Dean Campaign Responds to Washington Tag Team

[Demobrat]

From Tricia Enright, Communications Director for Governor Dean:

"Today's New York Times story, '2 Dean Rivals Unite Against Mutual Threat', uncovers the desperate tactics of the Gephardt-Kerry Washington tag team. It's no secret that campaigns talk to each other, but these coordinated attacks from Washington insiders cross the line. While their attitude is 'the more the merrier' when it comes to trying to tear down Howard Dean and his grassroots campaign, we understand that the American people are tired of this kind of politics. If these guys hope to beat George Bush, they're going to have to stand for something and not just against Governor Dean.

"We certainly expect the Gephardt-Kerry Washington tag team to attempt to justify themselves. Hopefully they'll get together and tell the American people something about what they stand for and not just who they're against."

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. *cough*

Kerry and Gephardt-- Internal Thoughts on Dean

[Cha]

5. Nothing like getting the "internal thoughts" out in the open mike...

There was an older nice looking couple in our Co-op today from Connecticut who saw my Dean pin and said they "really like your pin!"

I asked where they were from and when they told me ..I asked them if they liked Dean more than lieberman and kerry and they said "Yes".

I said.."why?" and they said.. "Dean is an outsider who has a plan and we like his stance on the Iraqi fiasco"!

We had some local People who protested rove in Cooperstown last night, too..about 50 People!

rove was at a $1000 fundraiser for sherwood boerlert (my congressman).

[KittyWampus]

10. Yeah, But could They Actually Say What Dean's Plan Is?

"Dean is an outsider who has a plan and we like his stance on the Iraqi fiasco"!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

12. Tons of info all over the place.

Why don't you poke around. Let me know if you need some help. Policy statements by Dean abound. Not to mention, that he's usually the first to issue a statement on current events.

[Cha]

13. Don't worry about it ...I was I work and didn't have time to talk to

them...they were thoughtful People who had obviously been studying on this for some time.

[blm]

2. Does Dean ever acknowledge that HE started the attacking?

What the heck did he expect in return? They held off retaliating for months.

For someone who threw the first twenty punches, he sure can whine.

And since Trippi wanted to gang up on Clark, he's a big hypocrite, too.

>>>>>
"But Steve Murphy, the Gephardt campaign manager, said Mr. Trippi was being "totally hypocritical," adding: "Two weeks ago he ran into me and some of my staffers at Dulles airport and suggested that instead of attacking Howard Dean on Medicare, we should help him and Howard Dean attack Wesley Clark. This was a lengthy conversation."
>>>>>

[clar]

4. Yap, yap, yap

give the hyperbole a rest. What Dean did was just not that awful. He didn't name anyone specific as being bushlite, and quite frankly, he had a point. BTW, I just found this quote from Will Pitt which I thought you might enjoy. And Will, as we know, supports Kerry.

ÊPITT: One of the gentlemen running against you, John Kerry, has seemed rather tentative in his criticisms of Bush. He tries to play both ends against the middle, and seems like he is trying to be all things to all people. It strikes me that he is not being a risk-taker at this point in the campaign…

[blm]

17. Not a great piece of journalism from Pitt, and I noted so at the time.

There is no hyperbole in my post. Dean DID refer to the "four guys from Congress" were "Bushlite" so please stop protecting him on that. He even specifically said after a Kerry speech that the Democratic party didn't want "Bushlite" or "Deanlite" in regard to Kerry.

[Upfront]

22. It is a Fact.

They are Bush lite. Dean is telling it like it is. I find it refreshing.

[blm]

26. Their records are WAY left of Dean's.

Dean is more of a deregulating Libertarian.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. "He started it!"

You'll be hearing that from your toddler in a couple of years. See if it strikes you as childish then.



B:eyes:SH-LITE

[blm]

20. I thought he was wrong when he started attacking

and I think it's wrong of him to whine about reciprocation, too.

Would you really prefer that he have a clear field for his attacks with NO reciprocation?

You know, like Rush had on his show.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

25. You won't see me complaining. I think the tag team is funny.

Politics. Happens every year. Try not to be shocked next time. Kerry was the frontrunner and got attacked. Big whoop. Dean is the frontrunner and now he's being attacked. Big whoop. If Kerry retakes the lead, he'll be attacked again. Don't be so naive.

[LuminousX]

52. You mean...

this happens every election year? Candidates attack each other? Wow.

It is in the attack you get to see the true muster of the candidate. While I get annoyed at so many anti-Dean threads started by just a handful of people, I never had a problem with Dean, Gephardt, etc. attacking Dean. In fact, I would be upset if they didn't. How will I know as a voter if Dean has a teflon coating or not if people don't fling some mud at him.

Others may want their candidates not to go through this kind of hazing, but I want my guy to go through the slimiest muck that can be used against him. If he can then stand up, wipe it off, and still look electable, then I know I backed the right guy. If he stand up and looks weak, then I backed the wrong guy.

Dean so far hasn't let me down.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

53. That pretty much encapsulates my philosophy, as well. n/t

[Cha]

21. That's where I remember that from! Years ago!

My Irish twins (less than a year a part)! :)

[blm]

27. Then try KARMA.

What goes around comes around. It's basically the same thing.

[Cha]

28. Yeah! and I can't wait for a certain senator from Mass to

get his "KARMA".

[blm]

31. For all those decades of service to progressive, Democratic values...

Neither can I. Kerry will be one of our nation's greatest presidents.

And I am certain he will never be for deregulating electricity.

[JohnKleeb]

32. sounds like a winner lol

:)youre right honestly though, Kerry has been standing up for progressive liberal values.
I can tell you Kucinich will be doing anything but dereglating electricity. Kucinich will be one of our greatest presidents :).

[stickdog]

40. Kerry's Campaign Themes

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH. It's my turn!"

"He started it."

"Did not."

[DrFunkenstein]

42. Nice Tag Line

Really gets at your priorities.

"I wish he'd say to my face what he says behind my back," Dean said before disappearing behind the door.

Kerry had obviously gotten under his skin.

"I just wish he had given me a chance to respond to all that stuff - the zero experience on foreign affairs, the NRA stuff, the tax cut stuff," Dean said.

"I would have liked to have responded to that in person," Dean said, relishing the thought of getting mouthy with Kerry.

:scared:

[Larkspur]

54. I think she was referring to Kerry's IWR vote

Maybe Kerry should go to Iraq and meet his rocket-launcher karma.

[eileen_d]

3. LOL

"Gephart-Kerry Washington tag team" - very catchy. So catchy she says it twice.

IMHO, Ms. Enright sounds a little hysterical with this response. She's going into attack mode, just like the people she accuses. Why not just ignore it instead of bringing up the whole "Washington insider" boogeyman?

[clar]

7. I agree

I dislike that Washington insider meme. It's unfair.

[Cha]

11. you would like it if Tricia "ignored" these attacks from

kerry and geppy, wouldn't you? Ain't gonna happen. Our People are too on top of it!

"hysterical"? I'll tell ya whose hysterical...kerry & gep.. as well as "booeymen".

[eileen_d]

19. Well, she doesn't need to ignore the "attacks"

But Tricia did not need to lash back so hard with this statement. Kerry and Gephardt are lagging behind Dean, so Dean's campaign could easily brush these criticisms off without all the "Washington tag-team" invective. Instead, it's turning into a food fight. I guess some people will get some satisfaction out of it; I'll just wait til it blows over.

Edit: To paraphrase someone from another thread, if two guys go after one guy, which looks strongest? Answer: in this scenario, Dean. So there's no need to be so hyper-defensive about it.

[mikehiggins]

51. It isn't hard to figure out

Using the strategy in line at the moment, Kerry and Gephardt want to derail the Dean Express. If the Doctor wins Iowa and New Hampshire, it will be a terrific blow to both of their campaigns. It serves their purposes to let Kerry take New Hampshire and Gephardt take Iowa so that they can stay afloat until the next round of primaries.

If I was John Kerry, I wouldn't count on any deal surviving Iowa, however. If Gephardt takes Iowa, and Dean takes New Hampshire, then Kerry is really left out in the cold, going into the next round with two losses already under his belt.

[sandnsea]

6. Waaa Waaa

Don't pick on poor Howard. The only one who simply stands against things is Howard Dean. Against Bush-lite Democrats, against Bush, against the do-nothing Congress, and now against Washington insiders who are supposedly picking on him. You bet Americans are tired of this kind of politics and this is exactly why I got tired of Howard Dean months ago.

[clar]

9. Seeing as Kerry has gone

sharply negative, I guess you won't be complaining anymore about Dean's attacks. Right?

[sandnsea]

14. Never have

I've said over and over that debating the issues is needed in order to get the best President for the country. I've only criticized Dean's attacks when they're hypocritical on the issues, lies or when the 'attacks' are just responses to Dean's attacks in the first place. This post is prime. Dean attacks the 'do-nothing Washington insiders', then cries when they respond. You bet I'll point that out, his whining shows a real lack of character.

[Cha]

30. Dean doesn't "whine"....it's kerry and the others who are the

Whiners. "Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean"

[DrFunkenstein]

34. Whining Dean Quotes

"I wish he'd say to my face what he says behind my back," Dean said before disappearing behind the door.

Kerry had obviously gotten under his skin.

"I just wish he had given me a chance to respond to all that stuff - the zero experience on foreign affairs, the NRA stuff, the tax cut stuff," Dean said.

"I would have liked to have responded to that in person," Dean said, relishing the thought of getting mouthy with Kerry.

We all know how he handled that one.

:cry:

[sfecap]

37. Whining Kerry quote...

"Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean...that's all they want to talk about..."

[DrFunkenstein]

39. You Do Realize The Irony of Your Tag Line, I Hope

Way to promote Dean's positive agenda. Oops, I forgot that Dean supporters like him for his anti-Bush anger, his grassroots organization, and the fact that he didn't vote for the IWR. I guess that doesn't leave much time for his lightweight platform...

[KittyWampus]

8. Oh, The Irony In Dean Saying This-

"Hopefully they'll get together and tell the American people something about what they stand for and not just who they're against."

[w4rma]

18. I'm sorry. I fail to see the irony you (pretend to?) allege, cryingshame

Extremely massive information dump on Gov. Howard Dean, M.D. (v2.0)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=41214

[KittyWampus]

24. Dean's Main Schtick Is All About Bush Bashing

And calling other Democrats "Bush-lite"

[Cha]

29. you don't Even know what Dean's campaign is all about...

all you do is diss.

[KittyWampus]

41. I've Spent Remarkably Little Time Commenting On Dean

But his record shows him to be something other than what his supporters think he is.

"You folks at Cato," he told us, "should really like my views because I'm economically conservative and socially laissez-faire." Then he continued: "Believe me, I'm no big-government liberal. I believe in balanced budgets, markets, and deregulation. Look at my record in Vermont." He was scathing in his indictment of the "hyper-enthusiasm for taxes" among Democrats in Washington.

Dean worked to deregulate energy in Vermont.

And he ended up RASISING taxes later in his terms in Vermont using REGRESSIVE sales and gasoline taxes.

[blm]

47. Dean scorning DC Dems for taxes? It was CLINTON'S tax increase

that alot of great Democrats lost their seats for because of language like Dean's.

That tax increase on ONLY the wealthiest helped bring the budget under control.

Dean should stop masquerading as a populist. He has the rhetoric down, but he has no past record to back him up.

[Nazgul35]

15. of course my thread before this one...

was ignored....guess it was I didn't attack anyone and presented the article with quotes from both sides....

Being a Dean supporter, I guess it's just easier for us to post something and tear strips oput of each other, rather than examine the underlying tactic involved with all campaigns and how this will play with the general electorate....

While I type this, Dems on the House Budget Comittee are fighting to get amendments added that expose no bid contect details, buying planes instead of leasing them...and the rethugs just laugh and vote no...secure in the knowledge that their games are not getting any play....

This is all inside baseball crap!!!! While we sit here and try and pick apart what the meaning of "is" is, the republicans are ripping the country off....perhaps our time was better spent getting these kinda tactics out in public instead of playing the rah rah my temas better than your team crap....

just a thought...

[Pez]

23. i award you gold medal for point of the new millennium

of course my thread before this on was ignored....guess it was I didn't attack anyone and presented the article with quotes from both sides....


that is EXACTLY why this article is out there. if it doesn't imply that everyone is somehow infighting and some massive hysterical drama is in play, the media won't attract viewers, and the sponsors would be displeased. that's what it all comes down to-- sponsors.

presenting both sides of the argument would overload the consumer with too much information and would encourage them to think for themselves or move on-- neither of which are good for product placement/influence/exposure. journalists covering sports have more integrity than those covering politics.

[jburton]

33. Now, in stereo...

JK "Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean"
DG "Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean"

[Bread and Circus]

35. Dean just as guilty?

excerpt:

But Steve Murphy, the Gephardt campaign manager, said Mr. Trippi was being "totally hypocritical," adding: "Two weeks ago he ran into me and some of my staffers at Dulles airport and suggested that instead of attacking Howard Dean on Medicare, we should help him and Howard Dean attack Wesley Clark. This was a lengthy conversation."

_____________________________

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/politics/campaigns/12CAMP.html?hp
_____________________________

I think those three amigos better get together,
shake hands and part ways. Ganging up on other
candidates is lame.

[DrFunkenstein]

36. Hypocrisy From The Dean Camp?

Impossible!

<>

[DJcairo]

38. Maybe if Dean weren't so negative...

about all the 'other' Democrats this wouldn't have been neccessary. But when you get one guy bashing all congressional Dems for being unfaithful to Democratic values you are asking for it.
Dean deserves what he gets. I'm sure he's arrogant enough to think it doesn't matter.

[DrFunkenstein]

43. There Are No Candidates Out There That Dean Hasn't Bashed

He was all sweetness and light to Clark (remember how proud his supporters were!) until he became a candidate. Then Dean laid into him just like he had all the others. Because Dean is a uniter, not a divider. He doesn't just represent the democratic wing of the Party - he represents the whole Party.

And if he has to insult every member of Congress as an "insider" that is part of the problem, well then, that's just tough love.

<>

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

44. The hypocricy continues....

Snubbed again by the state party faithful, Kerry nevertheless turned defeat into an asset, painting himself as the "outsider" to Shannon the "insider." http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061903.shtml






"Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Skull & Bones..." ;-)








Note: An interesting aside in the article:

Shannon had outscored Kerry, 100 to 94, on the questionnaire of the group, known as Freeze Voter `84, which favored canceling funds for a slew of major weapons systems.

Then a strange thing happened. Paul F. Walker, Shannon's most prominent backer on the group's executive committee, graded the answers and laid out for Kerry campaign manager Paul L. Rosenberg both the flaws in Kerry's responses and what the "correct" answers should be.

"Walker was confused about your answer" on funding the Trident submarine, Rosenberg wrote in an internal memo to Kerry, who had originally hedged in his opposition to funding new subs.

"It is critically important that we get a 100 percent rating," Rosenberg wrote, in a memo that has not previously been made public. "You should explain how your position was misinterpreted so that he will correct the rating before it is distributed to the board tomorrow evening."

Walker "is favorably disposed to change the grading because `he knows of your strong support for the freeze and knows this is what you must have meant,' " Rosenberg concluded.

Kerry revised his answers, tied Shannon with a perfect score, and at the activists' meeting in late June denied Shannon the 60 percent majority he needed to secure the endorsement for himself.





Edit- "And if he has to insult every member of Congress as an "insider" that is part of the problem, well then, that's just tough love."---Dr. Funkenstein

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

45. Where'd you go?

Exit, stage left.

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

50. LOL you crack me up!

That's funnier than the link you have to the audio of "Dean Dean Dean Dean Dean"

[DemDogs]

48. Great picture of Edwards -- says a lot, too.

Thanks. (Edwards's the candidate who can unite the party -- every other candidate seems to like him and even supporters of other candidates seem to like him.)

[JohnKleeb]

49. Kucinich considers him his best friend in the race

and I like what I see. :thumbsup: Good candiate and good guy.

[polpilot]

46. Dean's positive message is the reason his #'s are where they are. He

brings hope to all who have abandoned the political process. And he does 'deserves what he gets'...and that would be the right to be the president of the U.S.

Dean '04...The New Democratic leader of The NEW Democratic Party.