Rybak endorses Howard Dean

[dajabr]

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak jumped on the Howard Dean bandwagon Thursday, becoming one of the first big city mayors in the nation to endorse a Democratic presidential candidate.

Rybak also became one of the first elected officials in the state to endorse one of the nine Democratic candidates, joining at a time Dean has been surging in the polls nationwide.

"He's an extremely exciting Democratic candidate, which the country needs," said Rybak, who will be co-chair of the former Vermont governor's Minnesota campaign. "He's offering a positive vision instead of playing on our fears."

Rybak is no stranger to presidential politics, having worked on Bill Clinton's campaigns and the 2000 campaign of former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley.

He said the connection running through those campaigns "is a candidate offering a politics of change. And we're definitely in a period when we need that."

More: http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/4067517.html

[Cha]

1. Hey, that's Cool! My friend who has a Bed & Breakfast

said she had a bunch of guests from Pennsylvania who are for Dean and she never thought they would be for him...she thought of them as too conservative!

Dean is appealing to People across the spectrum!

Because I am anything But conservative! :-)

[ErasureAcer]

2. Rybak blows

Ok R.T.

you just crushed any hope of gaining my support for any higher office for yourself.

Supporting someone who wants to outspend the world combined when it comes to military...is just BS! THE AMERICAN EMPIRE MUST END DAMN IT! IT MUST END!

Another Minnesotan for Kucinich.
www.kucinich.us

[dajabr]

4. Empire...

Actually, Dean is on the short list of "anti-PNAC" candidates who are running...

As we experience the crisis of community at home, we are witnessing the effort to repudiate 225 years of American consensus on what our nation's place should be in the world.

Since the time of Thomas Paine and John Adams, our founders implored that we were not to be the new Rome. We are not to conquer and suppress other nations to submit to our will. We were to inspire them.

The idea of America using its power solely for its own ends is not consistent with the idealistic moral force the world has known for over two centuries.

We must rejoin the world community. America is far stronger as the moral and military leader of the world than we will ever be by relying solely on military power. We destroyed repressive communist regimes without firing a shot, not simply by having a strong military, but because we had a better ideal to show the world.

Every American President must and will take up arms in the defense of our nation. It is a solemn oath that cannot -- and will not -- be compromised.

But there is a fundamental difference between the defense of our nation and the doctrine of preemptive war espoused by this administration. The President's group of narrow-minded ideological advisors are undermining our nation's greatness in the world. They have embraced a form of unilateralism that is even more dangerous than isolationism.

This administration has shown disdain for allies, treaties, and international organizations alike.

In doing so they would throw aside our nation's role as the inspirational leader of the world the beacon of hope and justice in the interests of humankind. And instead, they would present our face to the world as a dominant power prepared to push aside any nation with which we do not agree.

More: http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6455&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=1321

[ErasureAcer]

6. actions speak louder than words

Dean's action of supporting a $400 billion pentagon budget makes his words absolutely worthless to me about how america must "rejoin the world community." Truly now, if he wanted to rejoin the world community he would cut pentagon spending by at least 10%. America currently outspends the world combined when it comes to the military. Who is #2? Our allies, the world community with a tally around 150 billion combined. Who is #3 and #4? Russia and China who also make up 150 combined themselves.

What do the rogue nations of the world...the syrias, the irans, the north koreas, and so forth spend? 10 billion dollars combined. 40 TIMES less than the ammount we spend. I think you and Dean are playing with FUZZY fucking math. But if you think otherwise...please tell me why Dean promises to rejoin the world community, but instead his actions show that he is unwilling to give up the American empire by outspending the world combined and the only somewhat threats in the "Rogues" by 40 times? My answer, Dean is being a typical politican...says some good words of ending American Empire...but no backbone(unlike Kucinich who will cut the pentagon 15%) on his policies to back it up but instead more of the same E-M-P-I-R-E!

I'm not a sucker!
www.kucinich.us

[Larkspur]

10. Cutting the Pentagon budget while we're at war against terrorism is

foolish.

Yes, the Pentagon could be more efficient. What government agency couldn't. But Kucinich's idea to cut the Pentagon budget while we are engaged in a global war against terrorism has branded him a naive peacenik and a McGovernite.

[dajabr]

11. Well...

Thanks for the attack on my math skills :eyes: Did I mention the defense budget? No, I'm talking about the Bush/PNAC Doctrine here - something that needs immediate reversal, and is high on the list of priorities of a Dean Administration.

I'll take a bloated Marshall Plan over Pax Americana any day, and that is what Dean advocates. Say you're going to cut the Defense Budget now, and you've lost "Middle America", and gained 4 more years of Wolfowitz.

Has Dean said he would not cut the Defense Budget? Yes. Has he said he wants to re-allocate funds to National Security, instead of Imperial Adventures, nuclear proliferation and Star Wars? Yes.

Can we assume based on his record that he will take a long hard look at wasteful spending in all Goverment departments? Yes.

Does Dean in the White House = more EMPIRE as you say? Not by a fucking long - shot!

[NNadir]

3. Mayor John Street of Philadelphia...

...gave an excellent speech at the Dean rally a few weeks ago in Philadelphia. Look for him to be one of the next big city mayors to endorse Dean.

[UnapologeticLiberal]

5. He was just jumping on the bandwagon

Because he is in trouble and he wanted the chance to address 4,000 Democratic activists, probably half or more of whom actually lived in Philly.

I don't live in the city, but if I did I am not sure who I would vote for. Street is okay but he has not done nearly as well for the city as Rendell did when he was mayor, and I went to high school with Sam Katz's daughter, and he seems okay for a Republican, so I might consider voting for him.

Still, Street is the mayor of a big city and an African American, so it would be great if he endorsed Dean. And now that I think about it, it is probably better to have a Democratic mayor in Philly for 2004 so he can help turn out the votes...that made a difference in Philly in 2000. The rule in Pennsylvania is usally that when Philly votes and its suburbs swing our way, Democrats win.

-----------------------------
Buy my grassroots Dean merchandise:

[tedoll78]

7. Yep..

We need that turnout maching for PA's 20-something EVs. And if a Republican is elected to the mayor's office of a large city, it could be the stepping-stone for something larger.. we need the Senate and House back.

If Dean is the nominee, he has one more thing going for him in PA: the gun control issue will hurt him WAY less than it did Gore. It seems like that was the big issue threatening Gore's ability to win that state.

[CMT]

8. the endorsements have been coming in strong

in the last week or so and this is a very good one. Sometimes Mayors are more effective to have on board than people in congress (except they are superdelegates).

[Freddie Stubbs]

9. You will see more coming

A lot of politicians were waiting for the race to develop before making an endorsement. Now that Dean is the frontrunner, the endorsements will start rolling in.