Howard Dean: December 2005 Archives
The Democrats feel they have found the proper "framing" of their message, hoping it will get them back into power:
Democrats Test Themes for `06 and `08
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - To hear Democrats tell it, an anxious and isolated public craves a sense of national community and would galvanize behind a leader who asks people to sacrifice for the greater good. John Edwards says he's that leader.
Wait a minute, so does Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Ditto for Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.
Edwards, Vilsack and Warner, all likely presidential candidates in 2008, are toying with the same lofty community-and-purpose message. And that says as much about the sour mood of the country as it does about the state of the Democratic Party.
Wonder if anyone will notice that this is the same Democratic Party that has obstructed and undermined every single step the current administration has taken? And done so not out of committment to "community-and-purpose", but instead for cheap partisan politics? Will anyone take stock of what the Democrats have sacrificed for "the greater good" in the last five years?
How rich. If this is the best they can come up with, I say bring it on.
for good cheer, and Iowahawk serves up a barrel full in "POLL: 61% BACK TORTURE OF HOWARD DEAN".
As a side note:
Isn't it interesting that during the Christmas season, the leader of the party who counts among it's membership the people who would do away with the holiday becomes a surrogate for the usual Christmas traditions, at once delivering presents and answering prayers for Republicans?
From a press release by the Florida Democratic Party:
"With the President's latest PR campaign clearly failing, Republicans like Jeff Miller are now cherry-picking Governor Dean's words just like they cherry-picked the pre-war intelligence."
Hmm. Let's see what Jeff Miller said, shall we?
“Yesterday, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee said our troops can’t win in Iraq. Howard Dean effectively signaled to insurgents and terrorists everywhere that his party was ready to wave the white flag in the War on Terror.
For the sake of political gains, Dean’s Party has chosen to trivialize the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made in Iraq. His Party has gone from attacking the liberation of Iraq, to attacking the Bush Administration, to attacking the Armed Services of this country and saying they cannot win.
Howard Dean’s comments were a direct attack on the morale of our military and border on treasonous.
Regardless of your opinions on Iraq, it is wrong to attack the capabilities of our military for the purposes of political gain. I call on Mr. Dean to resign as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.”
Just as a reminder, this is what Rep. Miller supposedly "cherry-picked":
"Iraq is a catastrophe for America and Americans will leave, it will only be a matter of time.
"I say to Bush: You entered Iraq with lies, you will lose Iraq and lie about it and you will leave with the pretext that you have completed your mission ... America only has to decide on the number of (troops) it wishes to lose before withdrawing."
Oops - I'm sorry. That was Al Zawahri. Maybe it was:
"...Iraq can not be won militarily."
Oops - Sorry again. That was Mothra. Here it is:
"We should follow the lead of Congressman John Murtha"
Sorry again - that was Nancy Pelosi. Lets try again:
the "idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."
"I've seen this before in my life. This is the same situation we had in Vietnam. Everybody then kept saying, 'just another year, just stay the course, we'll have a victory.' Well, we didn't have a victory, and this policy cost the lives of an additional 25,000 troops because we were too stubborn to recognize what was happening."
Maybe the Florida Dems are right - Rep. Miller did cherry-pick. But Miller wasn't incorrect, just incomplete. It was wrong for him to paint Dean's remarks as out of step with the rest of the party - increasingly, it's becoming the unified party message. A message of defeatism, surrender, and hopelessness.
Via Yahoo/Al-Reuters, Al Qaeda's number two guy is insisting that Osama Bin Ladin is still in charge:
"I bring a message of joy to all Muslims and mujahideen that al Qaeda is spreading, expanding and strengthening. Its prince Sheikh Osama bin Laden is still leading its jihad (holy war)," he said in a video interview aired on an Islamist Web site.
It's getting increasingly difficult to determine who is writing the talking points, and who is simply repeating them, as Al Zawahri appears to be channeling Howard Dean:
Zawahri said the United States had suffered a defeat in Iraq and it was only a matter of time before it pulled out its troops.
"Iraq is a catastrophe for America and Americans will leave, it will only be a matter of time.
"I say to Bush: You entered Iraq with lies, you will lose Iraq and lie about it and you will leave with the pretext that you have completed your mission ... America only has to decide on the number of (troops) it wishes to lose before withdrawing."
I hope Howard is proud of himself.
Updated: Klause corrects me - Al Zawahri's statement does indeed pre-date Howard's. Thanks, Klause - good catch!
The point is still valid, though. And it's been pointed out by others, many times, the uncanny similarity between the talking points of the left and the rhetoric of the terrorists. Howard really needs to pull his head out and ask himself if he really wants to throw in with a bunch of murderous thugs before he opens his mouth.
If you can stomache something truly frightening and disgusting, check this out at Bare Knuckle Politics:
Be sure to check out the forum where there are more images and some terrific discussion.
Living in a hopelessly liberal state like Delaware, I hope that this doesn't start showing up in school libraries.
Via Wizbang.
Update (5:33 PM): And the fun starts.
You remember the fundraising drive the Democrats were having to put up billboards smearing Rep. Jean Schmidt?
At least for now, stopped dead in their tracks:
Company Blocks Ads Critical of Ohio Rep.
Lamar Advertising Co. of Baton Rouge, La., refused to put up two billboards in Portsmouth, Ohio, and another in Cincinnati with a picture of Schmidt and the following message: "Shame on you, Jean Schmidt: Stop attacking veterans. Keep your eye on the ball — we need a real plan for Iraq."
Turns out the folks at Lamar have a conscience:
Lamar's Huntington, W.Va., regional manager, Mark Watts, rejected the billboards criticizing Scmidt as a personal attack, said Hal Kinshaw, Lamar's vice president of governmental affairs.
And the reason they have a conscience? They're not moonbats:
In 2004 elections, it gave Republicans 70 percent of its U.S. House race donations and 60 percent of its U.S. Senate race contributions.
Thank God the folks at Lamar aren't those greedy heartless Republicans the left is always telling us about. They might have placed profits above morals and common sense.
