MyDD :: Richardson can go Cheney himself

Richardson can go Cheney himself

by Gary Boatwright, Wed Jun 08, 2005 at 12:20:40 AM EST

Here we go again. Another Democrat that thinks he can beef up his Democratic Presidential primary credentials by taking potshots at Howard Dean.

Tell Bill Richardson to go Cheney himself. Yes, another disloyal Dem attacks Dean:

This is why the grassroots, the real Democrats, the real people have no use for far too many of the current crop of losers running the party. Bill Richardson can go Cheney himself. Howard Dean speaks for a hell of a lot more Democrats than Richardson speaks for. This is getting the air of a coordinated attack on Dean. You just don't have this many high-level Dems criticizing the party leader this early in the game. And let's not forget that it was the grassroots - people like us - who pushed for Dean, wanted Dean to get the DNC chair, and ultimately helped him get it. This is an attack on us as well. The tired old scared Democrats are afraid that we're going to take over their pitiful excuse for a party. And they're right, we are.

[Update]: Howard Dean doesn't seem to be backing down. Howard Dean sure to be chastized again for stating the obvious

SF Chronicle 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." "The Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people," Dean said Monday, ...

Somebody better take over the Democratic party. The current crop doesn't seem to have half a brain between the whole sorry lot of them. Richardson Distances Himself From Dean:

Howard Dean is not the Democratic Party's spokesman, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the latest party leader to distance himself from the outspoken chairman, said Tuesday.

"I believe Governor Dean is a good chairman. He's doing a good job," Richardson, the head of the Democratic Governors' Association, told reporters at the start of a two-day visit to New Hampshire. "He's not the spokesman for the party. It's governors, it's senators, it's party leaders."

Uhm, Governor? The DNC Chair has broader support than you do. Howard Dean has never claimed to be the spokesman for the Democratic party, but he has a very powerful message that is a whole lot more popular than you and Biden and an ex-V.P. nominee has been all wrapped up in one.

Let's take another look at Bilmon's analysis, Casey Stengel's Lament:

But, as witless as Dean's crack was, his immediate repudiation by the mushy moderates -- in this case, John "Opie" Edwards and Joe "Badger" Biden -- was in some ways worse.

Edwards and Biden may have thought they were immunizing themselves by pushing the media knife a little deeper into Dean's back, but all they did was ensure another couple of days of coverage for the "story" and give the GOP spinmeisters some fresh ammo to fire back at Dean -- who, whether they like it or not, is the chairman of the entire Democratic Party, not just the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

There are a whole lot of us who are very interested in exactly what part of Dean's speech Richardson disagrees with.

Richardson said Dean is doing a good job as party chairman, but added: "Nobody's error-free. I wouldn't have made the comments he did."

Edwards said that Dean is not the party's spokesman. "He's a voice. I don't agree with it." Biden said, "I don't think he speaks for the majority of Democrats."

In response, Karen Finney, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said Dean "is a voice for the party and we have a number of voices who speak for the party."

Richardson has been mentioned as a possible 2008 presidential candidate, but he played down any speculation during his foray to New Hampshire, site of the first presidential primary.

"My message to voters is keep your powder dry. We've still got 3 1/2 years," he said.

Richardson spoke at a political breakfast Tuesday that is a common stop for potential White House hopefuls. He was also scheduled to meet with state and local Democrats in New Hampshire.

Edwards is already backing away from the idea that he was critical of Howard Dean. John Edwards: Dean And I Agree. I suspect MBNA Biden is going to find out that Howard Dean speaks for a whole lot more Democrats than he does.

Back to Bilmon for the key point:

If Edwards and Biden had disagreed with Dean over a matter of policy I'd probably feel differently about their public criticism: Marching in partisan lockstep obviously can be as unhealthy and destructive as forming the firing squads in a circle. But this was purely an exercise in duck and cover -- even though Dean was dead right on the actual issue at hand and they knew it.

I wonder when the Democratic Presidential nominee wannabees are going to realize that they would be far more popular in the Democratic party if the were beating up on the RNC Chair instead of the DNC Chair.

Maybe that's a little too subtle of a distinction for our current crop of Democratic "leaders."

Tags: (all tags)

Permalink :: 4 Comments :: Post a Comment

Dean is just stating the obvious (3.00 / 1)

Where is the controversy?

by Gary Boatwright on Wed Jun 08, 2005 at 12:42:15 AM EST

I'm Taking My Country Back (none / 0)

This sounds like serious trouble for Bush in the Red States. Listen to The Honky Tonkers For Truth sing I'm Taking My Country Back (mp3)

Then pay The Left Coaster a visit and read about The Red Stater Revolution.

by Gary Boatwright on Wed Jun 08, 2005 at 02:38:09 AM EST

Dean is using GOP tactics (3.00 / 2)

And everyone in the Big Machine is trying to stop him before the other donkeys catch on.

No one should criticize Dean until after 2006.

We shot down his chance in 2004. That's not a huge disaster, given how very few people win during their first run for the presidential nomination; the golden boy W's are the exception, thankfully.

But, all things being equal, we've tried it their way. Dean is simply opposing the Neville Chamberlain approach.

Their way hasn't worked.

Let Dean try to put some fight into the donkey.

by jcjcjc on Wed Jun 08, 2005 at 03:01:19 AM EST

Now (3.00 / 0)

NevadaDem obviously didn't see that this story about Richardson was already posted, before I deleted his driveby diary...

by Jerome Armstrong on Wed Jun 08, 2005 at 06:51:16 AM EST

You are not logged in.

In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.

If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.