Unbelievable. Lectures to and letters to Dean and RW vicious attacks...

[madfloridian]

All over the internet. I was looking for something about his visit to Chicago yesterday, and I was shocked. It is vicious and ugly. He is associated with words like slavemaster, blamed for a climate in VT encouraging gays, and more nonsense like that. Tony Blankley and Cliff Kincaid are after him now, added to the fray.

Here is the interesting part of it all:

The vicious attacks are from the right wing.

The lectures are from his own party as a rule.

The Dear Howard Dean letters are from the left.

Damn, that man must be doing something right to be having all that happen.

Meanwhile back The Hill online, they are busy trying to marginalize him by fomenting trouble between him and other Democrats...some is real, some is suspect. But they are really at it.

One good thing, though, I saw at the The Hill...Earl Pomeroy apologized to him by phone for telling him to "shut up" while Pomeroy was giving an interview on radio.

Another thing from The Hill. A few nice words came out of it, especially from Raul Grijalva.

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/121505/news3.html

Other Democrats, including Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) and John Wertheim, chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party and a member of the DNC’s executive board, said Dean had helped energize the base and recruit new activists into the party. Wertheim said that if Patricia Madrid (D) beats Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) next year, it would be due in part to Dean’s grassroots organizing.

Grijalva, who backed Dean’s presidential bid, suggested that tensions between the DNC and Capitol Hill might be a matter of sparring egos, as some Democrats speculated. “The odd dynamic is the fact that he won the party chairmanship, and he was already a known person, and his profile has only increased after the presidential election,” the congressman said.

A Democratic source close to Dean said that tensions between Dean and congressional leaders were overblown. Shortly after Pomeroy rebuked Dean, the source said, the congressman personally called Dean to apologize for his remarks.

Pomeroy declined to comment yesterday.

Grijalva welcomed Dean’s leadership style. Any discomfort or angst that Dean may have caused, Grijalva added, is probably a good sign for a party that is out of power and, he said, needs to find its voice.

I would say this is one party chairman who is making a difference. You may agree or not with what he does. But he is changing things. His statement about the war was a week ago Monday. Things have gone downhill so bad that today Bush had to change his tune on some things. A mixture of reasons, yes. But there has to be a catalyst sometimes. I think we have one.

And to Earl Pomeroy, thanks for the apology. It was the right thing to do.

[realFedUp]

1. You know he's doing something right when he's attacked.

Is the bat up?

[madfloridian]

9. No bat, but you can use the Contribute button.

I am so tired of the attacks when someone says the truth.

[NoPasaran]

2. The climate in Vermont encourages gays?

Damn that maple syrup!

[madfloridian]

3. Here is the article from Media Matters. This guy is scary.

This man is scary.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200512150002

Media Matters for America has documented a series of statements about homosexuality published by Kincaid through the AIM website, including:

" success will depend on concealing the facts about Dean's homosexual experiment -- and how he has used young people as sexual guinea pigs." <12/10/03>

"The problem with the Carlson show is the format, which places too much emphasis on his guests, including a regular named Rachel Maddow, a radio host on Air America who is described as the first out-of-the-closet lesbian to be named a Rhodes Scholar. She is a lesbian with hair so short that she looks like a man." <8/1/05>

"The Washington Post is emerging as a virtual house organ of the homosexual-rights movement." <7/20/03>

[NoPasaran]

4. A lot of wingnuts sure are obsessed about sex, aren't they?

Maybe this guy should take up smoking. It would give him something to occupy his hands.

[snowbear]

7. Yep. Lots of Rightie wackjobs just haven't been caught yet.....

Thankfully they just ousted ONE of them!

(REPUBLICAN MAYOR, KIDDY DIDDLER - Jim West, Spokane)


There's probably more than we'll ever know! :scared: :scared: :scared:

[ruggerson]

5. How does one "encourage gays?"

You mean like write them uplifting letters and emails and stuff?

:9

[madfloridian]

6. Well, you need to figure Kincaid's weird statement.

"Howard Dean's success will depend on concealing the facts about Dean's homosexual experiment -- and how he has used young people as sexual guinea pigs." <12/10/03>
From the Media Matters link.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512150002

I mean golly I hope this is not going to get out in the publc anytime soon. That really would loose some attacks. :D

[madfloridian]

8. Bill Nelson, Ben Nelson, Jim Marshall want Dean to hush.

From TNR

"Democratic senators Bill Nelson and Ben Nelson and Democratic Representative Jim Marshall all took issue with their party's chairman. "Dean's take on Iraq makes even less sense than the scream in Iowa: Both are uninformed and unhelpful," Marshall said."

Now, people are saying that oh, they are just using Dean as a foil. No, I don't think so. I don't think the majority of our Democrats want to discuss Iraq, much less get out.

My dear Bill Nelson, my Republican inclined Bill Nelson who polls higher among them than us said this.

"Dan McLaughlin, A Spokesman For Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL): "The Senator Disagrees With Mr. Dean, And He Also Feels In Regard To Establishing A Timetable For Troop Withdrawal That Is Not The Way To Go. ... At This Point, The Long-Term National Security Interest Are Paramount Issues, And Cutting And Running In Iraq Is Not The Solution." (Rowan Scarborough and Donald Lambro, "Dean Doubts U.S. Win In Iraq," The Washington Times, 12/7/05)"

The attacks on him are more numerous today than last week. That is odd because usually his so called "gaffes" have a shelf life of a few days..then we move on to the next "so-called gaffe."

This time it isn't moving on much at all. I thought it had until I did the search tonight for his Chicago trip.

I don't think we are going to leave Iraq any time soon if at all. I think our Demcrats know it. I think the ones like Murtha, Kerry, Pelosi who have spoken out are being ignored. Dean was more outspoken so he is not being ignored.

I am concerned about our fearful party. I truly am. Not just on Iraq, either.

[madfloridian]

10. Bob Casey doesn't support Murtha or Dean... nor does Patrick Murphy.

Asked if he supported fellow Pennsylvanian Rep. John Murtha in his call for a quick withdrawal from Iraq, Casey said that Murtha had made "a courageous statement." But, Casey added, "I don't agree with Congressman Murtha on the specific proposal."

Casey also said he disagreed with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who recently declared in a radio interview: "The idea that we are going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong."

"I'm going to be independent on a lot of things," Casey said.

This is from The Forward which is subscription.

And Patrick Murphy, Fighting Dem...disagrees also.

"Democratic candidates said their biggest concern is that voters will
misconstrue comments by party leaders about Bush's handling of the war as criticism of U.S. troops who are fighting in Iraq. "I absolutely disagree" with Dean, said Patrick Murphy, a Democrat who is running for the suburban Philadelphia House seat now occupied by GOP Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick."

No, Patrick, most won't. I notice that most of the criticism by more Democrats today includes Murtha and Pelosi as well.

So, two candidates disagreeing, tells you something right there. Duckworth apparently is not taking a stand about the war, but maybe we will hear when she get a special appearance on This Week on Sunday...even though she has not yet declared.

Perhaps This Week will give anti-Iraq war Cegelis equal time...NOT.

I see it just as bad today, and it indicates there will be no leaving. I fear that.

[bobbieinok]

11. isn't Dean the first party chairman known by name to many in the country??

how many know Mehlman is the R party chairman, much less that he is gay?????

the democrats who don't want to make waves have real problems with him b/c it's clear he has the support of much of the grassroots......remember how the states made the national party choose him as leader

the planted print and TV stories attacking him keep coming up against the fact that many of 'the base' were energized by his campaign for president and know who he is and have access to info not filtered by the 'movers and shakers' (internet, meetings, etc)

there's a constant pressure by republicans, some democrats, pundits, etc to marginalize him but so far they are only convincing themselves

[madfloridian]

12. You are right, it is more about us than him.

Many of us saw what was happening to our party, that it was selling us out to corporations. The Iraq War was the final straw, and it will be the downfall of many Democrats.

So, you are right. Dean represents that we will someday be able to have a voice. The party leaders have been quite comfortable picking candidates and controlling things for far too long.

But they can't go after us, so he is the next best thing to bash.

[Andromeda]

13. This is what I've thought all along.

The Republicans wouldn't attack him so much if they didn't feel that he was a threat.

As far as the RW goes, let 'em whine. It only shows that they're scared because everything Dean does or says reaches a wide audience and the media have been paying more attention to our "controversial" DNC Chairman.

Howard Dean IS the energizer bunny and that is what he does best. He's good because he believes in what he does and means what he says.

edited for spelling

[libodem]

14. H e will get to be the new, Bill Clinton

I'm positive the Right have a Monica Lewinsky, scandal planned as we speak. He will be defamed but not of his own doing. There will be a huge media campaign planned against him, much like the 'scream'.

[bklyncowgirl]

15. Divide and conquer. Hey, it works every time.

1. Congressional Democrats are unable to come to a consensus on an important issue. The appear weak and divided. Rank and file Democrats want SOMEONE to do SOMETHING. Rank and file Democrats are the ones who got Dean into office. They appeal to him as their representative in the Party.

2. Dean makes a statement on the issue in question in the hope of breaking the impass and getting the party united around something most can live with.

3. Republican attack dogs vilify Dean and are sure to mention that Dean will turn off voters. Note--if this were true why would the Republicans tell this to the Democrats? I mean if Dean were really scaring off the soccar moms wouldn't it be in the Republicans best interest to, well, let him do it?

4. Conservative Democrats, echoing the Republicans, express concern that Dean is turning off voters.

5. Congressional leader worry that Dean is taking away thier perogative to shape the message issues.

The problem is that when there IS no message on an issue Democrats look weak and divided which brings us back to number one. It SHOULD be up to the Congressional leadership to shape the message but when they don't SOMEONE has to do it.

[madfloridian]

16. Kick because Zinn is unaware of the hell they are putting Dean through.

I would like to live where he lives, and not know how we have been fighting this week.

Zinn wants him to speak out. The utter irony.