To Clark supporters: How do we gain traction?

To those of you, who, like me, are convinced that Wesley Clark is the best candidate for the presidency:

How does his campaign gain traction and start to propel Clark past the other candidates?

Clark, for the most part, has had a good week, despite articulating a position on regulation that is hard to explain and easy to take out of context.

He really seems to be jelling as a candidate and is getting stronger in his responses as the campaign progresses. His Internet campaign has gone from non-existent to really good. His two ads have been incredibly effective and well-crafted. He seems to have developed a quick response team to address problematic situations.

Yet, anecdotally, I still find that many acquaintances tend to default to Dean because of his high-profile campaign and name recognition factor. Clark's strategy is quieter and more subtle and will take longer to blossom. Becoming a Clark supporter, I think, involves a more complex decision-making process than deciding to vote for some of the other candidates.

This is a question from a supporter who is not affiliated with the campaign. Does Clark have the time to sell himself?

It's too late IMO.

He'll make a great Secretary of Defense

:P

Not unless something really changes. The Republicans will tear Dean apart. If Dean is the nominee I will personally do my best to keep that from happening, but the guy just is so vulnerable.

In NH?

Is he even leading nationally anymore?

Clark, or really, any of them, still have a *good* chance of taking it.

would you be the first to respond?

Just goes to show, supporters can make all the difference in the world.

but I was going to use fishing as an example! (GMTA)

With a post about how Howard Dean knits better than anyone else, and how only Howard Dean comprehends the true revolutionary potential of knitting, and how all others who knit are failures who should be knitting for the Republicans.

What about all those 'other candidate' cheaters, who perl when they were supposed to knit, hoping nobody will notice? HA! Fat chance! Can't pull the wool over a Deanie's eyes! No sir.

Is ignored answering again?

What part of that do you not understand?

article.
I'm on my mother's webtv so I can't really post the link...

I will try to post later when I get on my own computer...

It says another staffer has quit.
Money is short.
He's in single digits.

back in the day. There's nothing new. Trust me.

For whom?

Clark is raking in the cash.

verbatims. Zogby's polls have always polled Clark in the middle of the pact instead of at the head of the pact like the other polls.

They met the goal for fundraising for NH.

The article reports on a staffer who quit early in the campaign, not recently.

As for polling, check out http://PollingReport.com . Looks like he's doing pretty well in most polls, beating Dean in some, or a close second in others.

I read the Observer article: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1091321,00.html
I don't think they have the story right on Clark yet.

It's important to remember that not one, single ballot has been casted in the primary elections yet.

South Carolina will likely emerge as the "telltale primary," where Wesley Clark is still running strong. At present, his campaign is heavily promoting its "Race for America," which has a southern campaign team headed for South Carolina, and a northern team bound for New Hampshire.

Clark was the beneficiary of highly visible, plentiful media coverage last week, and it takes a few days to seed nationally.

It's silly, and against conventional political instincts, to announce that anyone's "finished" in the Democratic Primaries, when no votes have been cast yet. I think Dean and Gephardt will be formidable opponents for Clark (and damned good ones, too!!), but until someone wins that first Southern primary, we just won't really know who the frontrunners are.

YMMV, of course... :-)

is based solely on what Zogby and his polls have to say.

Finshing 3rd in Iowa and NH (maybe #2 in NH) will be great.

Lots of presidents have lost Iowa and NH in the primaries.

The south is the key this year and our man will win the south.

... and went on to win the nomination:

1972: George McGovern (lost IA to Edmund Muskie, and candidate "Uncommited;" lost NH to Edmund Muskie)

1976: Jimmy Carter (lost IA - in fact, the candidate who won the majority of caucus votes that year was again named "Uncommited;" won NH)

1984: Walter Mondale (won IA by large margin; lost NH by 10 points to Gary Hart)

1988: Michael Dukakis (finished 3rd in IA, behind Dick Gephardt and Paul Simon; won NH)

1992: Bill Clinton (didn't really compete in IA - finished 4th with 2.8%!!; lost NH to Paul Tsongas)

It's far from over, regardless of who wins IA and/or NH. Remember, Bill Clinton was called "the comeback kid" by the media in NH, even though he lost by 8 points! Anything can happen... anything.

That what makes Democratic Primary season so damned exciting for political junkies!! :D It's just not over until the nominee is nominated, ya know?

I do think Clark has the time to sell himself. BUT, it is also up to his supporters to help in that area.

I have been involved from the draft days. After he decided to run, I, like many got frustrated waiting to actually DO something. Now, it is all coming together.

My daughter and I have been called upon many times. We have volunteered on the day of service and worked side by side with Gert Clark cleaning the Little Rock Boys and Girls Club. We have canvassed at the college football game. We have joined our county's Democratic club and attended the meeting where, in my daughter's words, "no one there left without something Clark-related" (buttons, bumper-stickers, stickers). My daughter will be volunteering at headquarters tomorrow.

On Dec 5, we will be joining the Clark Convoy for a four day trip to New Hampshire. We will be receiving 50 pages of reading material from the campaign prior to our trip.

I think the campaign has kicked into overdrive and we have been told that we will get sick of them calling us to help out. I sure hope so. Because, along with our candidate himself, it is going to take our own hard work to pull this thing off.

Our business took off a couple of months ago but I have hired staff and plan to volunteer for his petition drive here. I sent two e-mails in response to a call for Internet site writers (something I could do with a more flexible schedule) but I never heard back.

by going to the Writers for Clark community tab of the CCN. There are quite a few writers there....and also writers groups regionally.
Email me if you need more info.

as a Republican.

and a lot of thought to come up ith that one. Nothing like a serious analysis.

With opponents like you, we don't stand a chance!

Most of his stands are quite liberal but he has a credible background that will help him implement his visions.

We are so polarized in this country that we fail to realize that there are some great people who are deeply committed to public service and the common good rather than to partisanship.

like Bush failed to protect this country on 9/11.

like Bush continues to fail to protect this country now.

like Bush and his men committed treason by leaking Valerie Plame's name.

Things like that. There's a LOT to go on the offensive about.

I like Dean but I think he gets too flustered. Clark will be able to debate the pants off of Bush and intimidate the hell out of him. Clark remains steady and calm, and he's set the precedent that he's not going to take crap from the media. Did anyone see him on Fox the other day? (http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player.html?4908&FOX_News_Live&Setting%20the%20Record%20Straight&wvx-300)

Every time I see Clark I am more and more convinced that he is the one who can run the best race against Bush. I'm going to watch the last two debates and if he continues to impress me, I'll be jumping on board that train.

on his performance against the idiot on Faux News. He ripped that guy for using the troops as a political ploy and for taking his comments out of context.

I just love it that he can defend himself without sounding defensive! No whining, no exploding (well, except on Fox, when an explosion was warranted), just EXPLAINING, with THOUGHT! Imagine THAT in a president!!!!!

I've said that I'd pay big money to watch him debate bush, and I guess I WILL, because I've donated as much as I can afford to the Clark campaign, and if our checking account lives through Christmas, I'm going to donate more $$.

Don't forget to watch CSPAN tonight (6:30 Central time, I think) - Road to the White House will cover Clark for part of the time. (nameless guy with the initials of J.L. for the other part of the time)

still have to chime in with negatives. I've sent an alert out to the mods. Perhaps others should as well

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

"Candidate" who could through his knowledge of foreign policy, the military and negotiating be able to keep from having to reinstate the draft. Public service, reiterate his time in Vietnam and compare his "public service" to that of the *, this will come at a price for Dean. The fact that he taught ECONOMICS at West Point and left a position in private Business to seek the presidency are very winning points. He has to continue to draw the distinct differences between * and himself, the glaring shortfalls of * will be hard to dismiss. He did not take the opportunity to bash Dean this morning on face the nation so I wish the Dean supporters would stop. Clark is polling as the best candidate against *. It is imperative that it is ABB. My best delivery for Clark has been to show Repuke leaning friends who have teenage kids what * is doing about reviving the draFT. Hopefully I am scaring the shit out of them.

The draft is going to be a major issue. And Clark is the guy who can be the Democratic standard bearer on the draft. It's an issue that will have a very powerful impact on the soccer moms.

I've seen it several times and don't know what it stands for. Anyone?.....

Somewhere on DU there is a glossary of acronyms. Perhaps somebody could help us find it. It's very useful. :)

I'm getting Green Party/Ralph Nader deja vu feelings.
:thumbsdown:

I've heard say that.

I was interested in Dean before he ran for president, and I can still listen to a speech of his and feel high on him, but then a half-hour at DU can make me doubt myself.

It has taken a conscious act of will not to allow the childish antics of some Dean supporters here color my feelings for the man himself, and it gets harder all the time.

for me too. That's why I try to ignore as many of the immature ones as I can.

There are half a dozen pitbulls from the Dean campaign and a few from Kucinich who who keep posting the same debunked trash repeated. Many Dean supporters are reasonable people who have Clark as their second choice, just as I have Dean currently as my second. Remember, we have some people on our side who do the same damned thing to the other candidates. Sometimes we get over sensitive and interpret an honest question or a sincere criticism as bashing.

By now, all of us should know who the assholes are. I won't list their names but you would recognize them all. They show up onEVERY Clark thread not with questions, but with accusations. My best suggestion-ignore them. Like children, they'll get bored and move on.

It does get to you after a while, and the denials are what really drive me right over the edge.

I have this feeling Clark is going to be just fine.

DU doesn't seem to have a rule covering an alert like that. But nice try.

Eloriel

and gaining momentum. given the amount of time he has had to get his message out, i think things are moving along nicely now. Granted we always wish for more but give it a bit of time Clark is building momentum.

And in a very short period of time, too. His declaration speech was underwhelming. He gave that airplane interview that generated 2000 percent more publicity than it warranted. And he has faced a shallow, unforgiving press. But the guy is growing by leaps and bounds as a campaigner. I fully expect he can elevate campaigning into an art if he wins the nomination.

he will show one doesn't need to make the campaigning process vile drivel to win.

I like to think of the time when he is finally in office. You know he will be the first inline to stop the all the ills of politics such as campaign finance, lobbyists, and all other evils we think of when it comes to Washington.

He wants America back to the strong caring country the world looked up to.

We need to have a candidate that will take on tough issues that will ignite our base and bring the greens, the "hip hop" community, and the centrist on board. A DUer named Kentuck proposed making the war on drugs an issue and I now agree that it's time for someone to tackle this. In order to beat Bush we must be willing to take risk. We have to think outside of the box. Polls show that most people favor giving treatment to drug users rather than jail time. I think the issue with Rush can actually be exploited for our advantage.

Another key issue is media consolidation and the FCC. The outpowering of opposition to media growth alarmed the media conglomerates and sent them notice.

He needs to also talk more specifically about addressing trade issues.
Nafta and the WTO agreements should be on his list of talking points.

I was just looking at all the candidate's websites, in order to (fairly) participate in the DU poll on websites - and one thing that really grabbed me was a testimonial from a former Kucinich supporter.

I think this notion will resonate, and encourage people who think they have settled on a candidate to take a good long look at Clark.

It actually plays into one of his weaknesses, which is his late start, and turns it into an advantage. With so many voters undecided (1/3 to 1/2 of voters), it establishes a good positive theme and a sense of momentum.

She gave permission for anyone to use it or post it.

I wonder if it would be appropriate to post it here?

I think you should post it here.

One thing though, Clark has been good about not attacking other candidates, so you don't want to upset supporters of the candidates who have switched from them to Clark.

Clark in particular stands to benefit from picking up supporters of candidates who drop out early. How many Gephardt supporters would move to Dean? How many Kerry supporters? This is where the Dean campaign may have created the biggest nail in his coffin: alienating all the other campaigns. But it's also where Clark can make huge inroads.

I can't see the necessity for anyone dropping out. I suppose that their supporters will switch when they see their guys gain traction in the first contests.

Clark. He lavishes nothing but praise on the general's kindness and humanity.

Hey if Dean can pull off a 180 turn and become a populist, Clark could too. Unfortunately, it seems like Clark really believes it, which makes it impossible for him to win the Democratic primary.

All he needs is a major speech dealing specifically with corporate power, naming the names of some CEOs (besides Ken Lay) and he'd go up 10% overnight.

Sadly, he doesn't seem interested.

the partisan fray. Staying above the partisan fray is what will lead us to success against bush. Bush has been too partisan and likewise the dems have been partisan in reacting to him. People are tired of this constant fighting and bickering. That is where Clark's strengths lie.

I've read almost all of his interviews and speeches, and he isn't in any way espousing populism, instead promoting Clinton style neo-liberalism.

If he was a populist, he would have already won. Sadly, he isn't. Who knows, if he does come out with some serious populist proposals, or even just holding corporations to task the way he has Bush, he would be in.

That WOULD be "above the partisan fray" - the Democrats have whored themselves to the wealthy almost as much as the Republicans have. He could be a true non-partisan popular American leader.

But I'm thinking the Democrats just won't vote for a centrist military general who is a new Democrat and as centrist as possible. It's too bad, Clark is a incredibly intelligent and pretty straight forward guy if you ask me.

...and if the other candidates start copying him on this- well then that is GREAT too...

Seriously- Clark stands out becuase he is not afraid of Bush/media- no jive turkey games- Clark is not afraid that Bush/media will be "mean to him"- he already knows this and appears to be taking them on subtely and overtly...

And since the election is about replacing bush, they should take a look at the guy he's the most likely to succeed.

rest because he has confidence in his own abilities. He just exudes confidence. When he speaks, he sounds to me like it is what he believes and not what he thinks people want to hear.

This morning, he didn't let Bill Schaffer interrupt him. He said "Let me finish, please". Schaffer said OK.

Clark just needs more exposure.

to join his campaign...but Clark said no.

So anyone wanting Clark should not think that it will happen via Dean. OK?


NATIONAL DESK | September 11, 2003, Thursday
Dean Asks General to Join Him in Primaries, Aides Say

By JODI WILGOREN (NYT)
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 14 , Column 3
ABSTRACT - Dr Howard Dean asks Gen Wesley K Clark to join his presidential campaign in some capacity if Clark decides against making run himself (M)

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20815FA385F0C728DDDA00894DB404482

I went to a party last night where the talk inevitably turned to politics. When I mentioned The General, ears perked up. I did my talking points about his credentials, referred folks to the website ... I was preaching to the choir in the sense that everyone there leans Democratic, but when I finished, I felt I had won over those who were for Kerry, Gephardt (why???) or Edwards.

Why/how? I always gp back to one big point. Who is the one best suited to siphon disaffected repugs, the military and fence sitters from Bush. CLARK!

First let me apologize to everyone who has already posted. I haven't had the time I want to spend on DU today, so I haven't had time to read the posts on this thread yet (I will later) and I am sure many of the things I will say below have already been said, probably bertter than I will. But better safe than sorry!

Every day we need to try to do something to help the Clark campaign. For one thing, if you are able to donate to the campaign, front load your donation. Give as much as you can reasonably afford for the next six months in a lump sum now, then start paying off that credit card in time for the General Election. If we can grow the movement, others will enter and they can pick up the bills for future months. Clark needs to impress everyone with the money he raises this quarter, the one closing at the end of December. That is the last report people will have before the primaries begin. Big money raised now adds credability heading into those votes, and having more to spend now helps Clarks reach out to those who know little about him, which grows the movement.

Most of what we need to convey about Clark, certainly, is substance; all the whys and wherefors for supporting him. But appearances too, literally count. We need to further the sense we all have that Clark's campaign is now gaining momentum. Do you have a Clark lawn sign in your yard (assuming you have a yard)? If not, why not? Are you taping Clark appearances off the TV, and lending that tape to people you know? Are you wearing a Clark button around town? Does your car have a sticker? Momentum is partially measured by all those type signs of increasing visibility for a candidate. Be visible as a Clark supporter.

Be prepared to address the hatchet jobs that some throw at Clark. Are you saving links to good articals when you find them? They come in handy when someone you know has a question about Clark, especially if they have only been exposed to the hit pieces. Consider doing what some posters have done already, write a personal statement for why you are backing Clark, and share that statement at the very least with the people who personally know you. Do you have time - can you make time - to make it to NH or to one of the primary states that follow up the week after NH? I spent a day helping out in NH (I live in NY). It was great, and I will be going back. You can really make a difference by personally making a difference in one of those early primary states. There is always more work to be done on the ground and in the campaign offices than there are people to do it.

Have you contacted your elected Democratic Party officials and asked them to endorce Clark? Even if they don't it is important that they hear from us now. It will register, and might even come up in conversations they have with other Democratic Party officials, if they sense a sudden upsurge of interest in Clark. The earlier we can all take actions like those I listed above, the more time there is fror the effects of our actions to multiply before the primaries begin. Act now.