Dean Won't Apologize For Quip At Black Caucus Gathering

[truthpusher]

regardless of your opinion on this story, you gotta love this guy.

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4228394/detail.html

Dean Won't Apologize For Quip At Black Caucus Gathering

POSTED: 11:36 am EST February 24, 2005
UPDATED: 11:41 am EST February 24, 2005

BALTIMORE -- Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean had an answer Thursday for Republican critics - including Maryland's lieutenant governor - who accused him of making a racially offensive remark two weeks ago.

"You don't apologize when people call you names," said the former presidential candidate, "you fight back."

Dean was the headliner in Baltimore at a fund-raiser for Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings. In addition to outlining his plans for the party, the one-time Vermont governor addressed the flap that accompanied his remarks before the Democratic black caucus in Washington when he said, "You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here."

Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is black, claimed the statement was insensitive to minorities.

(snip)

"You know why they talk about that - because they have nothing to say about education and health care," he said.

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4228394/detail.html

[meganmonkey]

1. Hot damn!

He really is shaking things up. Wow.

[Ian David]

8. The "people of color" will understand Dean was highlighting GOP racism

How stupid do Republicans think "People of Color" are, that they won't "get it."?

[CatWoman]

2. sometimes the truth is insensitive

but I'm feeling Dr. Dean!!!!!

I love that man!!!!!

[fshrink]

42. Not sometimes. Always. nt

[BlueEyedSon]

3. Dean is my president

[patrice]

63. Go Grassroots! n/t

[xxqqqzme]

4. jeebus they're still ragging

about that?!!?? Let's move on rethugs..there R far worse scandals brewing....but that's the point huh?

[Justitia]

5. LOVE IT! Fuck 'em if they can't handle it - it's the TRUTH

and we should not EVER apologize for the truth.

Those freaks know how their party views minorities of every stripe, and don't even try to hide it, despite their feigning concern in an election year. The examples are endless.

Put your $$$ where your mouths are assholes, and I don't mean in tips!

Go Good Doctor!

[still_one]

6. at least we have one Democrat who doesn't back down

I am so sick and tired of the wimpy democrats

[KittyWampus]

7. Excellent! This Picks Up My Spirits. Nothing To Say About Education?

you mean other than privatize it?

[aden_nak]

9. He pointed out that minorities often get stuck in lower paying jobs.

Oh, but he framed it as a joke, so it's insensitive. You know what's really insensitive? Not talking about the fact that minorities often get stuck in lower paying jobs. It's important to realize and believe that all people can ascend to whatever level of success they aspire to, given the right skills and dedication. It's another, entirely, to ignore the realities of our world in order to believe in a utopian ideal. . . however noble that ideal might be.

This is the danger of "racially charged" language. People don't want to deal with the difficult technicalities of the speaker, so they only look at the words themselves. George Carlin pointed out a long time ago that no one gets upset when Richard Pryor (for example) uses the "n word". Because in that case, they KNOW he is not a racist. Separating the words from the people is dangerous, and poisonous both to our language and our logic.

Look at the PERSON. And if they are a racist son of a bitch, call them out on it. But don't call someone to task on what someone else might interpret their language to mean, unless that language is so lacking in basic humanity that it speaks to the person's general character.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

50. He made a statement that made republicans uncomfortable

I hope he makes a lot more statements like that one.

[loyalsister]

52. Beyond that

he raised the issue that the Republicans don't mind having minorities wait on them and will be nice but they don't actually invite them to take part in the festivities.
It's an excellent metaphor.

[nolabels]

54. It's such a not talked about subject that it does make for one liners

It's as bad as talking about sex or something with these wingers. Can't we have a little fun here? Being at the butt end of the joke is where that one liner went, no wonder the pubs want to give voice to others to denounce it.

I live in California and being different and or a minority is natural occurrence here. Using one type of people's description, M.O., or eccentricity to make light of others misdeeds should be an okay thing to do.

They Repub cadre would like everybody to keep on pretending that inequality doesn't exist. They wish we ignores some others have gotten or taken more because of the twisted game that has been set up. They think somehow we should ignore it even if some of them flaunt it. It don't work that way and never has.

The ratio where I work has us pink folks about 25% and we all get along fine. These racial bigots, homophobes and bible thumpers better start realizing we are all going to have to get along or none of us will

[Greylyn58]

60. Well said...n/t

[woosh]

10. i love this guy.

[madrchsod]

11. poor babies....

like they give a shit about the hired help..it really isn`t a color issue it`s a class issue.

[zbdent]

36. I think that the last time the Repukes gave a shit about the hired help

was during the "bombing of the aspirin factory", which, according to repukes, was to distract the population from the impeachment hearings.

I distinctly remember one Repuke whining about how the bombing killed a cleaning lady on the night shift. All of a sudden they were pointing out how "Clinton killed a working mother."

[AnneD]

12. DING DING DING DING......Tell Mr Dean what he has won, Don...

The gratitude of the poor working/ real middle class of ALL colours.

:dem: give 'em hell Howard, GOP- be afraid, be very afraid.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ima_sinnic]

14. I LOVE YOU DR. DEAN

my hero :loveya:

[woosh]

15. the best part

Is that he didn't even really legitimize the question with an answer. He basically said "we're done talking about what you want to talk about".

The Dems are going to learn a lot from the Good Dr.

[wryter2000]

18. Welcome to DU, woosh

Is that he didn't even really legitimize the question with an answer. He basically said "we're done talking about what you want to talk about".

You got that right! Don't let them define the conversation.

[Darth_Kitten]

66. Welcome to DU!!!

:D

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. What a slap!

Eventually our beloved Dr. Dean will knock some respect into the Republicans. He's not going to let them walk all over him and exploit his words that's for sure!

[Zuni]

17. he has no reason to apologize

Good for Howard. he was making fun of the GOP, not black people

[Willy Lee]

19. I love this man more every day.

Thank you Dr. Dean!!

[Rockerdem]

20. This is a sample of what the MSM is going to do to Dean

Prediction: Dean, because of his frank nature, will find himself in a lot of these situations in the future. Not because of the content or meaning his words are particularly egregious, but because the press is out for a scalp. Its that simple. Look at the way that this story is framed.

This is about stereotypes. (BTW, Dean should just stay away from them, for his own sake. He doesnt fare well with his thoughtlessness on how they appear in print, out of context.) The main stereotype is the one that the press whores have of Dean. That he is an irascible, irresponsible person with a tinge of nuttiness. They are on a mission to prove it, truth be damned.

[JNelson6563]

24. Many have learned their lesson

about letting the whore press dictate what we should do. I call it "the Primary Lesson". ;-)

Julie

[Rockerdem]

29. Well, thats all fine and well

I like Deans aggressiveness. But he should stay away from areas where the downside is huge and the payback is tiny. Mucking around in stereotypes has caused him a lot of grief in the past, and will get him into more trouble if he lapses in the future. Better to concentrate on serious issues, in areas where hardhitting words are needed because they are so lacking from too many other Democrat leaders.

But mark my words: attempted murder of Dean by a thousand paper cuts is uppermost in the minds of much of the press corps. Nothing has changed.

[woosh]

30. you can't ask the guy to stop

being himself. That's what got him to the ball, no turning back.

[JNelson6563]

39. We agree

the media will try to murder him (metaphorically speaking of course). "Death by a thousand paper cuts" Clever. I'll probably use that.

:toast:

Julie

[woosh]

26. yeah, true

But unlike the spineless dems that have been dominating public discourse, Dean will not slink away and apologize. It's not his style, and he knows that the GOP will lose the mud-slinging on issues that he's right about.

Dean has a gift. He's concise, precise, whitty and articulate.

You'll never hear this soundbite from him: "I voted for the war before I voted against it".

[NNguyenMD]

21. SHOCK! Minorities have to haul crappy jobs to get by! Dean is the man

and the Freeptards should get over it.

[VegasWolf]

22. Go Dean!! n/t

[m_welby]

23. i love the rep. whiners

"Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is black, claimed the statement was insensitive to minorities."

What, they could only find one black guy who was offended? and he's yet another rethug. lol

Funny I didn't see any comments from the hotel staff, i guess they weren't offended.

[Ian David]

38. It was offensive to black REPUBLICANS. All three of them.

Condi, Powell and Steele.

[jswordy]

25. ROFL! Dean's comment was RIGHT ON! (and funny as hell)

THE TRUTH HURTS!!!

Heheheheheh!!!!

Go get 'em Howard!

[iamjoy]

27. Dean's Comment Was Reckless

It gave the Republicans an opportunity to fight back and point out that Dubya has appointed the first African-American Secretary of State PLUS the first African-American woman to the post. Like him or not, Dubya has assembled a Cabinet that is ethnically diverse. He even wants to appoint the first Aftican American female to the Supreme Court (Janice Rodgers Brown). So, Dean's comment was foolish in that it left Democrats vulnerable to such a counter.

But it was not racist, and African Americans are disproportionately in low-paying jobs.

[woosh]

31. The question is

after this whole altercation, who's message was stronger? IMO Dean raised attention that African Americans are the ones STILL economically disadvantaged.

[pokercat999]

48. What?

You can't be serious. When just name one time the repugs needed an opportunity created by a dem to slander dems, lie about anything including the excuses to go to war or otherwise screw the American people. They do it on a regular basis without any excuse. Dean is standing on his hind feet and we should love it!


Put your spurs in their side Dr Dean, yehaaaaaaa!

[madfloridian]

49. The group he spoke to gave him a standing ovation.

The chair of the black caucus said she was there, and there was nothing to apologize for. Good for him for not playing their game.

[Merlin]

62. Reckless? Maybe that's why I love it! DEAN RULES!

Reckless, my ass.

It's the perfect non-rejoinderable comment. What are the republicans going to do, emphasize it? All they will accomplish is more attention on Dean's comment, and more awareness of just how true it is.

Grandstand Tokenism--as practiced by the republicans--is not the same as the hard work dems have done over the decades to promote opportunities, fairness and justice for minorities.

[zulchzulu]

28. If Chimpy was the same level of scrutiny, he'd be laughed out of WH

Dean probably had the line as a throwaway to get some chuckles in the room before he started his speech.

Why didn't the media focus with just as much sensitivity when Chimpy was flirting with someone in Europe where he said they "had nice eyes"...let alone all the other Bushisms along the way.

[fugop]

32. Give 'em hell, Howard!

Good on Howard Dean. I hope he keeps it up. So what if he offends a few people. I'm sick of Dems trying so desperately not to offend, to the point where too many people complain that Dems don't have any stance on anything.

If Dean continues to get reactions and responds to them strongly like this (i.e., no backing down, no more apologies, just throwing it back in their faces that they obviously don't get it), then I'm all for it. Anything that shows the rest of the country that Dems are NOT the lily-livered mushmouths that the media portrays them to be is fantastic! GIVE 'EM HELL, HOWARD!

[woosh]

33. smashmouth politics

all for it.

[hezekkia]

34. Go HoHo!

:yourock:

[Hamlette]

35. insensitive to minorities? No, insensitive to republicans

you'd think that the meanest bunch since Ghengis Khan wouldn't be so thin skinned when someone called them on it.

The hypocracy is unbelievable.

[Chicago Democrat]

37. That was an excellent Joke/Headline Grabber/Truth that is very

FUNNY!

GO DR DEAN!

[JerseygirlCT]

40. Apologizing in a situation like this -

when you've done absolutely nothing wrong -- only allows them to continue, and to act as if you DID do something wrong.

He's 100% right -- they don't want to talk about issues of substance, and they don't want to talk to him. They'd rather throw names around and attempt to embroil him in a stupid game.

[Ian David]

44. Howard Dean speaking to The National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce

"You think the Republican National Committee could get this many Gay Americans in a single room? Only if they were all The Vice President's daughter."





I would have said, "Only if they were all gay prostitutes posing as journalists," but I thought Mary Cheney would be funnier.

[raggedcompany]

41. Great stuff! Give 'em hell, Howard. nt

[Generator]

43. Go Dean!

I hear the Tom Petty song, I hear Bruce.

Oh, and fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

This whole country is one damn bad joke. Why the FUCK should our side continue to appolgize for the truth? Too damn bad it's not polite enough for you. I don't care anymore. I want to defeat these motherfuckers not have them like me.

[woosh]

46. yeah! what he said.

[candy331]

45. AN ANSWER, thank goodness, I have been waiting since I heard

this and have consistently posted that he needed to answer the repug hawkers pushing this.

[daleo]

47. Main stream media will twist his words no matter what.

He will just have to be himself, and the message will get through. The MSM is becoming more and more irrelevant anyway. Even editors of the NYT can sense that. The only way they can re-establish credibility is by laying off these tricks.

[patrice]

51. One of Dems biggest weaknesses is thinking they are right about us.

They're Wrong! Tell them so civilly.

[woosh]

55. i don't understand

what you're saying here

[patrice]

64. Dean doesn't accept their perspective on us. They are wrong.

It seems to me that responses are often toooooo shaped by the defensive. In order to be defensive you have to assume that they are right enough about you that you need to defend yourself on whatever THEIR point is. Proactively, move it back to them by not accepting their description of you, don't use their language about you. They are wrong. And you can take their description of you and show them and others how, with examples, it describes them more than it does you. Many of them are at least confused, if not out-right hypocrits. Describe.

[graywarrior]

53. Balls to the wall Dean

Hit them square between the eyes with the truth. They can dish it out, but goddammit, they can't take it.

[MrSlayer]

56. Good, he shouldn't apologize for telling the truth.

Screw them.

[cal04]

57. Keep it up Dean, some know they should be afraid

Dean's so-called "50-state strategy" could work. Look at what he plans to do in the reddest red state of them all, Nebraska. Last year - an election year - the DNC poured a paltry $12,000 into the state. Dean plans to pump $250,000 per year into Nebraska, starting this year. These funds will be used to promote city, county, state and federal candidates for office. His plan is to grow the farm team, and the GOP had better beware.

This is a state that has not supported a Democrat for president since Johnson swamped Goldwater in 1964. The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, 33 of the 49 state senators in its Unicameral Legislature, all three of its congressional representatives and one of its two U.S. Senators are Republicans.

However, Democrats do get elected. They do it by pretending to be something they are not. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey was a perfect example. As his 1994 GOP opponent was fond of saying, "Bob Kerrey comes home to Nebraska and talks like Rush Limbaugh, then goes back to Washington and votes like Ted Kennedy." Howard Dean plans to help elect thousands of candidates to office at every level. He will do it by changing the Democrat's message, not the substance, and Republicans had better pay close attention.

Contributing Author - Doug Patton
Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a political speech writer and public policy advisor at the federal, state and local levels. His weekly columns can be read in newspapers across the country and on www.GOPUSA.com, where he serves as the Nebraska Editor and as a member of the GOPUSA news team.
http://www.axcessnews.com/commentarygop_022405.shtml

[FredScuttle]

58. A DNC Chair who slaps the taste out the GOP's mouth? Priceless

God Bless Howard Dean

[Babel_17]

59. Dean should say .....

"I apologize for insinuating people of color would allow themselves to be used in a Republican National Committee photo-op."

;)

"Can we roll that tape of when Bush is saying 'You are my base.' to all the 'elite' fat cats?" <checks faces in audience>

"I stand by my original statement."

[neuvocat]

61. What do black republicans have to say about Robert Byrd?

Exactly: not a single thing.

[UrbScotty]

65. Go Howard!

Proud Deaniac since 2002!

YEARGH!

[Eloriel]

67. They are going to get TIRED of trying to make him backtrack

and eat crow.

Wonder how long that will take?


YEAAARRRGH!!

[madfloridian]

68. Steele needs to hush on this, Dean not playing the game.

Here is a longer article about this from the Baltimore Sun.
They really don't know how to handle it when someone stands up to them and does not take the bait.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-dean0224,1,5160192.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Pledging to "fight back" for being called a racist, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Thursday that he would not apologize for a statement he made early this month that Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele called "racially insensitive."

"Instead of making an apology, Dean criticized Republicans for what he sees as a failure to ensure that all people receive a good education, have food to eat and health care."

"I was called a racist in Maryland," said Dean, who was elected DNC chairman two weeks ago. "You don't apologize when people call you names. You fight back. But Steele said he never called Dean a "racist. I don't think he's a racist," Steele said. "He was being flippant and cute and wound up saying something boneheaded. A good number of us think he was racially insensitive."

And meanwhile Cummings compliments Dean, as did the chair of the black caucus...who said no apology needed.

SNIP..."Cummings said at the breakfast Thursday that he is excited about the direction of the Democratic Party under Dean's leadership. He makes it clear that he values every single human being," Cummings said....."END SNIP

I am glad Howard Dean is just not playing the game on this, as they will watch every word that comes out of his mouth and jump on him over everything. If he is too careful, he will lose the unscripted quality and sound just like the other Democrats who are so afraid of offending.