RSSHoward Dean; The Mean Machine
Howard Dean opened up his mouth again in San Fransisco and Democratic Party loyalist must have been cringing again. How this is the face & voice that Democrats want representing them is a mystery to me. Did Dem’s not learn in 2004 that “mean” does not win? Just keep talking Howard. By the way, where do I send that thank you note to the DNC? Would you want this man running your party?
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, unapologetic in the face of recent criticism that he has been too tough on his political opposition, said in San Francisco this week that Republicans are “a pretty monolithic party. They all behave the same. They all look the same. It’s pretty much a white Christian party.”
Ahh Howard, ever take a look at your staff when you were Governor of Vermont? You were just Mr. Rainbow Coalition. Let’s not forget this exchange between Al Sharpton and Dean during the Democratic Primaries, the Captain’s Quarter’s hasn’t.
“The Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people,” Dean said Monday, responding to a question about diversity during a forum with minority leaders and journalists. “We’re more welcoming to different folks, because that’s the type of people we are. But that’s not enough. We do have to deliver on things: jobs and housing and business opportunities.”
Forgive me I just spit my drink all over my monitor. Because Dean is just Mr. Warm and Fuzzy. The Democrats seriously elected this guy Party Chair? Who would have thought the Dems would long for the days of Terri McAuliffe?
Listen here to the musings of Howard “I am so friendly you idiots” Dean. Its worth the listen. It is truly amazing to hear him talk about Republicans. The Republican 2006 & 2008 ad machine is already running tape.
The comments are another example of why the former Vermont governor, who remains popular with the party’s grassroots, has been a lightning rod for criticism since being elected to head the Democratic National Committee last February. His comments last week that Republicans “never made an honest living in their lives,” which he later clarified to say Republican “leaders,” were disavowed by leading Democrats including Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
Dean was outspoken — as usual — as he trolled California this week, stoking his party’s coffers, and meeting with grass-roots activists. His San Francisco visit was at the tail end of a cross-country road trip, and Dean said that he will continue to pound the pavement — and the GOP — to get the Democratic message across to new voters, particularly in minority communities.
But Dean’s style and rhetoric have sparked increasing criticism from inside the Democratic Party in recent weeks — and gleeful Republicans say they couldn’t be happier.
Glad to see I am not alone in my thinking. Howard Dean is the best thing for the Republican Party since Bill Clinton. I really need that Democratic address for that thank you note. Looks like Michelle Malkin has that address for me along with a fine post referencing Susan Estrich with some not too kind words for Dr. Dean.
“Where do I sign up on a committee to keep Howard Dean?” crowed GOP operative Jon Fleischmann, publisher of the FlashReport, a daily roundup of California political news and commentary. “He’s the best thing to happen to the GOP in ages.”
“I’m thrilled he’s the DNC chair,” says Tom Del Becarro, chairman of the Contra Costa County Republican Party. “Howard Dean is scaring away the middle. People don’t like angry people. They like hopeful people.”
I just wonder when his own party is going to get sick of his antics. Obviously over the weekend, Biden and John Edwards were not too impressed. As the Moderate Voice says,
“this kind of comment basically stereotypes a whole party which again is what partisans may believe but the DNC party chair’s job isn’t to just appeal to partisans. He is supposed to help BUILD the party. And that means adding to its numbers, not just reinforcing what’s there”.
“Dean is preaching to the choir — and scaring away part of his audience”.
Two Suspects Being investigated for murder and kidnapping
From the AP: Aruba Lawyer: Clients Held in Murder Probe
ORANJESTAD, Aruba – The attorney for two former security guards arrested in the disappearance last month of an Alabama honors student said Tuesday his clients were being investigated for murder and kidnapping.
The men have not been charged in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway and authorities have not said she was a victim of foul play. Earlier in the day, police said they had not ruled out accidental death in the case.
A judge was to determine Wednesday whether authorities have enough evidence to continue to hold the two men, who deny any connection to the high school graduate, said defense lawyer Chris Lejuez.
“They both say that during the time” of the disappearance, “they were not at the (girl’s) hotel and they don’t know this girl,” Lejuez told The Associated Press.
Lejuez said judicial authorities told him of the murder and kidnapping allegations as he met with his clients.
Meanwhile, police and the FBI kept up a search for Holloway, but a lack of any solid leads was hindering progress after nine days, according to several officers. Local officials asked the FBI to bring in dogs trained to search for people.
The parents said they had not received any request for ransom or any other evidence that she had been kidnapped in this Dutch Caribbean territory.
If they are actually going to bring murder charges that have to know something. There must be some form of evidence or a possible confession from one of the suspects. The police had also questioned the three “person’s of interest” as well and who knows what came from those interrogations?
So What Else Was Senator Kerry Hiding?
Gee, Mr. Senator anything else you want to tell us about after the fact? This gets filed in the truth is better than fiction category. After all the media’s falling over John Kerry and his superior intellect; we find out that he scored less than George W. Bush. That he received 4 D’s and one in political science. Now I understand. John Kerry, the intellectual man. In Kerry’s famous words, “Do you know who I am?” Yep, a solid “C” student.
During last year’s presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences.
But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago.
In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year.
Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D’s in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years.
The grade transcript, which Kerry has always declined to release, was included in his Navy record. During the campaign the Globe sought Kerry’s naval records, but he refused to waive privacy restrictions for the full file. Late last month, Kerry gave the Navy permission to send the documents to the Globe.
The media and late night talk shows had a field day with jokes that Bush was stupid and the reference to being to dumb to be President. I guess they would have thought twice after seeing Kerry’s records.
The transcript shows that Kerry’s freshman-year average was 71. He scored a 61 in geology, a 63 and 68 in two history classes, and a 69 in political science. His top score was a 79, in another political science course. Another of his strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.
Under Yale’s grading system in effect at the time, grades between 90 and 100 equaled an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, and anything below that was a failing grade. In addition to Kerry’s four D’s in his freshman year, he received one D in his sophomore year. He did not fail any courses.
So the media has gone from Kerry the superior intellect to “he didn’t fail any courses.” My how the standard has been lowered. So after all the puff pieces on Kerry and his brilliance by the media we find out that he was just as non-serious about college as was President Bush. What was said, “Who was the moron?” And they say there is no bias in the media.
Sen. John F. Kerry’s grade average at Yale University was virtually identical to President Bush’s record there, despite repeated portrayals of Kerry as the more intellectual candidate during the 2004 presidential campaign.
The bets quote of the day comes from The Moderate Voice.
We’ll simply say this:
We never thought John Kerry was that smart.
The reason: Bob Shrum.
In a further brilliant move was Kerry’s unwillingness to sign the Form 180 during the campaign. Now that he has released the information, what was he so afraid of?
Senator John F. Kerry, ending at least two years of refusal, has waived privacy restrictions and authorized the release of his full military and medical records.
The records, which the Navy Personnel Command provided to the Globe, are mostly a duplication of what Kerry released during his 2004 campaign for president, including numerous commendations from commanding officers who later criticized Kerry’s Vietnam service.
The lack of any substantive new material about Kerry’s military career in the documents raises the question of why Kerry refused for so long to waive privacy restrictions. An earlier release of the full record might have helped his campaign because it contains a number of reports lauding his service. Indeed, one of the first actions of the group that came to be known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was to call on Kerry to sign a privacy waiver and release all of his military and medical records.
But Kerry refused, even though it turned out that the records included commendations from some of the same veterans who were criticizing him.
Kos seems to be beside himself as to how Kerry did not release these documents during the campaign. Maybe Kos, your boy just wasn’t too smart after all and maybe there is more to the story still?
Jesus, they had additional substantive evidence that the Swift Boat Liars were full of shit and refused to release it. The incompetent way that matter was handled knows no bounds. Kerry’s excuse?
Well, releasing those records would’ve exposed many of those lies and defused the story. By not releasing them, they gave the impression that they were trying to hide something, further fueling the Swift Boat fantasies.
However, its hard to imagine someone could be that foolish. I tend to agree more with the theory over at Blogs For Bush. Especially Update III with a comment from Swift Boat Veteran For Truth John O’Neill.
We called for Kerry to execute a form which would permit anyone to examine his full and unexpulgated military records at the Navy Department and the National Personnel Records Center. Instead he executed a form permitting his hometown paper to obtain the records currently at the Navy Department.
No Election Fraud in Washington State; The Elect Senator Rossi Campaign Has Just Begun
I guess who ultimately couldn’t see this coming? This election was marred with so much questionable voter fraud that of course the Judge would side for the Democrat. It is hard to imagine that Judge John Bridges could have kept a straight face when he made the comments regarding his ruling to uphold Democrat Christine Gregoire’s victory.
A judge Monday upheld Democrat Christine Gregoire’s victory in the closest race for governor in U.S. history, rejecting Republican claims that last fall’s election was stolen through errors and fraud.
The election — decided by an amazingly close 129 votes out of 2.9 million cast — included 1,678 illegally cast ballots, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges found. But he said Republicans failed to prove that GOP candidate Dino Rossi would have won if those votes had been disregarded.
“Unless an election is clearly invalid, when the people have spoken their verdict should not be disturbed by the courts,” Bridges said. Nullifying the election, he said, would be “the ultimate act of judicial egotism and judicial activism.”
Unless the election was clearly invalid? What type of sick joke is this? In the ultimate slap in the face, Judge Bridges even went so far as to “throw out only a few illegally cast votes and raised Gregoire’s margin of victory to 133 from 129.”
The Republicans argued that large numbers of votes were illegally cast by felons or cast in the names of dead people; that there were errors in the counting of ballots; and that there was stuffing of the ballot box and destruction of ballots. They concentrated their attacks on Seattle’s heavily Democratic King County, the state’s most populous county.
While the Republicans characterized the election problems as “sinister,” Democrats described them as innocent mistakes that happen in every county, in every election. They said the GOP lacked the clear and convincing proof needed to justify overturning the election.
In his ruling, the judge said the GOP failed to make the case for any deliberate, widespread fraud. He rejected the GOP’s argument that an analytical technique called “proportional deduction” showed that most of the illegal votes cast in the election went to Gregoire. He also held that even using Republicans’ proposed analytical technique, Gregoire still won.
If this had been the other way around Democrats would have been marching and chanting, “no victory, no peace.” So I guess the judge thinks that just fraud is acceptable as long as it is not wide spread. This is simply shameful.
Following the decision Republican Dino Rossi decided not to go ahead to the state Supreme Court with his legal challenge to the 2004 election of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire.
Reeling from a courtroom rout, Republican Dino Rossi decided today not to press ahead to the state Supreme Court with his legal challenge to the 2004 election of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire.
“With today’s decision, and because of the political makeup of the Washington State Supreme Court, which makes it almost impossible to overturn this ruling, I am ending the election contest,” Rossi said at his campaign headquarters in Bellevue.
Bridges turned back the GOP challenge on several fronts. He said the Republicans’ claims of fraud were not supported by any evidence. He rebuffed their statistical proposal for subtracting invalid votes from the candidates, calling it scientifically inadequate. And he rejected their suggested interpretations of state laws and previous court rulings on election challenges.
“I don’t think I can think of anything we argued that he didn’t take lock, stock and barrel,” Democratic lawyer Kevin Hamilton said.
Well isn’t that reassuring? After Democrats have clamored over every election that they should have won like in Florida in 2000 and OH in 2004 because of voter fraud after this man you have no more room for complaint.
Michelle Malkin live blogged the even charade and has a great play by play of the events.
Sound Politics put it best we have “Nothing to do but work harder.”
As voters, we have all the power we need to make these changes, regardless of the decisions of any court, executive or legislature. Our remedy is to be more organized and to work for candidates who believe as we do. This is one election. There will be hundreds more in our lifetimes and we must contest them all. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
Let’s just hope that this is the beginning of the Rossi for Senate Campaign run. The voters of Washington State will not forget this. People know when a wrong has been committed no mater what a Judge may rule. Rossi for Senate in 2006.
Meet The Press; Ken Mehlman, Chairman of the RNC (aka think Dems May Want to change?)
After listening to the rantings of Howard Dean, DNC Chair, two weeks ago on “Meet The Press”, it was certainly refreshing to listen to a normal interview. Gone was the vile hate, the insults and the look at me I’m Howard Dean that was the interview with Dean by Russert. Ken Mehlman, Chairman of the Republican Party is a class act and a man that gets the job done. Without having to grab all the attention and make an ass out of himself Ken Mehlman is running circles around Howard Dean in substance, class and fund raising as the national Democratic Party raised about $18.6 million in the first four months of the year, compared with $42.6 million for the RNC. Hear what a normal interview sounds like from a class act. Here is the full transcript from Meet The Press.
Here is just one of the exchanges.
MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to Social Security. NBC News and The Wall Street Journal has gone out and asked voters what they think of the president’s plan for personal private accounts. Good idea, 36 percent; bad idea, 56 percent. This is after the president has embarked on a campaign across 26 states. It’s day 92 of a planned 60-day tour. People are simply not buying the president’s prescription to deal with Social Security.
MR. MEHLMAN: Well, Tim, there are a number of polls that have shown other things as well. I would respectfully disagree with those numbers. Here’s what I think with respect to this question. The fact is five months ago this was an issue that people weren’t really talking that much about. Because of the president’s leadership, because he’s brought it to people’s attention, it’s now a top issue. That same NBC News poll showed that a plurality of Americans believe that Congress is moving too slowly on the question of dealing with Social Security.
So what we have is a president that has brought this issue before the American people. We now understand that we can’t wait.
Hmm … Where were the hateful Dean-like comments during the interview? What a breathe of fresh air. From the looks of the Liberal comments and whining about the interview looks like they wish they had a Mehlman on their side and not a Dean.
It even appears that many Democrats are tiring of Howard Dean’s comments and antics. Its one thing when those of your party say things as an anonymous source and quite something else when they go public. Thus was the case with Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) Distancing yourself from the spokesperson of your party? Where is that unity that Democrats were talking about?
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) distanced themselves over the weekend from remarks by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who is facing criticism for the pace of the party’s fund raising.
Dean, who inspired a passionate following when he ran for president in 2003-04 and showed the potential of Internet fund raising, has been as unpredictable with his public remarks since becoming party chairman in mid-February as his Republican counterpart, Ken Mehlman, has been on message
Biden made his comment on ABC’s “This Week” after the host, George Stephanopoulos, played a clip of Dean saying Thursday that perhaps Republicans can wait in line to cast ballots because a “lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives.”
Asked whether Dean is doing the party any good, Biden said, “Not with that kind of rhetoric. He doesn’t speak for me with that kind of rhetoric. And I don’t think he speaks for the majority of Democrats. . . . I wish that rhetoric would change.”
Edwards, the party’s vice presidential nominee last year, said at an annual party fundraising dinner Saturday in Nashville that he disagreed with Dean’s comment. “The chairman of the DNC is not the spokesman for the party,” Edwards said, according to the Associated Press. “He’s a voice. I don’t agree with it.”
John Edwards not only disagreeing with Howard Dean but also showing the reason why the political novice lost the Presidential nomination for the Democrats in 2004 and was made to look sophomoric in the 2004 Vice-Presidential Debate, “not the spokesperson for the party? Really?
This may have been the quote of the week if it were not for Ken Mehlman’s effort from Meet The Press.
“I’m not sure the best way to win support in the red states is to insult the folks who live there. I think that a better approach might be to talk about the issues you’re for.”
I cannot wait for the future interviews of the side by side confrontations between Mehlman and Dean on “Meet The Press”, if Dean is still DNC that is.
Video of Ken Mehlman on Meet The Press from Trey Jackson
