Wayne Besen - Author, Activist, Columnist, Public Speaker

Monday, June 13, 2005

Dems Should Emulate, Not Emasculate Dean

(Attack Dog Cheney Targets Howard Dean)

Vice President Dick Cheney attacked Howard Dean this weekend on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes in a Republican led effort to silence one of the only strong Democratic voices remaining.

"So far, I think he's probably helped us more than he has them," Cheney said. "I really think Howard Dean's over the top. And more important I think many of his fellow Democrats feel the same way. I've never been able to understand his appeal. Maybe his mother loved him, but I've never met anybody who does. He's never won anything, as best I can tell."

As usual, Cheney lied. Dean was elected governor of Vermont five times between 1992 and 2000. What Cheney really dislikes about Dean is that he is not afraid to tell the truth about the modern Republican Party. Cheney prefers neutered Democrats who are too timid to take on the GOP. They want to destroy Dean and undermine his credibility because he is speaking in a way that resonates with average Americans.

Look, I've been a harsh critic of Dean when he said some dumb things during his campaign. But when he recently described the GOP as "pretty much a white, Christian party" and claimed that many Republicans have "never made an honest living", he is speaking the truth. Even the Republicans acknowledge this reality when they repeatedly refer to white neo-Puritans as "The Base".

It is also true that many of the self-proclaimed, "self made" Republicans inherited their fortunes. This is why they so ardently oppose the Estate Tax and want tax cuts to go to the wealthiest one percent. Sorry, but looting the poor to have enough money for another yacht is not an honest way to make a living. The only reason that the GOP has been able to bilk the common folk, is because they have been successful in getting people to focus on divisive social issues, such as denying gay people the freedom to marry.

Unfortunately, instead of rallying around Dean, many Democrats are attacking him. When they undermine their own party chair, they allow the him to become the center of attention, and thus take heat off of Bush, who is sinking in the polls. Democrats should show some guts and party loyalty and defend Dean. Until other Democratic leaders speak in the same strong voice, the party will remain stuck in the minority. The party will continue to get us "deals", like the recent one in the Senate that allowed Bush to ramrod through his hand-picked right wing judges.

Instead of emasculating Dean, Democrats should emulate him.

14 Comments:

Dean is the Death of the Democratic Party. We need moderate leaders who can cut deals and get along with Republicans. Until we are the voice of reason we Dems will lose.

Jerry K.
San Antonio
posted by Anonymous, at 6/13/2005 9:41 AM

Dean should have been President. Imagine what a great world that would be...

Monte of Nebraska
posted by Anonymous, at 6/13/2005 9:41 AM

Would Dean shut the hell up already???

Paul
Valdosta, Ga.
posted by Anonymous, at 6/13/2005 9:42 AM

I like Dean. Maybe by going over the top and speaking the truth, he will shame other democrats into at least standing up for themselves
posted by Anonymous, at 6/13/2005 11:13 AM

Finally someone with the guts to tell it like it is. This party has been bamboozled into thinking that true Democrats who aggressively articluate a true progessive vision for the country are doomed for failure. Middle of the road has been a disaster for this party, and it is precisely why they are in the minority.
posted by Anonymous, at 6/13/2005 12:37 PM

I could not agree any more than with Anonymous 9:37 am. What the Dems need is vision and backbone. The Republicans are not taking a "moderate" approach by any stretch of the imagination and it is time that the Democrats developed their own progressive stance and pursued it with a radical energy.
posted by Damon, at 6/13/2005 1:10 PM

I wish to add my support to 9:37 AM and 10:10 AM posts. We need to be heard! Howard Dean...a little louder, please.
posted by Christopher's Partner, at 6/13/2005 2:39 PM

Dean may sound "over the top", but he is the only one who's not afraid to speak the truth about the terrible state of affairs in our country. Taking a centrist approach to mollify the GOP hasn't worked, it didn't under Clinton and it didn't work when Kerry was running. There is a clear distinction between the Democratic and Party and GOP, at least Dean makes that the case. I admire his courage to stand up to the demagogues on the right. He has made a difference in Vermont, its a pity other Democratic hopefuls can't in other states. The reason why same-sex marriage rights have been nixed is because of the unwillingness and guts of Democratic officials to swallow their personal beliefs and do the right thing that Dean did, by taking a stand on basic civil rights that are enjoyed by heterosexuals. Dean did that in Vermont. How many others can say that. Let him rant and rave, the truth always hurts.

Robert, Bayside, NYC
posted by Anonymous, at 6/14/2005 8:19 AM

Go Howard! Give em hell! The GOP thinks nothing of being lead down the Radical Religious Rights path to rightousness. Those idiots would trash the Constitution tomarrow and have Prayer Meetings at all of the closed Gay bars as they loaded us up and put us on special detox islands to keep us and Michael Jackson away from their brainwashed children. Wake up people! We need to help drive the message home....the Radical Right has gone too far. When will the Religious Right ban other religions? That my friends will come soon enought if we continue to let them run wild in the streets and we SAY NOTHING. Get up off your dead butts and get involved if you want to keep what few rights of domestic partnership that we presently have. But as I write this California has a bill to erase every right that we have worked so hard for on the floor. They wacko's mean business and they are not going to go away until the rest of the country understands what havoc they are going to heap upon us if they continue. It's time to fight back...Howard does that!
posted by Anonymous, at 6/14/2005 10:51 AM

We don't need moderates, and the Democrats need to stop making deals. That is the true death of the Democrats: lacking the courage to stand up for what they believe and lacking the fortitude to battle, caving in whenever a challenge presents itself. We need more people like Dean. We need more LEADERS like Dean. I'm tired of having my political interests held captive by a pack of spineless cowards.

--Johnny in Minneapolis
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