Chris Ruddy defending Howard Dean

[RedSox02]

Anyone familiar with the Clinton Chronicles and Richard mellon Scaife might recognize Ruddy's name, or the website he runs, Newsmax.com.

Surprisingly, Ruddy has suddenly gone out of his way to stick up for Dean. In two columns this past week, Ruddy has made the following statements.

I must give Howard Dean his due and cheer him on.


In regards to Dean's scream, "It was over the top, unpresidential; Dean agrees to that. It was not so bad as to disqualify him from the presidency, however."

Howard Dean's real crime is not that he is too liberal or can't win in November. His crime is that he is not part of the inside-the-Beltway gang headed by McAuliffe. He owes them nothing and they cannot control him.

The one thing I like about Dean is that there has not been one whiff of an accusation of political corruption during his entire public life.

I have been leaning towards Kerry for a while, but it pains me to see what Howard Dean has had to go through lately. I never thought I would agree with Chris Ruddy on much, but I think he's right here. It has not only been Republicans who have been hard on Dean, it has been the media and many mainstream Democrats.

http://www.newsmax.com/ruddy/

[LuminousX]

1. You call that a defense?

He's agenda is showing near the bottom where he suggest Dean voters not stay with the party. His goal is to split the party, create internecine warfare. Don't use Right Wingers to beat up on fellow Democrats. It is uncomely.

[lancdem]

3. Exactly

No RWer would ever support any of our candidates unless it benefits Bush somehow.

[RedSox02]

6. No doubt he has other motives

It is pretty comical to see them actually "endorse" Joe Lieberman. As far as what he said about Dean though, (not corruptable, honest politican, media being unfair to him) all of it is pretty true. Your right though, there is an agenda hidden in there.

[lancdem]

2. Hmmm...

Chris Ruddy sticking up for Howard Dean. If I'm Dean, I'd say thanks, but no thanks.

[AP]

4. Did Dean use a Cato Inst. love letter to defend himself against a Club

for Growth ad?

He might be able to use this later.

[LuminousX]

10. This is Ruddy's agenda

After such treatment, I think Dean and his followers should think long and hard about supporting the Democratic nominee come Election Day.

A repuke has no right to tell Democrats what they should feel injustice about. I spit on his defense of Dean. This defense has already been made by much better people than Ruddy.

[RedSox02]

11. Yeah I had spotted that

I wonder if he actually thought he was being subtle. We could work this same angle with McCain, you know ask him if he feels comfortable with the GOP after Bush's primary campaign in 2000 suggested to voters in South Carolina through phone calls that McCain had an illigetimate black child (one that was actually adopted from I believe Cambodia). Now that is a dirty tricks campaign.

[John_H]

5. It's the Scarlborough blessing. In other words, trying to restore

Dean thereby making the Dems waste money and resources they'd otherwise save for Chimpy. Don't fall for it.

[damnraddem]

7. Yeah, it has been crazy.

But Howard has to deal with it and get through it, or he's dead. There are hazards for any front runner; but they're much greater for an 'outsider' front runner.

On NPR over the weekend, I heard a clip from a song done based on Dean's speech. I think the Dean campaign should take the song and make it a campaign staple: throw it back in the face of the media, to face them down.

[TopesJunkie]

8. Somebody needs to keep this quote handy --

"The one thing I like about Dean is that there has not been one whiff of an accusation of political corruption during his entire public life."

I doubt that he'll recognize it come the General Election.

[blm]

9. This article is meant to SPLIT the party.

Just like that Scaife funded "study" that said Dean suffered from negative media stories. No details, just vague charges that the others were given favorable stories. HUH? The others had almost no stories compared to Dean.

The point was to make Dean supporters feel more aggrieved. Just like this article.

[bushwakker]

12. Ruddy has only one agenda

Every word from his mouth, scrawl from his pen is designed to help the GOP. He and his pals want Dean to survive and win the nomination.