2004 Elections: Democratic Party Contenders

Howard Dean's statement on the President's decision to send U.S. military troops into war against Iraq:

"Tonight, for better or worse, America is at war. Tonight, every American, regardless of party, devoutly supports the safety and success of our men and women in the field. Those of us who, over the past 6 months, have expressed deep concerns about this President's management of the crisis, mistreatment of our allies and misconstruction of international law, have never been in doubt about the evil of Saddam Hussein or the necessity of removing his weapons of mass destruction.

"Those Americans who opposed our going to war with Iraq, who wanted the United Nations to remove those weapons without war, need not apologize for giving voice to their conscience, last year, this year or next year. In a country devoted to the freedom of debate and dissent, it is every citizen's patriotic duty to speak out, even as we wish our troops well and pray for their safe return. Congressman Abraham Lincoln did this in criticizing the Mexican War of 1846, as did Senator Robert F. Kennedy in calling the war in Vietnam 'unsuitable, immoral and intolerable.'

"This is not Iraq, where doubters and dissenters are punished or silenced --this is the United States of America. We need to support our young people as they are sent to war by the President, and I have no doubt that American military power will prevail. But to ensure that our post-war policies are constructive and humane, based on enduring principles of peace and justice, concerned Americans should continue to speak out; and I intend to do so."


Strong. Forceful. Unapologetic. Respectful of the military. And topped off with a pre-emptive challenge to opponents not to act like Saddam Hussein by trying to punish and/or silence those who disagree with what we are doing.

This is how an opposition party is supposed to act.

Agree.

Anybody seen the guy that started this thread around lately?

PD...agreed.

max...no. This thread has not always held true to his intent. Individuals go off on a tangent for 1,2 or three pages.

I'd like to suggest that Daschle deserves some respect and response for his honest statement about the war. Better late than never! Anyone who can and wants to might want to let him know he has support -- certainly given the self-righteous and frankly characterless statements of Frist and DeLay who implied Daschle was less than patriotic. I'm about to email a note of support. Also today, I'm zapping another contribution to the Dean campaign. Small amounts, but they indicate approval and support. Every little bit helps...

Tar,
I agree. I'm not interested in demonizing folks with different opinions from mine.

You know, if I were sitting at a table with fellow Dems strategizing a campaign, looking for battle cries and bumper stickers, I'd suggest: 1) Don't believe a word they say, and 2) Bush&Cheney: Unbelievable!

fishin' is "Around", max ... just busy. There's been a good deal of business occupying some of the usually more visible members.

PDiddie, thanks for posting that. I didn't know much about Dean. I'm impressed.

I saw Lieberman on The O'Reilly Factor last night, and my wife and I were both struck quite favorably by what he had to say, and found we were each trying to say the same thing simultaneously, which was that he sounded like a Democrat for whom we could vote.

Then I was reminded of a comment Dennis Miller made on Donahue, wherein he said that Lieberman was close to being the best man in Washington, in that he had almost done so many great things. Miller then said that he hoped Lieberman fails to get the nod because he thinks Lieberman needs to learn that to be a great man you must--at least once in a while--let the other foot fall.

As much respect as I had for what Lieberman said last night, it is all tempered by the reality that Lieberman abandoned every last one of those principles just to have a shot at the number two seat in an Al Gore White House. Principles so easily abandoned cannot be deeply held.

Nobody faint! About Lieberman - Tres and I are in complete agreement.


(besides that, Lieberman's voice has the effect on me of fingernails on a chalkboard)

"there't a lot of fancy dancers
men who can glide you across the floor
they move so smooth but have no answers
when you ask "why you come here for?"

At a time when the rest of the candidates have fallen silent (Howard Dean is a notable exception), Dennis Kucinich reinforces his contrary position about the war:

"This war must end now. It was unjust when it started last week, and is still unjust today. The U.S. should get out now and try to save the lives of American troops and Iraqi citizens. Most importantly, ending the war now and resuming weapons inspections could salvage world opinion of the United States, which has been deteriorating since the talk of war began. After all, the greatest threat to the United States at this time is terrorism."

Common Dreams

Democratic Presidential hopeful Howard Dean stepped up the battle for the heart of the Party as he slammed John Kerry's ambivalence on the invasion of Iraq. Dean, the former Vermont governor, has pulled even in New Hampshire polls with Kerry and has made remarkable strides in meeting fund raising goals.

"To this day I don't know what John Kerry's position is," Dean said Thursday in a speech to Iowa activists. "If you agree with the war, then say so. If you don't agree with the war, then say so, but don't try to wobble around in between."

Kerry, the junior Senator from Massachusetts, has said he will not respond to Dean.

Democratic analyst David Axelrod said Dean has deftly handled his Iraq position to emerge as a threat to Kerry in Iowa and New Hampshire, which hold the first primary nominating contests.

"They both are competing for progressive, more educated voters who tend to be more anti-war," he said. "I think on many measures, Kerry would be an attractive candidate to those folks, but the war could be a problem for him and Dean has taken advantage of that."

While Dean's antiwar stance has drawn media attention and ovations from Party loyalists, his positions on issues of priority to progressives have provided him with a surprisingly solid fundraising foundation.

Antiwar Stance Helps Dean Gain Support and Funds

If you're on Dean's mailing list, you got a heads-up on all this -- he's running very close to Kerry. My admiration for Dean is what puts me off Lieberman, big time. Well, Snood, and his voice too! I just don't find him trustworthy. He hasn't stood up for anything which might result in a struggle. I get the feeling that Lieberman wants the presidency because he wanted to be president. I don't have that feeling about Dean. I think Dean thinks things have gone badly wrong and he wants to do something about it. Fire in the belly about the country, not just as a result of personal ambition.

Tartarin:

I know two people that know Lieberman. One person went to law school with him and was just astounded when Gore picked him for his running mate. She said he was arrogant as you know what!

The other person is a journalist (the son of a friend) who works on Capital Hill. He said that Lieberman has a habit of standing too close when he speaks to you, actually moves in so close it is embarrassing. I think Seinfeld did a funny show about people that "talk close."

His drony voice gets to me, and when he mentions God every few sentences, that also annoys me.

I like Dean, am on the mailing list, and have sent him money!

JOHN KERRY http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/111ts.html

A typical mission really didn't have any sense to it. The logic that was explained to us by the command in Vietnam was that we were quote, "showing the flag in the back yard of the enemy." There were people who believed, there were people who believed that we were fighting communism and that this was terrific and it was important, and who were all swept up in it. But I think most people did not. Most people began to see that we weren't gaining any territory, we weren't winning the hearts and minds of anybody, we certainly weren't securing any particular stronghold or strategic objectives, we were simply doing a very macho kind of public demonstration of our presence.

People did not listen to the veterans of the war. The press itself had diffi-culty in perceiving of a group of Vietnam veterans being opposed to the war. And that it was a story of profound importance, why the war itself was wrong. And why we were not going to be successful, and why we had to recognize that. We just felt that story had to be told, and the only way to tell it was to take it to Washington in that form.

I just received the following message from the Dean campaign. It demonstrates what, I think, is one of the primary reasons why Democrats should get behind him:



It is naive for the Democrats to think that they will ever find a candidate that will not be subject to a Republican counter-campaign of smears and innuendo. What they need is a candidate who isn't afraid to confront these smears head-on instead of trying to avoid them.

One of Dean's biggest potential vulnerabilities is his decision to sign Vermont's civil union law. There can be little doubt that the GOP will try to use this to hurt Dean in more socially conservative circles. The typical Democratic candidate of the last few years would deal with this problem by either avoiding it entirely or, even worse, try to say that what he did isn't what he actually did. In the end, such a candidate comes off looking weak and cowardly.

Dean, recognizing this, has chosen to preemptively respond to it by actively promoting it. The idea of holding a celebration for it is, in my opinion, brilliant. It is an open challenge by Dean to the GOP. "Bring it on" is the message he is sending.

And that's one of the reasons why I like him.

Me too, PDiddie.

I first started reading about Howard Dean about a year and a half ago, in the New Republic, and there was something about him. I'm tending more and more towards him. He's looking like a savvy pol with ideas of his own and maybe some convictions. And he's got a health plan. Also, he's combining domestic with foreign policy.

Besides, he seems a bit more like a real person. Paper today says Edwards has raised quite a bit of money, but that it is mostly from the lawyers.