I’m sick and tired of people saying Howard Dean is unelectable. Well, let me make this clear:
Howard Brush Dean III Is Able To Be Elected The Forty-Fourth President Of The United States In The 2004 Presidential Election!As a matter of fasct, I consider him to be
the most electable of our nine candidates.If I made a dollar every time I heard someone call Dean unelectable…
Anyway, here’s why Dean is electable, in a nutshell:
1. Dean (in my biased opinion) is tougher, more energetic, and more aggressive toward Bush* than Gore was three years ago. Don’t get me wrong: I love Al, I would have voted for him had I been old enough, and I was an all-around big fan of his. Oh, and yes, he won in 2000. However, so many people have accused Gore of not campaigning hard enough, or of coming across as too boring or uptight. Dean wouldn’t be called ‘front-runner’ had he not been campaigning very hard, and to call Dean boring or uptight, would be a lie in every sense of the word. Angry? Yes, but so are many people who have lost their jobs, gone without health insurance, and so forth.
2. Dean has wide appeal.Have you seen how many DUers have posted about longtime Republican friends and relatives saying they will vote Democratic in the next election because of Bush’s war? Why would they not vote for the antiwar Howard Dean, then, if he is the nominee? The big issue with angry Republicans involves fiscal responsibility. Bush is so fiscally irresponsible, he has angered many of his conservative allies with such huge deficits and outrageous spending. Many of them would willingly support Dean if he is nominated.
Greens support him because he opposed the war in Iraq, and he is taking on W. in a way no one else has dared (except perhaps Kucinich and Sharpton).
3. Dean is not as weak on national security as someone of his opponents want him look.Dean has a
plan to protect us from terrorism:
a circle of preparation and response to ensure that the resources are available immediately at the local and state level to enable first-responders to mitigate the effects of any future attack and cope with the consequences of such an attack without compromising our civil liberties;
a circle of protection to defend our critical infrastructure and borders;
a circle of prevention, in cooperation with Russia and our allies, to reduce the chances that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) will fall into the hands of terrorists or states that mean us harm and to promote the principles of democracy, tolerance, human rights, and equal access for women in societies that have heretofore been breeding grounds for terroristsAs I recall, Bush’s plan involves a circle of war, another circle of war, and another circle of war.
4. Dean can’t be accused of being Clinton’s Vice President. Nor was he Secretary of State, Attorney General, Chief of Staff, or even HHS Secretary.
As much as I love Clinton, you know that many Republicans love to blame Clinton and witch-hunt people associated with him.
The only connections Dean has with Clinton is that he was Governor when Clinton was President, Clinton said he admired him, and Clinton’s Vice President endorsed him. Other than that, Rove&Co. can’t tie him to Clinton.
5. Dean can clear up questions about his past better than W. or Cheney could about theirs.“Why won’t Howard Dean release his records?”
By refusing to release his records, Dean is guarding the privacy of countless Vermonters, unlike Cheney, who has hidden many of his records to hide his work with big oil. Wouldn’t you want some privacy if you had records with your state’s Governor’s office, or do you prefer your good name to be stolen? (And yes, Virginia, there still is a Fourth Amendment.)
“Dean is a draft-dodger.”
Dean went in for a physical, and they refused to let Dean enter the military. His back couldn’t handle the weight normal people’s backs do.
On the other hand, someone I know went AWOL from the National Guard in the 1970’s.
“Dean flip-flops a lot.”
In life, we all ‘flip-flop,’ or change our mind, every now and then. The only difference is that politicians just do it in the open.
W.’s flip-flops on so many issues, such as carbon dioxide emissions, steel tariffs, Osama bin Laden, the Palestinian state, the UN, and so forth, make Dean’s flip-flops seem trivial.
6. Guns are a big reason why Dean can do well in many battleground states. Apparently, a lot of people didn’t like Gore’s position on guns. In fact, some say Gore’s tough-on-guns stance cost him Ohio, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Florida, and Tennessee. Those six states amount to 81 electoral votes that we could have by simply nominating a less tough-on-guns candidate. The gun vote also played a big part in the Gore states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Iowa. Gore could have probably won by bigger margins in those states, which add up to 70 more electoral votes, for a total of 161 electoral votes in those states.
Before you flame me, yes,
I realize that not everyone who voted for Bush on the gun issue in 2000 would vote for Dean in 2004. However, I believe that if we want to win in any of these states, it is important to take guns as an issue off the table. By doing this, Dean would probably attract more gun owners who would have voted for a less pro-gun-control Gore in 2000. (I emphasize, not all, but many)
7. Bush or Dean? The American people would have a choice. A dirty environment or a clean environment? The education system as it is now, or a better education for our young people, in early childhood, K-12, and higher education? Bad healthcare or good healthcare? I think Dean can make that clear, especially in his Democratic National Convention Acceptance Speech or a debate.
8. Dean is an optimist. Sorry Rove, Sorry W. He’s not the pessimist you wish he was. Just look at his
announcement speech on June 23, 2003:
“Today I announce that I am running for President of the United States of America. I speak not only for my candidacy. I speak for a new American century and a new generation of Americans -- both young people and the young at heart. We seek the great restoration of American values and the restoration of our nation's traditional purpose in the world.
This is a campaign to unite and empower people everywhere.
<snip>
We are the great grassroots campaign of the modern era, built from mouse pads, shoe leather and hope.
<snip>
You have the power to reclaim our nation's destiny.
You have the power to rid Washington of the politics of money.
<snip>
You have the power to restore our nation to fiscal sanity and bring jobs back to our people.
<snip>
You have the power to take back the Democratic Party.
You have the power to take our country back.
And we have the power to take the White House back in 2004......................................................
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Democratic Underground, I rest my case. If you still think Howard Dean is unelectable, prove that to me. And no, don’t use polling numbers! Polls are insignificant ten months before the election, and you should know that.
I've held that any Democrat can beat Bush. In 1932, people voted against Herbert Hoover more than for Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1980, any Republican could have probably beaten Jimmy Carter. The same held true for Poppy in 1992, and may very well hold true for W. in 2004. Usually, people are more anti-incumbent than pro-challenger. That's why I believe Anyone--ANYONE--can defeat George W. Bush on November 2, 2004. However, fopr the readsons stated above, I believe that Howard Dean isa the most electable oif our nine candidates.