How exactly is Dean a far left liberal?

[hollowdweller]

I was watching Novak? I think being interviewed and he said that they will pick a centrist democrat for DNC chair that Dean was too far left?

So he is for balanced budget, 100% approval from NRA, said we should reach out to pro life Dems. I can't really see he is any more liberal than say Clinton and he was supposedly a centrist.

Are the republicans so afraid of him they want to keep tarring him with liberal or what? I just can't see there's anything about him that makes him any more liberal than any other dem.

[InfoMinister]

1. Only Thing Bush Supporters Base That On Is Pro Iraq War/Anti Iraq War

If you're against the war in Iraq you're automatically labeled a drugged out America hating communist hippie by the Bush supporters.

[Pirate Smile]

2. He isn't, of course, but this is the tag the media stuck on him during the

primaries and woe be the person who tries to change the conventional wisdom in Washington or the MSM.

[Cha]

4. I so don't care what they think...they are

trying to bring America down..so what good are they?

[Pirate Smile]

6. This was the mantra during the primaries that really made me want to pull

my hair out.

I was watching a forum on C-span today with Mary Beth Cahill and Mehlmen and some reporters.

Mehlmen said something that grabbed my attention because I agreed with it (WTF!) and it made complete sense yet I hadn't heard it before.

He said to make a point about your opponent, it has a lot more staying power and resonance if you can somehow tie it to the conventional wisdom about that person.

[Cha]

8. So, he let us in on the

psychology of the successful smear?

Let's get the chimp of the year with this!

[Pirate Smile]

9. My thought exactly. Instead of trying to change the perceptions of him

we need to use and amplify the current CW's of Bush to slam the sh@# out of him.

Telling people he isn't a "real" Christian in his policies won't work because it fights CW.

It would be better to push the "Cowboy" and "Fundamentalist Christian" CWs to the extreme - not too hard.

I think we need to get the crazy "Rapture" story out in the MSM to show that is why they don't care about the environment and how it influences their foreign policy, etc.

[Cha]

16. Yeah, that "crazy rapture story" is hard

for me to believe. It definetly should get out there.

There's got to be a way to keep the crazy fundamentalists from taking over the world.

[Pirate Smile]

17. I think a lot of the moderate Republicans, Catholics, Independents, etc.

have never heard of this "Rapture" idea.

Has Falwell or Robertson ever mentioned this stuff?

We need some of the RW Fundies who are completely identified with the Republican party on record talking about it.

It would scare the sh@# out of people.

It would make people question all of Bush's provocative and inflammatory foreign policy decisions and why they couldn't care less about the environment and the budget deficits. The world is going to end so who cares!

It would be a good way to tie it all together with a pretty little bow for why these guys are so friggin nuts.

[Cha]

19. Yes! Like we do!

If we fight long and hard enough..it will be revealed!

[Radical Activist]

10. "I'm from the democratic wing of the Democratic Party"

I'm sure Dean comparing himself to liberals like Wellstone and Feinstein had nothing to do with it. Of course the media had no reason whatsoever to think he was liberal....ppttthhh

[Pirate Smile]

11. His fiscal policies and NRA record certainly did not fit with the

standard definition of "liberal".

[Radical Activist]

13. I'm sure Paul Wellstone would agree.

[Cha]

15. The fascists are taking over the world..

and the Democrats are bickering about who is more Democratic.


I'm betting Wellstone and Dean would get along great. Wellstone wouldn't be into petty bickering. They're on the same side.

[JI7]

18. you mean Barbara Boxer

Boxer is our liberal senator . Feinstein is the moderate one.

[Radical Activist]

24. Thanks for the correction

I focus too much on the south and midwest.

[radio4progressives]

22. Dean compared himself with Diane Feinstein? She doesn't hold a candle to

Wellstone! She's gone so far over to the Right...she's practically "off the reservation".

But it couldn't have hurt Dean to associate himself with her on some info-tainment program.

[Blind Tiresias]

28. Dean is the future of the democratic party

..well not him necessarily but his positions. Some people say the dem party needs to move the the right, and some to the left. I personally believe we should do both. We should move to the right on maintaining balanced budgets and gun control. We should move to the left on civil rights (for homosexuals especially) and science (stem cells and the reefer). THe party should always be pro-military, but not pro-war. We should look to unite different people on unifying principles, and we should strive to protect freedom for America first, then reach out to the world once our future is secure.

[Peak_Oil]

29. You guys are going to hate me for this but...

I would bury the homosexual agenda. Not to ignore it, but please don't make it front and center. The boomers and the WWII generation are generally not receptive to gay marriage and gay rights. I'm all for gay rights, but let's look at a winning stategy. Please, don't make gay rights center stage.

Here's the numbers.

Maybe 5%, but more likely 3%, of the US is gay. It's a fairly small number. 30% of US citizens own firearms.

5% vs 30%.

It's a factor of six.

I hope this isn't lost on you guys.

There are so many more gun owners than gays, it's not even worth debating. Don't lose the gun owners' votes to get the gay vote. It's a losing strategy. It's possible that emphasizing the gay rights issue over the gun owners' vote cost us the Presidency, the HR, and the Senate. It's the Trifecta for us to win or lose in 08. We can get gay rights without much of a debate when the Dems are in power, but gay rights won't get us the Presidency, the HR, or the Senate.

Change the debate. Have the Democratic Party change the debate. I'd love the see the D's take the explicit position that we're for the 2nd amendement all the way. Say that the 2nd amendement is for individual citizens' right to keep and bear arms, not for the national guard or armed forces, and you will win a portion of 80 million voters.

80 million votes is nothing to sneeze at.

We "lost" by 2%. If we pick up 10% of 80 million votes, it's a 3% swing. We win everything. It's the Trifecta!

[Cha]

3. I think of Dean as not having labels but

he has centrist leanings and also Liberals tendendcies..and progressive in some matters. I believe Dean really does try to bring people together unlike the chimp of the year.

Novak knows shit..he should be anywhere but tv.

[bobweaver]

5. Maybe because he signed the civil unions thing in Vermont for gay couples

but he's no liberal, really.

[Tamyrlin79]

7. They are on the right, so all opposition must be "far left"

The current status quo is empowered by the far right. Therefore, they view all opposition as necessarily coming from the "far left". Plus, they wish to demonize any opposition tot he greatest degree possible. And if Americans are right-leaning these days, then they want all opposition to be painted as way left to prevent it from gaining any steam.

Of course,it isn't true. Dean is a *leader* FROM the left, but not a far-leftist.

[Radical Activist]

12. He's a leader from the moderate DLC wing of the party

but since he badmouths the DLC to make himself look more liberal its ok for him to be moderate. That makes him a reformer.

[rurallib]

14. He says government should stay out of your bedroom

And spend no more money than it takes in. If those aren't wild-eyed lefty positions, I guess I don't know what are. Damn near ta bein' a commie.

[radio4progressives]

20. Why give Novak that much Credit?

Please please please. don't you understand what's going on?

Howard Dean is a MODERATE. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS, EVEN NOVAK KNOWS THIS.

It's a psy-ops technique to distort the truth, in order to create a frame of reference to the ignorant masses buying into this crapola, that Dean is a "far leftist", in order to maintain the Fascists state. it's been working for nearly twentyfive years or more, they even have Liberals buying into it.

Talk about DUMBING DOWN AMERIKA.

Sheeesh.

[curse10]

21. He's not- he's more to the right than most dems

but most republicans and most democrats think he's some sort of lefty. Both sides are horribly wrong.

[IronLionZion]

23. He's not, that's why Rove is so afraid of him

He is a maverick Democrat who waged an insurgent campaign who had the courage to say what many of us were feeling in our hearts. Rove was pissing his pants over this. So the establishment and corporate media labeled him as an angry liberal extremist. and many of his supporters really wished he was so they fooled themselves into believing it.

He's obviously not liberal on economic issues and strongly supports gun rights and welcomes diversity of opinion in the party. He's a common sense type of guy.

He'll make a fine DNC chairman. The party really needs a grass-roots type of guy who says what he believes and believes what he says.

[MikeNY]

25. Dean was the best candidate hands down

Dean amazingly seems to be too honest for Washington politics and that is exactly why he was targetted in the primaries and exactly why he lost the election. An honest man seems to have a huge problem winning an election these days. Whatever you say about Dean, he always seemed to be truthful in what he said and was brave enough to say things that weren't necessarily popular in his base. The exact reason why Dean lost is because his message was not candy-coated and politically correct enough for people to accept. That is usually what happens to a campaign that is based in the realm of reality and truth and not fiction, unfortunately

[seabeyond]

26. he balanced the budget for vermont of course, lol lol

and gave health care to the poor

[eridani]

27. He isn't, but on that other political spectrum--

--the one that goes from cowering wuss on one hand to kickass fighting back on the other, Dean is way over to the kicking ass side.