Gephardt on Dean: 'Manufactured anger'"fair-weather friend"false convictio

[papau]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/14/elec04.prez.main/index.html

Gephardt on Dean: 'Manufactured anger'
'No room for the cynical politics of ... false conviction'"fair-weather friend"
Wednesday, January 14, 2004 Posted: 3:31 PM EST (2031 GMT)

NEVADA, Iowa (CNN) -- Rep. Dick Gephardt blasted Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean in a sharply worded speech Wednesday, calling Dean a "fair-weather friend" of American workers and railing against "the cynical politics of manufactured anger."

<snip>Gephardt condemned Dean's support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) while Vermont's governor in the 1990s. He questioned the sincerity of Dean's campaign pledge to seek labor and environmental protections in new trade pacts.

"Howard Dean travels the country and yells and pounds the podium against NAFTA, against the secrecy of the Bush-Cheney White House and against insider corporate deals," Gephardt said. "This is the same Governor Dean who said he, quote, 'strongly supported NAFTA,' who won't release his records as governor and who wanted Vermont to, quote, 'overtake Bermuda as a tax haven for companies like Enron.' "

<snip>Dean's opposition to the war in Iraq and his criticism of congressional Democrats like Gephardt for their support of the invasion have helped propel him to the head of the Democratic pack, but have raised concerns that his hard-hitting critiques of President Bush would turn off voters in November.

<snip>In his most pointed attack on Dean to date, Gephardt questioned the sincerity of Dean's stances on numerous issues. "To me, there is no room for the cynical politics of manufactured anger and false conviction," said Gephardt, the former House minority leader.<snip>

Gephardt defended his support for the invasion in a Tuesday speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He said responsibility for "a deadly quagmire" in Iraq since the April ouster of Saddam Hussein rests with the Bush administration, not Democrats who supported the war "on good faith and with America's security at heart." <snip>

[LuminousX]

1. The last dying gasp of a star winking out of sight

[IndianaGreen]

2. Kucinich voted against NAFTA and, unlike Gephardt...

Dennis voted against the war in Iraq.

I don't know why the unions won't endorse Dennis, unless they fear that Dennis cannot be bought.

[edzontar]

3. Gephardt--joined at the hip to the Chimpwar.

Hopefully, he is toast.

[Demobrat]

4. Manufactured anger?

Sorry Dick, the anger at you and your ilk is real. Which is why Dean is kicking your ass. He speaks for the majority. You don't.

[Cocoa]

5. gets in a good shot at Bush too

"When it comes to the economy, this MBA president has no Plan B," he said. "But then, George W. Bush ran three oil companies into the ground before he became president."

:toast:

[stickdog]

6. Thanks for equating Dean's records to Bush's historically unprecendented

secrecy!

Thanks for equating Dean's attempts to lure business to sleepy VT with out of control insider trading and Bush using the federal treasury as his personal graft empire!

Does Gephardt have any idea what he's saying? How can HE evet hope to attack Bush on secrecy and insider corporate deals if Bush has him on record as equating both to the kind of stuff state executives normally do?

Or wasn't Gephardt ever planning to question Bush on secrecy or corporate cronyism?

[MGKrebs]

7. I don't know about Dean's, but my anger is real.

Here's hoping that Dean can manufacture some rightous indignation, fabricate some grassroots support, create some voter awareness, conjure some electoral votes, and imagine that he KICKS BUSH'S ASS as well as he "pretends" to be angry.

[goforit]

33. MGKrebs?.....I like the way you think.

Quite frankly....I am a little more livid than Dean is.

[Blue Gardener]

8. Way too negative for me

Crap like this pushes me farther and farther from Gephardt all the time. I will most certainly NOT caucus for him on Monday.

[goforit]

34. Gepthart has never bee for the Democrats, only himself!!!

And his self centerness is his biggest falling.

[Dubyawatchers]

9. I read his newest book

By Dick Gephardt:
Learning to walk again without a Spine

The companion book

By Dick Gephardt's Spine:
Learning to live without a Dick

Both available at Iwannabee.com

That's all I'll say.

[terrisel]

10. IIRC Gephardt was a Fair Weather Friend of the Voters in 2000

During the post election recount.

[Cocoa]

12. not having a dick means what?

I'm sure you don't mean cowardice, because that would be awfully insulting to women. :shrug:

[IndianaGreen]

20. Bawhahahahaha

Excellent! The spineless Dickless Gephardt!

President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution



President George W. Bush along with bipartisan leaders from the House and Senate announced the Joint Resolution to authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces against Iraq. "The statement of support from the Congress will show to friend and enemy alike the resolve of the United States," President Bush said during the announcement in the Rose Garden, Wednesday, October 2, 2002. White House photo by Paul Morse.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-7.html

And since we are speaking of anger, here is another anger-producing event:



In the above photo you can see Democratic Senators Leahy, Reid, and Graham witnessing the death of the Bill of Rights as our Glorious Fuehrer signs the PATRIOT Act. Notice Leahy holding a camera that he used to take pictures of the signing ceremony.

SHAME!

[Cocoa]

22. graphics and repetition

in place of thought. More propaganda than discussion, really.

edit: namecalling, too, and non sequitur.

[IndianaGreen]

23. Just trying to get around Americans' lack of long-term memory

Most Americans seem to only have short-term memory--any event that is not being shown TV, is quickly forgotten. No wonder we forgot the meaning and importance of the Bill of Rights.

Or perhaps Americans are beginning to show symptoms of the same selective memory that Third Reich Germans had at the end of World War II.

[sendero]

30. Don't forget....

...

Rose Garden Betrayal and its Cost

By Dickie, u r history!

[cprise]

11. Gephardt: The politics of hysteria?

We know Dean supported NAFTA. Like Gore and others, he changed his mind.

THAT is a political victory for our side!

Congress gets no excuse for war "in good faith". Gep is either an insipid enabler, or a slow half-wit.

[Sagan]

13. "manufactured anger"?

No, I'm pretty sure I was goddam angry before I even knew who Howard Dean was.

And one of the people I was angry at, incidentally, was Dick Gephardt for doing such a piss-poor job as a national Democratic leader.

[calimary]

35. Yeah, Gep - I've got yer manufactured anger - RIGHT HERE!!!

I'm a Dean supporter precisely BECAUSE he's given a voice to that anger. Sure didn't hear peep out of the likes of Gephardt and his band of pink tutu pals when we needed it!

[dnbmathguy]

14. It's true

Gephardt has been against NAFTA ever since its inception. The only other candidate who can say that is Kucinich. Whatever Howard Dean meant or felt at the time, he made an incredibly poor choice of words in describing what he wanted Vermont to become. He's not making things easier on himself now, either.

As for the war? I have my misgivings about it, but I admire the fact that Gephardt has stood his ground, and voted for the $87 billion. It shows that he's willing to stand behind what he says, and not leave the troops hanging out to try. While the timing of the war was suspect, and although Bush has botched practically every aspect of it, having Saddam Hussein out of power is not a negative.

[Melinda]

16. Geppie's a spineless POS Bush ass-kissing warmonger.

And he can KMA too.

[Cheswick2.0]

17. he "stands behind what he says" is a piss poor excuse for what he did

in voting for IRW and going to the rose garden for a photo op when it was signed.
Now he is suggesting that dedicated Democrats and others who are going to canvas IOWA are relly going to vote illegally in the caucus. He should have denounced his managers statement and fired the guy. Instead he acted like a slimeball and continued the insinuation.

[Zhade]

28. Indeed - hell, HITLER stood behind what he said. So, all is forgiven?

Hardly.

How anyone can be proud of a person "standing up for what he says" in the face of overwhelming evidence of lies and treason is beyond me.

[Cocoa]

37. here's why it's good

because he's running for office, and voters have no doubt what his position is. He's not tricking anyone into thinking he's antiwar.

With Dean, I personally have no idea what his true feeling on Iraq is. I'm inclined to think he would be one of the most hawkish of all the candidates. He has no real antiwar history.

One thing for sure, what Dean SAYS about his postions doesn't mean a whole lot.

[dustypen]

46. good point

i would prefer to know up front what plans these folks have before I send them to washingtonfor 4 years!!!!

Dean won't be able to move to the center effectively so Gep would be a better choice in the long run

[IndianaGreen]

48. Gephardt supports the war and has innocent blood on his hands

If you want to nominate a warmongering Vichy Democrat for President, don't expect to get many of us to bother voting for him in the Fall.

[dansolo]

38. Gephardt stabbed the Democrats in the back

He brokered a deal with the White House without informing the rest of the Democratic Leaders. That is why he has always been at the bottom of my list with Lieberman.

[Sagan]

18. Ok fine

He was FOR the war. He has backed it up. But he shouldn't be surprised that he is nowhere near the front-runner, then. The war is immensely unpopular with Democrats because it was WRONG. And by supporting it, Gep was WRONG.

[Lorien]

24. "not hanging the troops out to (d)ry"?

Oh please! The troops still have to buy or make their own body armor! That $87 billion was a boon to Halliburton and other Bush* contributing war profiteers. BushCo and the likes of Gephardt have been screwing our troops from the very start of this illegal invasion! Most of the troops can't even get bottled water, for God's sake!

BTW- it's not the timing of the war alone that is suspect, it's the RATIONAL for the war. Saddam was not a threat, and he sure as hell wasn't worth 500 American lives and 22,000 lives of innocent Iraqi civilians!

[Zhade]

27. This statement just floors me.

As for the war? I have my misgivings about it...

Gee, you only have "misgivings" about an illegal invasion and occupation based entirely on lies?

Surely you must have used the wrong word here.

[pasadenaboy]

31. what is noble

about not changing your mind when you are wrong?

[Cheswick2.0]

15. I don't know how I could be more disapointed in Gephardt

He has suggested that Democrats are going to Iowa to vote illegally. He should shut the hell up and go away.

[Oreegone]

19. It is too Sad

I actually had some respect for Gephardt till I watched him this morning. What the hell is going on does he go to the same doctor as Limbaugh??

[GregW]

21. GregW on Gephardt: Milquetoast

milquetoast

n : a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive

[revcarol]

25. Gee, I had been looking forward to

Dean's "anger of the day" sound-bite.

[Zhade]

26. The funniest part of the whole sad story:

Gephardt defended his support for the invasion in a Tuesday speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Well, we all know how forthright and dedicated to the ideals of America the CFR is!

:eyes:

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

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

[pasadenaboy]

32. Geps gonna get beat

like a red headed step child.

(sorry, I couldn't resist)

[Zhade]

36. I'm not even for Dean, and that's the funniest thing I've ever heard!

I'll eat my words, should it happen.

Thankfully, I doubt I'll have to.

[Voltaire99]

39. Obscurity beckons Gephardt

Gephardt's outburst is a kind of neurotic farewell, the expression of one so embittered by his failures that he cannot help but rail at Dean for eclipsing him. Dean represents what Gephardt, a willing apprentice in a long tradition of bureaucratic self-effacement, long ago sacrificed: the hope of speaking one's own mind.

Even so, it's pretty shocking to watch him carry on this way. The meek Dick has worked up more fury in the past few weeks for Dean than he ever did in twelve years of practicing his famously eager "bipartisanship" under Reagan and the two Bushes.

Well, he's had his little say now, and must be winded. Bye, bye, Dick: we hardly knew ye, and I suspect, ye hardly knew ye, either. ;-)

[Cocoa]

40. here't the "embittered", "neurotic" Gep

[radfringe]

41. missing the obvious

much has been made of Dean's "anger" (BTW-not a political endorsement)

but the obvious has been missed

If the anger did not exist there would be no anger to tap into - it's like saying the oil companies created oil - no, oil companies just find the oil that already exists and tap into it

Dean found that there was widespread anger and tapped into it -- unfortunately the other candidates realized this too late and tried their own version of "anger" in order to play catch-up -- when that didn't work they attack Dean

and what the hell is wrong with being angry at Bush* Inc? If I say something critical of Bush* the reich-wingers accuse me of being unpatriotic, and on the left I am accused of being angry :mad:

so is the message "if you are critical of Bush* then you are a angry unpatriotic person" ???

guess that makes me both!

ANGRY ARMS INC

[cleofus1]

42. consulting

So do you think there is a check in the mail for old Dick? Bush should be paying him a consulting fee for all the great ideas old Dick is feeding the GOP campaign. Big bucks to be made in that consulting position. With all that cash maybe old Dick could buy himself a set of eyebrows (ones that show up on TV would be nice). I actually do like and respect old Dick. He's been a good soldier in the political wars...always showing up on the right side. Right now he is doing the devil's work by damaging Dean. He should be concentrating on bashing Bush...he would get a lot more votes that way. sigh....


http://www.650keni.com/ortega.html

[Nlighten1]

43. FU Dick!

Why don't you and Joe go and get a room?

[Khephra]

44. I was watching the Gephardt speech tonight

And I sort of felt sorry for the man. His supporters in the crowd latched on to possibly the worst chant you could get for Gephardt:

"We want Dick!"
"We want Dick!"
"We want Dick!"


:evilgrin:

True story.

[stickdog]

45. Talk about cutting off your eyebrows to spite your face!

[dusty64]

47. If only he had

aimed such nastiness and anger at the rethugs when he was in a position of power in Congress. This is exactly the reason I do not support ANY of the nominees from the House or Senate with the exception of Kucinich. I'm looking forward to his hopeful asskicking in Iowa and his soon to follow dropping out of the race. He could have run for the Missouri Senate where he actually could have done some good for the opposition, but ........................