Dean will make GOP the majority party

[MariaS]

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12/30/03

Entering 2004, it appears that America is poised to have a defining election that will create a permanent Republican majority.

Democrats appear likely to nominate Howard Dean, rather than someone like Dick Gephardt or Joe Lieberman or Wesley Clark who could present a stronger challenge to President Bush in the general election. In doing so, Democrats are also setting the direction that they want their party to follow -- the extreme left.

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/1203/31dean.html

Written by David E. Johnson is the CEO of Strategic Vision LLC, an Atlanta-based public relations and public affairs company.

[xray s]

1. Who cares what David E. Johnson thinks?

who ever the hell he is?

besides, it seems to me they are the majority party now anyway (at least as far as the pathetically low election turn out is concerned)...so whatever we have been doing hasn't exactly been working, has it?

[joefree1]

16. Apparently the Republican party (looky what I found)

Strategic Vision's Johnson Appointed To NRCC's Business Advisory Council
Strategic Vision, LLC announces that CEO David Johnson has been appointed to the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Business Advisory Council as Honorary Chairman. The Business Advisory Council works closely with business owners throughout the nation to promote strong pro-business and economic growth policies. Johnson will be one of the Southeast’s representatives on the Council.
http://www.talchamber.com/mem_corner_news_id.php?mem_corner_id=401


Images from Dean Rocks the House of Blues, Hollywood
From wtmusic http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=919849
From Joefree1 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=921300

[xray s]

24. Aha! So this is another effort by Republicans to "define" Dean

lets not do their work for them

[okieinpain]

30. okay, now I can see people saying that clark would make

a good challenge to bush, but gephardt, or liberman. oh please, you can tell that this guy is a repug for making such a statement. the real wet dream dem for rove is liberman. geez.

[Dr.Phool]

39. Don't you think

that if they really believed that stuff, they'd kinda keep it under their hat?

RNC talking points- Dean is unelectable! We'll cream him!

I guess since Nixswine sabotaged Muskies campign in '72, they can't get away with it anymore. They're just jockeying to try to get the candidate they want, and the whoremedia are enabling them.

I was at a Howard Dean house party tonight. We raised about a thousand dollars, from 28 mostly working class, mostly retired, people.
There were 1,400 of these parties nationwide. Over $1 million raised.
No corporate or special interests involved.

Nah, I guess the don't have a chance.:nuke:

[Sean Reynolds]

46. Exactly what I've been saying all along!

Republicans aren't stupid, we'd like to think they are, but they're not. They wouldn't continue to peg Dean as unelectable if they didn't fear him. Why? Because if they harp on it too long they run the risk of him losing the nomination - then what do they do?

Dean strikes fear into the hearts of the Republicans. So their plan is to stop him NOW before it's too late.

[INTELBYTES]

60. Let's just keep our heads buried in the sand.

It will be a little too late to figure out that Dean was not the right candidate this time around. Sticking with Dean is like a vote for shrub. That may be harsh, but the repukes know it and they are pushing for Dean to be our nominee.

[NWHarkness]

2. Yeah, that makes sense

Dean is making the Democrats a minority party by bringing millions of new people into it.

[BayCityProgressive]

3. I would rather be extreme left and lose

than be "moderate" and watch the country grow slowly more conservative up against a patheticly weak democratic party.

[madfloridian]

4. Uh, the GOP already IS the majority party.

They own it all.

And if the present bunch has its way we will give in to the majority party some more.

[arewethereyet]

15. its a question of "to what extent"

and if you think its bad now, you will be surprized to note how much worse it realistically could become.

[madfloridian]

20. No, I think you are wrong.

The ones there now have allowed the disastrous Medicare bill to pass, the NCLB unfunded mandate to pass, the Iraq War Resolution to pass, the huge tax cuts, the 87 billion for rebuilding Iraq, and they are about to allow Social Security to begin to be dismantled.

They are saying Mr. Bush, what do you want done next.

Now, what were you saying?

[paulk]

53. There is a real dislike of the Democratic Party

I see coming from a lot of Dean supporters'. The desire to punish a party that they don't see as standing up for them. Maybe the guy who wrote this article has hit on something - the country is more conservative than you think? The Republicans DO control all three branches of government, plus the fourth estate... So let's throw the bums out. Lets get us a filibuster proof Republican Senate.

You don't think it can get worse? How about John Ashcroft on the supreme Court?

[madfloridian]

59. It should not just be coming from Dean supporters.

I have no illusions that I can "punish" a party as entrenched as this one.

What our Democrats has done and voted for is not ok. We are losing some of the most valuable heritages of our country, and many of them are voting to do it.

I think the veiled implication that Dean supporters are not for our country is just plain wrong.

It is wrong for you to do that.

[dave29]

62. You forgot the Patriot Act

"No Child Left Behind"
"Clean Air Act"
"Healthy Forests"

[flaminbats]

5. Sounds like a difficult task,

But someone has to do it. Newt Gingrich or extreme left? I'm still confused!

[Brian_Expat]

6. Clark will make the Democratic Party into the Republican Party

Oh, look at that, I can be a campaign worker who has a self-serving opinion devoid of the facts too! Yay!

[clarknyc]

7. Sooo...

The point of this thread would be...what, again?

[killbotfactory]

8. He thinks Dean is extreme left...

Moron.

[WillyBrandt]

9. This is just trash talking by a whore

The illusion of inevitability is a key right wing tactic. Not worth worrying about.

[joefree1]

10. "Extreme Left?"

Let's do some fact checking on Mr. Johnson shall we. Sounds like "red baiting" freeper.

[joefree1]

18. Mr. Johson is a Rethuglican mouthpiece

Strategic Vision's Johnson Appointed To NRCC's Business Advisory Council
Strategic Vision, LLC announces that CEO David Johnson has been appointed to the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Business Advisory Council as Honorary Chairman. The Business Advisory Council works closely with business owners throughout the nation to promote strong pro-business and economic growth policies. Johnson will be one of the Southeast’s representatives on the Council.
http://www.talchamber.com/mem_corner_news_id.php?mem_corner_id=401


Images from Dean Rocks the House of Blues, Hollywood
From wtmusic http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=919849
From Joefree1 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=921300

[Q3JR4]

11. Hmmmm.....

More of the infighting that we have all come to know and love.


:eyes: :boring:

[Walt Starr]

12. It is my considered opinion that exactly the opposite is true

Dean is the only person who can bring the Democratic Party back to the people.

[BeyondGeography]

13. Dean/Goldwater, Gore/Nixon

Interesting parallel drawn in this piece. I'm not one to immediately subscribe to the Gore 2008 theory (I think he's more interested in building a media business). But, as Harry Truman once said, history teaches us that nothing is new (not even the Howard Dean phenomenon).

[flaminbats]

27. Shrub/J.F.K.?

"But, as Harry Truman once said, history teaches us that nothing is new (not even the Howard Dean phenomenon)."

But Goldwater helped the repukes find their political base, and it has lead to a re-alignment which they have taken full advantage of. Goldwater's defeat lead Nixon to build on the neo-con southern strategy, and Reagan and the Bushes to their political gains. The south has come full circle, but so has the traditionally Republican midwest and Pacific Coast. All we need now is for a leader to help our party win where it is strongest, not fight losing battles where we are weakest.

I doubt Truman would agree that this is history repeating itself, but rather a future not yet determined.

[BeyondGeography]

42. Yeah, let's keep losing 75% of the counties

Great strategy.

Anyway, I was referring to Gore's motives more than to the Dean phenomenon. Drawing parallels with Goldwater has been done before, but I don't really see it. One point this article totally ignores is race, and the effect of civil rights legislation signed in 1965 had on the white vote. There is nothing so seismic in the pipeline today.

Moreover, Dean is not an ideological candidate. Goldwater was. He'll be remembered for tactics, not ideas.

[DarienComp]

14. boy oh boy...

A column about Dean that's completely devoid of any substance. And the sad thing is that there are a million like it out there. Look, there's a lot to criticize Dean over (and I'm a Dean supporter) but please, can we stop this ridiculous idea that a Dean nomination will doom the Democratic party forever? Whether you like him or not, this is a man who has energized an incredibly large number of people, many of whom have never voted before. He's to be respected, if only for that.

[Brian_Expat]

17. No substance is what PR people do best

I don't understand why people are surprised. Anyone ever work with a PR hack? Scary.

[joefree1]

19. David Johnson is a Rehuglican mouthpiece (looky what I found)

Strategic Vision's Johnson Appointed To NRCC's Business Advisory Council
Strategic Vision, LLC announces that CEO David Johnson has been appointed to the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Business Advisory Council as Honorary Chairman. The Business Advisory Council works closely with business owners throughout the nation to promote strong pro-business and economic growth policies. Johnson will be one of the Southeast’s representatives on the Council.
http://www.talchamber.com/mem_corner_news_id.php?mem_corner_id=401

There, have I posted this enough times to discredit Mr. Johnson?

[madfloridian]

21. Thank you.

:hi:

[Brian_Expat]

23. Heh.

It's a sad day when Democrats seeking the nomination have to enlist Republican conservatives in their efforts to secure the prize.

[Brian_Expat]

25. Write the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

And demand they print a correction noting that Mr. Johnson is a Republican Party operative, which was NOT printed in the editorial blurb on him. I have.

The Editorial Director is Hyde Post, e-mail address [e-mail]

[Brian_Expat]

31. My letter to Hyde

Dear Hyde:

This e-mail is regarding the editorial about Democratic presidential candidates printed in the AJC by David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision LLC. Mr. Johnson gave the distinct impression of being a neutral observer expressing an opinion regarding the nomination. However, a simple search of the web shows that Mr. Johnson is a Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. See link: http://www.talchamber.com/mem_corner_news_id.php?mem_corner_id=401

While I believe that Mr. Johnson has a right to his opinion, I believe it was unethical for a Republican organization's chairman and board member to present himself as merely an opinionated party who works for a PR firm. His employment with the National Republican Congressional Committee was not disclosed in his biography or noted anywhere else. Given that the opinion was regarding the opposition party, Mr. Johnson should have fully disclosed his conflict of interest to both you and your readers.

I trust the AJC as a source of balanced commentary and journalistic integrity. I have no problem with partisan editorial content -- in fact, I welcome it. However, I do believe in full disclosure of important potential conflicts of interest up-front so that readers can make an informed decision regarding the opinion expressed. I strongly encourage you to note Mr. Johnson's status as an employee of the Republican Congressional Committee to preserve the AJC's tradition of full disclosure.

[WillyT]

54. Excellent Letter Brian !!!

You were kinda shovin 'em sugar here though, weren't ya, LOL???

"I trust the AJC as a source of balanced commentary and journalistic integrity."

:bounce::hi::bounce:

[wtmusic]

28. More good news...

Republicans are, in fact, wetting their pants at the thought of how Dean would clobber * in a debate.

Bring him on.

[IndianaGreen]

22. Psst, the GOP is already the majority party

Thanks to incompetents like Terry McCauliff, idiots like Al From, and submissive Congressional leaders like Gephardt and Daschle.

[madfloridian]

44. And look at all they have bestowed upon us.

The Iraq war, the Medicare mess, the 87 billion to fix our mess in Iraq, the tax cuts, the NCLB bill....and I could go on and on.

[lefty_mcduff]

26. Yet another Repuke concerned that the Dems are going to lose???

They're everywhere. On Hannity & Nitwit. O'Reily. Good old repukes that are kindly advising that Dean will guarantee a Bush victory and imploring Dems to pick someone else.

Hmmm. Not sure if I trust all this ever-so-helpful advice.

Course, won't really matter if this Dem infighting continues....

[joefree1]

32. One rethug worried Dean might win

How Dean could win: A conservative's view
An influential Bush supporter sees the Democratic front-runner as a credible challenger to the president
By William Kristol, Washington Post
December 14, 2003
Edit ...
Could Dean really win? Unfortunately, yes. The Democratic presidential candidate has, alas, won the popular presidential vote three times in a row — twice, admittedly, under the guidance of the skilled Bill Clinton, but most recently with the hapless Al Gore at the helm. And demographic trends (particularly the growth in Hispanic voters) tend to favor the Democrats going into 2004.
But surely the fact that Bush is now a proven president running for re-election changes everything? Sort of. Bush is also likely to be the first president since Herbert Hoover under whom there will have been no net job creation, and the first since Lyndon Johnson whose core justification for sending U.S. soldiers to war could be widely (if unfairly) judged to have been misleading.
And President Bush will be running for re-election after a two-year period in which his party has controlled both houses of Congress. The last two times the American people confronted a president and a Congress controlled by the same party were in 1980 and 1994. The, voters decided in both cases to restore what they have consistently preferred for the last two generations: divided government. Since continued GOP control of at least the House of Representatives seems ensured, the easiest way for voters to re-divide government would be to replace President Bush in 2004. And with a plurality of voters believing the country is on the wrong track, why shouldn't they boot out the incumbent president?
Edit ...
But what about Sept. 11? Surely Bush's response to the attacks, and his overall leadership in the war on terrorism, remain compelling reasons to keep him in office. They do for me. But while Bush is committed to victory in that war, his secretary of state seems committed to diplomatic compromise, and his secretary of defense to an odd kind of muscle-flexing, disengagement. And when Bush's chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., said last Sunday with regard to Iraq, "We're going to get out of there as quickly as we can, but not before we finish the mission at hand," one wonders: Wouldn't Howard Dean agree, with that formulation? Indeed, doesn't the first half of that sentence suggest that even the most senior of Bush's subordinates haven't really internalized the president's view of the fundamental character of this war? If they haven't, will the American people grasp the need for Bush's continued leadership on Nov. 2? If not, prepare for President Dean.
William Kristol is editor of The Weekly Standard.
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/insight/article/0,1713,BDC_2494_2499900,00.html

[candy331]

33. Seems like the Repugs are

afraid of something. Who spends this much time and energy targeting a known looser in their opinion. Their strategy is to use fear to scare the little sheep. How does a Lion capture his prey? He puts his mouth to the ground and thunderously roars and guess what? the prey hears the lion's roar and it sounds like it is coming from everywhere so they panic, in deep fear so they w/o using natual preservation fear instincts start running and know where? straight to the enemy.

Repugs have used fear tactics up to this point and it has worked so well so why change now. "Courage is the ability to act in spite of fear".

[PeakOil2008]

29. GOP Majority? Even if so, I think not for very long.

Too many people, particularly retiring Baby Boomers are going to be angry about the GOP-sponsored death of Social Security and Medicare, not to mention skyrocketing Health Care Insurance premiums. They have spent their entire lives working and looking forward to a comfortable retirement, so how do you suppose they will react once they reach retirement and find it impossible to make ends meet?

Golden Agers will lead the charge to break and destroy the American Republican Party forever. They will join forces with the unemployed Blue and White collar workers who have seen their jobs sent en masse to Indo-China by greedy corporate CEOs, the wounded, poisoned and dead soliders and their families of the Bush and the Neo-cons "Rampage for Oil" in the Mideast, and the families of the 9/11 dead. Together, they -- the common people -- will revitalize the Left, forming a new movement to reclaim democracy and America for the people.

This ain't fancy talk, people. It's fact, and its the future. All we have to do is make it happen!

[cosmicdot]

34. Politics of Perception to intensify as we move into 2004

grab a vote here and a vote there ... especially in key states ...

... either through divisive issues, divide and conquer, misleading backdrops, fear tactics, and even through psychology: some people will vote for whom they perceive to be the majority

with Big Media helping to control what is filtered in and out ... it makes it more important for Democratic leaders on all levels to help control perception ... the Liebermans of our Party only help us lose any footing ...

[depakid]

35. This guy's not very bright

either that or he's just another lying spinmeister wannabe. The fact that he'd say that "Dean's ideas are not popular with a majority of the American voters or even a majority of Democrats" show you that. The fact is that a sizable majority supports having a balanced budget, some form of expanded healthcare coverage (even universal healthcare) and is generally A LOT closer to progressive positions isuue by issue. Only by lying, cheating and concealing do Republican have control of the country- and unless the man is truly stupid- or doesn't believe the polls (which public relations guys do) he knows this.

[mouse7]

36. Publisher of AJC fired editor for negative stories about Coca-Cola

It seems the publisher sits on the board of Coca-cola, and can't have negative publicity for the good corporate citizens of Atlanta.

[madfloridian]

37. Well, this even tops Luntz giving Dean advice on Hardball.

I thought that was a little arrogant of Luntz to lecture Dr. Dean. But this takes the cake.

Make the GOP majority? Ha ha ha ha ah

[stickdog]

38. Now ask yourself -- if this were really true, why would a Repuke

care to stop it?

Why would any Repuke even care to comment on it for fear of jinxing it?

[Brian_Expat]

40. Write the AJC and alert their media people

I am going to call them tomorrow and ask them to disclose this fellow's position on the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. I suspect they'll be quite cross with him for not disclosing his status.

[dpbrown]

41. I was with you until the "extreme left" comment

Dean is nothing like a "leftie" and he even says so himself.

He's closer to Bush than other Democrats on the death penalty.
He's closer to Bush than other Democrats on staying in Iraq.

He's got secret governor records, but says that they're not like Bush's.
He's had secret energy meetings, but says that they're not like Cheney's.

The only place he's like a "liberal" is in picking the path of throwing more money at a problem rather than fixing it - his plan to leave 10 million Americans uninsured while defunding all the programs formerly funded with the Bush tax cut money to funnel that money into the pockets of private health insurance executives.

In fact, in Vermont, he took a 75% re-elect in 1992, and turned it into a pathetic 54% re-elect in 1998 and a paltry 50.4% re-elect in 2000 before choosing to "run for President" rather than getting beat in 2002 by the Republican.

He whittled away at what the Democratic Party stood for, alienating "progressives" who formed their own party, and Republicans, who realized they could elect a real Republican instead of Dean, until he turned the Democrats into a powerless niche party. No elected position Dean ever held in Vermont is held by a Democrat today, and Vermont is governed by a Republican.

That's the Dean legacy.

That's not what I want for the nation, but in no way is it a sign of a real, core, progressive liberal Democrat.

That's what we get when we elect "conservatives" who call themselves "centrists" and it's what we'll get if we nominate either Dean or Clark this time around.

[Brian_Expat]

43. If you're "with" this guy. . .

You're with one of the Chairmen and Board Members of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.

[Cheswick2.0]

50. DK isn't a lefty either

Did you see the thread about his law and order obssesive vote to try children as adults?

[dansolo]

45. Lieberman?

Anyone who claims that Lieberman could provide any challenge to Bush immediately loses all credibility.

[Hep]

47. He must be right if I agree with him

n/t

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

48. Dean "extreme left"?

What a crock!

[JNelson6563]

49. "going to make"???

Anybody look around lately?? Who holds the WH, the House and the Senate?

LOL!! Good one.

The Republicans ARE ALREADY THE MAJORITY!!

Oy!

Julie

[Cheswick2.0]

51. I see your Oy and raise you a vey

And to think all this time we democrats had the power and didn't even know it. :eyes:

[bowens43]

52. Dean is extreme left?

When did that happen? I must have missed it.

[shivaji]

55. More DRIVEL from same pundits who predicted Bush I landslide over Bill

Clinton. Pundits make a living by making predictions. They would be out of a job if they stopped. So they keep on predicting. If a score was kept of how many predictions were wrong, and they had to pay back for every wrong prediction, all of them would be in serious debt.

[Padraig18]

56. Thank you for presenting the REPUBLICAN viwewpoint, Maria.

Mr. Johnson IS a Republican, as has been pointed ut several times in this thread. :puke:

[edzontar]

57. More GOP-sourced snot from a self-identified Clark supporter

You are going to get nowhere with this gargbage--you are hurting your candidate.

Stop it!

[mandyky]

58. Doing it the DLC way has already made

the GOP the majority party! FCS, if anyone can reverse this Dean can!

[bitchkitty]

61. Lieberman? Present a stronger challenge?

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! What are you, a performance artist or something? Thanks for the laugh, sweetie! ;)

[quaker bill]

63. Caution, appeal to fear!

Any jerk that calls Howard Dean 'the extreme left' is clueless. Ask any Kucinich supporter and they will fill you in.

Democrats are beginning to show a little spine.

So what do we get from repug shills like Johnson? Be afraid of us be very afraid. Nominate a safe and conventional candidate. Don't speak up, stay in your place. Your anger is unbecoming, but ours give us strength.

It is a simple appeal to fear and cowardice. Unfortunate that you would choose to cite it in support of candidates that deserve better.