And Here Comes the New York Times on the Confed Flag Fracas

[DJcairo]

Rivals Attack Dean for Wooing 'Guys With Confederate Flags'
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER

Published: November 2, 2003


AVERLY, Iowa, Nov. 1 — Howard Dean's rivals for the Democratic nomination roundly attacked him on Saturday for telling an Iowa newspaper he wanted "to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks" in defending his opposition to some gun-control legislation.

But Dr. Dean retorted that he had said much the same thing in front of largely black audiences months ago and said his opponents were merely flailing away at him in desperation.

The fracas comes as the other contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination — especially Senator John Kerry and Representative Richard A. Gephardt — are struggling to overtake Dr. Dean, who leads in most polls both in Iowa and in New Hampshire.

On Friday, Dr. Dean came under criticism from Mr. Kerry for having opposed an assault weapons ban while seeking the National Rifle Association's endorsement for his bid for governor of Vermont in 1992.

In an interview that was published Saturday in The Des Moines Register, Dr. Dean defended his position on gun control by saying: "I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks. We can't beat George Bush unless we appeal to a broad cross section of Democrats."

Mr. Kerry called Dr. Dean's statement "craven," "pandering" and "the worst kind of politics as usual." He said, "I'd rather be the candidate of the N.A.A.C.P. than the N.R.A., who understands that the Confederate flag belongs in museums."

An aide to Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Craig T. Smith, called the remark "irresponsible and reckless." Mr. Gephardt issued a statement saying he planned to "be the candidate for the guys with American flags in their pickup trucks."

And the Rev. Al Sharpton said, "I think those people that wave the Confederate flag must be confronted by people who want to be president, not embraced by them."

http://nytimes.com/2003/11/02/politics/campaigns/02DEAN.html

[HPLeft]

1. Good for you, Al

I think Jesse Jr. is just looking to hook up with the front-runner.

[Romulus]

2. *yawn*

posturing Manhattanites and their sycophants.

Who cares what they think? I sure don't, and neither do half the country, who will look upon them as the elitists they are.

If Dean somehow gets those Confederate flag types to vote for him, all the better. ABB.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. This is "the paper of record"

by no means read by just Manhattanites.

[Romulus]

8. those would be the "sycophants"

I'm all too familiar with the NYT, and the non-NewYorker posturing ilk that go out of their way to be sure that everyone around them knows that they read that rag. Thank you very much.

[Pez]

11. bush courts the confederate flag wavers = evil; but when dean does it...

it's progressive democratic policy????????

so it's ok for dean lie and misrepresent the democratic party? who do you want to win this election, bush-lite or BUSH INC.? there's no reason to pander to the special interests-- whether it be the NRA or racist confederate flag toting jackholes.

where is our party? where will we be next year? we cannot defeat BUSH INC. by being bush-lite as dean has wholeheartedly embraced... this isn't about courting our enemies, it's about energizing our base.

there is no reason to defend dean on his massive campaign gaffes and opportunism. the best we can do as a democratic base is question our potential leaders' motives and methods. look at the platforms, look at the history and what their vision is. then come to your conclusion. dean has made a series of unfortunate statements, and has a conservative record. BUSH INC. already says we should consider the views of those who would wave the confederate flag... and we despise him.

this is not the direction i want our party to take.

[Kahuna]

14. But but but... Dean represents the Democratic wing..

of the Democratic party. :puke:

[Pez]

16. that was YESTERDAY... today it's all about the confederates.

who will he represent tomorrow?

pander, pander, pander.

we are left with more questions than answers; his history points to a decidedly conservative anti-democrat agenda. and in the end, all howard dean represents is howard dean getting (re)elected.

if it's all about decibels and rhetoric, i'd rather vote for sharpton.

[GBD4]

18. So True

If Bush said "I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks" we'd be all over him and probably would call him racist or something. Come on, no double standards!

And I agree with the Bush-lite comment, that this is yet another example in which a candidate is just trying to embrace one or several of Bush's values and add a spin to it.

[w4rma]

3. 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)

[HPLeft]

5. Dean has been lying from the start

He's been spinning more than Linda Blair's head in The Exorcist.

[Bucky]

9. "liar" is too strong

But I agree. I don't particularly like Howard Dean, but Kerry's clearly grasping at straws here. This is a goofy non-issue. Thanks for the context, W4rma.

What the hell kind of name is "w4rma"?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. It's not goofy. It's insulting to stereotype in this way. period

And 2 posters at free republic agree with me"

It also shows the depths of ignorance of the Democratic party elite that they would use a back-handed stereotype of the Southern white voter to make their point.

Very well stated - exactly on the mark. The Dems are going to find out how expensive it is to behave in such a manner that they "disrespect" Southern people. Very expensive.

[Lefty48197]

6. Amen Al

I'm tired of members of the confederate party claiming to be patriotic Americans.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

7. Best line

"Dr. Dean said...his opponents were merely flailing away at him in desperation." Yep, that's about it. More lashing out at the frontrunner.

Sorry DJ, if this doesn't "bring down" Dean's campaign. LOL.

[Rose Siding]

12. This is pretty fair coverage

I'll bet the Gov gets some good face time from this.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

15. Exactly

Gives Dean a great opportunity to explain this particular item from his stump speech to those who haven't seen it already. :)

There will undoubtedly be some people, mostly those who are predispositioned to dislike Dean, who will shout from the rooftops that Dean "praised the Confederate flag." Whatever.

Then there are those who will look at his actual statements and realize that he's got the right idea by challenging the notion that Bush owns the southern vote.

[asjr]

19. dean

Very well put. Dean is the only one who says what he thinks. All of us should be bashing Bush--not our candidates. Democrat bashing Democrat makes us all look like losers. And we are not losers. Bush is the enemy and we must be unified to win. This is the 21st century and the Confederate flag is just a piece of cloth.

[mandyky]

13. Take note Dean ain't backing down

The other Dem candidates are desperate and trying to twist his words or put meaning that isn't in them in them. Dean has had the stance he has had on southern voters and guns since at least Feb, at the DNC winter meeting. His gun stance is older since he governed a rural state.

[killbotfactory]

17. Dean wants to take back the south

Other candidates write it off.

Dean '04