Who's Afraid of Howard Dean

[RaulGroom]

But wait!" I hear the hue and cry rising up from the assembled masses even as I type this article. "Karl Rove would love to run against Dean - it's been in all the papers!" And indeed it has.

Papers like the Weekly Standard, which has also run stories that breathlessly (and speciously) reported that Dean had called for Osama bin Laden's life to be spared - if Bush can ever find the guy, of course. Papers like the National Review, whose Approved Script on the subject of Mr. Howard Dean not only includes Rove's allegedly ungenerous assessment of the Governor's chances but also the cheery allegation that Dean hates Christians and that Vermont under his governorship is now officially the Tenth Circle of Hell.

Newsmax.com ran a story in early November suggesting that Rove was actively campaigning for Dean. Just Thursday The New York Post went to press with the most unusual take on the subject I've seen to date - "GOP TRIES TO BOOST DEAN BY BURYING HIM." The idea behind the article is just what the headline implies - that Rove's recent TV attacks on Dean are an attempt to make him more attractive to Democratic primary voters. In fact, it seems practically every one of Karl Rove's favorite newspapers is constantly telling us what a pushover Howard Dean would be in the general election.

A lot of naïve Dems have apparently fallen for all of this hokum. I still hear a lot of moaning from people who ought to know better that "Howard Dean is the next McGovern." Perhaps these people have forgotten the real story of George McGovern and Ed Muskie. It's an important parallel, and apt, in its own way, so here's a quick refresher:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/12/11_dean.html

Sorry for the shameless self-promotion, but I am very interested to see what people, both pro-Dean and pro-others, have to say about this piece. Look forward to hearing everyone's opinion.

Your Man In the Capital

[trogdor]

1. You da man, Raul!

I was a kid when Ed Muskie was running for President, so I don't remember squat about him. I do, however, remember being creeped out whenever Richard Nixon appeared on television. For awhile, I was saying that I'd prefer Dick to the guy we have now, but Nixon never had a majority in Congress to help him out with his dirty work. If he did, surely he would have lasted until 1977, to the eternal detriment of the nation. Who knows what he was actually capable of?

The way I see it, we have a chance, albeit a very slim one, to send today's Nixon packing before he can do really lasting damage to the country. Howard Dean is that paper-thin chance.

I remember a week or so ago, I overheard Rush Limbaugh (in a rare lucid moment) crowing about how the Democratic establishment is crapping their pants because if Howard Dean wins the nomination and takes over the party, he'll clean house and it was going to be a lot of fun for all 20 million(?) dittoheads to watch. I suppose this was to spur the Democratic establishment into action or something (It sure did. Thanks, Al.). You see, the right is trying desperately to sow the seeds of Dean fear in our ranks. Problem is, what doesn't kill him is only going to make him stronger. He's already nearly filled the $500,000 Thank You Al Gore bat that was supposed to take until Sunday. The people who are feeding this camapign have no intention of backing down, even if Rush Limbaugh pretends to be interested in what happens to Terry McAuliffe if he wins.

The really scary part (for Republicans): Most of us who feed the bats are nowhere near the $2000 max, unlike most of the people who are stuffing Dumbya's war chest. I just heard Dumbya will be holding the very last of his fundraisers for 2003 this weekend. I suspect he's probably hit bottom, otherwise he'd be drilling for cash all through the Christmas holiday season.

I want to know what Howard Dean is doing this New Year's Eve.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. The GOP is

No doubt about it

[Cassandra]

3. Loved it! Thank you!

Knowing that Rove would do or say anything to avoid a real challenge has me want to concentrate on someone who can do well with Democrats. Frankly, I think Dean, Clark, or Kerry (if he'd run a better campaign) would beat Bush easily. The notion of Rove being afraid of Gephardt, when I first heard it, was so laughable I thought the person who said it on TV was insane. I think Edwards and Kucinich are doing well for themselves and should run again. Actually all the candidates have contributed positively to the collective debate (even Lieberman, by showing us what doesn't work). The most impressive thing for me about Dean ( aside from his anti-Iraq War stance and his willingness to fight back ) has been his organization; these are people who are campaigning, organizing, contributing and VOTING. If Democrats are going to be the party of the people, we have to include the people, however messy that might sometimes be. The lack of passion in the current leadership has been distressing; we need the work of volunteers across the country and Dean has been the one who's energized most of them in a way that shows how a candidate who's not rich can hope to win. That's been a great gift to the nation.
BTW, this comment was disturbing:
" the nomination of the wildly popular Robert Kennedy, who was tragically killed during the primary race in one of the most bizarre assassinations in world history. "
I suppose I should be grateful that Bush has so pissed off the CIA that it would be harder to set up an assassination now, than in previous years.

[glitch]

4. I would really like more info on the dirty tricks they pulled on

Ed Muskie. I remember them pulling them at the time, but I would like more details. Do you have any book recommendations or links?

Thanks for posting, great article!

[RaulGroom]

6. Suggested reading

Well, of course you should read the Good Doctor's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. In fact, if you haven't read that and you are older than 21, shame!! Shame!!!

Whether it will teach you all that much about what Nixon did to Ed is another story. For that, specifically, read this interview with George Mitchell, Muskie's campaign manager. It doesn't give a laundry list of everything that happened, but it gives a good sense of what form the effort took. It literally was an effort to break Muskie down emotionally to the point that he would lose it in public and be discredited.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mit0int-3

That's a link to page three where he's talking about Muskie, but read the whole interview. It will make you a better person, and sexier. And thinner.

[glitch]

7. I am humbly shamed

Thanks for the links! I am off now to get thinner.

Edited to say: what a wonderful interview with George Mitchell, and what a great site. Going back to the Gallery of Achievers now.

[bemildred]

5. You Da Man, Raul. nt