uh oh, looks like another issue for Dr Dean

[arewethereyet]

seems like he may not have been quite as anti domestic violence in the past as these days...

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/Investigation/dean_domestic_abuse_040114-1.html

[WillyBrandt]

1. What a bunch of shit--do you really believe this crap?

Go to atrios.blogspot.com to see a good takedown of the hack doing the smear job you linked to.

Fucking worthless media. Do you really think there's anything here, except some wingnuttery?

[arewethereyet]

12. I don't believe much from ABC but they're reporting it

and that will have to be addressed.

Now you could whack on me or you could take this as a flare and speak to ABC about it.

I for one have emailed Disney (who ownes ABC) investor relations and wondered, as a stock holder, how this sort of thing gets reported ?

But you do whatever feels more appropriate to you.

[DuctapeFatwa]

15. Isn't it a matter of public record? If the story is false, Dean should sue

ABC.

[David Dunham]

2. More Very Disturbing News Relating to Dean

[candy331]

4. Dupe

[jmaier]

5. Do you have anything to add to any

thread on this forum but some sort of nasty drive-by zinger? Just curious.

[mouse7]

10. More information-less posts from Dunham.

Hit and run shouts don't register with anyone.

[RetroLounge]

30. Oh look, it's you again, on every thread, blasting Dean

So who is your candidate and why?

[jmaier]

3. I support Wes Clark

but I do not support this thread. I'm pretty tired of every new or retread negative headline on Dean being posted with alacrity by a Clark supporter. It contributes to the negative view that many have toward an exceptional Presidential candidate that we indulge in these silly games of gotcha and look, the media said something bad about X.

Wes Clark is an extraordinary person who will make an extraordinary President. Frankly, he deserves better.

If you aren't a Clark supporter, well, then ... um ... there. I meant what I said anyway.

[WillyBrandt]

6. I don't believe this is a Clark supporter

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the poster is a Edwards supporter.

In any case, the point stands. This is crap.

[jmaier]

9. I was afraid that might be the case

after I already vented. It's so hard for us relative newcomers to keep all of the names straight!

If this is an Edwards supporter, the comments still stand. Edwards is running a wonderfully positive campaign! LOL

[EllieDem]

7. There's a weird story "developing" on Drudge

right now saying Joe Trippi (Dean campaign manager) threatened to pull the ABC reporter off Dean's campaign if they ran that story.....this is getting more and more bizarre

[mouse7]

13. Trippi would be acting properly

Dean left the State of Vermont open to lawsuits from this trooper because of how fast Dean got this trooper off his security team once the police were involved.

For ABC to twist that into Dean supporting domestic violence would show a clear agenda by the "reporter" toward fraudulent reporting.

Yes, I said fraudulent. To commit fraud. I know exactly what the word means.

[mouse7]

8. This smear handled on this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=314191

ABC is trying to smear Dean for not taking action against this member of his security team when the woman involved didn't even call the police for years. Dean let the trooper go within a month of the police being called, acting so quickly to toss the trooper off his team that he may have acted improperly in not waiting longer.

Repeat: Dean acted SO quickly to remove this guy once the police were involved that he may have left the State of Vermont open to lawsuits.

[LuminousX]

11. Wow, this is like the third or fourth thread regarding this

And each and every one of the threads have been called crap. This one is no exception. Read the article and it clearly shows Dean couldn't possibly have known about the abuse.

But you would like to think that of him, wouldn't you? You are very eager to think the worst of him. Why? Examine that part of yourself because it is very disturbing.

[KaraokeKarlton]

14. I see some people didn't get the hint

why GD 2004 wasn't immediately re-opened. I think it was a pretty clear message sent my the admins that they are sick of dealing with this kind of stupid shit.

Carry on...

[madrchsod]

16. i like the bash

clinton posts better-dean`s are to boring...dam look before you leap...

[digno dave]

17. s-t-r-e-t-c-h

and i'm not even voting for the guy.

[LizW2]

18. Keep it coming

By the time October rolls around, there will be absolutely nothing left for Rove to throw at Dean.

Rove exhorting staff to find something, ANYTHING, on Dean:

Rove: "Come on, people! DIG! Give me something juicy, something that will really f**k this guy!"

Staffer 1: "Okay, the sealed records?"

Rove: "No. Ancient history. Everybody's heard it and nobody gives a shit. What else?"

Staffer 2: "Domestic violence?"

Rove: (hopefully) He beat his wife?

Staffer 2: "Well, no, but there was this state employee..."

Rove: "No, dammit. What else?"

Staffer 3: "He lied on some form and said his brother was a ..."

Rove: "No."

Staffer 4: "His wife won't take Medicaid ..."

Rove: "They've debunked that one about forty times, you moron."

Staffer 5: "He called the Congress cockroaches."

Rove: (losing it) "Idiot! WE call the Congress cockroaches! And a whole bunch of other things! Come on, people! THINK!"

Staffer 6: "He's too liberal?"

Rove: "No."

Staffer 1 again: "He's really a conservative masquerading as a liberal?"

Rove: (head in hands) "No."

Staffer 2 again: "He's too short and has no neck?"

Rove: (fixes Staffer 2 with icy stare)

Staffer 3 again: (in a small voice) "He's very...angry?"

Rove: (beginning to bang head softly on desk) "No."

Staffer 4 again: "I think I've got it."

Everyone: (looks at Staffer 4. A hush falls over the room.)

Staffer 4: "He dodged the draft during the Vietnam War."

Everyone in room: "NOOOOOOOOO!" (pelting Staffer 4 with pens and books until he runs away)

[Pax Argent]

21. ROTFLMAO!!!

This was great!! Welcome to DU!

:yourock:

[LizW2]

25. Thanks

Actually, I've been here a while, but my ISP had a glitch and I got logged out and then my password wouldn't work, so I had to (lowers voice and glances around)
.....create a new account.:wow:

[bitchkitty]

19. And here we go!

On edit - never mind. Goodbye.

[adadem]

20. Yes, this is digging

a little too deep. Domestic violence is easily hidden within families for heavens sake. Dean couldn't have possibly known what was going on behind closed doors in an employee's home.

[msanger]

22. didn't george bush buy an abortion for somebody?

how come we aren't wasting space talking about that?

[LizW2]

23. I'm not sure how much digging it took

for ABC to come up with a disgruntled former employee. If I read this right, it is a case of no good deed going unpunished. The guy's lawyer asked Dean to help the guy out in a custody battle. Dean did. Dean gets a threatening phone call from a friend of the wife, claiming that the guy is an unfit parent, but not mentioning spousal abuse.

Three years later the guy is investigated for domestic violence. Dean immediately places him on administrative leave, and when the allegation proves true, fires him.

Dean runs for President and the guy, who admits hitting his wife, sees his chance to get back at Dean for firing him. If you know anything about abusers, you know that nothing is ever their fault.

I love ABC's sidebar on the story: "Should Dean have known...?" WTF? Should he have known? Yes, it would have been great if he had known. Thing is, their story clearly says that he didn't know and that when he found out, he took action.

My sister-in-law once dated a gym teacher who turned out to be a child molester and went to prison. I guess I can never be President now. Because maybe I should have known, you know?:(

[DemBones DemBones]

24. A couple of points: 1) Despite all the complaining that this

is an old story, a dupe, etc., I didn't see it in its previous incarnations, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I have noticed that Dean supporters get upset when something negative about their guy is posted more than once, ignoring the fact that people come online at different times so repetitions are inevitable. You'd be upset if the news programs only reported a story once, wouldn't you?

2) The recounting of the story here doesn't bear much resemblance to the story I read at ABC. I'll see how it develops, but my initial impression was just that Dean shouldn't have tried to help this trooper get child custody in his divorce if he didn't know all that was going on. Bad judgement is all it seems to be.

BUT THEN I noticed this:

"A spokesman for Dean said the governor's office received formal notification of the Madore investigation but the document could not be found in a search by ABCNEWS of the governor's files."

"The Dean spokesman would not say if the Madore investigation documents were among those sealed by Dean's staff."

That could be trouble. When he's claimed to be protecting people's privacy, I don't think Dean has meant he'd protect the privacy of a wife beater. It could look that way now, though.

[LizW2]

26. Hmmm

Quote: "'The Dean spokesman would not say if the Madore investigation documents were among those sealed by Dean's staff.'

That could be trouble. When he's claimed to be protecting people's privacy, I don't think Dean has meant he'd protect the privacy of a wife beater. It could look that way now, though."

It's funny how we see things differently. I thought this was exactly the kind of instance where Dean would want to protect privacy. This is sordid stuff. It is damaging to this guy's reputation. Why would Dean just voluntarily release it?

Now, of course, since the guy himself made the charges public, it's a moot point. But what if he hadn't? Wouldn't it have been a shitty thing for Dean to release these documents for the dirt diggers to pour over and spread across the news pages? Wouldn't you be pissed at a former employer who released such damaging information about you just spare himself some potential political criticism?

I have to hand it to ABC, though. This is a juicy political smear. And their timing is classic.

[CWebster]

27. What a hit piece this was

Who the hell does ABC work for? Rove? Too pull this crap at this stage of the game was a deliberate act of sabotage. Gee, wouldn't it be swell if they had enough of a allegiance and conscious for the country that they would have at least ONCE fulfilled their responsibility and held the Bush administration accountable in more than a passing mention.

[FubarFly]

28. I agree, this is a NON-story, and the fact the ABC

would run it, while ignoring so much ACTUAL b*shco corruption is outrageous. Any non-biased, thinking person who reads the story carefully will understand my point. The issue itself isn't worth wasting my time trying to defend, but hopefully, people will now be more aware of the media's deliberate attempt to game this election by tearing down the frontrunner, and turning this into a horserace.

It is a point I hope we will all take to heart.

[Cheswick2.0]

29. spam

bullshit spam at that

[copithorne]

32. This is total crap

It's shocking how corrupt the media is.

No Democrat should be trafficking in this kind of outrageous smear.

[stickdog]

31. Wow! Dean can not see into people's hearts nor through their walls!

Hang him!

[Hep]

33. Domestic violence dropped significantly under Dean

Proof that his policies work.

Keep clowning, we'll keep demonstrating how you're wrong.

[zulchzulu]

34. At first I thought it was a stupid story, but after seeing what Dean did..

This paragraph in the story made me wonder why Dean went this far into the case:

"On May 23, 1997, Dean inserted himself in the case, filing a three-page affidavit at White's request for use in a custody hearing, in which he described Madore as "a firm but gentle disciplinarian" and a "wonderful parent."

According to Diamond, it was a highly unusual move. "I'm sure that there are very few cases on record where a governor might have done that," he told ABCNEWS."

Why did Dean stick his nose into this lose-lose situation? Odd...

[LizW2]

35. The guy asked him to

file an affidavit vouching for him in a custody case. Obviously, he didn't tell Dean, "Hey, by the way, I beat my wife when we were married." The guy wasn't investigated for abuse until three years later, and when Dean found out, he placed him on administrative leave, and fired him when the allegations proved to be true.

The attempts to smear Dean with this are ridiculous, and show just how desperate some are.

I don't know what to think about ABC for running with this non-story. It depresses me to realize that the major media actively tries to manipulate elections with smears like this. I expect it from the cable networks and the right-wing pundits, but from a major network? What a sorry state of affairs.

[chocolateeater]

36. Well, at the time he filed the affidavit,

he thought it was just a divorce/custody case. It was three years later the allegations of abuse came out.
As to why he agreed to file the affidavit in the first place, he probably saw it as being an employee/employer relationship, not a GOVERNOR/lowly security person relationship.