Sunday, November 30, 2003

DEAN CANNOT LOSE THE SOUTH AND WIN IN 2004

DEAN CANNOT LOSE THE SOUTH AND WIN IN 2004



If Governor Dean loses the South in 2004, he'd have to win 70 percent of the remaining Electoral College votes to win the presidency.

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Former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta's carefully worded remarks (found here)" ..reflect widening fears among Democratic leaders here and elsewhere in the party — especially in the South — who say that Mr. Dean is too liberal, not just in his opposition to using military force to topple Saddam Hussein but in his call for repealing all of the Bush tax cuts, imposing regulations on businesses, erecting new trade-protection rules and favoring civil unions for same-sex "marriages."

**My Note: If a "Stop-Dean" movement within the Democratic party is indeed activated,
I think the Democratic Party will lose great influence with the newly-motivated crop of
idealistic and exuberant movers and shakers at the grassroots level. A lose-lose situation for all Democrats. You cannot stop the tide from rushing in. Howard Dean is the face of the Democrats' active survival, in my opinion.**

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South Carolina Presidential Primary Plans Off to Slow and Painful Start

The DNC has served notice it will not step in to finance the South Carolina primary despite the embarrassment and humiliation a canceled contest would cause. The DNC wants to avoid the precedent of bailing out one state party, knowing that if it does, "others would come calling".

It would be a disaster for the state Democratic Party if they were forced to cancel the primary. If the national party allows this to happen, you would know what it thinks of the South Carolina Democratic Party.”

Robert Jeffrey, Wofford College political scientist

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Why Governor Dean Will be Helped By
a Southerner for his Running Mate (a John Edwards..a Wesley Clark):


"..Opposition to gay marriage is strongest among older Americans, the most reliable group of voters. There is also more opposition among adults over 30 who do not have a college degree than those that do, and among men, groups that have been migrating to the Republican Party in the South for decades. Sixty-seven percent of Southerners oppose gay marriage, according to the Pew poll, compared to 50 percent of Easterners."

"..Dean probably has the most to lose by [the issue's] rising profile since he is the only candidate who has signed legislation allowing gay couples to legally unite."

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How Governor Dean Can Appeal to Southern Voters Himself:

"..Democrats slowed the Republican advance among white Southerners primarily through the successful presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. But George W. Bush's sweep of the region in 2000 showed it will take more than a white Southern Democrat such as Tennessean Al Gore on the ticket to reverse the Republican tide.

Take the Confederate flag out of candidate Dean's formulation, and the former governor of Vermont is saying, correctly, that Democrats can broaden their appeal and expand their base in the South. To do so, they need to focus on such issues as fiscal integrity, respect for law and order, patriotism, national defense and personal responsibility..."
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The Biggest Turkey of November: Medicare Reform

The Biggest Turkey of November: Medicare Reform

Nebraska's Senator Chuck Hagel exposed the Medicare bill for the political tripe that it truly is in today's Omaha World-Herald.

He says the bill "expressly prohibits the federal government from negotiating drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, even though the government negotiates prices for other Medicare services."
He asks: "Who wins here?"

He exposes the fact that there is nothing in the bill to control costs.
He asks: "Who is looking out for the future of the country?"

He ends by saying: "The forces of reality will require us to go back and try to undo the damage we've just done to Medicare and future generations. We then will have another opportunity to do it right.
This time it was about 2004 politics. Next time it will be about responsible policy for the future."


He really couldn't make it any clearer, could he?

Bush's Sweet November

Bush's Sweet November



I saw Chris Matthews today on his Sunday morning news discussion show with Gloria Borger, Campbell Brown, Howard Fineman and Tucker Carlson.

Matthews seemed more manic than usual (if you can possibly believe he could be more manic). He led the beginning of his show with this question (in a loud manic voice):
"Can you believe this past month? Has this been a great November for the Bush administration or what?"

To which Gloria Borger beamed from ear-to-ear and proclaimed nearly as manically, "Yes. It's surely been a sweet
November for President Bush..."

My mind went to the 72 soldiers killed in the line of duty in 'sweet November'.. and every relative of those 72 troops...each and every friend.
I wondered what they might have thought of Gloria and Chris gushing manically about the sweetness of the month that stole their darlings from their lives forever.

The sheer insensitivity of the moment floored me.

Borger went on, later in the manic broadcast, to once again compare Howard Dean with George McGovern.
Apparently, Borger and many other of today's narrow-minded journalists have forgotten that America has learned
some hard, hard lessons these past 30+ years. 9-11 shocked us to our shoes, but it did NOT erase the memory of VietNam or civil oppression.

Howard Dean is not your father's McGovern.
*and what was great about watergate?*
My one and only 2004 prayer:
That Dean does NOT choose Bob Graham as running mate.

Hey- I was a poet..didn't know it!

According to Matt Drudge, Governor Dean allegedly said this about Bush tonight in New Hampshire:
"I think he's made us weaker. He doesn't understand what it takes to defend this country, that you have to have high moral purpose. He doesn't understand that you better keep troop morale high rather than just flying over for Thanksgiving.'