Clarkies, c'mere, I have a message from Wes

This is a message from Wes. I know a lot of you don't frequent the Clark blog and I didn't want you to miss it:

To all those who worked so hard and cared so much,

Thanks for all you've done. You gave me a voice and you amplified it far beyond anything I could have expected. I am so grateful for all your support, contributions, letters, visits, emails, and continuing commitment. And for all your determination to help our country into the future.

I think we did make a difference, and I think the country and the party are better for all we did together.

But we didn't win.

Today is a sad occasion for all who believe in our vision of America. Like so many of you, I worked hard for John Kerry. Over the last few days, like so many, I believed the polls that showed John Kerry winning. And I believed John would be a good president. Thank you for supporting him. I very much regret that he won't be there in the White House for us.

Much will be written about this election. People will analyze the nominees, their platforms, and the processes. There'll be detailed looks at the electorate. I'm sure our party will look hard at itself, its ideas, policies, and approaches.

We'll likely be very tough on ourselves and each other -- but I hope not too tough. We want to strengthen our party and our ability to compete in the next election and the one after that. So we need to show each other some appreciation, too, to keep it all in perspective.

I'll be listening to their views -- and to yours. It will take time, effort, and honesty to sort out the lessons. But I hope you'll be there as we do so. And participate. I look forward to reading your ideas and hearing from you in the coming days.

As for me, well, I'm continuing with efforts in the private sector. But I haven't lost my love for this country nor concern for her welfare. That's why, through WesPAC, I'll continue to speak out and fight for the issues we care about and the values we stand for.

Thanks again for standing beside me over the many months. We've got a lot left to do, so stick with me in the weeks and months ahead!

Sincerely,

Wes

I'll always be a 'Clarkie' and support him in anything he chooses to do in the future.

I'm headed over to CCN.

God knows, he worked his ass off for us. :)

I'd say him and Dean did all they could for KErry.

They are both great people and I would support either of them for president were they to run (and yes over Hillary).

He would have been awesome. I think he was the most sensible person out of all the candidates, followed closely by Sharpton and Dean (in no particular order). I want my country back.

Clark wasn't my first choice for the nomination, but only because I believed that he was just too politically naive. I have listened to the man and have come to admire him greatly. He is brilliant and experienced and well-spoken, in his field, and I was counting on him being chosen as our next Secretary of Defense. What a difference he could have made! He gets it, while Rummy has no clue and thinks that looting is one of the advantages of "freedom." America blew it in not electing Kerry, but also lost the chance for Clark, who has been advising him, to bring his astute knowledge to a new administration.;(

(there is a rule that you must be out of the military for 10 years before you can take that job)

I thought he would make an excellent Secretary of State. That was my deepest hope after he left the race. When Kerry lost, I felt I lost twice in that regard. :(

I'll still contribute to WesPAC and see what he plans to do. He will always have my support.

I certainly would have thought that he would have been preferable to someone who had never served in the military.:crazy:

I was hoping for Clinton for Secretary of State, but then we found out about his heart problem. Clark would have been excellent. He has experience dealing with foreign governments and conflicts and would never would have gone to the U.N., armed with lies.:grr:

field." Clark has the experience, talent, humanity, brilliance and leadership ability to make an extraordinary president.

I'm simply amazed how a Whitehouse fellow who wrote budgets from scratch and has a degree in economics is considered less qualified than a lifelong politician and a personal injury attorney to handle the difficult economic issues facing this country.

The old "politically naive" b.s. That was one of the many attractive qualities of a Clark candidacy. People didn't view Clark as just another politician willing to say anything to get elected.

I know this is the "Help and Support" section but posts like this that are so dismissive about what Clark brought to the table are hardly helpful or supportive.

I admit that he is one of our untapped resources and have no doubt that he has been excellent in advising Sen. Kerry. And yes, as I said, he is a brilliant man, with a wealth of experience. And we now badly need his expertise. But what you have to remember, until very recently, he considered himself as a Republican. That's surely what I meant about "politically naive." He admits this, himself, as he did on last week's "Real Time with Bill Maher." As I have said, I have listened to the man and acknowledge that he is brilliant in his field and just wish that we could take advantage of his expertise. I didn't realize that Kerry couldn't appoint him to head Defense, until I read this thread. That was my hope. And Bush* will never appoint him to anything, since he has affiliated himself with the Democratic Party, a real shame and a loss for our country. We can hope that Bush* will be bi-partisan, especially now, but know better.:shrug:

Wes was never a Republican, he only "admitted" to having voted for them in the past. He was a registered independent, as everyone in Arkansas is. He voted for both Clinton and Gore.

He chose the Democratic party. This was the only party he ever affiliated himself with.

Edit: Wes hasn't voted for a Republican in 16 years, or thereabouts. But he's still living it down, and it's mainly because this Party doesn't trust the military. Our loss.

When he was on Bill Maher, last Friday, he admitted to just having become a Democrat. That sure doesn't bother me, since I vote for candidates and not for parties, though, I look for candidates who agree with me, and they usually are Democrats.

Lord knows, I never intended to open up this can of worms about Gen. Clark, when we already have so much else to worry about. He admitted to being a new Democrat. I don't care. He is right for the future of our country with his knowledge and intelligence and vision, but will be shut out by Bush*. Bush* prefers Rummy who has never served and thinks looting is one of the rights of "free people."

If you think I am denigrating Gen. Clark, then you are dead wrong.:-(

I believe you are sincere in your admiration for him. :)


We just get a little sensitive about the "republican" meme, since that was hurled at us so bad during the primaries. It hurt Clark. People in the Party never trusted him because of the uniform, and when he was honest enough to lay out his voting record, they called him a repuke, a Rove plant, and a lot of other ugly things. I wanted to smack the shit out of Maher for bringing that up again, especially since Maher himself is a libertarian and only supported Kerry because he hates Bush. Clark has done nothing but work his ass off for this Party, broaden it's message, and has only recently been given grudging respect for it.

just last Friday. He, obviously, has valuable experience and an incredible wealth of knowledge which could only help the U.S. clean up the horrible mess Bush* made in Iraq. It troubles me deeply that he won't be given the chance. I just kept wishing that Kevin Costner would shut up long enough for Gen. Clark to answer the questions put to him and give us the benefit of his experience.:-(

He admitted to being a very new Democrat, which Maher did bring up, so I understand your sensitivity. As I said, the labels don't trouble me. Lieberman, while a long-time Democrat, might as well be a Republican. For Clark, the uniform is a plus. We need more leaders with military experience. Bush* has only one in his administration and he refused to listen to his recommendation of diplomacy in regard to Iraq. He has repeatedly refused the advice of military leaders and this has cost us dearly.;(

Regarding Bill Maher, I hold him partially responsible for Kerry's defeat. You're right, Maher supported Kerry only because he hated Bush*. But he also repeatedly denigrated Kerry and his campaign. This angered me because I came to admire John Kerry and his vision for this country. He couldn't have it both ways. Kerry was our only hope and now he's gone.;(

It's just an old dispute that you stumbled into, not one you tried to start.

I should have realized what I was getting into. I know that both the Clark and Dean supporters on DU can get very sensitive. However, Dennis Kucinich was my candidate. We Kucinich supporters are used to being overlooked, ignored and belittled.:shrug:

Although I'm a Clarkie, I voted for Kucinich in my states caucuses and was a Kucinich delegate right up to the State Convention. He is a very good man and I was proud to support him.

I'm sorry that you stumbled into a sore spot for Clarkies, there's no way you could have known.:hug: The media really pushed hard on the meme that he was really a Republican, so alot of people are under that impression. He has never, ever been registered as a Republican, and has been voting Democratic since at least 1992.

As for his being tapped for a position in the * administration, there is no F'n way he would ever work for *. He hates that man and everything he stands for. His vision of foreign policy is diametrically opposed to everything * stands for. You might just as well suggest Kucinich for a * cabinet position.

Wes will continue fighting for the Democratic party and its ideals, whether they like it or not.:)

I am hoping that his message became part of the Democratic platform, though we lost.;(

Thanks for the hug. I desperately needed it, just now, after being accused of being a troll and worse, just on this thread. I have been on DU for a long time, and have never been accused of anything, let alone of being a Freeper. This hurts me very deeply, and I am already in pretty rough shape because of the election. I came back for support, since I hurt pretty badly. I admire Gen. Clark greatly, which is the fool reason that I posted here, though I have said as much on this thread, but this has somehow become misinterpreted. I am incredibly sorry that Dennis Kucinich's message for peace and Gen. Clark's message about how to achieve that peace, will go unheard.:(

I certainly know that Gen. Clark will not be a part of the next Bush* administration. He is too smart a man to hitch his future to that wagon, but I hope and pray that we'll be hearing more from him. We need his expertise and knowledge, desperately, just now. I know that Bush* won't seek it, but I wish that someone would, because they remembered a tiny bit of recent history.:shrug:

mean he used to be a Republican. Furthermore, I could care less if he used to be a Republican (though he wasn't).

Amazing how the Republicans didn't care that Reagan was a former Democrat. They embraced him and he in turn grew the Republican party and delivered the WH for 8 years.

However, that doesn't take away from the his valuable service to our country and the insight and advice that he contributed to the Kerry campaign. I am deeply troubled that he won't be given the chance to serve in a Kerry administration. We need him now, more than ever.:-(

As far as Reagan is concerned, I don't care which party he belonged to, just as I don't care about General Clark's political affiliation. Clark has experience and knowledge that we desperately need right now. Reagan only served our country on film and he never got my vote.:shrug:

First of all, in the military, you're legally required to be non-partisan. You serve the office of the president, not the democrat or republican in the oval office. There are strict guidelines that disallow and regulate political activism while you're on active duty.

Second, until a new law passed in 1996 in Arkansas, voter registration cards in that state didn't not allow for party affiliation. To this day, several other states still don't allow party registraion on their voter registration card. And from what I recall during the primary discussions, currently, less than 5% of Arkansas voters have bothered to avail themselves of this new law. That means over 95% of Arkansas voters still have no party affiliation on their voter registration cards. Clark reregistered as a Democrat in 2002, taking advantage of the 1996 law -- note that he didn't have. Prior to 1996, Clark had no party affiliation on his voter registration card, JUST LIKE 100% OF REGISTERED ARKANSAS VOTERS (including Bill Clinton when he ran in 1992). He has never registered as a Republican.

Note that he was not registered as an Independent either prior to 2002. He was not registered as ANYTHING, b/c state voter registration cards didn't allow party affiliation.

The whole "clark was a republican" meme was pushed heavily during the primaries by Seventhson (amongst others) who has now been outed as a Freeper.

Just because Clark is new to the democratic party doesn't mean he was ever a registered republican or a registered independent. He was basically apolitical b/c it would have been illegal for him to participate in partisan politics of either party while still serving.

He only retired relatively recently (thus allowing him to engage in partisan politics for the first time in his life), and both parties wooed him, just as both parties wooed Colin Powell when Powell retired from the military. But whereas Powell decided he was a Republican, Clark looked at his values and decided he was a Democrat. He even refused to dodge the label of liberal. When Bill Mahr asked him if he would follow Dean's approach and avoid the label of liberal, Clark said he embraced the label and would say so on national tv. The irony is, that because of his military background, no matter how liberal his policies are, he will still be seen as conservative. This dichotomy of liberal substance/conservative image would have helped tremendously during the General Election, but caused problems during the primaries for ppl who couldn't get over the military thing and look at the actual person and policies under the image. He's a liberal general and the democrats haven't had one run for president in a long time.

Sigh. I know you may not know the backstory of the primaries, and I don't blame you for any erroneous conclusions. It almost feels like an October of last year again...this issue has been rehashed to death during the primaries.

The reason Clark is new to the Democratic Party is because he's new to partisan politics (illegal while in uniform), not because he was ever a member of the Republican Party.

After being told several times that he was not, ever, a member of the Republican party, you come back and say it again.

I don't trust anyone I don't know after all these freepers came out of their sleeper cells.

If I find out you are one of them, there will be hell to pay. In the meantime, if you come back to this thread, be prepared for warfare.

:grr:

Think again and review any post that I have made, going on 7500. I am neither a Freeper nor a hypocrite. I merely pointed out that Gen. Clark formerly supported and voted for Republicans, but I am sincerely grateful that he has chosen us and is on our side. What about my comment that "he is a brilliant man" didn't resonate with you?!":shrug:

Every fucking one. How... interesting. Even the Rove remark!

I know the tactic, praise someone, act all inncoent, then slip in all the shit that rethugs have said against them between the lines.

I know the game, you are not fooling anyone.


I'm fucking locked and loaded, right now, don't push me.

Losing my temper and getting myself banned would be exactly what you want. Another notch on your belt. I won't fall for it.

I will just ignore you, which is what you deserve.

Edit: I just deleted your latest PM without reading it. Don't bother.

and am truly sorry that he won't get the chance to serve in a Kerry administration. I give up and am out of here. I don't cry easily, but this sadness, Wesley Clark overlooked, Kerry defeated and your misunderstanding of what I have said, has just sent me over the edge. I would hate to see anyone banned. I would have fought to have gotten my I/P friends reinstated, if they had let me. I have never put anyone on ignore. I am just so sorry that you choose to misinterpret what I say in this egregious manner. It makes no sense to me, but I will no longer discuss or praise Gen. Clark on this board, no matter what he does to redeem this country. I give up.;(

I have no idea what I did or said that upset you so much, but you were reasonable, earlier, so I'd like to hear from you and hope to work this out, whatever it is. It certainly can't be Gen. Clark, since I said, in my first reply to this thread, that I admired him greatly.:shrug:

In post #48 you said, "General Clark was, until recently, a member of the Republican party."

Prior to making that statement it had been explained to you several times that he had never been a member of the Republican party and that claims that he had were a very sore spot with Clarkies.

Mind you, your statement wasn't to the effect that at one time, more than a dozen years ago, he used to vote for Republicans. A dozen years is not recent and voting for Republicans is not the same thing as being a member of the Republican party.

What it looks like to some people is that you found a very sensitive button and then deliberately pushed it by stating an out and out falsehood after you had received information to the contrary.

I have no idea what you have been saying to incapsulated in PMs but it sounds like you're doing more of the same.

All of this may be a product of simple naivete on your part but, with tensions and paranoia running high, suspicion of your actions and your motives is very understandable.

If you are not trying to disrupt then I hope you can understand and accept my explanation. If you are trying to disrupt, you will end up being exposed and tombstoned.

I will be watching your posts more carefully in the future.

I am sorry that the board has reached this state.

Clark wasn't my first choice for the nomination, but only because I believed that he was just too politically naive. I have listened to the man and have come to admire him greatly. He is brilliant and experienced and well-spoken, in his field, and I was counting on him being chosen as our next Secretary of Defense. What a difference he could have made! He gets it, while Rummy has no clue and thinks that looting is one of the advantages of "freedom." America blew it in not electing Kerry, but also lost the chance for Clark, who has been advising him, to bring his astute knowledge to a new administration.;(

Clark will run in 2008. I'm hoping for it anyway....

I was just hoping that he could get us out of this quagmire in Iraq. After supervising the conflict in Bosnia, which was also politically explosive, I thought that he could really help Kerry solve the worst problem that we face. If Bush* had any brains, he would bring Gen. Clark in, but he has repeatedly rejected the advice of military leaders, most notably, Gen. Shinseki, who told Bush* that he would need more troops in Iraq. And what happened to Shinseki?!:-(

work in the Bush* administration, not any more than Kucinich would. He despises everything Bush* stands for and would never be a participant in it.

I'm sorry, but I find the very idea of that highly offensive, and I know you're not trying to offend.:-(

Kucinich was my candidate, but I am realistic and understand why he didn't get the nomination. I just hope that some of his ideas were incorporated into the platform. As for Gen. Clark, I realize that his ideas and experience and recommendations will never be incorporated into the current platform, which is a real tragedy, now, because we need him.;(

Thanks for posting this. :)

And we're here ready to go, just say the word.

Bake

Incap, you are the best. Thanks for posting this because I did in fact miss it on the Clark blog.

Clark's statement is so genuine and heartfelt that it brought tears to my eyes. General Clark was and remains my hero. He sacrificed so much for this country-- and though he is relatively new to our party-- he has been a tireless champion of democratic ideals, and, yes, a champion for each and every one of us, too. He deserves yet another medal for what he put himself through by answering our call to enter the race for the presidency.

General Clark is a class act, a true patriot, and a genuine gift to the democratic party. I believe he has now proven this many times over. If the presidency itself was not immediately in the cards for him, he most certainly would have made a great future governor, senator, congressman, or perhaps even a future POTUS or VPOTUS. It is my deepest hope that he will still go on to achieve one of these positions. But given the way he and his family were treated by so many in the so-called "progressive community" (including so many at DU-- and you KNOW who you are)-- it seems doubtful that General Clark will pursue any of those positions in the near future. That is truly a shame and a loss for our country as well as the progressive cause.

So I just want to say... God Bless General Wesley K. Clark. He worked his ass off to get Kerry elected, and he is every bit as heartbroken as we are that Kerry didn't win. General Clark deserves nothing less than our heartfelt thanks and respect. I, for one, am MORE than happy to give it to him.

Ding Ding Ding Ding

Cryptologic Technician Collection Chief reporting aboard for duty.

The battle of good versus evil has begun. What are your orders General?

As this election shows, red states are unwilling to elect a president that they consider to be too liberal. Note that the only Democrats elected in the last forty years have been LBJ (Texas), Carter (Georgia), and Clinton (Arkansas). We need to turn some red states blue, and liberals from the Northeast are not going to do it.

Since when is Arkansas the northeast?

That's all I'm saying.

Keep him on the radar screens. He's not going anywhere, and he has unfinished business.

President Clark.

2008.

Visualize. :)

I am always moved by this man. Very happy to hear that WesPac will continue. That is the best sign so far the Wes Clark plans to stay active in politics. Thank God.

answers. We are blessed to have him on our side.

registered and ready to rumble! -Crozet

:)

We need to consolidate! There's also a "draft-clark" page in the works.

Great message from Wes, as usual. :)

We'll likely be very tough on ourselves and each other -- but I hope not too tough. We want to strengthen our party and our ability to compete in the next election and the one after that. So we need to show each other some appreciation, too, to keep it all in perspective.

nothing was there.

www.wespac2004.com

I was never so proud of a candidate that I supported. :loveya:

I hope he takes on electronic voting machines. Get them the hell out of our elections.

With great passion, I look forward to him sharing his views of the AFTER Action Report/Lessons learned. It would be great to get his feedback on a Democratic Party platform going forward! Wish him nothing but success in all of his endeavors!

Thanks for posting!

I love reading words like that now instead of the beating up kind!

Thanks, General Wesley Clark for all you did for America!

if you'll accept an old "Airdale" in your ranks....I'll keep listening and working.

I am looking for my favorite quote.

I came to DU to help me decide who I liked in the primary. I didn't go for Clark - in the end I went for Kerry - but the Clarkies here were really great, they were incredible, you moved me very much towards your guy.

Clark was great too... the more I heard of Clark (and Edwards) the more I liked them... but the Clarkies on this site really warmed me. (Nothing against the orig. supporters of any other candidate, everyone had good and meaningful things to say - but to the Clarkies here, you were really special.)

That was nice and appreciated. :hi:

A sincere thank you to Wesley Clark for all he has done -and will continue to do - for the United States of America. May God grant you success in your endeavors, Mr Clark.

After Amy Goodman sprung a surprise interview on him last year, he didn't try to dodge questions or give spin. He answered all her questions as honestly as he could.

To be sure, I didn't like some of his replies... but I could tell he was speaking from the heart. After that interview I knew that if Wes won the presidency, America would be in good hands.

After Kerry's disgusting surrender, I wish we had nominated someone like Clark, Dean or Kucinich. At least they wouldn't have backed down from a fight.

Did some volunteer work for his campaign here in Oklahoma and would love to see him run again. I honestly feel, even though he didn't have the political savvy of Kerry, he would have been more widely accepted through out the country than Kerry.

...and I personaly think Kerry is awesome-but I always thought having Clark on the ticket would have guranteed the election for us-I was praying Kerry would pick him.

Wes Clark, 2008

-----------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT! Take this country back one town and state at a time!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :grouphug:

I'm going to work my ass off getting candidates elected in local and state offices for '06, with a secondary focus on convincing Clark to run for the nomination again.

And then I'm going to work to get him nominated.

The man has everything John Kerry has. But I think he has more.

:kick:

... and thank you.

:kick:

Another contribution to Wespac.

Total Contribution Amount: $20.08
Reference ID: 12178356

I would urge others to do the same.:)

Dems under used him big time-I think DEMS made a huge mistake by ignoring his Presidential run.

Gen. Wes Clark- 2008