Dean to seek chairmanship of Democrats

Well, the Republican Party pretty much is a white, Christian party, nothing too controversial in that beyond "oh-you're-not-supposed-to-say-something-like-that"-type PC.

The "never made an honest living" thing is BS tho, even if it was meant only about GOP leaders.

And then this bit ...


I was all like, come on, he was joking right, that's stand up comedy stuff - it's kind of even funny - but then if he wasn't ... that's pretty damn bizarre

OK, so I've been had. Do I look silly now. Scrappleface is a fun site, and the quote that made me go is made up.

This is for the nerds among us, though (recalculated from the final (adjusted) exit poll numbers): 88% of last autumn's Bush voters were white, compared to 66% of Kerry voters.

(I would guess that the proportion of whites increases even more if you only count actual Republicans, leaving Bush-voting independents out.)

Similarly, 62% of Bush voters were Protestant and another 28% Catholics - makes 90%. (In comparison, 45% of Kerry voters were Protestant and 26% Catholic, makes 71%.)

90% Christian and 88% White - and that's Bush voters overall rather than just Republicans. Sounds pretty monolithic to me. <shrugs>

The "never made an honest living" stuff remains BS, tho.

Well, guess what...both Party's are pretty much monolithic in that way, stands to reason since that is the bulk make up of our nation.

Ehm, no actually see above. Unless you consider 71% just as "monolithic" as 90%, and 66% just as "monolithic" as 88%.

9 out of 10 I think pretty much sums up monolithic; 2 in 3 doesn't, really, does it?

If you want to split hairs. The fact of the matter is both Party's majority of votes came from white christians.

So why would he choose to pick on the Republican Party in that light?

<shrugs>

Senator Obama Says Dean Using 'Religion to Divide'

Washington (CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) criticized Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean Wednesday night for using "religion to divide." Obama told reporters gathered at the Rock the Vote awards dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., that Dean needs to tone down his rhetoric. Dean said on Monday that the Republican Party was "pretty much a white, Christian party."

"As somebody who is a Christian myself, I don't like it when people use religion to divide, whether that is Republican or Democrat," Obama said. "I think in terms of his role as party spokesman, [Dean] probably needs to be a little more careful and I suspect that is a message he is going to be getting from a number of us," Obama explained. "We are at a time in our country's history that inclusive language is better than exclusive language," he added.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, also attending the Rock the Vote event, empathized with Dean. "I was [DNC] chairman for four years -- it's a tough job -- he's doing a great job," McAuliffe told Cybercast News Service. "I gave one piece of advice [to Dean]. I said 'Howard, you are about to become a human fire hydrant,'" McAuliffe said, referring to a conversation he had with Dean before he became DNC chairman.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona seemed pleased that Dean had made the latest in a series of controversial statements. "Howard Dean is the gift that keeps on giving," McCain told Cybercast News Service outside the Rock the Vote event.

Source

McCain/Obama, just wonder what office they have plans for?

You be the only person to be different in a group of 10 and the only person to be different in a group of 3 and then report back whether you still consider the difference between the two experiences a question of splitting hairs.

In any case, Dean is lambasted here for saying that the Republican Party is "a pretty monolithic party ... pretty much a white, Christian party". Considering that no less than 9 out of 10 Bush voters, let alone Republicans specifically, are indeed white, and 9 out of 10 are indeed Christian, I dont really see what the fuss is about on this count.

The fuss is about he said a lot more than the monolithic comment.

the fuss is about the fact that both the dems and the reps are pretty monolithic, the dems have a mythology about being non-monolithic (rightly or not) and the reps have the opposite mythology, the problem as both sides of the aisle see it is the historical dominance of white protestants is in a dowward spiral and they are both trying to cover their respective asses while not losing the votes. Major problem as I see it for the coming few years because (especially for the reps) is holding on to their own mythology (tradional white/protestant values) while at the same time reaching out for the votes of the out of bounds voters. Father Knows Best is still driving his Olds while the voters are buying Hondas.

Dean: "They all look the same, they all behave the same".

Tom Delay isn't a spokesman for the Republicans? Nonsense. Each party has many spokesmen, or to be politically correct spokespeople. Delay is absolutely considered a spokesperson for the right and some would characterize him as a white Christian spokesperson (not that I agree with pidgeonholing him as a white Christian mouthpiece any more than I would agree Dean is the white secular counterpart). In my section of the country, the OC, his statement about wealthy white Christians holds some water but there are some exceptions. I'm sure he regrets blurting out such generalizations just as much as when Bush blurts out many of his nonsensical statements. Is this a battle between who has which party has the loosest tongue without the brain waves connected? Sorry, but I have heard enough ridiculous sound bites from politicians over the years and they are more like annoying TV commercials than representing any feasible ideals.

LW-- I know you don't like this Dean Fiasco--but you can't equivocate the Hired Hand--paid to be the figurehead of the party with DeLay.

DeLay was elected.

I don't think any politician in my lifetime has said more unadulterated crap, and gotten away with it.

He's made some very offensive statements.

Ah, but Reid circled the wagons today in front of cameras and made it all better...SOLIDARITY!

The point about the Republican party being monolithic is valid only to those who do not look carefully at the voters and the demography.

Hispanics, who make up 14% of the population, are listed under Caucasian, unless they are black.

More than 50% of Asian voters chose the Republicans.

Around 90% of African-Americans did NOT vote for George W. Bush.

If Howard Dean wishes to categorize all of the Hispanics and Asians who voted for Bush as White Christians, he is either very poorly misinformed or convinced that the American populace will believe any kind of distortion.

Well, we went to war in Iraq with approval, didn't we?

Apparently the public WILL believe any kind of distortion.

In other news,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601740.html

Now a Republican is holding up the vote on a judge. This ought to be fun to watch.

Cycloptichorn

I did say that "I dont really see what the fuss is about on this count" - and it is this specific comment that seems to have come in for an awful lot of real or feigned indignation; just look up in this thread.

Ehm, actually my numbers were, as mentioned above, calculated from the exit polls, which do clearly distinguish Latinos from Whites. So your objection/nuancation here is irrelevant; the number of 88% Whites stands, see below. And that's Bush voters overall, I'm guessing it will be higher among Republicans, specifically.

(You're also wrong about more than half of the Asians having voted Bush, by the way, it was 44%).


Lookit. Of all Bush voters in 2004, 88% were Whites, 7% were Latinos, 2% were African-Americans and 2% were Asians. To call that pretty monolithic doesnt sound like too gregarious a "distortion" to me.

(In comparison, of the Kerry voters 66% were Whites, 20% African-Americans, 9% Latinos and 2% Asians.)

Dean has been an elected official regardless of whether he is now a "hired hand" (I guess we're now all now asked to tolerate Bush ranch analogies). Many unfortunate statements by the Prez, although recently he has held his tongue and will spit out the proverbial platitudes that causes one to nod their head in a snooze, has proven to be his ranch undressing.