Statement From Governor Dean Regarding Kerry, Gephardt Tag Team Attacks

[Duder]

BURLINGTON--Last winter -- to resounding applause and a standing ovation -- Democratic presidential candidate Governor Howard Dean, M.D., told the DNC that "white folks in the South who drive pick-up trucks with Confederate flag decals on the back ought to be voting with us because their kids don't have health insurance either, and their kids need better schools too."

In response to Congressman Gephardt's and Senator Kerry's most recent attacks, Governor Dean said:

"I want people with confederate flags on their trucks to put down those flags and vote Democratic--because the need for quality healthcare, jobs, and a good education knows no racial boundaries. We have working white families in the south voting for tax cuts for the richest 1% while their children remain with no health care. The dividing of working people by race has been a cornerstone of Republican politics for the last three decades--starting with Richard Nixon. For my fellow Democratic opponents to sink to this level is really tragic. The only way we're going to beat George Bush is if southern white working families and African American working families come together under the Democratic tent, as they did under FDR.

"In his historic 'I have a dream speech,' Martin Luther King, Jr., said: 'I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.' I believe Dr. King's vision still represents the future of America. And that is what our campaign is about."

http://www.blogforamerica.com/

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. "Stop pickin' on me - don't you know I'm the anointed one?"

[hedda_foil]

2. Bravo!

The Kerry Kamp managed a Willie Horton moment with their trying to demonize Dean in this way. I can't begin to say how appalled I am that they did this.

[DJcairo]

5. You ought to be appaled by what your guy said

It was stupid and he made this mess himself. How it is you can blame Kerry or Gep for the dumb thing your guy said.

[Cha]

13. Here's a Clark's Supporter's view...

"Jeeze talking about twisting a guy's word. This Clark supporter says..
Dean is right on the money. "A racist attitude" - give me a break"

[Cha]

20. Just one more appalling demagoguery from

those people.

[DJcairo]

3. What a bunch of pandering

I thought he wanted confed flag bearing dudes to like him, now he wants them to "I want people with confederate flags on their trucks to put down those flags and vote Democratic..."

Like white southern rascists are going to vote for a vermonter who signed into law a gay civil unions bill.

[w4rma]

6. Kerry is a liar.

Dean said the men with Confederate flag decals in their pickup trucks represented lucrative prospects for the party "because their kids don't have health insurance, either, and their kids need better schools, too.

"I intend to talk about race in this election in the south because the Republicans have been talking about it since 1968 in order to divide us. And I'm going to bring us together, because you know what? White folks in the south who drive pickups trucks with confederate flags decals in the back ought to be voting with us and not them, because their kids don't have health insurance either and their kids need better schools too." (big applause)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

9. I ain't a Dean Supporter.

Hell, I ain't an anybody supporter. Having said that, I don't think your cheap sniping is doing your candidate one bit of good in the eyes of guys like me.

You might want to fall back 10 yards and look things over.

[Rose Siding]

4. There he goes again

Making sense.

[DJcairo]

7. Oh please...

“I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks."

"I want people with confederate flags on their trucks to put down those flags and vote Democratic--because the need for quality healthcare, jobs, and a good education knows no racial boundaries.


Which is it Howard? You want them to vote for you or put their confed flags away?

You Dean supporters who stand by his statement are unbelievable.

[Rose Siding]

10. Carve it up for someone else

I take the meaning

[michaelbmoore]

8. Oh my God,

Stop digging and get out of the hole!

[Cha]

12. you get a clue.

[Cha]

11. god I'm glad we have this man in our campaign

leading and working for and with us! :kick:

[w13rd0]

14. One of the interesting things about our democracy...

...is that we can utterly despise or disagree with many of those that vote for the same candidate we do on a wide variety of issues. There is nothing wrong with telling those that have been duped by the GOP southern strategy to wake up and quit voting against their interests. And while they are participating in the democratic process, perhaps we can help them see that it isn't "them minorities" or "them women" or "them gays" that are a threat to them, but a political and corporate power elite that constantly seek to divide and confuse us to more easily manipulate the process.

[Cha]

15. Dean is Smart and has Vision which is

seriously lacking in Some of our other candidates.

[mandyky]

16. And apparently some of their supporters

Why some people think Dean supporters will turn to support their candidate because they twist Dean's words and meaning is a mystery to me.

[Cha]

19. Yeah, go figure! same with their candidate.

[Sean Reynolds]

17. So since when did owning the confederate flag constitute racism?

I really doubt that every person that bears the confederate flag is a racist.

But what this shows is that Kerry is willing to split this country into two. Kerry is willing to IGNORE the problems of the south because some of their populace might be racist. Now the Kerry campaign is wondering why he can't pick up traction in this election? Maybe it's because he's coming off as a pompous New Englander that doesn't give a two shit kick about the south and their voice.

Last I checked this was ONE nation, that faced problems together. We can't unite every person by continually alienating them. Better yet, we can't stop racism when we keep turning our back on the problem. For 30 years the Democratic Party HAS turned its back on the problem by feeding into the damn Republican hate.

I guess this is just Kerry trying to twist Dean's words. What I get from this is that he wants to actually unite the nation to fight NOT only racial problems, but other problems that plague this nation today. It'd be nice to just cut off all the confederate flag waving people and ignore THEIR problems I guess. Forget their kids, their issues and just explore that of 'good' southerners, right? Forget the fact THESE are people and we HAVE no clue if they're racist or not. What we do know is that the GOP have been instilling FEAR into the south for far too long. How do we expect to unite the black and white population in the south when we keep pushing the black and white population further apart?

So read into this as MUCH as you want. Kerry can continue his campaign on attacking Dean at every chance he gets. You can all cry Dean deserves it with his 'Bush-lite' quote, but this goes above all. To even VAGUELY state Dean is a racist, a white supremacist supporter is a new low.

I have supported Kerry for far too long. But it's obviously clear that Kerry has NO limits in his attack.

Thank you Mr. Kerry for giving me MORE reason to hate your campaign, and more reason to see you're just a typical politician scumbag. Just shows Kerry's campaign is losing its wheels and they're trying to grasp onto anything to save their runaway campaign.

I'm cheering its fall. I can't wait to see Kerry LOSE New Hampshire. I can't wait to see Kerry LOSE the nomination. I can't wait to see Kerry look on as Dean stands, perched on the capitol steps, giving his inaugural address.

[Cha]

21. And I hope this latest Twistedness comes back to bite

him in the ass...Big Time.

[Padraig18]

18. Kick for the truth!

[killbotfactory]

22. Dean unleashes MECHA-DEAN to crush Geppy, Kerry, and Eddy

"I'm sick of their shit" Dean was quoted as saying, "It's time to take out the trash!"

[DJcairo]

23. He ought to say Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards, Clark tag team

and soon just about every other cnaiddate in the field.

It's Howard Dean vs. =Everyone

[Sean Reynolds]

24. And Dean will win.

Why? Because America will see these attacks for what they are. LIES and the TWISTING of words.

Kerry is using a GOP attack - the wonderful twisting of ones words.

[killbotfactory]

25. People avoid politics because of these types of BS attacks

Dean offers a message of hope and a unified America. His competitors just bash and twist words.

[KaraokeKarlton]

26. Some of the Kerry supporters here

have such horrible behavior that I feel like voting for Bush if Kerry gets the nomination because I am starting to actually like Bush better than Kerry. Same for Gephardt, but on a lesser level. Yes, we all know Bush is an asshole, but we EXPECT him to be. Watching John Kerry (who is supposed to be a loyal Democrat) be a bigger asshole to Democrats than Bush and the GOP leads me to believe there really wouldn't be a damn bit of difference between Kerry and Bush. If we're to be stuck with an asshole for president I think it's better to be stuck with one we won't be so disappointed and disgusted with simply because we know to expect shit.

Kerry really, really disgusts me more and more each day. What a pathetic loser he is.

on edit...NO, I won't vote for Bush, but I sure as hell won't vote for Kerry, either!