Posted on 01/31/2006 8:20:53 PM PST by presidio9
Howard Dean thinks Indiana is ready to be a "blue" state. After all, Hoosiers put a Democrat in the governor's mansion for 16 years, he noted.
"This is not a Republican state," Dean emphasized to the crowd.
The chairman of the Democratic National Committee visited Northwest Indiana Thursday and spoke to a crowd of Democrats at the Avalon banquet center. A private $500 per ticket reception preceded the general event, in which supporters paid $50 to see the former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential primary candidate.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker introduced Dean and said since Republican Mitch Daniels has been governor, Indiana has lost thousands of jobs with only Louisiana and Mississippi lagging behind it in job growth.
Taking a lesson from an old shampoo commercial, Dean recommended a simple strategy for the party to take back the Indiana statehouse and later the White House.
Democrats should to tell five friends about their candidate, and then their friend's will tell five friends, and so on.
Local Democratic leaders were thrilled to have the national chairman here. Dean's visit is part of his strategy to embrace all 50 states as the party's national chairman.
Lake County Democratic Chairman Rudy Clay said Dean's visit gave the county organization respect.
"We're gong to try to take Indiana out of the red and put it in the blue column," Clay said.
Outside the banquet hall, members of the "Northwest Indiana Coalition against the Iraq War" picketed.
"I'm out here to let him (Dean) know there are people who would be Democrats if the Democratic party could get itself together because we certainly aren't Republicans," said Jan Stewart of Chesterton.
Picketer Helen Boothe, of Dune Acres, said she wanted to impart to the Democrats that they need to be more courageous in the struggle against the war.
"We all know Howard Dean has been courageous, but the party hasn't been courageous," Boothe said.
Damien LaVera, deputy press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, said the chairman has already helped fund state party organizers for the 2006 elections and beyond. The strategy is to quit writing-off states, or even parts of states, thought to be Republican and focus on converting voters in those areas to Democrats, LaVera said.
Another part of Dean's strategy to win voters is to convince Evangelical Christians, who have become the steadfast voters for the Republican party, that they are voting for a party of "selfishness."
Taking a line from Genesis, the first book of the Bible, Dean explained the first question ever asked by anyone was, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
"In the Democratic party we won't forget that," Dean said.
I'd suggest drug testing him based on these bizarre statements he keeps making, but.... He really is the best weapon we have to make sure America knows that the Dimocrats actually stand for.
Hey, I can take a line from Genesis too. (It's the first book of the Bible, by the way.) Here's a line from Genesis. The names are funny but I think it's about Vermont:
And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
Genesis is very educational.
I can just picture Dean now: "We grossly mismanaged the Democrat campaign cash and we're damn near broke long before election day, but vote for us. You won't be sorry. Trust me!"
I'm actually surprised that 1) anyone from Lake County identified themselves as Hoosiers, and not just being from Da Region (ie wanna-be Chicagoans), 2) that there are any Democrats from Da Region who made bail to see Howard Dean, and 3) that the Democrats haven't realized that if they couldn't make Indiana a blue state while we had a couple of Democrat governors, a Democrat House of Reps, and a Democrat Senator, they'll never be able to.
We now have Mitch "The Blade" Daniels as Gov, and a Republican controlled House once again. Now we just need to boot out the pretty boy Bayh and dump a couple of Mayors and Congressman and we'll be all set.
Well, I think that we can turn Massachusetts into a red state. Do I get my official Dr. Dean Crazy Talk Microphone now?
also crazy howie was not challenged on his erroneous facts re: Indiana's standing vs/ other states. Information is from IU: www.irbc.indiana.edu/analysis.html
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