Wesley Clark Gaining Popularity with the Left?

[lehighguy]

Whatever, I thought Kerry was gonna win easy. So I don't know what I'm talking about.

Though I did win a lot of money trading Bush futures on tradesports. I should listen to the gambler in me.

[Peca277]

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Warner would be a disaster - He has been here in Virginia.

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Define disaster, please. I hate to tell you that you're in the VAST minority considering he has 60-70% approval ratings. Latest poll had him at 63%. Pretty damn good for a Democrat who persuaded a Republican legislature to raise taxes, and in a state Bush won with 55% of the vote. Warner has gravitas, something that Edwards is unfortunately lacking.

If we chose candidates based on stump speeches, we should've picked Sharpton. When I saw Sharpton, Clark, Edwards and Kerry speak before the VA primary last year, Sharpton was the only one that was vaguely entertaining. Edwards was a distant second with Kerry and Clark both boring the hell out of me.

[Dynasty]

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Pretty damn good for a Democrat who persuaded a Republican legislature to raise taxes, and in a state Bush won with 55% of the vote.

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He raised taxes? That's handing the Republicans a club which will be used to beat him over the head with throughout a general election campaign.

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Pretty damn good for a Democrat who persuaded a Republican legislature to raise taxes, and in a state Bush won with 55% of the vote.

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He raised taxes? That's handing the Republicans a club which will be used to beat him over the head with throughout a general election campaign.

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The problem is he just doesn't come of like the typical tax and spend liberal and it will be hard for the Republicans to pin that on him. Democrats that I like scare me, and he scares me, in terms of Presidential politics.

If the Democrats pick Hillary over him it will be a bold statement about which direction the party is truly headed.

[Dynasty]

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The problem is he just doesn't come of like the typical tax and spend liberal and it will be hard for the Republicans to pin that on him.

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Kerry started his convention speech by saying he was reporting for duty. Within a month, his service was being questioned constantly.

If he's actually a tax raiser, it's going to be easy to label him as one.

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The problem is he just doesn't come of like the typical tax and spend liberal and it will be hard for the Republicans to pin that on him.

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Kerry started his convention speech by saying he was reporting for duty. Within a month, his service was being questioned constantly.

If he's actually a tax raiser, it's going to be easy to label him as one.

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Do you think that will really carry much weight? Clinton was a tax raiser. IMO it's effectiveness is A) mostly dependant on the economy - that is the better it is doing the harder it is to argue for any tax raise and B) how the message is delivered. AS long as the democrats go with the class warfare message of basically the rich are screwing you over I think they will have a hard time but from what I remember President Clinton went with a softer those that have more can and should help a little more message. While it is of course the exact same thing I think Clinton's message will go over better than say Gore's more angry one.

Now let me contradict myself. I think the country as a whole has and continues to move in a fiscal conservative direction so in general a fiscal liberal position is at a disadvantage.

[Peca277]

You'd think he'd be viewed that way in Virginia then. He's viewed as a true leader instead because he cut $6 billion dollars in state spending and realized that there still wasn't enough money to adequately fund core necessities like education, and medicaid. The state almost lost its Aaa bond rating, but didn't because of the tax increases.

He also was smart because his plan would have lowered taxes for 65% of Virginians. It called for raising the state sales tax by 1/2%, and raising the cigarette tax from a nation low 2.5 cents to 30 cents, while reducing the food tax, increasing the personal income tax exemption, and fully implementing the car tax repeal. The only people who would've paid more were smokers and rich people who buy a crapload of stuff.

The budget that was ultimately passed (after a record long extended session) included an increase in the recordation tax so anybody who buys a house or refinances pays more... but it was almost essentially his original plan. While the Republicans might say "he raised taxes," (most Rs in Virginia aren't even saying that) it would be easy to shift that to the role of a strong leader who stepped up to the plate when it was needed most. He came in to a record budget deficit from the previous Governor and fixed the problem. It lookes like he will probably be the same situation in 2009 when he takes office. Hopefully he can put the country on the right track then too!

[Dynasty]

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The problem is he just doesn't come of like the typical tax and spend liberal and it will be hard for the Republicans to pin that on him.

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Kerry started his convention speech by saying he was reporting for duty. Within a month, his service was being questioned constantly.

If he's actually a tax raiser, it's going to be easy to label him as one.

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Do you think that will really carry much weight? Clinton was a tax raiser.

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Yup.

Clinton campaigned in 1992 on a middle class tax cut. He knew he couldn't be viewed as a tax raiser.

[slamdunkpro]

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I hate to tell you that you're in the VAST minority considering he has 60-70% approval ratings.

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That dosn't make me wrong - time will tell.

Warner carped about budget crisises and such to ram his tax increase through, then backed off on killing the car tax. Now, after a year of "budget crisis" we have the largest surplus in the Commonwealth's history. Does Warner plan on refunding it back to the taxpayers? No. He just announced that he wants to spend it on new "social" programs.

This is a Clinton tactic; scream the sky is falling to scare the legislature into raising taxes, get a big surplus them pi$$ it away.

Also Warner has spent less time in Virginia than any other govenor in Virgina's recent history. I think the number was like 3 months out of 10; or 7 months out of State.

[Dynasty]

Largest budget surplus in history and it's being followed by spending rather than tax cutting?

More fuel to the fire.