Why I support Dean and why I will continue to support Dean.

[denverbill]

I never heard a damned thing about Dean in the mainstream press until he started kicking ass in the fundraising arena. The press dismissed him as a longshot, a small state governor with no organization, no money, etc.

I first heard about him just over a year ago, in December 2002. I was desperately looking for a candidate who was ready to challenge Bush. None of the mainstream potential candidates had done a damned thing since 9-11 - Kerry, Lieberman, Gephardt, Edwards - they all laid down before the emperor. The Patriot Act, the Iraq War resolution, 'Under God' in the Pledge, confirming 99% of the judges Bush requested, the tax cuts, yadda, yadda, yadda. It was no small surprise when Democrats were trounced in the 2002 midterms - as Truman said "given the choice between a Republican and a Democrat who acts like a Republican, Americans will choose the Republican every time."

Then I heard about Dean and visited his website. On his website I saw articulated EXACTLY what I'd been longing to hear from the Democratic Party for the last 2-3 years. No war without UN approval. End the massive budget deficits. Get rid of the tax cuts to pay down the debt. Renegotiate NAFTA and WTO. Expand healthcare with an eye towards National Health Care. End special interest domination of the political process. I was sickened by the midterms and memories of 2000 and I wanted to have an impact, so I made up my mind then and there to get behind Dean.

Until then, my only political contributions in my life had been becoming a member of the Libertarian Party (I was young and foolish) and giving $40 to Bill Bradley in 2000 early in the primary season. $40 in January 2000 did little to help Bradley. So I determined to start sooner and larger with Dean. I sent them $100 last December, and another $150 in January. I added anther $100 in August, and I'll add more next year.

I've invested $350 in my candidate and put my money where my mouth is. Hundreds of thousands of other Democrats have done the same. Those of us who have actually 'put up' aren't going to suddenly drop our support because some anonymous dumbass believes Karl Rove 'wants' Howard Dean. Anyone who bases their primary voting decision on who Karl Rove has announced he 'wants' is nuts.

So go ahead and support Clark, support Kerry, support Kucinich, support Hillary. But put your money where your mouth is. You aren't going to convert me at this point. Rather than worrying about those who decided 12 months ago, so you might as well try to convert the undecided and you aren't going to convert the undecided by posting inflammatory bullshit at DU.

[Jack_Dawson]

1. Is It Weird to Pull for the Same Guy as Tom Delay?

"I hope Howard Dean Wins the Democratic Nomination"
Tom Delay
MEET THE PRESS
December 21, 2003

[cavebat2000]

3. Dude

Cmon. You could be a little nicer you know.

[Jack_Dawson]

25. I'm the nicest guy in the world!

I just think it's dangerous to vote for Governor Dean with blind ideology before looking at the big picture. I've heard more than one puke get warm and fuzzy over a Dean nomination.

If Republicans voted on pure ideology, Tom McClintock and Arnold would have split the Republican vote in California, and Gray Davis would have survived the recall.

Dean gets high marks from me for calling out Bush, for having the balls to call out fellow democrats who were rolling over for the pukes, for opposing the IWR.

Your reasons for liking Dean make sense to me...but it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on our enemy and question their motivations as well.

[shivaji]

37. So you are saying screw your beliefs, jusy choose someone who can win?

That seems almost like a prostitute who hates selling her body but keeps doing it to support her drug habit.

And if you think Clark has a better chance of winning than Dean, you are delusional. Clark can never excite the base like Dean is doing right now. Also, if you think Clark will get a whole bunch of RW voters, I refer you to our most esteemed president Truman who said "given a choice between a republican and a republican lite, they (meaning republicans and right wingers) will vote the republican every time."

Even the so called southern strength of Clark over Dean is questionable. Just look at the most current polls from southern states. Dean is outpolling Clark better than 3:1. I also have a stinking suspicion that white southerners will avoid voting for a jewish candidate as Clark's father was jewish.

Dean is breath of fresh air, has kahuna's, has superior leadership qualities based on the smart people he has surrounded himself, and is our best hope in 2004. Unless of course Hillary is nominated.

[LuminousX]

4. Do you let Delay do your thinking?

[cavebat2000]

7. IM sorry

TO whom are you directing that comment?

[LuminousX]

16. to the poster above you... the one my post is under, not you.

[Jack_Dawson]

30. No, but it's worth noting

how pukes think. They read polls and know that Dean doesn't match up well with Bush.

[OrAnarch]

5. "you aren't going to convert the undecided by posting inflammatory bullsh"

Didn't read before responding huh? Ouch...


Personally Im thinking of supporting him and advocating his vote to my friends but I want to be as open to the landscape as possible till that happens. A few days ago he almost shored it up from me but I stronly resisted, just to remain somewhat impartial.

[denverbill]

15. Well, more power too you.

Take the time you need to make your own decisions. If you decide on Dean, great, if not, great, at least you've taken the time to make an informed decision. And when you decide, commit completely. Don't let Karl Rove, Tom Delay, or Grover Norquist make your decision for you.

[Zynx]

6. You add nothing to this discussion and we would be better off if you

would not do this.

[Jack_Dawson]

13. I was reading the post and agreeing up until...

DenverBill called us out with the namecalling and character assasination. Look if you like Dean vote for Dean! He's a good enough guy.

All I'm saying is you're playing right into republican hands and that just seems weird to me. Just an opinion no need to get hysterical.

[denverbill]

18. Care to pinpoint the 'namecalling' and 'character assasination'?

The only part of my post that remotely qualifies is where I expressed my feelings towards the party leaders votes on IWR, the Pledge, and the Patriot Act. If that's namecalling and character assassination, then there is no point in even talking to you.

[Jack_Dawson]

21. I guess it was the "bring it on" tone of your post

If I mischaracterized it, my bad.

[Scott Lee]

42. Come on you Dean supporters, lay down and be submissive!

/sarcasm

[LuminousX]

19. Playing into Republican hands

when was the last time the Republicans opened up their playbook for all to see. The best way to avoid psyop operations is to only rely on sources you know are valid. Delay is not a valid source. Dismiss it. He may be 100% correct, but you cannot allow the opposition make decisions for you. We win or lose by our own judgement. My judgement says Dean. Your's says something else.

Impune my judgement and I'm not likely to listen to much you have to say.

[denverbill]

22. IMO, if Rove really wanted to run against Dean,

he'd be saying he feared Dean and was terribly worried about losing to him.

It's mighty interesting to me that Rove has already started to run ads bashing Dean before the primaries have even started. That's a strange way to support the candidate you want to run against. In 2000, Republicans didn't support Ralph Nader by bashing him. They sent him money.

[LuminousX]

24. I refuse to look at anything they do that isn't direct

All this indirect stuff, offhanded comments, etc. are gamemanship. Trashtalking and the like. They are saying our strongest is actually our weakest. That is the way it works.

[denverbill]

31. They are running VERY scared, IMO.

Dean is a moderate, and most of us Dean supporters know it. Republicans are trying to paint him as a way-out leftist radical, but that boat won't float.

How can they paint Dean as a big-spending liberal when all he did was balance budgets in Vermont? Do they really want to compare his spending record to the Republican Party's record of the last 4 years?

I would LOVE to see Dean's response ads when they start trying to paint him as a big spending liberal.

[Sean Reynolds]

26. You hit it out of the ballpark.....

If the Republicans wanted Dean, they'd not come out and SAY they wanted him. That only puts doubts into the minds of the Democratic voters. I mean, to me it's reverse psychology, kids know this very well, they're always imploring it with their parents. Rove is doing the exact same thing. By beating the fact that they want Dean into the heads of Democratic voters, they're trying to scare DEMOCRATS into not voting for him in the primary.

Remember, this administration has always been confused. War is peace, poverty is success, up is down, down is up! Yeesh.

[RetroLounge]

8. Ah, quoting Tom Delay to back your agenda

How the mighty have fallen...

How the weak stay the same...

[denverbill]

12. Pretty fucking amazing isn't it Jack?

Every Republican wants to talk about how much they want Howard Dean to be the nominee.

You would think they'd keep quiet about that, or maybe even quietly give money to Dean, rather than openly and continually asking for it.

I've got 4 words for Tom Delay and Karl Rove: Bring it on assholes.

[Jack_Dawson]

33. What's amazing is the electoral trainwreck we will experience

w/ a Dean nomination. My guess is 44 states to 6. But I'll do my duty and vote for Dr. Dean. Then I'll ready myself for a radical conservative agenda being rammed down my throat for at least another four years.

[denverbill]

35. Your defeatist and negative opinion is duly noted.

Thanks for sharing. :hi:

At least you will have had 4 years of practice to get used to having a radical conservative agenda rammed down your throat. Your lukewarm support for Dr Dean in the general election against the radical conservatives will be GREATLY appreciated, I'm sure.

[liberalnurse]

17. I don't let Tom Delay

into my space. I could care less if he is running off at the mouth.

I am behind Dean 100%.

I find it sad that fellow democrats seek out republican quotes to attack a fine, dedicated democratic candidate. I never would attack any of our candidates with feces that Tom Delay expells.

[Larkspur]

36. Many of us Deanocrats supported Howard Dean BEFORE Tom Delay

knew who he was. We saw a winner and have not only stuck with him but increased our support for him.

[Jerseycoa]

2. Good for you.

I feel exactly the same. :-)

[cavebat2000]

10. Its kinda funny

Your comment kinda goes with any message above it. lol

[jmaier]

9. I presume that this sentiment goes the

other way as well. You see an awful lot of anti-candidate threads here other than those about Dean. And any pro-Clark thread, even over something relatively minor is likely to draw snide posts from Dean supporters like ants to honey. Your guy is being no more unfairly attacked than most of the other candidates.

[cavebat2000]

11. Hey I agree

Why dont we all clean up the act and start focusing on Bush.

[Democrats unite]

14. Whoever you want to support, do it to the best of your ability

whoever that candidate might be. Thats how I feel, thats how everybody should feel.

[denverbill]

28. I agree 100%. n/t

[liberalhistorian]

20. I also support Dean, with Clark second and Kerry

third, but I respect the right of everyone else to make up their own mind and to support whatever candidate they choose. I don't believe in throwing mud at the supporters of other candidates. I may not understand why they've made the choice they did (especially in regards to Lieberman supporters, lol!), but I have no right to harass them into supporting my own candidate. There are ways to discuss candidates without harassing and bullying them because they don't support your own candidate.

OTOH, I was thoroughly disgusted that there were some people who were saying that they were now totally against Dean and his supporters because of what ONE person who CLAIMED to be a Dean supporter supposedly did to Will Pitt. There's no way of knowing if this person was actually a Dean supporter or was in reality a freeper or someone who wanted to hurt Will in some way and figured out the best way to do it. But that's not Dean's fault or the fault of most of his supporters.

[wanderingbear]

23. Even if he looses the Nomination?

[denverbill]

27. I'll support him until he wins or loses.

Jebus, how'd you get 400 posts in 3 days. That's 6 months worth for most people.

[liberalnurse]

29. Thats a very good question.....

You must be reading my mind.....:yourock:

[Cha]

32. Thanks, denverbill! It's so Awesome to have

supporters like you for our Dean Campaign!

:toast:

And I was born in Denver! :kick:

[denverbill]

34. Thanks zidzi!

And I wasn't born in Denver:). But I love it here!

[quaker bill]

38. My story is similar

Excapt that I worked for Gore in Fla. in 2000. I wish that in 2000 I had spoken to another 1000 people, this might have been a different country now.

I contribute, will continue to contribute and will work for Dean as long as he is in it.

I will vote for the Dem nominee regardless as any of them will be better than 4 more years of Bush*.

[arewethereyet]

39. well good for you

so long as you keep your eyes open and your ears turned on and can walk away from your investment if it becomes the right thing to do, I applaud your conviction.

[cally]

40. I support your decision completely

Let's just get through the primary. Then we all can support the Democratic nominee. If it's Dean, I will support him. I obviously prefer Clark but I refuse to criticize anyone who supports their candidate. I'll go after the undecideds and then fight for all votes in the General Election.

[KittyWampus]

41. Funny, You Checked His Positions But Not His Record

as Governor...

[Scott Lee]

43. Did Mikhail Gorbechev's record match his positions on Perestroika?

I think not. Check out the history on that for a good primer on what you see going on today in the Democratic Party.