And this is one of the reasons we can't win. (re: Dean)

[Craig3410]

Let's face it.

Howard Dean may not be perfect, but, right now, he's all we've got.

This is why Republicans win; they find someone to support, and they support them.


I'm not saying we should follow someone in lockstep, but face it, he's pretty much all we've got; let's take him. He's charismatic, and he's got balls. Let's stand for him.

[Carolab]

1. I think he IS perfect. I always have. I wanted/want him for President.

He's a lot more than charismatic and ballsy. He's got INTEGRITY. He doesn't lie. Even if you don't like his position on something, at least you know what it is.

[Mythsaje]

2. Every time he opens his mouth

I expect something good to come out.

So far I haven't been disappointed.

Dean speaks for me.

[chalky]

25. Thought you were going to say: Every time he opens his mouth

a Democrat get his wings!

O8)

Go, Howie, GO!

[NYCGirl]

3. He's just wonderfully genuine. That's a rarity. NT

[BattyDem]

4. I've always been a "Deanie"

The Doc has balls and he's not afraid to speak his mind. :bounce:

[seabeyond]

5. he is NOT all we have

i am a dean supporter.....i am a kerry supporter, .... i am a clark supporter...... i am a boxer, waters, waxler, conyers, durbin, feingold, and what ever else dem, that is fighting for us supporter

you guys are acting like no one is speaking out or doing anything. for a totally controlled rpug washington, our dems have done pretty good the last 6 months fighting on a number of fronts

dean is not the only person we have. dean is a good person to have. i supported him in money and email when he was being attacked. i will do it in the future when other dems speak out and are attacked

we have a lot of good dems

i wont buy into the repug myth and the media myth that they are feeding we the people.

why are you

[Cha]

6. Dean has a lot of supporters on DU

but there are a lot of detractors too..even though Dean is out there working for us every damn day..nothing's good enough for them.

[Snotcicles]

7. If every Democrat voted we would beat them two to one

That is the only reason we don't win.

[LaPera]

8. Remember the asshole Terry McAuliffe...Support DEAN!

Support Dean. Donate to the DNC...Money talks...and if enough support (money) comes in, Dean will and can kick ass...

Got to support him.

Donate to...http://www.democrats.org/index2.html

[Straight Shooter]

9. *ahem*

No one is perfect.

Repubs win because they cheat and they're very very nasty in campaigns.

I agree with above poster, we've got a lot more going for us than just Howard Dean.

Howard Dean got me interested in politics, he got me to donate, he got me to give a damn about the world.

I don't think we can do any better. Between Dean and Reid, the Repubs are learning what it's like to deal with people who fight back.

[Broken_Hero]

10. I don't know much...

But what i have seen, and heard of Dean on Cspan, and his debates during last year's caucus runs, he was my first choice, Clark, my second and Kerry the third. I liked what he had to say, and he didn't seem to care whom he pissed off. He seemed very strong to me, and had almost no ties to Washington that i could see.

[elshiva]

11. He is a good person. Yes, but please lay off the "balls" comments.

Not all Democrats have balls nor should they have. How about Barbara Boxer, Barbara Lee, Shirley Chisholm, Ann Richards, and Molly Ivins? Nope, they are women AND great Dems with backbone.

Just words you say? Well, they reflect a reality that only %15 of U.S. elected officials are female. As long as we have such ideas in our heads and repeat such sexist phrases, we spread the belief, you must have balls to be a leader.

Please say "backbone." It's a body part that both men and women share. I hope that one day both men and women can share leadership equally in this country someday.

THANKS!

[Disturbed]

12. Dean and the Cult of Personality

News Flash! Millions were not fooled by the lies of the Bush Regime and neither were all Dems in Congress.

Votes Against IWR- House

---- NAYS 133 ---

Abercrombie
Allen
Baca
Baird
Baldacci
Baldwin
Barrett
Becerra
Blumenauer
Bonior
Brady
(PA)Brown
(FL)Brown
(OH)Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson
(IN)Clay
Clayton
Clyburn
Condit
Conyers
Costello
Coyne
Cummings
Davis
CA)Davis
(IL)DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle
Duncan
Eshoo
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Frank
Gonzalez
Gutierrez
Hastings
(FL)Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Hostettler
Houghton
Inslee
Jackson
(IL)Jackson-Lee
(TX)Johnson,
E. B.Jones
(OH)Kaptur
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kleczka
Kucinich
LaFalce
Langevin
Larsen
(WA)Larson
(CT)Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (
GA)Lipinski
Lofgren
Maloney (
CT)Matsui
McCarthy
(MO)McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McKinney
Meek
(FL)Meeks (
NY)Menendez
Millender-
McDonald
Miller,
George
Mollohan
Moran (
VA)Morella
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Owens
Pallone
Pastor
hall
Rangel
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sawyer
Schakowsky
Scott
Serrano
Slaughter
Snyder
Solis
Stark
Strickland
Stupak
Thompson (
CA)Thompson (
MS)Tierney
TownsUdall
(CO)Udall
(NM)Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watson
(CA)Watt
(NC)WoolseyWu

Nays in the Senate

Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chafee (R-RI)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (D-FL)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)

[elshiva]

15. True, true.

[BattyDem]

16. I've said it before and I'll say it again ...

Barbara Boxer has more balls than ANY male Dem! (Well ok ... Conyers is her equal! ;-) )

I understand what you're saying. :-) I'm female ... but the "balls" thing doesn't bother me - especially when it's referring to a woman because that means the lady in question can kick some serious ass! :D
However, I don't want to offend anyone, so I will try to remember to use "backbone" in the future. :toast:

[elshiva]

18. Thanks for the pledge.

:toast:

But personally, I would hate as a female for someone to say that "I have balls." I am very proud to be a woman and I don't have to become a man to make it in this world. That is what I think about Barbara Boxer. She speaks her mind. She does not need to have balls if she has backbone, but I am sure she has a lovely female reproductive system as well... ;)

[BattyDem]

21. I guess I'm comfortable with the expression because ...

I have a lot of male friends and for them, saying someone has balls is the highest compliment they can give, LOL! So whenever they're impressed with me and say, "You've got balls!" - I just take it in the spirit in which is was intended. :D

Just one of the "hazards" of hanging out with the guys, I guess. :-)

[elshiva]

27. Yes, but still

not all of us can have balls... ;)

[KharmaTrain]

13. Tonight Wasn't Dean's Night

I know the Deaniacs are all aflutter...and those who like iritating them are having fun as well. I take no sides in this matter...didn't support either in 2004.

Dean needs to organize the party's message a hell of a lot better or 2006 will be a mess. Haven't Democrats learned we can't win by running against this regime, we have to run FOR something. Right now I'll bet you an look around here and not find much consensus on what the FOR is.

When we an show where to go rather than what's wrong with where we've been, more people can join in.

[Carolab]

17. Okay, shoot. Go ahead, organize the "Dem message" for us/him.

Why don't you just tell me the Republican "message" while you're at it?

Basically, you can glean "our" message by looking at everything the Republicans have done to ruin our country and then IMAGINE that the Dems will do the OPPOSITE.

We will NOT LIE people into war.
We will SUPPORT OUR TROOPS with the equipment and benefits they need.
We will STAND FOR ECONOMIC FAIRNESS.
We will STAND FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE.
We will STAND FOR TRUE MORAL VALUES, like "love thy neighbor" and "care for the weak and the needy".
We will TELL THE TRUTH.
We will be GOOD STEWARDS OF GOD'S LAND.

Oh, wait, I think I heard Howard saying these things.....

[KharmaTrain]

23. You Must Have A Different Comedy Central Than I Do

I didn't hear those words stated as you posted them. Honestly, I wish I did. I would have felt a hell of a lot better.

Instead it was very muted. When Stewart had to help him out, what does that say about your party's message? Pretty embarassing if you ask me.

A couple nights ago, people were all over Stewart here for softballing Repugnicans...tonight he gave Dean a fastball down the middle several times and he missed...Stewart had to step in there and help him!

Yes, let's talk about what Democrats stand for...and say it loud and consitantly...don't assume that people agree or know. Don't assume that we stand for everything this regime is against and that all we have to do is say "we're not them" and the fortunes of the world will turn. It's time to get out there and fight...or at least to stand one's ground. We're not even doing that.

[Carolab]

24. Go and watch it again. n/t

[Tamyrlin79]

19. Dean has said that we will build the "For" stuff...

But it takes time to do this sort of thing democratically (small-d). The plan, if you haven't been paying attention is this:

1. Get the state parties up and running (current stage)
2. Find out what those parties are concerned about and interested in
3. Bring all that together into a coherent national message

As for the national message, it first has to start with overall, core party principles. It's been a long time since the party has had that kind of debate, and we are well served by it. That is the current internal party debate. The fact that Dean on the Daily Show tonight was able to say something as concise as "our basic principle is to love our neighbor as ourselves and that we don't get to choose who our neighbors are" is a reflection of great progress on this front and an indication that this part of the debate is starting to reach a consensus and "gell". Once those issues reach some general settlement/consensus, we can start acting and presenting policy on that basis. It isn't quite as flashy as the way Republicans go about things, but it isn't nearly as superficial, either, and by the time the policy comes out it will have much broader support than anything that simply got cooked up in a back room in Washington.

So, patience.

[KharmaTrain]

22. We're Still Waiting On That Local Level

I've been and am involved in local campaigns. I won't go into the lack of support we had in 2004...and we won despite. Many of us hoped things would be different this year. We even sent a letter of congratulations to Dr. Dean. We're still waiting to hear from anyone at the DNC. In the meantime, we're out fundraising and working under the belief we had little help last time and we'll have little this time.

Please don't try to condescend here...since at least on our level Part 1...which you would assume should be well underway by now, hasn't been happening. Maybe it's somewhere else, but I'm sure not seeing it.

It's be great if we could have a campaign on core principals since Democrats will always win, but this is far more than that now. It's a PR battle, it's a bloodsport where you have to have your team ready to fight at all times. Patience is wonderful when you have the luxuary of time, money and power. Right now Democrats have none of the three.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. The reason we 'can't win' is because repubs lie cheat and steal elections

And we let them get away with it all! No more! Howard Dean will see to that! Go Dean! And for the record I support him all the way and he is damn near perfect in my book!

[samsingh]

20. i like Dean although i've never been a deaniac. i fully support him

[Name removed]

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