Fellow Dean-critics, he's not racist, + for once doesn't need to apologize

[Bombtrack]

I am one person who believes that there is no worse state for a democrat to run from than Vermont, and one of the reasons for that is it's small, hemogenious population.

But it's hypocritical to highlight that (potential) general election weakness, the fact that he might not have as much credibity on alot of issues because he comes to Vermont, and then for Sharpton to imply racism or soft-racism, for such thin and empty reasons, of not having minority cabinet members in a state where that's, well, a natural occurance.

We don't know how many minorities, if any applied, and it's the worst kind of devisivness, to use this "absense of going out of one's way to pander to or be sensitive to a group, = presence of hostility or maliciousness towards a group" argument.

It's similar to what some DUer's who happen to be, say, gay, disabled, or obese, who imply that other people don't have a right to disagree with them or something because they aren't these things themselves, and they "don't know what it's like".

It's not really the same thing, persay, but it's in the same family of pander-requiring, victim-mindedness, among alot of segments on the left, that require the democratic party to pander to them as much as say, the christian right and the NRA require the republicans to pander to them.

Anyway I think Dean has alot of huge flaws that we shouldn't stop talking about, and we aren't going to start washing away the allusion of infallibity about Dean with his supporters if we use this argument which is classic "race-hustler" Sharpton.

[slinkerwink]

1. thank you for saying it's a nonissue which it is

[lib 4 all]

12. agreed

total non-issue

[Renew Deal]

15. It is a non-issue

but it is becoming an issue. The media is going nuts with this.

[_Jumper_]

2. Dupe

n/t

[bitchkitty]

17. This is not a dupe. n/t

[_Jumper_]

3. dupe

.

[Bucky]

4. I didn't see the debate. I criticize Dean at the drop of a hat. But this

If this is what you're saying it is--an implication that Dean isn't somehow fully committed to inclusion and affirmative action--this is simply unacceptable. If your take is accurate, Sharpton's finally showing his true colors. I thought he had put his race baiting days behind him. He's a man of excellent wit and ability and he should be acting like someone who can bring the party together.

I will continue to slam Dean everytime he does something wrong. But using race to attack a Democrat is more than lame. This is one topic where we all--Lieberman included--are fully united.

I know that Sharpton doesn't like Dean personally. At Clark's first debate, I believe that Sharpton's comment "better a new Democrat than these old Democrats who've been acting like Republicans all along" was directed at Dean. But if you're gonna call race, given this country's history, you damn well better be able and willing to back it up. I'll bet a month's cheeseburger budget that Sharpton can't back it up where Dean is concerned.

[_Jumper_]

5. Dupe

n/t

[_Jumper_]

6. Credibility, electability

The problem with this is that it destroys Dean's credibility on racial issues--especially affirmative action--among most of America. We ofen fail to realize that the vast majority of people in America don't think the Republicans are evil fascists. Dean can outduel Bush on race among DU'ers but he will no longer be able to do it among Middle America and moderate, swing voters. This further weakens his electability.

We need to nominate a candidate that can stand toe-to-toe with Bush and convince moderate, swing voters that they will make a better president than Bush. Governor Dean is not that candidate and this is another reason why. Race is one of our best issues and he will be, at best, neutralized on it because of his record as governor.

[BurtWorm]

20. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOring!

With all due respect. ;) We need to excite people to get out the vote. We do not need to turn people off by promising we're not a threat to the status quo. The status quo sucks. It needs to be threatened.

And don't forget Al "the people not the powerful" Gore beat Bush.

[snyttri]

7. The issue is gaffes. He handled it poorly. He should been prepared

with answers on his cabinet minority record going into the Brown and Black Presidential Forum.

He didn't do well in the rest of the debate either.

[bearfartinthewoods]

8. bingo...racist ...no. CLUELESS....YES!

lots of people here feel that the dean supporters never see any negatives in their candidate. well that's not good but it's no where near as bad as it is when the campaign itself does the same thing.

the idea that they didn't see this coming and weren't prepared is unbelievable.

we are sooooo screwed.

[Kahuna]

10. And plus, Sharpton never implied that Dean is rasict...

Just "clueless" as you put it, and not in a position to instruct anyone on race. It's like of like the Bible gaffe. Don't pretend to be an expert on something you have very little knowledge about. I personally have been waiting for Sharpton to nail Dean on this. I'm glad that he finally did.

[adadem]

21. Absolutely correct.

Let's see...6 terms with 5 cabinet members = 11 chances to appoint a minority...of any color.

[Bombtrack]

14. Ok, I admit I missed the debate

.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

16. exactly. where was the answer?........

the man's not got it figured out.

[Kahuna]

9. When was Sharpton say Dean was racist???

I never heard that. He merely pointed out what needed to be pointed out. Dean likes to say he is the "only" candidate who talks about race, but all he ever does was talk about it. Dean talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. What's wrong with that? It's true.

[Kahuna]

11. self delete

deleted

[ShimokitaJer]

13. Well, I never thought I'd ever agree with one of your posts, Bombtrack...

But I certainly do here. Thanks for showing the class to put this non-issue in the proper perspective.

Given how heated the discussion gets on DU sometimes, it is easy to sense a weak point and plunge ahead with an attack without really thinking about the consequences. In the process, we become what we despise, adopting Freeper tactics, engaging in hypocritical attacks, and alienating those with whom we need to have common cause come November.

Of course, I don't think you've suddenly become a Dean supporter, but that's the point. You don't need to agree with someone to treat them fairly. That's a lesson that I and everyone else on this board needs to keep in mind. Thank you.

[mmonk]

18. Agree

Dean is not a racist and it shouldn't be implied.

[edzontar]

19. Agree, and thanks for your sanity on this point.

nt

[adadem]

22. I agree with the premise

that he is not racist or that he should apologize. But he did try to weasel out of an honest answer and Sharpton called him on it...that is good...that's what should happen in these debates in order that the vetting process exposes the best and the worst of each candidate.
Dean did not handle this well...clearly was not prepared for such a challenge. At one point I thought he might explode. I will give him credit for at least answering honestly at the end.

[beaconess]

23. And if he gets the nomination, he'll be a better candidate as a result

It's better that this issue be brought up now while Dean can still recover and address the questions than to have it come up in a debate with Bush in October. Can you imagine the damage that would be done to Dean and the Democrats if this had just laid dormant only to be used by Bush this fall. It could have been devastating.

This is one of the reasons why it is important to challenge all of the candidates and why we shouldn't give a free ride to any of them.