Cummings (Cong. Black Caucus) to urge Dean to withdraw from race

[displacedtexan]

Cummings to urge Dean to withdraw from race
Support will go to Kerry; other Democrats also retreating from Dean

By Julie Hirschfeld Davis
Sun National Staff
Originally published February 14, 2004


WASHINGTON - Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Baltimore, who was an enthusiastic supporter of Howard Dean when he was the Democratic front-runner, plans to ask Dean to quit the race and free his supporters to back John Kerry before Maryland's March 2 primary.
Cummings, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said he plans "in the next couple of days" - before the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday - to urge Dean to step aside.

snip

Cummings' move reflects growing uneasiness among some leading Dean supporters about continuing to back a winless candidate while missing the chance to join up now with their party's likely standard-bearer.

more...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/elections/bal-te.cummings14feb14,0,4746437.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

[Guaranteed]

1. There's no way in hell I'm supporting Kerry.

He'll be lucky to get a vote from me. And I imagine that most Dean supporters feel the same way.

[muchacho]

4. wow

>>He'll be lucky to get a vote from me. And I imagine that most Dean supporters feel the same way.

With that kind of narrow thinking you can say hello to another four years of Bush.

Really, I mean are you so hooked on a dem candidate that you can't see the greater good? I don't like any of them but I AM going to vote against Bush.

[Robb]

6. "not wanting to vote for Kerry" = "narrow thinking"

I think I speak for most Dean supporters in saying if Kerry gets the nod, I'll be voting for him in the GE.

But I think I can speak for most of us again, when I say I'm frankly pissed off that the Kerry camp seems to have interpreted that intention of Dem unity as a reason to ignore our issues.

...And the same goes for the CBC. :thumbsdown:

[muchacho]

11. hollow

>>But I think I can speak for most of us again, when I say I'm frankly pissed off that the Kerry camp seems to have interpreted that intention of Dem unity as a reason to ignore our issues.

Oh I agree, it's the old Clinton/DLC tactic of triangulation of issues. Shift substance to window dressing as quickly as possible as not to cloud the scripted message. Is it any wonder the scandals are so easily part of the discourse when all the discourse is on the level of platitudes?

There is no feeling that a rumor of intern fraternizing pales against the subjects being discussed because the subjects are so hollow in all their mouths.

[polpilot]

34. Dean supporters may hold their nose and vote 'd' but the pro-war DLC

establishment pick will be no cause for celebration and many anti-Iraq War, anti-DLC voters won't be making the effort to get to the polls. For some of us Kerry is a pro-war embarrassment and doesn't meet our standards for leadership. So be it.

I only noticed this race because of Dean's staging a revolution in this country and the impotent actions of the demo party for the past decade.

Dean '04...

[muchacho]

47. well

very noble...and narrow minded. I think the level of progressive purity you seek won't happen until their is a seismic shift in American culture.

[EXE619K]

9. Well, if another four-years of Bush is looming....

I guess John Kerry isn't the best candidate this year to beat Bush.

That's just my opinion.

If Kerry is the "best" one to beat Bush, then he'll just have to do that.

ABB scare tactic is getting really old.

But, like I said,

That's just my opinion.

[Renew Deal]

15. Where should Bush send the Thank You cards?

[Duder]

16. To Kerry

[Renew Deal]

17. Dean will tell his supporters to vote for Kerry.

Are you ready to renounce Dean now?

[Duder]

25. I'm ready to renounce Kerry

It's presumptuous to say what Dean will tell his supporters to do because at this point Kerry doesn't have enough delegates.

[Renew Deal]

27. OK, I am willing to wait.

[mopinko]

33. well, that would be nice

waiting for the people to vote. i am getting sicker and sicker at the "fall in line" tactics. maybe i should support kerry because "his people" sure seem to know how to play the kind of hardball, slimeball, arm twisting that is how they play it behind the scenes.
just what is behind these denunciations? who gets what for stabbing dean in the back? if they have lost faith in his electability, why can't they just step back with their mouths shut? what are they gaining for holding a press conference about it? yup, kerry is a fine candiate.:eyes:

[polpilot]

37. It's much easier for establishment DLC to 'fall in line'The sheeple factor

doesn't work with Dean supporters.

Dean '04...

[polpilot]

35. and don't forget The DLC.. Maybe some chocolates for them...be nice!!

Dean '04

[polpilot]

36. Clark...Bayh...Carlyle Group (always appropriate)...Clinton...Fox...CNN...

did I leave anybody out?

Dean '04...

[Comadreja]

21. Vote, but no money, from me

Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect: Mark Twain

[WiseMen]

24. Most "Endorsers" Are Begging Dean to Wake Up and Smell The Coffee

I assure you that is what is happening behind the scenes.

Dean already angered and alienated Clinton. Now he is in danger
of doing the same to the friends of Gore who supported him.

[Renew Deal]

29. MSNBC was reporting that Gore is asking Dean to quit.

Yesterday

[HereSince1628]

43. If Dean pissed off the Clintons then hurray!

Dean must be onto something. I think I'll send another check.

[w4rma]

41. I don't think that most Dean supporters feel that way. I don't.

I will vote for Kerry in the general election if, as appears extremely likely, he wins the Democratic primary.

I was willing to ask Kerry supporters and Clark supporters and Edwards supporters, etc. to vote for Dean in the general. I am willing to do the same thing for them.

[progressivebydesign]

45. I'm with you on that one...

I'll SEE how I feel in November. Another suited corporate candidate... yawn. Better than Bush? Probably. The mojo to give us back the House and Senate.. no way?

[Woodstock]

46. Speak for yourself

Your "imagination" has run wild.

I'm ABB.

[LostInTheMaise]

2. Dean should urge Cummings to can it

Dean and his supporters deserve better than to be told to back someone like Kerry. Kerry may be the annointed one but he is not the best man for the job. Dean needs to stay in and continue to fight against all the corruption that Kerry stands for.

[displacedtexan]

3. Cummings chairs the Congressional Black Caucus.

Are you suggesting that Dean should urge the CBC to can it?

Dean is a class act, IMHO. I don't think he would do that.

[liberalnurse]

5. Maybe he, Cummings, should start at the bottom and work his way up.

Isn't Sharpton in that pole position? Dean is taking this all the way, win or loose.

[Edwards4President]

18. What do you mean?

[oasis]

7. A man's got to know his limitations--Dirty Harry.

[Rationality]

8. That's a shame

Super Tuesday hasn't come around yet. Why should Dean or Edwards withdraw before then?

[Tinoire]

10. This is the mind-boggling part

We are still in the Primaries and yet they're acting like this is the GE.

What's with not letting the voters decide? What's with foisting someone on us? Do they think the people are easily going to accept this? What's the rush?

This whole Corination Primary is making me sick.

They're afraid an uncontrollable Dean, beholden to the people and not the machinery with which he is now THROOUGHLY disgusted, could win. Afraid anti-NAFTA Edwards might get the top slot. And Kucinich, well we won't even go there- single payer health-care, anti occupation, and 15% cut in the Pentagon's budget- that's DOA.

These guys are afraid of the people. Wow. Glad everyone can see the real faces. What a year of revelations it's been!

[HFishbine]

12. How True

As one of DU's sages observed when Dean was in command:

I reserve the right to attack Howard Dean from every available angle from now until the moment he secures the nomination. I reserve the right to believe he is not the best candidate for the 2004 election. I reserve the right to spurn blandishments for party unity that are thinly disguised Support-Dean-Or-Else warnings for the campaign ploy they are. I reserve the right to believe that if Dean cannot overcome what is happening now, he does not deserve the nomination, and will furthermore be slaughtered in the general election if what he faces now is too much.

Things are no different with Kerry in the lead.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=926448#928438

[Edwards4President]

19. Were you saying this back when Dean supporters were insisting

that everyone else cede to Dean - before a single vote had been cast.

[Tinoire]

22. Yes. Yes I was. If you need links let me know. n/t

[Edwards4President]

I'll take your word for it.

Unfortunately, many of your compatriots have not been as consistent.

[BootinUp]

20. I agree that it is a coronation primary

but is a result of the dynamics underway, and by design of the democratic strategists before it ever got started.

There is no reasonable way to de-rail Kerry at this point without risking the GE in my opinion because of an ugly blood letting.

[Tinoire]

26. I disagree. I think that this rush to the coronation is precisely

what is going to cause an ugly blood-letting.

People have been waiting 4 years for these Primaries; 4 years worth of shopping around and evaluating. During those 4 years Kerry was disqualified by many and now the DNC won't even give the people a chance. I think their tactics are going to cause much ugliness.


From a purely tactical point of view (none of my principles involved in this statement) the DLC would be better off letting the people have their say and working the fix in the back-ground. Their arrogance will be the death of the Democratic Party & the blood-lettig is now unavoidable.

[madfloridian]

48. Tinoire, I thank you for the clarity I can not put forth today.

It is too early for this, way too early.

Thanks again for putting things in perspective.

[Samantha]

13. This effort to shut down the nomination process is making me very angry

Many Dems were angry when the R's refused to count all the votes in Florida in 2000 and the Supreme Court ultimately negated 51 million Democratic votes, simply because it could.

The only shelter from this election travesty has been the thought that if we could just make it until 2004 we could find again our right to vote and have that vote counted. Now it appears the Democratic elite are not only taking a page from Rove's playbook, they are expanding it. Shut the process down while your guy is ahead.

I live in Maryland. I have not been given the opportunity to vote and yet the nomination process is closing down before my eyes. I think about the number of states which have not yet held primaries, and some of these hold the largest number of voters. While it is apparent the Democratic party machinery has gotten a grip on the mechanics of the process, the fact remains a huge majority of us have not even been allowed to express our voting preference.

And why all the pressure on Dean to withdraw? So what if he hasn't won a primary (although he did win DC). Looking at the delegate count up until recently, he still had more delegates than Edwards. Why isn't there more pressure on Edwards to withdraw? Answer: Edwards is a party guy. If it's to get down to a two-man race, the DLC prefers both guys be DLC'ers. It's a win-win for them, and a lose-lose for the anti-war crowd.

There's not much difference between the Supreme Court negating my vote and the Democratic party refusing to shut down the process before I vote. I see the same mentality in both of these institutions that existed when our Constitution was framed: one element said the people should vote for the president; the other element said the states should because the people were either too stupid or too uninformed. Thus that selection should not be left in their hands. Our Electoral College was the bridge that united these very different factions and allowed the Constitution to be penned. The mentality of the faction which said the people are too stupid to elect their president has again reared its ugly head in both the 2000 and the 2004 elections. How long do we intend to stand by and watch the process leaving us, the voters, behind? My personal answer to that question is, no more.

Neither of these candidates, Bush nor Kerry, represents my interests and I will be voting for neither of them. I am going to be registering as an Independent, if Kerry wins the nomination, and deciding to whom I will give my support, outside of those two.

[retyred]

14. If dean does drop out

his supporters have a choice, either not/3rd party vote giving bush a victory, or support the eventual nominee in this case it appears to be John Kerry and stand a chance at removing bush.


retyred in fla
“Good-Night Paul, Wherever You Are”
So I read this book

[madfloridian]

23. Cummings can take a hike.

Along with all the others who are pressuring. Why are they so afraid of letting it play out through the primaries? What are they trying to push on us?

That is the final straw. We had not made up our minds, but this just about does it.

Sorry, our vote is undetermined if Dean drops out. There is something going on here with all this pressure all of a sudden.

I do not react well to such pressure.

[Edwards4President]

28. But isn't this just the flipside of an endorsement?

The purpose of an endorsement is to try to convince everyone else to get on board by making it look like a particular candidate is the inevitable winner. Dean capitalized on this beautifully. It was only a few weeks ago that Dean supporters were telling the rest of us that endorsements by Cummings and others nearly made him a shoo-in.

Now the worm has turned and these endorsers are having second thoughts - for good reason. It's a bit disingeneous to now attack them, tell them to take a hike, complain that they are trying to thwart the process. But were you saying this back when they endorsed Dean for the express purpose of trying to help him sew up the nomination early in the process? If not, these complaints ring hollow now.

[madfloridian]

31. Why all the pressure?

Is Edwards being pressured like that as well? Do you know something we don't know?

As I said, Cummings can take a hike.

[Edwards4President]

38. Edwards has been pressured for months to get out of the race

In fact, just this morning, an MSNBC reporter said that if he doesn't win Wisconsin, he should get out of the race.

And you must have missed the onslaught of folks insisting that he should get out before a single vote had been cast since he was so low in the opinion polls. And even after his strong showing in Iowa, he was consistently told that if he didn't do well in New Hampshire, he should look at withdrawing.

Of course, one big difference between Edwards and Dean is that Edwards has actually WON a primary and came in close seconds in two others. And, let's not forget that he has more pledged delegates than Dean. But that hasn't stopped people from telling him to get out of the race.

So, apparently I DO know something you don't know since this is as clear as day. Anyone paying attention to this race would know the same thing.

Howard Dean is not being picked on by meanies. He enjoyed the benefit for months of being the frontrunner while commentators and his supporters demanded that everyone else just clear the way for the inevitable Dr. Dean juggernaut. But since the voting started, he has not won a single primary and is getting his butt kicked all around the country.

The voters are speaking and they are not speaking up for Dean. So all the pouting, finger-pointing and whining that the DLC/media/Kerry/Clark/McAuliffe/Clintons/Rove are conspiring to get Dr. Dean is not impressing me at all.

[SadEagle]

32. Funny....

... I thought the point of an endorsement is to support the candidate one believes is best, whether he is winning or loosing. I guess I am not yet cynical enough for the modern politics, including the modern Democratic party.

[Edwards4President]

39. Yes, that used to be the point of it

But that's certainly not how the Dean forces spun HIS endorsements. We were told ad nauseum that the fact that Dean had all of these endorsements meant that HE was a sure thing and everyone else should just get out of the way. So he shouldn't cry the blues now that the endorsement game has turned against him.

[madfloridian]

40. Oh, so that is why he is being pressured to drop out.

Because he acted confident early on.

[Edwards4President]

42. That's not what I said.

But, of course, you certainly know that.

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[progressivebydesign]

44. Goody! With Kerry annointed already.. more press time for BUSH!

YaY. the GOP is getting an early Christmas present. All Bush All The Time 24/7 when our primary season belches and flies out the room like a deflating balloon. Come July.. Kerry who?

[Tweed]

49. Sweet!