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Government-run Healthcare Would Backfire, Making 'Public Option' the Only OneFormer DNC chair's government-run insurance program is sure to backfire. Just ask his wife the doctor By Phil Gingrey, M.D. Posted May 21, 2009 Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has recently inserted himself into the debate on health reform, creating a website and collecting signatures on a petition calling for a "public option" as part of any health reform bill. The action is unsurprising from an individual who previously called President Obama's healthcare reform plan "perfect" and stated that "it's ridiculous to say care would be inferior" in the...

Howard Dean: Rep. Gingrey ‘an embarrassment’By Bob Cusack Posted: 06/10/09 07:14 PM [ET] There were some serious fireworks on C-SPAN Wednesday as former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean went after two GOP lawmakers-cum-physicians. It all started earlier this week when physician-turned-Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) said he had recently read that Dean’s wife, Dr. “Elizabeth” Steinberg, was no longer taking Medicaid patients because the government reimbursement rates are too low. Dean fired back on Wednesday, saying, “Dr. Gingrey is just plain wrong. He’s an embarrassment. First of all, my wife is not named Elizabeth, as her name is Judith. Second...

>RUSH: Howard Dean says America has had enough capitalism.  This is Howard Dean, it was last Thursday on CNBC's power lunch.  He was on with Jason Lewis, who said, "I think the vast majority of Americans are tired of substituting bailouts for bankruptcy.  They understand that politicians invest for a political return, not an economic return.  That's the difference between politicians and capitalists, and we need to get a little bit more capitalism back in the economy." DEAN:  I think we had quite enough capitalism the last eight years.  I think we need some regulation now. RUSH:  You know it...

Back in March, CNBC in what seemed to be an effort to pander to critics on the left, officially named former DNC chair and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean a CNBC contributor. But aside from campaigning for left-wing MoveOn.org causes in his spare time, Dean will appear on daily CNBC programming. But on the May 7 "Power Lunch," Dean, a contributor for the network with the slogan, "First in Business Worldwide," explained to viewers we've had enough capitalism after conservative radio talk show host Jason Lewis derided the president for supporting bailouts over bankruptcy. ...more (w/video)...

Here is video of former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today on CNBC where he made the statement, among other things, that "we have had enough capitalism the past 8 years; what we need now is some regulation." He made the comment just after the 4:38 mark of the video. Dean was discussing with Jason Lewis the $17 Billion in Budget Cuts announced by President Obama out of a $3.55 Trillion 2010 Budget. Dean at least was honest when he said this, and he also bluntly said that taxes (revenue increases he called them) will have to be raised....

Who was James Dean? James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was a two-time Oscar-nominated American film actor. Dean's status as a cultural icon is best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause, in which he starred as troubled stereotypical high school rebel Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his star power were as the awkward loner Cal Trask in East of Eden, and as the surly farmer Jett Rink in Giant. His enduring fame and popularity rests on only three films, his entire starring output. His death at...

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said "enough is enough" when it comes Democrats delighting in the hullabaloo over Rush Limbaugh. Asked during an interview Monday with The Washington Times if the Limbaugh situation was getting too much play from the Democrats, Mr. Dean laughed and responded: "Of course it is." "You expect people to have fun, and it was fun, but enough is enough," he said. "The reason it's fun is because it's true." The conservative radio host has been a top headline for more than a week after first being scolded for sharply criticizing President Obama and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Howard Dean, a practicing physician before entering politics, was under consideration by the Obama administration for the post of U.S. surgeon general, CNN reported Friday. Dean, who recently wrapped up a four-year term as Democratic Party chairman, has been a supporter of health reform, and has privately made clear that he is interested in the job, according to the cable network.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1040940919&play=1

Dean Blasts Limbaugh, GOP on Healthcare Research @ 3:50 pm by Michael O'Brien Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean lashed out Tuesday at talk radio host Rush Limbaugh and the "far right" for opposing provisions of the stimulus supporting research into medical information technology. "Mr. Limbaugh and his cohorts would have you believe that this research will be used to deny needed care to your great Aunt May and be run by the politburo," Dean wrote in a blog at the Huffington Post. "But the Bill passed by Congress states right up front that the Government can not...

A new Web site popped up over the weekend, called DeanForHHS.com. It is a grassroots campaign that wants to urge President Barack Obama to appoint Gov. Howard Dean as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. There is a corresponding Facebook page to go along with the Web site. Since the departure of Sen. Tom Daschle several names have risen up in consideration, from the ridiculous (Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, really as if he would leave the governorship to his Republican side-kick) to the serious, former N.J. Sen. Bill Bradley (well liked, smart, could work with both sides).

In the wake of Thomas A. Daschle's decision to withdraw his name from consideration for secretary of health and human services, some Democrats said they were at a loss for whom President Obama might nominate next. Will the latest online efforts in support of Howard Dean help him get a job with the Obama administration? (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty)Perhaps those Democrats should check with the thousands of Facebook members who want physician and former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean to serve as the next HHS secretary. "Appoint Howard Dean to HHS!" has attracted more than 4,000 members in its...

Saw this headline on a video on Bloomberg.com. Can't post a link. Now that would beat all.

He promised to expand the base of Republican party by changing the party's strategy to appeal to voters in the northeast and other regions where the GOP has failed to gain traction in recent years. "It's time for something completely different and we're going to bring it to them," Steele said in remarks reminiscent of former Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean's 50-state strategy. "We're going to bring this party to every corner, every boardroom, every neighborhood, every community."

The conspicuous absence of Howard Dean from Thursday’s press conference announcing Tim Kaine’s appointment as Democratic National Committee chair was no accident, according to Dean loyalists. Rather, they say, it was a reflection of the lack of respect accorded to the outgoing party chairman by the Obama team. Despite leading the party in consecutive triumphant election cycles – as well as through off-year races like when Kaine was elected Virginia governor in 2005 – Dean has become all but invisible since Election Day, passed over for the Cabinet position he coveted and apparently not in line for another administration post....

Dean To Step Down as DNC Chair Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who rose to national prominence during a failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, will not seek a second term as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, clearing the way for a loyalist of President-elect Barack Obama to be named to the soon-to-be vacant post. The news of Dean's departure after a single four-year term in office was first reported by the Huffington Post's Sam Stein and confirmed to The Fix by a Democratic Party source. "At this point he has said that he doesn't intend...

The joke among Republicans when Howard Dean became chairman of the Democratic National Committee was that Howard Dean had become the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. They saw the brash, unorthodox, failed presidential candidate from the tiny state of Vermont as a gift that would keep on giving. What they got instead was a low-key party-builder with a bold idea to place money and people on the ground in ruby-red states that Democrats typically wrote off. That Republican "joke" greatly facilitated President Barack H. Obama's victory Tuesday night.

Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that he’s looking forward to one party controlling all aspects of government, despite GOP charges that it would be a disastrous Nov. 4 outcome. “Republicans had a chance to rule. They failed miserably. I think it’s time to give the other party a chance,” Dean said on MSNBC. Republicans recently warned there would be grave consequences for the country if Democrats were in charge of both chambers of Congress and the White House. At a rally in Ohio, for instance, GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said he would provide a balance to...

More relevant are the baroque delegate rules and strong-arm tactics that helped him to victory. A recent Associated Press story glibly proclaimed that “deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House.” The story relied on an AP-Yahoo poll that posed questions regarding race to white Democrats. One is left to wonder why questions regarding race were not posed to black Democrats ... It’s quite troubling, really, that mainstream media outlets are focusing upon “racial misgivings” factors, while all but ignoring the major divides among voting constituencies that occurred during the nominating contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama....

RENTON (WA)— Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told Barack Obama supporters Saturday that Washington needs a huge Obama victory to "carry" into office Democrats whose wins are less certain. Specifically, he mentioned Gov. Christine Gregoire, who is in a tight race with Republican challenger Dino Rossi, and Democrat Darcy Burner, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in the 8th Congressional District. Dean, a 2004 presidential candidate and former governor of Vermont, gave an impassioned speech to a crowd of Democrats packed into the Renton Carpenters Hall. The crowd cheered madly as Dean told them the McCain campaign appeals...