| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| YEEEEEEAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHH!!! - Part II? |
| 2005-05-19 |
| Assist - Drudge Dean vs. Russert: It'll be a scream May 19, 2005 BY ROBERT NOVAK SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets... After Howard Dean last weekend declared Tom DeLay ought to be in jail, a longtime Democratic operative told me the party's national chairman had momentarily ripped off his muzzle but that it soon would be restored. My source erred, however, in believing that Dean ever had been muzzled. It's just that nobody has paid much attention to his rants. Well, we at Rantburg U. have! Since his election as chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Feb. 12, Dean has studiously avoided most national television exposure. But he has been talking to party gatherings across the country, and his intemperate language at these outings contradicts the notion that he has been kept under control. Heh. That he will leap onto the national stage Sunday on NBC's ''Meet the Press'' with Tim Russert raises concern among the Democratic political players whether he will contain himself. I'd think that a national candidate would learn from past behaviour or at least be a bit more self-aware, but I can't bring myself to say Dean will not drop a bomb. I don't think he has it in him. Dean's election by the DNC membership was a case of the inmates seizing control of the asylum. After the 2004 election, party leaders spent more than three months in a fruitless effort to find an alternative to Dean. Their fears of money drying up under Dean have largely been realized, but they have deluded themselves into thinking the former Vermont governor who screamed his way out of any hope for the 2004 presidential nomination was under firm restraint. The party's congressional leaders, Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Puhleeze, these two are lecturing Dean on the concept of 'comity'? sat down with Dean for a heart-to-heart talk. They politely urged him to restrain his rhetoric, to organize rather than inflame. Dean thereupon Blue Dean in Red States. What could possibly go wrong? He was not. He has described the Republican leadership, in various venues, as ''evil,'' ''corrupt'' and ''brain-dead.'' He has called Sen. Rick Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, a ''liar.'' Nothing like 'civil, well-reasoned discourse', now is there? What he said last weekend differed from this invective only in that it was presented to an urban forum and so became public knowledge. Addressing the Massachusetts Democratic convention in Lowell, Dean declared: ''I think DeLay ought to go back to Houston where he can serve his jail sentence down there courtesy of the Texas taxpayers.'' Dean would jail DeLay without trial, without indictment and without accusation of any crime. "Jail time for thee, not for me! I gotta cash some cheques!" National chairmen are supposed to fire up the troops, but Dean's rhetoric crosses a line. What he said was too much even for so tough a partisan Democrat as Rep. Barney Frank, who attended his state's convention in Lowell and was appalled by Dean's language. I'll give Barney Frank that much - he's one of the few Dems with a sense of honour. Dean's deficiencies as face and voice of the Democratic Party were supposed to be overcome by his legendary prowess, evident by his run for president, raising funds in small packages. That so far has proved a grievous disappointment. First-quarter figures show the DNC received only $13 million from individuals, compared with $32 million raised by the Republican National Committee. Overall figures were $34.2 million by the RNC, $16.7 million by the DNC. "I said some cheques, not a lot of them!" Dean has not always kept himself faithful to the Democratic message. On Feb. 23 at Cornell University, he blurted out that Social Security benefits -- if the system is left unchanged -- 30 years from now will be 80 percent of what they are now. That was a shocking departure from 'Cuz then they'd a) have to admit they were wrong b) for supporting a insolvent progam enacted by the Democratic demigod, FDR. Won't happen, evah. But the only place that Dean's Social Security departure appeared was in the Cornell Daily Sun, the student newspaper. His limited exposure generally means that little of what he says is communicated to the public. He has been convinced that he has nothing to gain from face-to-face debates on television with his Republican counterpart, Ken Mehlman. Right. He knows the MSM will provide cover by killing these stories en masse, so he can get away with scalding water rhetoric. Problem is, he's falling behind in the Benjamins Department, and he's not exactly expanding their base with his mouth. Accordingly, anticipation of Dean on ''Meet the Press'' Sunday is unsettling for the party's faithful. This will be his first exposure as chairman on a major network interview, and Russert predictably will be well-prepared with a rap sheet of the chairman's verbal assaults. The prospect that Dean will make juicy additions to that collection unnerves Democrats. I say 60% chance that he says something that Instapundit will comment on in terms of its hostile nature, and even money that Dean is out as chairpersonby his second anniversary. |
| Posted by:Raj |
| #4 Russert will give him a pass. First question should be: "when will Senator Kerry, an obvious Democrat candidate for 2008 Presidential Race, sign the release of his 180 forms? I have a pen and blank forms right here" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-19 21:39 |
| #3 ...and it gets so much worse when you're getting dissed by your kinfolk. YEeeeeeaaaaarrrgh! |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-05-19 20:14 |
| #2 The Democrats are dividing the country as well, as half the population hates them... |
| Posted by: Get Real 2005-05-19 19:58 |
| #1 I expect Russert will pair the Dean "Osama is innocent until proven guilty quote" with his two or three "DeLay (who hasn't even been charged) should go to jail quote." or his, "Bush is dividing the country" quotes with his "I hate Republican" quotes. Dean will try the 'Here's what I meant' approach. Will Russert have a 'then why did you follow that first remark with this a week later' retort ready? |
| Posted by: mhw 2005-05-19 19:47 |