Daily Democrat: A positive discussion about Howard Dean

[Skinner]

In an effort to provide for some enlightening discussion, rather than partisan flaming, the administrators have decided to post regular threads about the candidates for the Democratic nomination which are reserved for positive discussion only. These threads will be called the "Daily Democrat".

Currently, we intend to post two Daily Democrat discussion threads per day. If a particular thread becomes too long, then the moderators will open additional threads as necessary. These discussion threads will be allowed to stay open until the next two Daily Democrat threads are opened at some point the following day.

THE RULES

The rules for these Daily Democrat candidate threads are as follows. (For the purposes of these rules, the candidate who is the subject of the thread is referred to as the "Daily Democrat".)

1. You are welcome to post anything positive about the Daily Democrat. You can explain why you support that person. You can dispel myths about that candidate. You can discuss that person's positions on various issues. Whatever.

2. You are allowed to favorably compare the Daily Democrat to other candidates, provided that you are not unnecessarily inflammatory or antagonistic to the other candidates.

3. You may not post attacks of any kind against the Daily Democrat. Furthermore, you cannot post criticism and try to pass it off as a compliment ("I enthusiastically support candidate X because he ruined his state's economy!")

4. You may not discuss the supporters of any candidate (that goes for the the Daily Democrat, or any other candidate).

5. Undecided voters are encouraged to ask questions about the Daily Democrat in order to better inform their choice. Note that criticism disguised as a question will not be allowed.

6. You may not start another discussion thread for the purposes of responding to comments made in the "Daily Democrat" thread. Sorry -- you just have to suck it up and let the positive discussion continue uninterrupted.

7. I will not babysit the Daily Democrat thread, because I believe it will not be necessary. It is the responsibility of every member to know and follow the rules. Deliberate disruption of the Daily Democrat thread, or efforts by opponents to influence the Daily Democrat thread, will result in the banning of the individual(s) responsible.

8. I reserve the right to change the rules as necessary to make this work.

TIMING

We will discuss two Daily Democrats per day, and cycle through the list of presidential candidates in modified alphabetical order.

12/13 - Wesley Clark ...... and ... Dennis Kucinich
12/14 - NO DAILY DEMOCRAT THREAD
12/15 - Howard Dean ....... and ... Joe Lieberman
12/16 - John Edwards ...... and ... Carol Moseley Braun
12/17 - Dick Gephardt ..... and ... Al Sharpton
12/18 - John Kerry ........ and ... Wesley Clark
12/19 - Dennis Kucinich ... and ... Howard Dean
12/20 - Joe Lieberman ..... and ... John Edwards
12/21 - Carol Moseley Braun and ... Dick Gephardt
12/22 - Al Sharpton ....... and ... John Kerry
12/23 - Wesley Clark ...... and ... Dennis Kucinich
12/24 - Etc...

LET'S GET STARTED

Here's your chance for some positive discussion of Howard Dean! Who wants to start it off?

[Patriot_Spear]

1. Howard has tapped the pulse of the people...

And it says, 'Go Howard, GO!'

[On the Road]

2. Wow -- What a Novelty!

A positive discussion of Dean. B-)

Of all the candidates, Dean is the best campaigner, and knows to capture media attention. He seems to have teflon -- his missteps just don't seem to hurt him. He excites his supporters, and will raise voter turnout if he's the nominee. All these are crucial in the general election.

And he speaks with the conviction and authority that I think most Democrats want to hear from their nominee.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trogdor]

4. Organization and attitude.

The last thing we need is a limp dishrag running against George W. Bush. If that's what we get, we might as well give up now and plan for four TERM LIMITED years of Bushit. Howard Dean is definitely NOT a limp dishrag. That is what people admire about him, and that is why he has been able to assemble the massive organization he now has from scratch. Anybody with those sort of leadership qualities deserves serious consideration, even if you are not a member of his 500,000-strong grass-roots army.

[eissa]

5. He's a fighter

He's not afraid to back unpopular positions (gay unions, the Iraq war), even if it hurts him politically. Personally, he has given me a renewed sense of pride in being a democrat by standing his ground and telling it like it is. His record of balancing the budget in Vermont and providing health care for its citizens is a great accomplishment.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

6. Go Dean Go

Dean stands strong against W. He provides the opposite path. How many of us, 2 years ago, thought that would even be possible? Now a man enters the arena against Bush and is willing to pose the same questions to Dubya that we, the real people of Murka. would ask - and in the exact same tone which we would ask it. I like Dean's poker-face. Going up against Dubya, Dean's confrontational nature will trump Bush's faux-machismo. Confronted with Dean, Bush's words and mannerisms will seem nothing more than bold-faced avoidance.

[chocolateeater]

7. I like Gov. Howard Dean,M.D.

I think he is one of the good guys. I may not agree with everything he says,but to me he makes a lot of sense. O8)

[Hep]

8. Dean for AMERICA

and AMERICA is responding!

[slinkerwink]

9. DeaN ROCKS!!!!

oops, sorry about the caps ;-)

[eileen_d]

10. kick, and...

I am glad that Dean's campaign has raised the bar on use of the Internet by other candidates.

[KaraokeKarlton]

11. Howard Dean is the most honest and sincere politician I've ever seen

He's also the best out there at framing issues. He has a great knack for connecting Bush's bad policies with how it actually affects people. When he talks and explains policies to voters they leave with a new and clear understanding about just how badly Bush's policies actually affect them personally. He also tells people what he'll do differently. He's got a clear understanding of what's important and impeccable long term vision.

[ShadowCabinet]

12. Because he offers something the other candidates don't.......

....and that is "Hope".

Just listen to or read the text of Gov. Dean's "New Social Contract for America". He is the one candidate who truly has spoken to me and my concerns for the future and the hope that America can be something better than it is today.

As someone who has worked for almost 20 years in Corporate America, I have seen first-hand the changes in attitude displayed towards their employees. Gov. Dean struck a chord with me in discussing how we all want and deserve a good education for our children, that we want and need affordable health care, that none of us should fear growing old and having nothing to show for it in our retirement. Corporate America is slowly stripping all these things from us and will continue to with another 4 years of the unelected fraud.

I'm sure all of the candidates are good and honorable men and women. Gov. Dean is the only one that restored my sense of hope that America can truly be great by not leaving the least of us behind.

[slinkerwink]

14. welcome to DU!!!!

:hi:

[ShadowCabinet]

15. Thanks!

It's great to be aboard!!

[UrbScotty]

17. Very Presidential.

That's what makes him tops in my book.

;-)

[bitchkitty]

13. All of the above, plus -

he's a handsome fella too!

[RevolutionStartsNow]

16. You think?