Dean's Secret Revealed

RealClearPolitics.com ^ | 12/19/03 | Tom Bevan

[NYC Republican]

Over in Deanland, the front-runner is starting to take some serious heat. The New York Times wins the award for today's most obvious headline with, "Some Democrats Uneasy About Dean as Nominee." That's some scoop.

It's clear, however, the split in the seams of the Democratic party is growing wider by the day, and Howard Dean is the one who is doing the pulling.

Yesterday he not only repeated his widely criticized remark that America is no safer after Saddam's capture, but he went one whopper further, saying the country is no safer today than it was on Sept. 10, 2001.

The statement is demonstrably false by any measure and wildly out of touch with reality. I'd be willing to bet that 90% or more of all Americans would disagree with it.

But here's the real genius behind Dean's strategy and his hold on the nomination: to refute this lie one must give at least tacit credit to the Bush administration for making the country safer. That's something the hard left of the party base is not willing to do.

When any one of Dean's rivals try to hammer him for making such ridiculous statements Dean strikes back hard, as he did yesterday, leveraging the Bush-hating emotion in the party to bludgeon his opponents:

After several days of brushing off his rivals with a few glib asides, Dean responded with a denunciation that lumped Bush together with his Democratic opponents — or, as he called them, the "Washington politics-as-usual club."

"I think the Democratic Party has to offer a clear alternative to the American people," Dean said in remarks hastily tacked onto the beginning of a long-planned speech on domestic policy at the Manchester City Library. "We must make it clear the capture of one very bad man does not mean that this president — or the Washington Democrats — can declare victory in the war on terror."

Dean's campaign has been so resilient to this point because he now embodies the anti-Bush rage of the left with an almost Messianic completeness. To now disagree with Dean - even when he tell such a monstrous, laughable lie - is to be a heretic.

DEAN TELLS IT LIKE IT IS - AND LIKE IT ISN'T: One other Dean note. Follow the logic from this story in Newsday, where Dean responds to criticisms of his "George Bush knew about 9/11" remarks:

Bush called the comment "an absurd insinuation" Monday.

One of Dean's rivals, Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), yesterday likened the comment to rumor mongering. "If you are unsure about a rumor, you shouldn't be spreading it," he said.

Dean defended his comment Tuesday, saying it was no different from what the Bush administration did during the run-up to the Iraq war.

"The difference is that I acknowledged that I did not believe the theory that I was putting out," he said.

In recent days, Gephardt and Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) have said Dean lacks credibility and experience.

Rivals have been especially critical of Dean's assertion Monday that the capture of Saddam Hussein had not made America safer.

On the plane, Dean said he personally wrote that line. "If I think something is true, I say it," he said.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave.

[hang 'em]

Dean is one nasty little piece of work. Fortunately he's unelectable.

[doug from upland]

Good piece. Go, Dean, go.

[bannie]

Is it just me, or do I smell some deja'Clinton here?

[Blood of Tyrants]

I hope that the GOP is carefully recording Dean's very word to use them against him next fall.

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>>>>>>>>>To now disagree with Dean - even when he tell such a monstrous, laughable lie - is to be a heretic.

This is how Jim Jones worked also. Maybe one of the smarter Rats will convince them to stop drinking the cool aid. Maybe not. A candidate like Dean is a disservice to Democracy. He reminds me more of a 3rd world dictator every time he opens his pie-hole.

[uncbob]

Well if the NYT has that as a theme watch for the TV mavens to pick up on it

Clinton's are at work and Dean is about to get heat

[plain talk]

the capture of Saddam Hussein had not made America safer

One of the lamer remarks he has made. Of course arresting the kingpin of a terrorist group always makes America safer. He blew it. He meant to say that it did not make us completely safe or completely solve the problem in Iraq or something similar. He even admits he wrote it. What a twit.

[January24th]

Hooray! The Ross Perot of the Left! Go, Dean, Go!!

I've always blamed Perot for giving us Clinton. Now the Left will have someone to blame and deride when Bush wins again...by a landslide.

[ChuckShick]

Karl Rove is currently in the White House dungeon like Grandpa Munster brewing up some great commercials for all to see. I can't wait.

[NYC Republican]

I hope that the GOP is carefully recording Dean's very word to use them against him next fall.

That would be too logical, don't you think?

[bullseye1911]

"The difference is that I acknowledged that I did not believe the theory that I was putting out," he said

Ahh, the Jason Blair defense.

[leprechaun9]

I find it quite humorous that the Democraps are running a political campaign directly out of the Republican play book!

[monocle]

If the Bush campaign did what you propose, the media would call it dirty campaigning because Bush was the focusing on the issues, which issues, of course, will be dictated by the media.

[databoss]

Oh this is going to be great fun watching the Dems cannabalize each other and their party. If Deano gets close to the nomination goodbye McAuliffe and the Klinton hold on the party dollar machine (and money is the lifes blood of the party). If that get close to happening them the Klintoon goon squads with come after Dean with all the dirt (NYT Headlines: Dean Fondled Me in Exam Room!)Whoohoo Election '04 is sure gonna be some fun...

[Dems_R_Losers]

The Washington Post opened the floodgates with its editorial and front page article yesterday slamming Dean. The Times now feels it has permission to pile on. No doubt this is all being timed to try to get Hillary into the race before New Hampshire.

[irgbar-man]

If Karl or some of his assistants are not lurking here, they're missing one helluva perpetual brainstorm session!

[TomHarkinIsNotFromIowa]

Our National Public Radio station WOI is having a fire sale. It seems they have money problems. I know I haven't sent them a check. Well their fall fund raising went badly. And now they don't know what to do. They now no longer have a news director. HA! HA! HA! Anyway I sent them an email telling them to start charging Howie Dean and all the RATS for the free advertising.

Is anybody elses NPR stations having money problems. This could be hugh.

[cousair]

Britt Hume on Fox last night (Thursday) had a great piece about Dean, the slurs, slants and outright lies. The Washington Post yesterday, on the front page had it all. The Washington Post is hardly a right right wing paper, it isn't even middle of the road, and they called Dean a master of the big LIE. The guy is scary at best and simply wrong on about everything else. His knowledge of history is horrific and surely America will see this imposter for what he is.

[Blood of Tyrants]

If you can't challenge your opponent on the issues, excoriate his record. If you can't challenge his record, beat him up on the issues. If you can't do either, make up lies and call him names. This has been the Rats' game plan for over 40 years.