Dean Will Trounce Bush And Critics - Democratic Underground

burning bush

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Thu Jan-08-04 06:50 PM
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Dean Will Trounce Bush And Critics

Edited on Thu Jan-08-04 07:16 PM by burning bush

Three reasons why Dean will change the form of the general election, and defeat Bush:

1) The Campaign

Dean has rebuilt (or at the very least is rebuilding) Democracy in the United States. In 2000, only half of all eligible voters stayed home. Why? Apathy. Those people do not see voting as a means of creating change. Dean's campaign is offering those disenchanted voters a means by which they can regain hope. Every bit of the process sends a message, from the way Dean raises money (Read - I owe my success to people, not corporations), to the way he organizes from the bottom up, not top down (read - You know what works best in your town/region/state) speaks volumes about the way Dean feels about Democracy, and the way Dean would govern--and those disenfranchised voters are responding. How else can you explain Dean's success? He's not the usual Dem candidate, with all the usual Dem ideas. Dr. Dean is a different type of candidate, running a different type of campaign.

Dean's campaign is a microcosm of a Dean Presidency. Activist. Populist. Responsive. Inclusive. Effective.

If you want to beat George W. Bush, we had better not resort to the "same old same old" type of campaigns that Dems have run in the past. We got lucky with Clinton, but there won't be any Ross Perot to eat up the Republican vote this year. We need every voter we can get, and Dean is getting them - across the board.

2) Dean's States Rights Position.

The press and the opposition, are describing Dean as a wild eyed Northeastern Liberal. Either that, or the far left thinks Dean is too conservative. Is this weird, or what? What is behind this?

The problem that detractors are having stereotyping Dean is due to the fact that Dean, like his campaign, is coming from a completely different direction, and nobody knows how to get a handle on him.

The way I see it, Dean is a progressive state's rights advocate. Every position - his stand on women's choice, civil unions, gun policy, Bush's tax breaks, health care, etc - can all be linked to a progressive stand on individual state's rights.

So, why do I like this? Because it brings the South, South-West, and Near-West states back toward the Dem party. The idea of Sate Rights is a part of the Southern mindset going back to the beginning of this country. South and Near West states are typically independent, and distrustful of Big Brother type government. Bush has given us an opening in those western states with the horrible Patriot Act. Dean has already positioned himself as an independent minded candidate behind state rights. It doesn't take much to make the leap and see Dean taking these states from Bush, or at least making Bush spend resources there. Resources that Republicans are not used to having to worry about.

The idea that we need a Southerner to win the South is tired, and dangerous. One day, may not have a Southern Dem going after the nomination. We need a different strategy, and Dean is the ONLY candidate offering a strategy that will work.

3)Security and Economy

"It's the economy stupid" might have worked for Clinton, but it may not be our lifeline this year. The national security issues are different than they were 12 years ago, and the economy looks better than it really is. (Are we seeing Enron accounting at the Fed level?).

Some folks think it will take a military man to take on Bush, but I STRENUOUSLY disagree! Putting a General or a war hero up against Bush allows Bush to dictate the parameters of the debate, and then Bush simply plays the "Don't Switch Horses In The Middle Of The Stream" card.

Just look at the 2000 election. Gore is widely criticized as not using Clinton enough. In other words, Gore should have been able to use the Peace and Prosperity strengths of Clinton's Presidency to use that same "Don't Switch Horses In The Middle Of The Stream" card that Bush now owns.

How did Bush defeat Gore, or more correctly, how did Bush get close enough to Gore to be able to cheat so effectively?

He redefined the debate.

Bush ran as a someone who could bring the parties together (never mind that it was always the Republicans that were the ones responsible for the high levels of acidity and acrimony). People loved Clinton, but were tired of the rumors, endless bogus scandals and the constant arguing.

Bush made the election about restoring peace within our own government, and Gore let him.

Look now at 2004. How can we beat Bush on the economy? His tax cuts seem to be working (don't look at those jobless figures behind the curtain, please). How can we beat Bush on security? He hit Afghanistan hard after 911, and took out Saddam (don't look at those terrorists behind the curtain, please).

The thing is, Bush has enough of the artificial appearances of success to be able to use the Horse/Stream card. We need a NEW debate.

Here comes Dean, talking about State Rights. Tying security (disappearing funds for Homeland Security, National Guard deployment, etc) into States Rights, and tying the economy (Bush's tax break putting burdens on the states, etc) into States Rights as well.

Plus, Dean is a practiced and successful balancer of budgets. Security and the economy are tightly linked, and financial security is at the heart of every successful economic plan. Balance the budget!

A military man might win Bush's security debate, or he might lose. Dean offers a debate Bush can't win, not without undoing every action of his Presidency.