Dean Says Party Should Speak From Heart -WP

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON - Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean came back from his tour of conservative states like Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee with new strategies to win over their voters but the same basic message from his presidential campaign.

"We have to speak to our hearts and convictions," Dean told a crowd at a waterfront restaurant Wednesday night. "We are never going to win by being a pale copy of the Republican Party."

Dean praised President Bush's political skills for telling voters in the nation's heartland that "people in the Northeast and California don't respect you, but I'm one of you."

"We need to respect people who believe differently than we do, and we need to honor their concerns about America," Dean said during his first Washington fund raiser.
...
Democrats can run on moral values as well as Republicans, said Dean, who added that Democrats' programs to provide help for people reflect moral values more than Republican programs do.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61861-2005Mar23.html

[Triana]

1. They should speak - period...

...we can't even get them to do THAT at this point.

[Itsthetruth]

2. You Can Speak From "The Heart" Howard

And if the Democratic Party speaks from "the heart" what would you have the Democratic Party say Howard Dean?

On issues like:

The War Against Iraq

Abortion Rights

Bush's Appointments In This Congressional Session

Bush's Legislation Adopted With Democratic Votes In This Session

What should the Democratic Party say Howard Dean on these and so many other issues.?

And what do you have to say on these matters as head of the Democratic Party National Committee. I don't think anyone is preventing you from speaking from "the heart" on any of the above.

I hope Howard that you haven't been restricted to the role of a mere money raiser for the Democratic Party and muzzled by those who prefer you keep silent on policy issues.

[dionysus]

3. he already has, countless times

how transparently cynical.

got an axe to grind.... much?

your snideness makes me want to puke.

[sonicx]

4. he doesn't make policy

[MollyStark]

17. No one else is making policy

Howard Dean should go for it. I hope he does.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[dionysus]

7. yeah,

even though Kerry's been hiding like a fucking little mouse

[Name removed]

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[dionysus]

9. thats right, Dean is such a pansy he won't go on NPR....

who the hell do you think you're kidding? The man who is almost singlehandedly rebuilding our party from the floor up or the former hero-turned-coward? the guy who skipped the country when he should have stood up for us in Ohio?!?! get a grip

[Name removed]

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[Eloriel]

23. YOUR dime? How much have you VOLUNTARILY contributed to DNC?

How funny, how fucking funny.

Frankly, I hope to God you're right about one part of what you said -- that he's running for President -- 'cause you're sure as hell wrong about the other part (that he's not rebuilding anything).

BY HIMSELF he's been responsible for nice little influxes of cash into the various Dem Party structures. By just showing up in places that have been ignored for years, he's exciting the base in the states he's visited -- again, something that hasn't been done for YEARS. I think he's doing fantastic in about a month and a half now.

But hey, you're so smart, what SHOULD he be doing to "rebuild" the party?

[msongs]

10. yer ignorance is showing on dean's current venture.........

he has stated plainly that he is doing LOCAL media on his LOCAL tours so your dean bashing is kinda wasted on this issue, but try again soon :-)

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

edit: hmm this was supposed to tag onto post #8. oh well.

[Name removed]

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[lojasmo]

19. Wow! Kerry spoke out six weeks ago!

"can you hear me now?"

Snarf.

Dean HAS been speaking consistently abut Bush's phony social security "crisis"

Perhaps you're too busy bashing him to read through MadFla's threads.

[Eloriel]

21. Another mischaracterization by the self-appointed

Dean character assassin, the one who must make things up (like Repugs do) to do so, as in this case. He speaks his mind and quite often, on a range of subjects. Yet YOU fault him for, apparently, not making sure YOU'VE heard what he has to say.

YOUR ignorance of his public remarks isn't the same as his silence on issues. And shame on you for not keeping better informed so your constant denunciations of Dean are at least fact-based.

[Griffy]

30. ABSOLUTLY.. I was at the DC event... Dean is GOOD for us!

Go and listen to him and realize that he talks about the MSM distortion of the facts and that he is going straight to the people... in fact at this event he said "once we talk to these people.. all the Hannities and O'Riellies wont sway them, the truth is our strength!" Give him a chance, especially if your making accusations from a position of little facts! This man truly believes in the principles we do and he can help us get back the control of our nation!

[madfloridian]

5. $150,000 in one rally is no small change.

He was in Tennessee earlier today and yesterday. I do not see how he keeps up the pace. That is two states in one day.

[FrankBooth]

13. From a committed Clark and Kerry supporter during '04 ...

Dean is one of the only candidates that I sincerely trust ... to me that is of the utmost importance.

I truly believe that General Clark would have been an outstanding nominee, but in many ways I regret not standing behind Dean all the way as he is obviously fearless and resolute.

I love the guy and he is nothing but a boon for our bedraggled party. God Bless Howard Dean, and I say that as a true agnostic.

[Eloriel]

24. Good for you

But I SO wish that all the Dean supporters NOW could've gotten beyond whatever false ideas they had back then and done exactly what you said: stand behind him.

It's nice you're doing it now, however, so I guess better late than never. But he'd have been one kick ass nominee, I'll tell ya.

[zann725]

14. I thought Kerry 'spoke from his heart' and 'had convictions' in campaign?

That's why I voted for him.

[wellst0nev0ter]

15. Two Words: Gay Marriage

Kerry tried to play both sides of the fence, people didn't buy it. I'm not trying to blame the victim here, but he would be better off if he chooses his guns and stick with it.

[renaissanceguy]

20. Two words: National Security

Don't listen to FAUX News. True, some out there probably voted on so-called moral issues, but let's face it, the fundies were in no way going to vote for Kerry.

What hurt Kerry the most was national security, like when he said "I voted for the $87..." If he would have come out and said if he was for or against the war, and stuck with it, he would've done better. He didn't keep hammering Bush's vulnerabilities---like not catching OBL, wanting to ease immigration laws...

So don't blame the gays. Just because some people out there want to kill us off or throw us in jail doesn't mean that we should be ignored. We are people too.


http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues/472476

[karynnj]

25. He was consistently against gay marriage, but ok with civil unions

Even his daughters' cited this as an issue they disagreed with their dad on. He has been for equal rights since he first went to the Senate.

[Hekate]

16. I voted for Kerry, but he was booooooring

And I say that with regret, because I respect his intelligence and his record, I think his wife is swell, and he talked about things I believe in. I'm sure we could have a fine old talk about any number of deep subjects.

But the man has no fire, or at least none that he is any longer capable of showing in public. He appears to have completely lost touch with that courageous young lieutenant who returned from Vietnam and honored his fallen comrades by telling the truth about that sorry excuse for foreign policy.

He waffled on the issue of the invasion of Iraq and didn't really come to grips with the matter of the USA PATRIOT Act, which are two of the FUBARs of the Bush administration. Thinking the country would respond to his previous sterling military record, he ran on that rather than making our current crisis intelligible to the average voter.

Early on in the campaign someone at DU posted a request for suggestions to Kerry, and mine was to get a speech coach asap because the cadence of his rhetoric was putting me to sleep. I meant that with the utmost seriousness, because if it was making *me* drowsy, it had to be rendering other people absolutely comatose.

So there he was: avoiding controversy in a time of peril and trying to make nice with an opponent who takes every attempt at compromise and conciliation as a sign of exploitable weakness. There he was: the living embodiment of Howard Dean's dictum that if the Democratic party doesn't stand for something it will fall. There he was: the choice of our party honchos, who still believe we have to court the center even as the Repubs move the center farther and farther right, and who believe we have to court the undecideds by having a "Republican Lite" makeover. Why on Earth would the undecideds vote for someone challenging an incumbent if they can't tell the difference between them?

It drove me nuts to witness it. I followed all the Democratic debates and ended up working for Howard Dean. We had several viable candidates who had fire in the belly and made sure we knew where they stood: Wes Clarke, Howard Dean, John Edwards. But once Kerry got the nod I urged all my friends to work for him because He Wasn't George W. Bush.

As far as I can tell, the people running the Democratic Party still don't get it and were still trying to sabotage Dean a few weeks before the election for chair this year. But he had so many votes and so much support from the grassroots that they had to bow to reality. It'll be the best thing they've done in a long, long time.

Hekate

[MollyStark]

18. Watching the race for DNC chair was so much fun!

It was great to watch the people control the aggenda for once. I think some "leaders" got a wake up call when they realized that they aren't in charge.

[silvermachine]

26. Excellent post...

...and one that mirrored my feelings about Kerry in many ways, especially this part:

<<Early on in the campaign someone at DU posted a request for suggestions to Kerry, and mine was to get a speech coach asap because the cadence of his rhetoric was putting me to sleep. I meant that with the utmost seriousness, because if it was making *me* drowsy, it had to be rendering other people absolutely comatose.>>

I really hate to say it, but this is exactly what I thought. His manner of speaking was sooooo stilted and lacking in any kind of spontaneity that I just knew we were in trouble. Even against a semi-illiterate, draft dodging, mass murdering, lying idiot like *.

[politicasista]

31. Intelligent people are cool

:evilgrin:

[bling bling]

22. Good advice.

I hope the Dem leaders are listening. God knows many of them haven't been listening to us, the people, who have been saying this for the past four years.

[Algomas]

27. Speaking from their heart....

would be a refreshing change from the usual talking out of their ass!

[Griffy]

28. I was there!! Dean was good, he did mention election...

I wore my "BUSH CHEATED" button and got alot good responses. Many people are wise to the rigged election, they just don't want to be so bold, because some Dem's still labor under the bush lie of the election.(funny how these same people totally acknowledge the many other lies, in fact I tell people I'd be shocked if bush DIDN'T cheat!)
Dean said he has found Americans all across the country, especially in the middle of the nation, that have been convinced that Dem's are basically evil, and they are scared! They levels of fear in these people is very high, and this fear is being used to create a fervor against Dem's (after all, we have a culture of death :/ ) Dean says he can talk to these people, and it is our fault for ignoring these people. Most of all I felt Dean spoke clearly and laid out many things we at DU know! He told bush to stop trying to dismantle Social Security! He said.. "stop asking the Dem's for our plan.. we have a plan.. IT'S CALLED SOCIAL SECURITY!" He also said several times "bush.. stop lying about... " (I noticed the WP doesn't quote this!) From seeing him in person and listening to him I think he is going to be just what the doctor ordered :) It was a full house, with people packed in the room and spilling out into the halls!

[Rose Siding]

29. What a great quote.

"stop asking the Dem's for our plan.. we have a plan.. IT'S CALLED SOCIAL SECURITY!"

The WP didn't get any of the really good stuff! They have their own story and they conform all their coverage to that.

I wish the dnc site would link to webcasts of this stuff.