Party Favor - Howard Dean rallies the faithful in Virginia.

[UpInArms]

http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2003/08/jones-m-08-25.html

Based on the reaction presidential hopeful Howard Dean drew from the approximately 4,000 people at his Saturday speech in Falls Church, Va., there's a lot of anger here -- as elsewhere -- about the way the Bush administration is running the country. After Dean counted off the reasons Bush cited for going to war in Iraq, the crowd shouted, "Liar!" (with reference to Bush, of course, not Dean). Dean repeatedly referred to "Ken Lay and the boys." He told those assembled that "this time the person with the most votes" will win the White House. And he brought up GOP names sure to rile Democrats: Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.), Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Dean also hit all the right notes in reaching out to the Democratic base. He talked about the importance of the minimum wage, education spending, health care, the environment and a foreign policy based on something other than "petulance." He said he wants to restore America's sense of community. He praised the Democrats' core constituencies of women, African Americans, Latinos and labor. "I want an America based on hope, not an America based on fear," he declared.

Dean didn't criticize any of the other eight Democratic candidates, which is a good thing. (Of course, now that he's the presumed front-runner instead of the insurgent spoiler, he doesn't really need to.) The California recall election is providing an excellent example of why party unity is so important. Republicans are divided over whether to support Arnold Schwarzenegger or one of the other dozens of candidates. Democrats are rallying around Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. And guess what? Though the election is still several weeks away, Bustamante is leading with 35 percent of the vote, according to a Los Angeles Times poll. Schwarzenegger has 22 percent of the vote, while three other Republicans together have 25 percent. No wonder Bill Simon bowed to party pressure by dropping out over the weekend.

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[Cha]

1. I like Howard Dean so much! We have a lot of local excitement

about Dean, too!..

This is from an e-mail I got about Dean from my local Dean Meetup co-ordinator!

"Yes the Dean machine is clicking both nationally and locally."
"
My phone has been ringing off the wall. Our efforts to get publicity in local newspapers (the Observer-Dispatch and the Life & Times of Utica) is paying dividends. Senior citizens have been calling me left and right and asking what they can do to help Dean get elected. "

"One homebound woman in her 80's called wanting to make a donation to our local group. She said that she helped organize George McGovern's local campaign efforts back in the early '70's. Another woman called and said she was the local point person for Hubert Humphrey's campaign in '68. She said she will be at our next meet up."

"She also said that she is friends with one of Howard Dean's old college professors and that she would invite him to attend the meet up as well."

"NYS Supreme Court Justice John Murad called this morning and said he wants to attend our September 3rd meet up at UC. Those are just a few of the many calls I have gotten as a result of my number being published as a contact for the Mohawk Valley Dean for President Group."

:-)

[VolcanoJen]

2. Not LBN... locking

The gist of this article covers Dean's speech in Virginia last Saturday, which makes the newsworthy content of this article well over 12 hours old. Unfortunately, because of that it's not suitable for the Latest Breaking News forum.

Please feel free to start a new discussion about Dean's Falls Church speech last Saturday in the General Discussion, Editorials & Other Articles, or Politics & Campaign forum(s).

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator