Here’s the Washington State Republicans’ lengthy (Doth Protest Too Much?) talking point press release about DNC Chair Howard Dean’s coming visit to Olympia. Dean’s going to be in Olympia for the Democrats’ annual Crab Feed this Monday.

To: Washington State Media
From: Diane Tebelius
Date: 2/17/06
Re: Howard Dean is coming to town

Howard Dean. Just mentioning his name brings to mind images of a screaming cartoon character. "Yeeaaah!” Ever since he burst onto the national political stage back in 2003, Dean has made headlines with his fiery rhetoric and candid hate of everything related to Republicans.

On Monday, February 20th Dean will be attending the Washington Democrats' Annual Crab Feed and PCO training. While his visit gives us a chance to poke fun at him (He often makes it way too easy. John McCain once reportedly said that "Howard Dean is the gift that keeps on giving.”), the real issue here is how Howard Dean has come to represent the Democratic Party as a whole. Thanks to Dean, the Democrats are no longer the inclusive party of the "little guy.” Instead, the D's have become a band of angry, liberal extremists, who have yet to form a cohesive message that appeals to the average American voter.

To see an example of this you don't have to look too far. Just last week, Dean compared the US to Iran:

"All we ask is that we not turn into a country like Iran where the President can do anything he wants.” (ABC's "Good Morning America,” 2/9/06)

Is this a voice of a winning party, optimistic about America's future? Howard Dean's Democratic Party is out-of-touch, irate and clearly left of the American mainstream.

Besides Dean's shoot-em up speaking style, it is also interesting to contrast his leadership style with that of Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman. Under Mehlman, the Republican National Committee has made a concerted effort to reach out to new groups of voters. Mehlman has stated numerous times that he wishes to reach out to minorities voters in an effort to create a permanent GOP majority. Dean on the other hand has focused on exciting the Democratic Party's extreme liberal base. There has been no outreach. Instead, Dean has hoped to capitalize on how much his party's grassroots hate for Republicans, in hopes that enough of them will make it to the polls. Howard Dean's excesses have also cost the Democrats in fundraising. At the end of 2005, the Democrats had about $5 million cash on hand, as opposed to about $35 million for Republicans. Donors large and small have clearly grown weary of Howard Dean. 

Below are quotes from Howard Dean that paint a picture of an angry, hateful, often aimless "leader." Surprisingly, these are only a small sample. You will notice that they are broken down into four categories including as follows: 1) Dean's hate for Republicans, 2) a lack of responsibility for his comments, 3) contradicting himself, and 4) what other Democrats think of one of his typical statements.

1) Howard Dean hates Republicans


Howard Dean: "I Hate The Republicans And Everything They Stand For ...” (Dana Milbank, "Dean's Past As Prologue To DNC Future,” The Washington Post, 1/29/05)

"[R]epublicans ... A Lot Of Them Have Never Made An Honest Living In Their Lives.” (DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Remarks At Campaign For America's Future "Take Back America Conference,” DC, 6/2/05)

Dean Charges Evangelical Christians As Anti-Civil Rights: "I Went Up To Her [Dean Supporter] And Said How Is It That You Managed To Support Me As An Evangelical Christian? There's Some Things You Can't Possibly Agree With Me On, Such As Civil Rights For All Americans ...” (DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Remarks At Campaign For America's Future "Take Back America Conference,” DC, 6/2/05)

"Appearing On The Liberal Air America Radio In Minnesota, Dean Said Republicans Are, Quote, `Mean. They're Not Nice People. They Want To Run Nearly Every Aspect Of Your Life,' End Quote.” (Fox News' "Special Report,” 4/5/05)

Dean: "They All Behave The Same. They All Look The Same. It's Pretty Much A White Christian Party.”  (Carla Marinucci, "In S.F., Dean Calls GOP `A White Christian Party,'” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/7/05)

Dean: "You Can't Trust Republicans With Your Money.” (Emily Wagster Pettus, "DNC Chairman Dean Tries To Shore Up Miss. Democratic Base,” The Associated Press, 3/1/05)

Dean On Republicans And Democrats: "This Is A Struggle Of Good And Evil. And We're The Good.”  (Joel Mathis, "Dean Roars Into Town,” Lawrence [KS] Journal-World, 2/26/05)

Dean Called Republicans "Corrupt,” Saying, "You Can't Trust Them With Your Money, And You Can't Trust Them With Your Votes.” "Never one to mince words, Dean's favorite for describing Republican leaders on Monday night was `corrupt.' ... `You can't trust them with your money, and you can't trust them with your votes. ... Evangelicals don't like corruption either,' he said.” (Cathy Zollo, "Howard Dean Addresses Collier Democrats,” Naples Daily News, 4/19/05)


2) A lack of responsibility

Dean: "You Can't Succeed Electorally If You Are A Person Of Color In The Republican Party. There Are Very Few People Who Have Succeeded, You Can Pick Some Out, J.C. Watts, I'm Trying To Think Of An Asian-American Who Has Been A Success As A Republican ... But There's Always A Few But Not Many...” (Howard Dean, Remarks During San Francisco Chronicle Interview With Carla Marinucci, San Francisco, CA, 6/6/05)

"During A Meeting ... With The Democratic Black Caucus, Dean ... Questioned Republicans' Ability To Rally Support From Minorities. `You Think The Republican National Committee Could Get This Many People Of Color In A Single Room?,' Dean Asked To Laughter. `Only If They Had The Hotel Staff In Here.'” (Nancy Benac, "Dean Ready To Take Charge Of Democrats,” The Associated Press, 2/11/05)

Dean on the racial slurs used against Maryland Lt. Governor and US Senate candidate Michael Steele: "I oppose any effort to make an issue of a candidate's ethnicity in a political campaign . . .” (Howard Dean, "Dean disavows slurs as campaign tactic, but he won't apologize to Steele,” Washington Times, 11/15/05)*

* It should be noted that Democrats have been eager to attack Steele. It's no surprise that they would be; Steele is an articulate African-American Republican! This is the Democrats' worst fear. Dean has refused to apologize for the vicious racial attacks made by members of his own party against Steele, which have included calling Steele an "Uncle Tom.” You can read more about Dean's response by clicking here.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051114-015140-6451r.htm  


3) Contradiction

"The Idea That The United States Is Going To Win The War In Iraq Is Just Plain Wrong,”("Dean Questions Commitment To Iraq Strategy,"The Associated Press, 12/5/05)

But earlier last year Dean explicitly stated that withdrawal from Iraq could endanger the United States:

"An American pullout could endanger the United States in any of three ways, Dean said: by leaving a Shiite theocracy worse than that in Iran, which he called a more serious threat than Iraq ever was; by creating an independent Kurdistan in the north, with destabilizing effects on neighboring Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran and Syria, and by making the Sunni Triangle a magnet for Islamic terrorists similar to the former Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. 'That's where Al Qaida will set up,' he said." (Conrad Defiebre, "Howard Dean Warns Of Danger In Iraq Pullout," [Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN] Star Tribune, 4/21/05)

Dean: "If We Pull Out Precipitously, Or If We Give Over The Iraqi Government To The Iraqis Precipitously, And Al-Qaida Establishes A Foothold In Iraq, We Have A Much More Serious Problem In Terms Of Our Defense Than We Did Before." ("The Democratic Presidential Candidates On The Issues At Tuesday's Debate," The Associated Press, 1/6/04)

Before The War, Dean Called Saddam A "Threat" And Believed Saddam Had WMD:

Dean: "Everything The President Says About Saddam Hussein Is True. He's Evil. He's A Liar. He Gases His Own People." (ABC's "This Week," 12/22/02)

Dean: "I Believe That Iraq Does Have Chemical And Biological Weapons, And They Are A Threat To Many Nations In The Region, But Not To The United States." (PBS' "Newshour," 2/25/03)

Dean: "'I Would Be Surprised If [Hussein] Didn't Have' Chemical And Biological Weapons." (Mort Kondracke, "Is Howard Dean For Real? Well, Not Entirely," Roll Call, 1/27/03)

Now, Dean Thinks President Bush "Did Not Tell The Truth":

Dean: "It Turns Out There Is A Lot Of Good Evidence That President Bush Did Not Tell The Truth When He Was Asking Congress For The Power To Go To War." (San Antonio's WOAI's Website, www.woai.com, Accessed 12/5/05)



4) Reactions from Democrats on a typical Dean comment

On his quote above that the United States cannot win the Iraq War:

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE): "I'm Not Speaking For Howard Dean, And Howard Dean's Not Speaking For Me." (Fox News' "Fox News Live," 12/7/05)

Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA): "I Think Howard Dean ... Represents Himself When He Speaks ... He Does Not Represent Me." (Jim VandeHei and Shalaigh Murray, "Democrats Fear Backlash At Polls For Antiwar Remarks," The Washington Post, 12/7/05)

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI): "Democrats Firmly Believe That The U.S. Can And Must Succeed ..." (Sen. Jack Reed, Press Conference, 12/7/05)

Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA): "Dean's Take On Iraq Makes Even Less Sense Than The Scream In Iowa: Both Are Uninformed And Unhelpful." (Jim VandeHei and Shalaigh Murray, "Democrats Fear Backlash At Polls For Antiwar Remarks," The Washington Post, 12/7/05)

Former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe: "We Can And We Will Win The War In Iraq, There's No Question." (Fox News' "Fox News Live," 12/07/05)

DCCC Chairman Rahm Emmanuel (D-IL): "'What I Want Democrats To Be Discussing Is What The President's Policies Have Led To' ... He Added That Once Discussion Turns To A Formal Timeline For Troop Withdrawals, 'The How And When Gets Buried' And Many Voters Take Away Only An Impression That Democrats Favor Retreat." (Jim VandeHei and Shalaigh Murray, "Democrats Fear Backlash At Polls For Antiwar Remarks," The Washington Post, 12/7/05)

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA): "[I] Don't Agree With Howard Dean." (CSPAN's "Washington Journal," 12/7/05)

Democrat Congressional Challenger (PA-8) And Iraq War Veteran Patrick Murphy: "'I Absolutely Disagree [With Dean]." (Jim VandeHei and Shalaigh Murray, "Democrats Fear Backlash At Polls For Antiwar Remarks," The Washington Post, 12/7/05)