elections to the states, and the states to some 3,000 jurisdictions, the breakdowns in this hodge-podge should be permitted no longer. At a minimum, Washington should require the use of the most reliable techniques in federal elections. About half the states now use computerized voting with a paper backup. None should be allowed to continue with paperless machines. And if the safest technology is used for federal elections, few states would run a separate system for local offices.

Time is short. There have already been too many debacles and close calls. Florida in 2000. Ohio in 2004. Even this year, if the balance of power in the House were as close as it is in the Senate, the outrage over Florida 13 would be thunderous.

Folks may want to boost their spirits with this one (and this item's popularity ranking) before clicking on the Vennocchi spew.

[TayTay]

6. Joanie should read the lead Editorial in her own paper

Bush has played the part of sorcerer's apprentice in Iraq. Now the time has come to repair the damage he has done. Precise dates for redeployment and withdrawal need not be fixed immediately. Announcing a timetable would not persuade the Iraqi government to take steps it is incapable of taking. What Bush has to do now is to launch an all-out effort to shepherd Iraq's disparate factions and communities into a political compact while seeking the neighbors' cooperation in preventing Iraq from becoming the anarchic failed state that would suit Al Qaeda's strategic aims. At the same time, all the concerned parties have to be told that US troops will be leaving soon, that America has no need for permanent military bases in Iraq and no designs for colonialist domination of Iraqis.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/11/19/lost_illusions_in_iraq/?page=2

For all the stumping for the Kool Kidz that Joannie does, she never mentions the issues. She never mentions Iraq, she never talks about the fact that John Kerry moved the Democratic Party to take stands in 2006 that actually helped in the midterm elections. She is talking about the one table at the high school cafeteria and noticing only the 'popular' kids at the moment.

To people like Joannie, politics isn't about anything. To the people who voted in 2006 in the midterms, it was about something. Joannie ought to start paying attention to that. It seems that having our kids die in a hopeless cause 8000 miles from home matters to voters. I don't think it matters at all to Joannie. The only thing that matters to Joannie is that she find a parade and hops in front of it. How utterly sad.

[MH1]

7. She is so typical though, isn't she?

While looking for something else, I found this TPM post from 2003 (quoting from The Nelson Report):

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/002301.php

With the endorsement by former VP Al Gore, Howard Dean's chances of being the Democrat's presidential nominee are looking increasingly realistic. That means we all have to start looking at his policy pronouncements for substance, and not just as political maneuverings.

So, let me get this straight. Only after someone's "chances" meet some undefined criteria of "realistic" should we start looking at the substance of their positions?!?

No freaking wonder people can't stand politics.

:banghead:


Edit to add: there's a fun read from the same date here: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/002303.php, wherein JK is described as "not yet toast, but in the toaster. Snuggly." And we know how that turned out, don't we?

[ProSense]

8. That's the thing,

the nonsense is unavoidable, and writing letters to call them on it is necessary, but the point is that often times they can't ignore the reality! It's like the article on Kerry's contributions to candidates. The article used snark to shroud the facts!

The OP article is no different, she mentions Kerry was in a great position, then ends with the reality: Kerry decides!

As Kerry has said, he has unfinished business. The decision is not going to come down to the direction he envisions for the country vs. media spin! That's simply ludicrous!

[wisteria]

9. So, I guess she is a little upset Kerry is still considering running.

Her comments about strong candidates, "Clinton and Edwards" was repeated by a pollster at Fox News. My opinion is big deal. Edwards appeal wears thin quickly and Clinton, well she is strong only due to her last name and money.

I have to wonder why certain political writers and some of the media get in a tizzy about Kerry running again. If he doesn't stand a chance, they why get upset about it all?

[beachmom]

10. Yeah, really. If he's "dead" then why worry about him?

Just ignore him, support another candidate, etc. Something about him makes people not want to shut up. As Kerry once said, he'd rather have the slings and arrows than be ignored.

[Blaukraut]

11. Sometimes I wonder

if these supposed big-time Dem fundraisers, who claim that JK is done, really exist. The likelier possibility is that reporters like Joanie fear Kerry, and will try to manipulate public opinion against him by quoting statements from fictional characters.

[whometense]

12. I have the same idea.

I've gotten really cynical about unnamed sources for anything. I just think most of this probably goes back to the Clintonistas, who are the people with perhaps the most to fear from Kerry. It's one of the things that's bothered me the most about the unholy alliance Bill Clinton has made with the Bushies - Jr and senior. The threat Kerry poses to both seems to be one topic they can make common cause on. All of them have skeletons a President Kerry would be a threat to expose. All of them are heavily invested in keeping the status quo.

I actually didn't see this as the worst thing Joanie has ever written about Kerry. It seemed to me like she was just trying to say that he shouldn't run for president and senate. I don't think that he's even considering doing that - as even she, oddly enough, admits in her column.

To me it's a typical Vennochi mess - gotta fill up the inches, don't really have a point of view, and oh, yeah, if at all possible, slam Kerry while you're at it. She is SUCH a loser. The worst damage she can do to him is in syndication - as in 2004, when her column appeared around the country and assholes like Chris Wallace could point to it and ssay, see, even his hometown newspaper doesn't like him.

Bah humbug. That feeling of crankiness that descended upon me after the election is still hanging around, and even increasing. There seems to be a serious dearth of grownups around, along with a severe excess of Machiavellis. I'm heartily sick of all of them. For me, Kerry is the sole survivor. He's worth twenty of any of the rest of them. I'm grateful he's willing to put up with the kind of shit people like Chris Wallace are willing to shove at him.

[Firespirit]

13. What an utter POS

Total bullshit too. This fund-raiser named in the article clearly hasn't spoken to JK's longtime financial supporters, because they aren't jumping ship. Like this group, like the rest of his supporters, they aren't going anywhere soon. JK people are a loyal bunch, more loyal IMO than anyone else in politics, and these articles always underestimate that.

[wildflowergardener]

14. joke

you know I really think the democrats who don't want to see Kerry run again are doing their best to keep this joke thing alive.

If the republicans didn't think John Kerry was a threat, though, I don't think they'd be doing this.

Meg

[cadmium]

15. Now we really have to encourage him to

run---if for no other reason to piss off Venocchi and her "unnamed source" gigolos