Better Politically Correct-ed than Elected?

[trof]

How the hell did I get stuck with the Democratic Party?

"In case you're wondering, I'm a bit miffed at the Democrats who attacked presidential candidate Howard Dean for mentioning recently that he wanted to appeal to Southern white voters who drive pickup trucks with Confederate flags in the windows. Naturally, such an outrageous comment started a chain reaction of faint-hearted Democrats soiling themselves. After all, the last thing any Democratic candidate should want is votes.

Any decent Democrat would rather see George W. Bush win next November than see Bush's Democratic opponent receive a single vote from somebody we don't like, right? I know! Let's all put together a list of groups of people that we want to vote against the Democratic candidate next November and then we can send them fliers encouraging them not to support us in the election! We'll send out reminders to Southern white males on election eve, reminding them that we think they're a bunch of ignorant racists! With a little work, we can fashion the Democratic Party into the Chicago Cubs of politics!"

http://www.theangryliberal.com/11-06-03.htm

God bless the Angry Liberal!
:kick:
ABB

[trotsky]

1. So well stated.

He took a break for quite awhile and I forgot all about him - sounds like I need to start visiting again!

[trof]

3. Sign up for his e-mail newsletter

at the website.

[alwynsw]

2. Rather than accept a useful metaphor

the "look who's abusing me now" crowd is going about business as usual: manufacturing offense where none exists to maintain the tension they need to exist.

[Guaranteed]

4. Thank you, Trof.

I'm pretty goddamn pissed, too.
These sick bastards are trying to sink their own ship out of bitterness. Not all of them, mind you....just 2-3....
Some of the candidates were conspicuously silent during this debacle, and I've consequently gained respect for them.

[Atlant]

5. Did you see Wasserman this morning?

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/wasserman/

(Sorry for a crappy link)

Atlant

[liberalmuse]

6. Great article...

I don't have network/cable tv, and I can't get on the Dean site. I should've known better than to rely on information about Dean's statement from the usual suspects. Dean is right, as usual. He is the true uniter, or at least a person who is attempting to unite everyone in this country so divided.

I think this incident has highlighted the self-destructiveness of the Democratic party. We either band together, differences, disagreements and all, or we get Bush for 4 more years. Getting rid of Bush should be the #1 priority of the Democratics and liberals in this country, above and beyond everything else.

My daughter has officially jumped on his campaign as of last night. We made it late to the meetup, but she wrote two awesome letters to residents in Iowa, and grabbed a 'Generation Dean' poster and bumper sticker. I'm going to send him some more money to show my continued support.

[xJlM]

7. You could always leave

The repugs love that flag, they'd be proud to have you waving it with them.

If you don't understand the divisions that stirs up in this country, nothing any thinking adult says will make the slightest impression on you.

[trof]

10. You make his point

better than anything else I could say.

[Guaranteed]

21. Don't lump Dean supporters in with the flag wavers.

After all, OUR candidate has always been against the war. Has yours?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

30. Don't mention the C. flag then

play with gasoline and you'll get burned.

[Guaranteed]

34. Wow,

that gotcha, didn't it?

[mandyky]

8. I don't mind Dean apologizing about hurt feelings

and his making a clumsy statement. I don't think he should apologize for reaching out to Southerner voters, or any other voter in this country. I too am angry at all the "cheap shots" the candidates and their supporters have made over this, but I also thank them for the media exposure it has given Dean. CNN broke in live with Dean's "apology", and people in the South are hearing about this man and his campaign.

[Guaranteed]

22. Many good points there.

I hope he makes the distinction clear- that he's sorry for referring to the flag, not for his platform.

[mmonk]

9. Please separate the many southern white males like me from

that which don't fit this description from your all encompassing letter. Geez does a party exist for those of us who aren't bigots on either side of this issue?

[trof]

16. Well, here's the deal:

We have to work with what we've got, not what we'd like to have in a perfect world.

I've told this story here before, but...
I met and talked with Jimmy Carter during his first presidential campaign. I took him to task about something he'd said (can't remember what now) that seemed to be pandering to a particular group. I was a lot more idealistic back then. He pretty much agreed with me but made the point that the best of intentions and the highest ideals weren't worth a bucket of spit if he didn't FIRST get elected.

It sounds simplistic, but there it is. The repugs get it. Win by any means.
We can sit up high on our stack of righteous moralism and let them keep winning, and running the show, and dismantling the last 60 years of work, or we can get out the brass knuckles too. If we can't win by NOT "lowering" ourselves to their level, then lower away.

We can't win a fight if we play by Marquis of Queensbury rules and the other guy is street fighting. It's mean, it's cruel, it's dirty, but it's the world we live in and we have to adapt to it.

[sandnsea]

11. We won't be elected if we're not respected

And we won't be respected if we back away from the fight against racism. We're right and these flag wavers know we're right or they wouldn't be fighting so hard against change. They want to believe we're the party that wants to give away the country to immigrants, degenerates, criminals and minorities because white superiority is what they've based their pride on for all these years. And these are flag wavers all over the country, not just in the south, and people like them who don't wave that flag. I usually agree with Angry Liberal, but not this time. This is a fight Democrats shouldn't back down from if we're to have anything to stand for in the future.

[mmonk]

13. southern white males that aren't racist

may see the letter. How about, "those of you that are racists" ? I mean, was Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton racists?

[sandnsea]

14. My brother is a southern white male

He's not racist. Okay?

On edit:

And a Nascar Dad. And he wouldn't have a Confederate Flag anywhere near him.

[mmonk]

15. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against

standing loud and firm against racism. Just not into calling someone who isn't a racist a racist.

[sandnsea]

20. I agree

And I know the south isn't full of racists running around with confederate flags on their trucks. At the same time, I do know the flag is flown and is increasingly becoming a symbol of the white male racist all across the country. That flag came up out of a tortured time in our country and it would be nice if we could put it down and let that time pass, once and for all.

[meow2u3]

18. Dean's talking about the Southern white men who ARE racist

and asking them to put their racial prejudices aside in favor of the ecomonic issues that affect them, too: namely, joblessness, low wages and lack of health care, and poverty.

[sangh0]

23. Then why bring up the Confederate flag?

Even Dean acknowledges that it was a mistake to bring up the Confederate flag. It distracted from Dean's point that those voters ought to vote Dem because their interest in getting health care, job security, etc were better served by the Dems. Instead, because of Dean's careless words, we got a debate about the Confederate flag, racism, and the South.

But some people will continue to claim that Dean has made no mistake, it was a brilliant move that will help him in the South, that Dean is right, right, right, even when Dean himself says he is wrong, wrong, wrong. In that case, Dean is right, right, right for saying he's wrong, wrong, wrong, even if he really was right, right, right, and should not have apologized, but it was right, right, right, to apologize, even though he had nothing to apologize for because he is right, right, right.

[mmonk]

24. I know that

but perceptions are a funny thing. What one might mean could be lost if not explained adequately.

[sandnsea]

25. Well, that's not right either

Every male in the south, or any other part of the country, aren't voting Republican just because they're racist. And not just because of guns either. It's just a whole lot more complicated than that.

Immigration is one issue. They see the Democrats as opening the door to illegal immigrants and see their jobs disappearing and wages going down because of it. It makes them angry and sometimes spirals into racism. But they really just want a job and a decent salary. Of course, it's more complicated than that. They also don't want unions which could help keep those wages and benefits up. And they also think the minimum wage and union wages raise prices. It's easy to just paint them with the big brush of racists, but it's just more complicated than that. And that's just one issue. If the Democratic Party doesn't figure out how to talk to these people on every similar issue, and bring the racism that sometimes exists right into the mix, we'll never make any headway at all.

And Howard Dean is so not doing that, because he doesn't even understand it.

[Guaranteed]

19. But we're not backing away from the fight.

We're not dropping our principles. We're dropping the divisiveness. We've already done a great job in addressing the racial issue. But, the cultural divide still exists. That is, for the most part, what still remains to be closed, and it should be, while we continue the fight for racial equality.

[sandnsea]

26. ????

We already addressed the racial issue, it's just the cultural divide that still exists? Explain please, I don't think I know what you're talking about.

[Guaranteed]

29. That's not what I said.

I said we've already made a lot of progress. Remember that blacks used to not be able to use the same bathrooms as whites?
Yeah. I think it's safe to say we've made progress.
What we HAVEN'T made progress in is connecting the culture of the South with that of the North. It's a broader issue...much tougher to visualize than the color of someone's skin, but it's also worth pursuing.

Here, Dean just said this about 15 minutes ago.....do you disagree with it?

" I believe that although I should not have used the symbol of the Confederate flag that the thrust of our strategy is the right thrust. We have to get people to focus on what we have in common in the South and elsewhere in this country. We have to stop the Republicans from dividing us on issues like race and abortion and guns and start focusing on the need for jobs, healthcare and education. that is the way to bring southern white voters back to the Democrats."

Edited for grammar.

[edzontar]

12. These self-serving attacks on Dean will backfire...

I can only hope....Both Edwards and Sharptton came across like opportunistic playground bullies.

I like both of these guyts in many ways but not this time.

They may think they are helping their own causes--or maybe they are operating as hit-men for Kerry and lieberman--I am not sure.

But the only one who is benefitting from this is Bush.

[Atlant]

17. They certainly back-fired for me.

I've moved Edwards from my "Hold my nose and vote for him,
should he be nominated" column to my "What an asshole! I
certainly won't be voting for him!" column.

I'm dead serious.

Edwards and Sharpton deliberately misconstrued and mis-
represented what Dean actually said for their own supposed
political gain, and I don't vote for liars, and I ESPECIALLY
don't vote for liars who damage my party with their lies.

Atlant

[sybylla]

27. Thank you, Trof

This has needed to be said and the Angry Liberal did a wonderful job espressing my feelings about the whole situation.

I am sickened by the actions of members of my own party on this. It was an eye-opener for anyone who hasn't chosen a favorite in the race yet and that includes me. I have now crossed the names of several candidates from my list of consideration and am pleased I never quite found the time to make a donation to these campaigns which early last week seemed to have some value to the Dems as a whole.

What a shame *sigh*

[trof]

28. Read my new bumper sticker.

I'm ABB until the election.
I haven't contributed to anyone yet. Don't have that much to give.
When we DO have a nominee, then I'll write a check.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

31. and please understand that some of us are bothered by Dean's

bungling ways. Quite bothered. A spokesman for the party? I am very nervous at the prospect.

[sybylla]

32. Last I knew, Terry McAuliffe was the spokesman for the party

Candidates of all sorts should never be a spokesman for the party. I have yet to find a candidate who agrees 100% with the party platform. Let them speak for themselves. It is when candidates try to speak for the party and for others in the party that they get into trouble.

Be as nervous as you want. I want someone who understands the English language, who speaks frankly and isn't so f***ing scripted. I don't want a candidate who runs around pointing fingers at everyone else to distract the onlookers from their failing campaign while fearmongering to get votes. Sounds kinda like that other party we all despise, doesn't it.

[Guaranteed]

33. Kick for balance. nt