With apologies to Ken Mehlman, Howard Dean is quickly becoming the GOP’s favorite party chairman. Like something out of a science fiction movie, Dean seems to represent some sort of nexus in the universe for overwrought emotion, stupidity and arrogance. Like a magical Christmas present, he is the gift that keeps on giving.
Let’s look at the highlights for the past few months. He said that he “hates Republicans,” that conservatives are “evil,” that Republicans “never made an honest living in their lives,” and that the GOP is “pretty much a white, Christian party.” A few months back at a gathering of black Democrats Dean commented that the Republicans couldn’t “get this many people of color in a single room” unless they included “the hotel staff.”
This makes one wonder if he actually tries to say things that make people question his intelligence. Former South Carolina Senator Fritz Hollings was famous for making the sort of embarrassing off-the-cuff remarks that he later had to extricate himself from, leaving some to suggest that he lacked the filter between his brain and his mouth that most people possess. Dean seems to suffer from an advanced case of the same disorder. Either that or he relishes the taste of his own feet.
And all this is from the head of the political party whose leaders claimed that they learned their lesson in the aftermath of the 2004 election. They were going to contest for the “red states” and reach out to Republicans, independents, conservatives, Christians, etc. So how’s that going? Not too good it would seem.
One congressional Democrat aid worried that Dean’s comments gave Republicans an opening to portray the Democrats as “a godless party.” Most Democrats who represent anything that even looks like a red state are criticizing the Deanster, such as New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Virginia Governor Mark Warner and Tennessee Senate hopeful Congressman Harold Ford.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - billy
"money and organization"
yes dean sucks. he raised 50% more than the same time in 03, while repubs have shown no increase at all.
that terrible, . . . if you are a republican
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Drew, can you provide context to those partial quotes about hating evil Republicans, et. al?
3 - Mel
You didn't even mention his most recent laugher regarding the Supreme Court's eminent domain decision, not that the mainstream media has given it any attention.
"[Dean] also said the president was partly responsible for a recent Supreme Court decision involving eminent domain.
"'The president and his right-wing Supreme Court think it is 'okay' to have the government take your house if they feel like putting a hotel where your house is,' Dean said, not mentioning that until he nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court this week, Bush had not appointed anyone to the high court.
"Dean's reference to the "right-wing" court was also erroneous. The four justices who dissented in the Kelo vs. New London case included the three most conservative members of the court - Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the fourth dissenter.
"The court's liberal coalition of Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer combined with Justice Anthony Kennedy to form the majority opinion, allowing the city of New London, Conn., to use eminent domain to seize private properties for commercial development."
Howard Dean is a sad, little man, but even worse are those who like him,
4 - Bennett
Links? Context? Google Refs? Anything at all to back up your supposed quotes?
Or should we take this writing as an unverifiable rant meant to what? Smear?
Say it aint so!
5 - Eric Berlin
Dean is doing very well with fundraising, as has been stated. I also really like the idea of building a 50-state organization, as opposed to the 16-18 state strategy Dems have employed over the last few election cycles. Close but no cigar was the result in '00 and '04. I'm glad someone's installed who speaks his mind and is aiming to win in the short, medium, and long-term.
6 - Suzanne Young
LMAO--if your diatribe wasn't taken seriously by so many half wits out there...I would just laugh as if I were watching Jon Stewart's Daily Show.
I think I pretty much disagree with all of your assertions, that much can be said...and I wasn't even a follower of Howard Dean. But since YOU guys make such a stink out of everything he says and does as a Committee chairman (gosh, imagine if we had such a mouthy, attituded, if not ignorant President; hmm) I have started to pay a little more attention to him. And I notice your circling your wagons around your "womenfolk and kin" against us. What could you possibly be afraid of: the middle class learning the truth of your "cut, slash, and deficit some more" intentions?
7 - Bob A. Booey
The comments don't matter and won't cost anyone any elections. He's allowed to be partisan and one-sided now. The party chairmen are usually the attack dogs leading up to the Presidential election and during the primaries and Dean seems born for that role.
If the fundraising stats are true, that he's increased it by 50%, he's doing a stellar job. Dean can energize the base and he can raise money -- that's the job description.
That is all.
8 - Bob A. Booey
To be fair, I had heard fundraising was flat under Dean and hadn't increased much.
Anyone have an article to get the story straight? Thanks.
That is all.
9 - Mel
In reply to:
Comment 4 posted by Bennett on August 2, 2005 08:45 PM:
Links? Context? Google Refs? Anything at all to back up your supposed quotes?
Or should we take this writing as an unverifiable rant meant to what? Smear?
Say it aint so!
HERE ARE SOME LINKS:
http://www.townhall.com/news/politics/200507/POL20050725a.shtml
http://dean2004.blogspot.com/2005/07/dean-scream-001100110.html
The first is the most original I can find. The second is a discussion at one of the Dean sites. So far as I know, the veracity of the reporting has not been called into question. The saddest part is how the MSM has completely avoided the story, whereas they'd be on it like white on rice if it suited their agenda.
10 - Bennett
Mel - Neither of the links to me to a credible source. Both were offshoots of agape press, with the second being an "I hate Dean" billboard of some sort.
I would like a link to the NYT or WaPo or another MSM that verifies the the "hotel staff" quote.
Not saying it isn't true, just that it's really sloppy blogging to write a piece like this and not link to sources for the more controversial quotes.
11 - Mel
Bennett - Perhaps this has more credibility.
12 - The Duke
Yet another fringe politician, who smells like teen spirit, but who will -- yet again -- sink his/her hooks in a front runner and
.... "DRAG THEM DOWN" (to quote Jim Morrison, Horse Latitudes)
13 - Dave Nalle
Bennett, I'm saddened to say that all of those quotes from Dean are verifiable and appeared in major media articles. They're easy to google.
Dave
14 - Bennett
Mel - Weeeeeelll, that took me to the daily kos, and there was something about Howard dean, but nothing about the quote I reff'd.
Comments to a blog post don't count, and I'm not going to read all 55 disjointed comments to find something that's not from a MSM source anyway.
Got more?
PS. dailycos is NOT MSM.
15 - Dave Nalle
Ooh Mel, using the extreme left against the left - how sneaky of you.
Dave
16 - Matthew T. Sussman
OK, so it took a lot of trouble to dig up the context of those quotes, which mean the intent of the words were probably lost down the road.
Whenever people try and de-cred Bush because he stumbles over his words (see: Terrorists never stop thinking of ways to harm our country and neither do we), it makes the opposition look like they have exhausted their argument. Methinks the same thing is being done with this post on Dean.
For the love of shitty blogging, criticize him on his platform and ideas! What does Dean stand for? What are his solutions for the problems in America? I don't care about his sound bytes, because we all know one choice sound byte -- in all likelihood -- cost him in the primaries!
Had he won the nomination in the Democratic Party, there was a very likely chance I would have voted him over Bush. Instead, Kerry won the Democratic nod and my Mel Kiper Jr.-style Big Board had "Lambert Field" ranked below "Internets."
17 - RJ
Here's one quote:
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, unapologetic in the face of recent criticism that he has been too tough on his political opposition, said in San Francisco this week that Republicans are "a pretty monolithic party. They all behave the same. They all look the same. It's pretty much a white Christian party."
Link here
Is the San Fran Chronicle "MSM" enough for ya?
18 - gonzo marx
and the problem with that quote is?
all kinds of silliness here...
Dean has his job, and he is doing it...the RNC chair has his job, and he does it
06 will say a lot, until then, it's all hype and spin from both sides
Excelsior!
19 - Matthew T. Sussman
SFChron? Credible enough.
So he made the comments in San Francisco, a city so liberal even rape victims are against the death penalty.
He was energizing his base. Problem is, word travels cross country.
20 - RJ
It's a credit to the Information Age that we are able to take a speech from San Fran and make it a national issue.
21 - Matthew T. Sussman
Just like when Rove was speaking to his peoples about how liberals want to offer terrorists therapy or something like that. Hours later ... WHAM controversy.
22 - Steve
Thank you Howard Dean.
This criticism would have more value if it wasn't projecting the very weaknesses of the Republican party.
Or do you just put a bag over your head whenever a Republican speaks?
23 - RJ
Here's how "successful" I think Howard Dean has been:
I hope he gets the Dem nomination in 2008! ;-)
24 - Nancy
I don't think we can believe either side, because I don't think we can believe or trust the MSM. What the hell are they doing? Where are they? They all seem to be off on the sidelines scratching their balls as they try to decide what will give them the best ratings tomorrow & next week, instead of actually reporting.
25 - billy
thank you howard dean, paul hackett an anti war deaniac has turned the reddest district in the country swing. keep up the good work. there are no more safe republican districts next year.