Dean calls for end to 'culture of corruption'

[RamboLiberal]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/051023dean.shtml

The Bush White House is the most corrupt administration in U.S. history since President Warren G. Harding's, said Howard Dean during his first visit to Maine as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean's comments Saturday came as top White House advisers are being investigated for their roles in the outing of a CIA operative and Tom DeLay, the former second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, faces conspiracy and money-laundering charges.

"The first thing we're going to do is we're going to have ethics come back to Washington again," said Dean, the keynote speaker at Saturday night's annual fundraising dinner for the Maine Democratic Party at the Lewiston Armory.

To deal with the "culture of corruption," Dean said, there needs to be an ethics code in Congress and stronger campaign finance laws.

<snip>

Dean said Republicans should not have interfered in the Terri Schiavo right-to-life case.

"I'm tired of the ayatollahs of the right wing," Dean said. "We're fighting for freedom in Iraq. We're going to fight for freedom in America."

[mike_c]

1. "I'm going to restore honor and integrity to the White House."

--George W. Bush

:rofl:

[sakabatou]

18. What a bunch of bull

[wryter2000]

2. Ayatollahs of the right

That's my man. :loveya:

[lovuian]

3. We are going to fight for freedom in America!!!

I love that!!! Cause its sooo true!!!

[Lorien]

8. Very true. But we're not "fighting for freedom in Iraq".

War profiteering and oil, perhaps, but not "freedom".

Otherwise it's a great speech!

[ClayZ]

4. Howard Dean speaks for me.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[DaveColorado]

5. Since Harding

Yes I agree that this is the most corrupt since Harding.

Dean needs to do what the GOP have done with talking points - repeating them ad nauseum until it becomes part of the public consciousness.

[Protagoras]

11. I don't know...was Harding really that bad?

:9

[Ripley]

6. Praise Jeebus the Adults Are In Charge.

Corrupt, unethical, immoral, war-mongering, greedy, ayatollahin' Adults. Soooo much better than the hippy free lovin Clinton children.
:sarcasm:

[bemildred]

7. Howard Dean speaks for me. nt

[thebigidea]

9. "Moral fiber? Why, you pasty-face son'bitch. I invented moral fiber!"

Pappy O'Daniel: "We need a shot in the arm. You hear me boys? In the goddamn arm! Election held tomorrow, that son of bitch Stokes would win it in a walk!"

Junior O'Daniel: "Well, he's the reform candidate, Daddy."

Pappy O'Daniel: "Yeah."

Junior O'Daniel: "A lot of people like that reform. Maybe we should get us some."

Pappy O'Daniel: "I'll reform you, you soft-headed son of a bitch. How we gonna run reform when we're the damn incumbent? Is that the best idea you boys can come up with? Reform?! Weepin' jesus on the cross. That's it! You may as well start drafting my concession speech right now."

Pappy's Staff: "Okay, Pappy."

Pappy O'Daniel: "I'm just making a point you stupid son of a bitch. Give me back that hat! Hurry up!"

Pappy's Staff: "Pappy's just makin' a point."

Pappy O'Daniel: "Shut up!"

[Demeter]

29. Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?

Great film for so many reasons. Watch it for the humor, the irony, the music! Catch the references to the Odyssey. Great technical effects, even car chases and bank robbers and tommy guns, for the unrepentant.

[Dr Fate]

10. I agree w/ Dean- we need to make GOP dishonesty a ballot-box issue.

Let's make sure some of it rubs off on McCain & other "moderates" who went along with it.

[spooked911]

12. Has a nice ring to it: "culture of corruption"

sums it up well.

[SoFlaJet]

14. Criminalization of politics

or culture of corruption?I like ours better

[nickgutierrez]

23. Culture of corruption has a better "ring" to it.

People remember a good "ring" - remember that * is still being referred to as a "compassionate conservative", over five years after that phrase left his already limited vocabulary.

[judaspriestess]

13. Dean is alright

He should really be calling them
CHRISTIANS FROM HELL

[Dover]

15. Where would we be without our illusions?

RM: This is totally in line with a 'clean flush' agenda. they dump Bush,
everyone in Washington and media-land reveals they didn't really like his
policies in the first place, and Americans believe that democracy has been
restored -- as they did when Nixon resigned.

If Bush were to scale back his goals in Iraq, that would be a retreat, a
failure -- not only for Bush, but for America's reputation as a tough guy
that you better watch out for. But if the whole situation can be blamed
entirely on Bush -- a rogue President who lost it, like Nixon -- then any
retrenchment will be seen as a well-intentioned attempt to clean up an
unfortunate mess. The Establishment survives, and all options are open as
regards policy shifts.

But then we'd be left with Cheney and Rumsfeld. Either they'd need to be
dumped as well, or else they could have 'changes of heart' -- they were only
taking orders and being good soldiers -- like the fearsome flying monkeys
who became like puppies once the wicked witch had been slain.

Brzezinski: "In a bipartisan setting, it would be easier not only to scale down the
definition of success in Iraq but actually to get out -- perhaps even as
early as next year. And the sooner the United States leaves, the sooner the
Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis will either reach a political arrangement on their
own, or some combination of them will forcibly prevail.

RM: Brzezinski knows full well that the U.S. will never vacate Iraq. We've
built, and are still building, very permanent military bases, establishing
just the kind of imperial infrastructure Brzezinski himself so eloquently
promotes. He never mentions in this article the elephant in the kitchen --
oil -- and he knows full well that the U.S. will never relinquish control
over those reserves now that control has been achieved. The PNAC document
says that the issue of Iraq transcends the issue of Saddam's regime;
similarly it transcends Bush's regime....> cont'd

http://tinyurl.com/7kh5g

[confludemocrat]

44. Here's an illusion: that this corruption thing is enough to win 2006, 2008

Dems need to fix their Iraq war position. That is problem # 1 and silence on it will not do and substituting corruption as the issue to focus on won't cut it either.

[Atman]

16. It sure looks good on a shirt!

[gulliver]

17. The phrase is already old. They need to start riffing on it...

... some more, IMO. I don't like the use of the word "culture" here. We seem to be jumping at the alliteration without considering the implications of the word "culture." (I'm specifically thinking of the "culture war.")

I think we need to start riffing and building on the "corruption" aspect. Stacked deck, cronyism, corporate rip-offs.

I particularly liked something I heard today. The "Raw Deal."

[Warren Stupidity]

19. That's a good start.

Culture of corruption.

A fascist cabal has hijacked the federal government, stolen elections, plunged our nation into an imperial folly overseas through fraud manipulation and deception, robbed the treasury to enrich their cronies, empowered religious extremists, and is incompetent and incapable of performing the normal affairs of government.

It's a start Dr. Dean. It's a start.

[USA_1]

20. Bush failure...

Dunno if anyone has mentioned it but if you do a Google search for FAILURE and hit I'm Feeling Lucky you'll get a funny site. Real funny.

[Brundle_Fly]

21. Oh La La!

C'ést trés Merlot, nes pas?

[natrat]

22. now maybe if reid could stop acting like a sell out

"we can do better" sounds like something daschle would come up with

[The Doctor.]

24. GREAT line;

"I'm tired of the ayatollahs of the right wing," Dean said. "We're fighting for freedom in Iraq. We're going to fight for freedom in America."

-That's a thing of beauty.

[Demeter]

31. I Expect Howard Dean Would Throw Out the Lobbyists

question is, would any of the Legislature?

[The Doctor.]

33. Would that turn into

"Selective Ejection"?

[Terran]

25. You'll have to ban lobbyists from DC

to make that happen, Howard. Are you willing to go that far??

[Lilith Velkor]

26. If this were the '60s, Dean woulda been killed by now.

But it ain't, it's the Noughties! GO DEAN! :headbang:

[The Roux Comes First]

27. Howz about "Cabal of Corruption"?

That avoids any tacit admission of "Culture," allowing george and most of his friends to be part of the party without violating the dictionary (e.g., "improvement, refinement or development by study or training" or "the training and refining of the mind, emotions, manners, taste, etc.").

For now, Cabal of Corruption is what I'm going with.

Repeat it!

[Demeter]

32. It's A Cabal of Crime and A Culture of Corruption

Culture, because they are trying to institutionalize it and pass onto the next generation.

[progressivebydesign]

28. Love ya HOWARD!!!!!

Thanks for being our voice in a sea of empty suits!!

YOU and John Edwards are what keep me staying a Democrat this year.

:loveya: :yourock:

[UrbScotty]

30. AYATOLLAHS! Pretty powerful stuff, Howard - just what we need.

:thumbsup:

[rodeodance]

34. go Dean go---scream it!-"the ayatollahs of the right wing,"

.....the ayatollahs of the right wing,"

[grannylib]

35. that's a most excellent way to put it; far pithier than the "radical

Christian clerics" and not just because most of 'em aren't really Christian; they just play them on TV.

[Warren Stupidity]

36. "We're fighting for freedom in Iraq"? We are?

I just noticed that. Seems like the good doctor is still drinking the koolaid on that one.

[silverweb]

37. Thank you, Howard!

Keep telling people the truth!

:applause:

[MaineDem]

38. 'Corrupt culture' in D.C., Dean says

LEWISTON — The Bush White House is the most corrupt administration in U.S. history since President Warren G. Harding's, said Howard Dean during his first visit to Maine as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean's comments Saturday came as top White House advisers are being investigated for their roles in the outing of a CIA operative, and Tom DeLay, the former second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, faces conspiracy and money-laundering charges.

"The first thing we're going to do is we're going to have ethics come back to Washington again," said Dean, the keynote speaker at Saturday night's annual fundraising dinner for the Maine Democratic Party at the Lewiston Armory.

To deal with the "culture of corruption," Dean said, there needs to be an ethics code in Congress and stronger campaign finance laws.

-snip-
"I'm tired of the ayatollahs of the right wing," Dean said. "We're fighting for freedom in Iraq. We're going to fight for freedom in America."

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/051024deanrunback.shtml

[blm]

39. This is EXACTLY what a DNC chair should say in these times. Well done

Chairman Dean.

The media would never have allowed this kind of message just a year ago when they were part of the corruption. Now they're hastily trying to catch up with the corruption before too many citizens notice how much they were part of it and covered up Bush's corruption for the past 5 years.

[nookiemonster]

40. "CULTURE OF CORRUPTION"

It's ours. Scream it from the rooftops!!!

[Justice]

41. Culture of Corruption - powerful

to have so many scandals which are factually unrelated - Frist, DeLay and the other one (Plame, but I don't like using that name b/c it is named after the victim) but all are about abuse of power. That will resonate for a long time.

[confludemocrat]

42. Other than he and Pelosi who is using this phrase? Get with it Dems!

show some backbone, but this is yours to lose unless you (Dean and Pelosi, and others) also get right with your Iraqi war position. This alone won't be enough.

[MaineDem]

43. Almost all Democrats are using this - have been for months

It's finally being picked up by the media.

[confludemocrat]

45. OK Neb Dem website has it, but where has Ben Nelson used this tack?

That's what I'm talking about. Can only find it in blogs. E.G., where has John Kerry used it, a hero to many here? And so on down the line.

[JaneQPublic]

46. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee website has it

http://www.dccc.org/houseofscandal/

[DearAbby]

47. "I'm tired of the Ayatollahs of the right wing,"

So am I...GO HOAWRD! You speak for me


Have I said lately how much I LOVE THIS MAN? He's Great, speaks the turth.

[Tight_rope]

48. "I'm tired of the ayatollahs of the right wing"....Right On!

Howard Dean is definitely speaking for me.:yourock: :applause:

[Fight_n_back]

49. I hate this tactic

it only works until the next Democrat gets caught at something and it also gievs conservatives a pass on their policies. Our ideas are better but all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of g_d.