Democratic squabbling and appearance of "extremism" hurting party image

[janekat]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/08/09/wdems09.xml
There is much to distract President George W Bush ...... But there is one worry that will not have intruded, or even caused the president to break his stride: the threat of a powerful Democratic challenger for his job at next year's presidential election.

It is not just that there are a farcical nine Democrats still fighting it out for the candidacy, with at least two more thinking of joining the fray. It is not merely that the five front-runners spend more time squabbling among themselves than landing blows on Mr Bush.

-snip-

The current media darling, Howard Dean, is a short-tempered toff turned fiery populist, whose supporters dub him "the new Jimmy Carter". It does not help that Mr Dean's biggest job to date was governor of Vermont, a state so small, northern and liberal that many Middle Americans suspect that it is part of Canada.

Mr Bush remains unbeatable on national security..... the Democratic party.... is made up of.... special interest groups and party activists, whose views tend to be extreme compared with mainstream voters. Many rank-and-file Democrats hate Mr Bush with a fierce intensity. Their favoured candidates talk of impeaching the president over Iraq, and vow to repeal the coming Bush tax cuts - allowing Republicans to paint them as tax raisers. The centrist Democratic Leadership Council, the party think tank that helped Bill Clinton to power, is near despair. Last month they gave warning that the "far Left" was pulling their party over a cliff.
-snip-

[matcom]

1. complete and utter crap

Mr Bush remains unbeatable on national security.....

unbeatable? my A**!

[Egnever]

2. Somehow I dont think this guy ever had a good image

of the democratic party.

But thanks for posting this freeper crap. So we could all go oooh wow freepers really dont like democrats.

Bush remains unbeatable on national security! :puke:

This guy doesnt have a grasp of reality forget about what people think about the dem candidates.

[janekat]

7. The guys British - don't think they have freepers there....

[Egnever]

15. Based on this article

I would say you are wrong.

[blm]

3. What an uninformed reporter.

Anyone with an ounce of political sense knows Kerry is a liberal who speaks in muderate tones.

[CWebster]

12. lol--"muderate"

fraudian?

[Racenut20]

4. Is there a purpose here?

Or are we just bashing the candidates?

[janekat]

8. Sorry -

I took out the ambulance chaser, etc. That shouldn't have been in there. I actually do support Kerry and Edwards.

[HFishbine]

5. What a load of crap

Dean supporters call him the new Jimmy Carter? Who" Where? When?

Many middle Americans think Vermont is part of Canada? How insulting.

Edwards an "ambulance chaser?" More like a defender of the very middle Americans the author disses.

[janekat]

13. I'm sorry - I did not mean to put that in at all

I actually do support Edwards among others.

[RichM]

6. It isn't really "squabbling" - the party is struggling to find its soul.

There's a great danger in trivializing the significance of what people here often refer to as "bickering" or "squabbling." The party doesn't know what it represents. It is floundering & failing, but not because of "lack of unity." Rather, the lack of unity itself reflects confusion, fear, & a political position riddled with internal contradiction.

[janekat]

11. It appears as squabbling to the public. That's the #1 beef about Dems

n/t

[Tinoire]

17. Shh... Shut up and get in line soldier!

Fix your gig line and look STRAC! You have Conservatives to impress!

You are not a good soldier! You are part of the problem.

Independent thought is not authorized.

Now get back in line.

[janekat]

19. It's not just Conservatives who are bothered by this - it's the mainline

Dems and Independents - who we must win over if we want to win the general.

[charlie]

21. No, it's a conservative rag

telling you that mainstream Dems and Independents are bothered by this.

[Scott Lee]

23. I hope they find one soon.

n/t

[Hep]

9. So you

start a squabbling match among democrats by posting an article lamenting the squabbling among democrats.

Regardless, the article is crap, and reflects that the writer has no idea what he is talking about. Look at the line about Edwards. I'm not an Edwards fan, three elections (two primaries and a general) and I have only voted for him ONCE, but I know better than to subscribe to that ignorant BS written above.

[janekat]

18. I'M not a candidate for President

wouldn't even dream of running. I'd make Dean look like a pussycat if I ran....

[Hep]

20. Damn

Why aren't you running then?

Roooowr!

[CWebster]

10. O look another jab at Dean from the Clark corps

just can't help themselves.

And aside from that, talk about "party squabbling and appearance of extremism", it occurs to me that many Clark supporters can't seem to tell the difference between the Right and the Left.

This piece is as reactionary as it gets, rallying to to the DLC as the standard bearer.
Flamebait.

[jonnyblitz]

16. The Telegraph is a right wing newspaper

so what would you expect. :hi:

[diplomats]

24. The author dismisses all the Dems

he doesn't like Clark any more than Dean.

[charlie]

14. This is the idiot

who wrote that General Clark only chose the Democrats because the White House blew him off.

He also posted a story last month that resurrected the old canard about Clinton refusing to blow away Bin Laden when he had solid intel on his whereabouts.

The Telegraph is Conrad Black's paper. Richard Perle sits on its board of directors. They regularly print speculative baloney to bolster the Chimp administration.

[Scott Lee]

22. Yes. We give up.

We, the DLC, now acknowledge that the conservative GOP was right all along. As such, we are hereby abandoning our traditional role as progressive ideological leaders, as trailblazers for a better society, and we are moving to the center where we can happily appease the basest small minded bigotries and backwater thinking of the mainstream.

Forgive our attempt to make our society more just, equitable and free. We don't know what came over us.