The Self-Destruction Has To Stop. If Dean Can't Help, He Should Get Out.

[WiseMen]

I like Howard Dean. I like him because he carries on a noble tradition of populist rhetoric and he was able to get really mad.

I think that to the extent that Dean can rally a crowd to passion is good for the Party. Better the eloquence of Jesse Jackson than the precision of Dukakis. I liked the scream.

Second, I love it that Dean gets mad. The democratic rank and file feel hoodwinked, abused and betrayed by their government. Their country and their honor have been taken away. They are angry.

But, all this does not excuse or explain the real damage being done by Dean and his campaign to the prospects for the Party in November. Now Democrats are getting angry at Dean!

Leadership of the Party and many in the rank and file are justifiably furious at Howard Dean’s in-cautious attacks on Kerry.

Dean is not a novice. He knows that Public Campaign Action Fund; Common Cause; and Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen, Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters are all left-leaning progressive groups. So when they all publicly come out and say that the “special interests” charges against Kerry “paints an inaccurate picture using an arbitrary statistic” and contains blatantly false information, MAYBE he should pause before using the right-wing hit pieces as part of his campaign rhetoric.

Political professional see Dean falling for the Republican bait. The real impression is that he may be either too inexperienced to recognize the damage that the RW propaganda could do when repeated by a Democrat or else too self-centered to restrain himself from using it and effectively being used.

The way Rove used the Drudge Ploy and the effect of Democratic factious squabbling showed how easy it was for the Republicans to manipulate Dean supporters into trashing the nominee. In the current environment of desperate campaigns, Democrats have become their own worst enemy. The potential damage being done to the Democratic chances are horrifying beyond imagining. And Dr. Dean doesn't seem to saying a word to stop it.

It would have been great if we had the disipline to keep the campaign going without destroying the Party chances. But it doesn't look so. IT HAS TO STOP

Expect the following orchestrated events to close out the primary contest:

All major Unions will withdraw from Dean and unite behind Kerry
Gore, Harkin and a train of endorsers will put pressure on Dean to end attacks
Clinton will publicly urge party unity.

So we have the Corporate Media and Rove's minions are doing everything to keep the contest going, BUT now, because of what has happened over the last week, the Party is doing everything to end it on Tuesday.

[Name removed]

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[bahrbearian]

2. Truely Asinine! If it wasn't for Dean and DK the Dem's would be

still wearing their Pink TUTU's

[BeyondGeography]

5. Yeah, but now the tutu's are off

Time to stop living in the past.

[goobergunch]

7. See post #3

It looks like the tutus are back on.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Oh, OK, then let's vote for Nader

sheesh

[candy331]

10. I think you have lost focus

and that is this country although questionable by some is a free country and democracy is supposed to rein here still so Dean has a right to stay in as the rest do. Although I have gotten pretty pissed with stuff such as this and think it might be a good idea if Dean takes his ball and goes to play with ones who don't want just drones as players.

[poskonig]

11. The general election has started.

The Democratic party needs to be promoting itself and attacking Bush. Not attacking ourselves with millions of dollars promoting Republican talking points.

Kerry is a lot more liberal than Dr. Dean, and is beating the crap out of Bush in the polls. This is a good thing. Things will only get worse for the GOP when the Kerry-Clark (or equivalent) ticket is assembled. I've been made at Kerry at times too, but it is getting to be crunch time. There is no reason to shoot ourselves in the foot.

[goobergunch]

17. Kerry has 2161 delegates?

I haven't heard that....

[goobergunch]

3. What "party" is Dean damaging?

The result: Voters this year likely will be presented with two clear, but not dramatically different, approaches to solving the nation's domestic problems, ranging from failing schools to soaring drug costs.

Kerry and top Democratic congressional leaders have rejected broad policy changes such as repealing all of Bush's tax cuts and moving too quickly to provide health coverage to every American. "While some wanted everything, there is consensus around repealing those on high income," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Democrats said they will not promote completely undoing two other laws of which they have been highly critical: the No Child Left Behind accountability program for schools and educators; and the Medicare prescription drug plan. "In some places, we have learned lessons," said Kerry, who several times used the word "balanced" to describe the emerging Democratic approach.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42676-2004Feb14?language=printer

So the Republicans will continue to be far-right, while the Democratic party will be a rather mushy center-leftism. What happens when you mix Bush* and Bush*-lite? We saw the answer in November of 2002.

The time for broad changes is now.

[Cheswick2.0]

8. E Gads... wouldn't want to be too quick to give people healthcare

Or repeal NCLB :eyes:

[poskonig]

21. So much for the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party

Let sabotage ourselves so we can compromise with business interests, get A++ ratings from the NRA, and identify ourselves with Confederate flag racists.

[Cheswick2.0]

4. Kerry; the big money candid who will do nothing to make real changes in DC

The people will continue to get screwed. Democrats are getting pissed at him.

[BeyondGeography]

9. So why is he winning one state after another

or is it just the same few people at DU who are having separation anxiety from their candidate of choice who are getting pissed?

[WiseMen]

16. Just What they Said About Gore! So they put in BUSH. This is B.S.

[goobergunch]

19. Who's "they"?

Requesting an antecedent.

[Mz Pip]

6. Dean will get out

when there is no longer any hope of a miracle. Until then, as long as he has the money and some support he will continue. If he loses endorcements, so be it. If he loses more races, well he and his supporters will have to deal with that as well. I really do not think that his staying in the race is any real threat to Dem unity for November. He has said he will support the nominee and I take him at his word for that.

MzPip
:dem:

[Cheswick2.0]

15. I assume you still believe in people's right to vote?

Party unity is a myth. As far as miracles, you best pray for one that gives us a real nominee. Kerry is both the worst candidate but also the one most likely to get his ass kicked in Nov.

[WiseMen]

12. When Kerry vs Bush Starts South in the Poll We Will Know Why. Thanks Guys

[Cheswick2.0]

thank yourself

quick, join the campaign of someone who is not so compromised. We would welcome you.

[WiseMen]

25. I am not slaming Dean's Record. Any Dem Can be PROUD of Kerry's

[mzmolly]

13. "Washington needs a good kick in the butt. That's what we're going to give

them."

"We are going to change this country. This country's the greatest country in the world, but it is great because it has had changes from time to time, when Washington got sclerotic."

And...

DEAN: I can live with anything. I don't really — you know, the honest truth is, I don't mean to be arrogant about this, but I really don't care what you all write or say. I never have cared, and I — what I want to do is change the country. That's what I focus on.

More...

"I don't read the press clippings. Bill Clinton told me when I first started this out, "Never read anything that's written inside the Beltway," and I think that's very good advice. Washington is a peculiar place which has its own rules. And I've discovered one thing in this campaign: The American people are much better than the people who govern them.

So, we're going to continue to push on this, because there have been extraordinary times in America — Andrew Jackson's election in 1828, Franklin Roosevelt of course in 1932, Theodore Roosevelt, who took power because of the assassination of McKinley, but was a totally different president — those kinds of major changes are what I'm looking for. And that's what we've got to keep pushing for, working hard." ~ Transcript: Howard Dean on Fox News Sunday, February 15, 2004

http://forums-new.deanforamerica.com/index.php?s=e9bb3b9c49db9169c54c735e0e6f1936&showtopic=11171

If Dean can't help who?

Carry on Dr. Dean!!

We are in need of some serious *medicine* in Washington.

[Old and In the Way]

18. Let him stay and provide more fire on Bush.

As long as he's not knee-capping our front-runner, I say let him run through the convention.

[Lefta Dissenter]

20. If Dean is angering the Democrats,

then they won't vote for him, and he'll be out soon enough.

There's nothing that he can say against the other Dems that KKKRove doesn't already have in his fat little files of attacks.

If you look at how compressed this primary season is, how quickly Dean has gone from frontrunner to not, Kerry has gone from wherever he was to frontrunner... for goodness sakes, we can let this play out! Another week, another two, another few weeks won't make a difference one way or another.

(just my humble opinion, of course)

[OKNancy]

22. You know what I'd do?

I'd shut the hell up until the primary season has settled. Over and over again the same old posts. Oh, they are slightly different, but it's the same old thing. If I were a Kerry supporter, I'd keep my trap shut. It will be resolved soon enough.

As a Clarkie, I know how it feels to have the salt rubbed in.

Doesn't anyone know what it means to be circumspect?

[boxster]

23. "Democratic factious squabbling"

I think the vast majority of said squabbling has been here on DU. There has been very little elsewhere that I've seen. Kerry's still getting 50%+ in the primaries and the media seems to think he's a lock for the nomination.

I think the only people making a huge issue out of the Drudge intern story are DUers who aren't fond of Kerry in the first place. That could certainly change, but it's gotten very little mainstream press thus far.

[still_one]

24. I am not a Dean supporter

but, I believe as long as the Democrats have the attention of the media it will be good for the party, and bad for the administration...

Once a nomination has been made though, we MUST come together

[in_cog_ni_to]

26. Dean should stay in

for as long as Dean wants to. The media and the DNC choosing our candidates for us is NOT suppose to be part of this election process. The people are suppose to choose with their votes. He will get out when the time is right and he shouldn't go anywhere until he's damn good and ready to.

[Moderator]

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[Name removed]

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