Posted on 06/04/2005 8:16:50 PM PDT by SmithL
HELENA, Mont. - The Rocky Mountain West, long a Republican stronghold, is fertile ground for Democrats hoping to take back Congress and the White House in coming years, Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean told supporters here Saturday.
Democrats have more in common with Westerners than the GOP, the former Vermont governor said.
They appreciate the free-spirited, independent thinking that dominate states like Montana, and understand the wish for a balanced budget and a strong military, as well as treating soldiers well when they get home, something Dean said the Bush administration has neglected.
"I think we're going to have a very appealing message in the Rocky Mountain West," he said. "We want to be everywhere. We don't think just because George Bush won this state by a lot of votes means that Montana is going to be Republican state forever.
"I think our values are more consistent with Montana values than Republican values are."
Dean, speaking to about 100 people at a meeting of the DNC's Western States Caucus, continued his call for unity and consistency among Democrats, calling on local and state leaders to rally voters on key issues and no longer allow Republicans to "define our party."
"The Democratic party for too long has been a group of constituencies instead of a party. ... We're going to define our party. I'm not going to let them do it anymore," he said.
Dean's comments drew heavy applause from Democratic leaders representing more than a dozen Western states, as well as several key Montana officials. The audience included state Superintendent of Public Education Linda McCulloch, a handful of state lawmakers, and Senate President Jon Tester, a leading Democratic candidate to unseat U.S. Senate Conrad Burns, R-Mont.
Dean, who stirred controversy this week by attacking the work ethic of Republicans, continued his barrage on conservatives, saying citizens "can't trust Republicans with your money" and lambasting the Bush administration for its fiscal irresponsibility and weak health care policy.
He said the president needs to get tough on the real threats to national security, nations like North Korea and Iran that claim to have nuclear weapons, rather than nations like Iraq, where no weapons of mass destruction were found.
"The problem with this administration is not that they're not tough, but that they can't tell the difference between a threat and a nuisance. ... I would make the argument that America is safer when Democrats are in the White House, than when Republicans are in the White House," Dean said.
He also called for pension system reforms and changes to the No Child Left Behind education law that has drawn criticism from rural states like Montana for its blanket approach.
"We need to fix it so it is paid for, not a bureaucratic mess, and the federal Education Department, which seems to know little about education, will not be running our public schools," Dean said. "The local people will be doing that."
Dean, who flew to Montana after appearances in Missouri, planned to stay in Helena overnight before leaving for Washington state, his spokesman said. He is also scheduled to speak July 16 in Great Falls at the state Democratic Party Officers Convention.
Hell has room for 'em, too.
R U talking bad about Mr. Soros?
West: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yeah, right....Does he REALLY think that Montanans can't see through his BS??????
Semper Fi
If this man thinks the mountain west is fertile ground for a Democrtat Revival he is even more delusional and out of touch than I could have ever imagined.
I want some of whatever he's smoking.
ROFLMAO!!!! There's nothing like a straight talking FReeper!
I would make the argument that you're full of shiite, Howie. The first move every democrat since 1972 has made or tried to make on assuming office has been to draw down our national defenses.
lol...Dean is in the lion's mouth and talking long bunnie crap. We need him to continue his clown act, soooo, I hope he makes it out of Helena- at least this time.
It took Perot to split the vote enough to get Clinton to carry Montana once. Other than that, MT hasn't gone Dem since 1964, and it isn't going to be Dean "The Screamer" and his ilk that's going to break the trend.
From twelve states they mangaged to find 100 Rats. Yep, sounds like a ground swell to me.
I think he bought in to Laura's joke about Ivy League ranching.
Schweitzer had to mask and camouflage just who he really was in order to win the Montana Governorship, picking a RINO for a running mate, and outpacing Bob Brown in the closing phase of the campaign. Six months in office, Schweitzer has nothing but tax increases to show for his efforts as Governor, and not a single new job has been created. Promises made, promises broken.
Yeah, because the Democratic Party just keeps letting Dean run around loose. It's like watching an old Gong show with a spastic moron trying to sing "Feelings" and wondering when anyone will be kind enough to bang the gong and get him offstage for his own good.
Two words: "Gay marriage".
"I think we're going to have a very appealing message in the Rocky Mountain West," he said.
Dean reminds me of the worst boss I ever had. He was forever qualifying everything by "I think" and putting it in the future tense: I think we're going to do this, I think we're going to do that. It drove me crazy. I knew what I was doing even if my boss didn't.
Dean cannot possibly inspire the troops with this kind of talk.
And that's a good thing.
Typo...Should have been Carcass.
It's becoming more obvious everyday why this so-called "doctor" isn't practicing medicine. Dean is a mental retard.
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