Dean taps Roemer for speaking role

[cestpaspossible]

Former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer, D-South Bend, has been asked by the Democratic National Committee to take speaking roles on behalf of the party, he said Friday. Roemer unsuccessfully sought the chairmanship of the DNC in February. He and other challengers ultimately withdrew when former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean secured enough votes to take the chairmanship outright.

Roemer, a pro-life Catholic, was the most conservative candidate among seven hopefuls. He ran on a platform of extending the party's reach to voters in the southern and midwestern "red states" where presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., lost to President George W. Bush. Liberal Democrats worked against Roemer during his bid, but Dean has apparently decided Roemer would be an effective spokesman for the party in broadening its reach beyond solid Democratic bastions.

"They've reached out and asked if I want to go to different states, give Jefferson-Jackson speeches, reach out and talk about some of the issues I talked about in the DNC race," Roemer said after a panel discussion on religion and politics.
Herald Argus

[ananda]

1. q.

Is having Roemer speak as a Dem a -good- thing?

Enquiring minds...


Sue

[ashmanonar]

4. look at his platform he ran on...

extending our reach to southern and western states...which is where we're weakest. this could be a very good thing. this is the kind of person we need talking to the south.

[quiet.american]

2. Huh? -- But okay, I'll trust Howard knows what he's doing. n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. It's called inclusion.

It is very helpful when you want to build a team that wins.

[quiet.american]

5. You don't say? :)

It's still a delicate strategy -- having Roemer serve as a Democratic Party ambassador to the red states will have to look different from the same old uninspired strategy of offering up Republican-lite rhetoric -- a strategy which heretofore has been less than stellar.

[saracat]

16. It is the same old strategy! Grrrrr!

[Obviousman]

6. Dean is one smart guy

This tells me that he is dedicated to forming a broad coalition to help us win elections. It takes strength to reach out to people who have different opinions than yourself.

[Cha]

12. Yeah, like he's not being

exclusive like certain dlcers..now we need to get someone to the left of Dean to "reach out" to certain areas of our Country, too.
N'est-ce pas?

[Al-CIAda]

7. His speech at the dnc meeting was the most repulsive thing

I have heard coming from a supposed Democrat. He was/is antagonitic toward the progressives and throws digs at them quite often.

Nevermind that though, as part of the 9/11 coverup commission, he used that treason to further the synthetic terror scare tactic in his talk just as the most repugnant of republicans do..."A mother came up to me last week and said, I want YOU to lead the Democratic party because I know you will keep us safe"

He is a traitor .IMO.

[Cha]

13. There is that!

We'll see what happens.

[shance]

8. I don't think we have to reach out to states by mimicking Republicans.

Seems to me we are again falling into the trap of allowing the GOP platform to dictate the definition of morality by competing with them on their restrictive beliefs and policies.

I don't have a problem with individuals being anti-abortion, however, why are we allowing the true message of our party to become more diluted, excluded and placed on the sidelines, while we try and outcompete the Republicans on their own oppressive policies?

Why aren't we tapping more women to talk about our lives and experiences as women, or are our voices not as valuable as a man's voice? Mr. Roemer may be a good person and perhaps is a good spokesman in many ways, although it appears thats up for debate, however, what I know to be true is there are hundreds of women that could be connecting more with women of the south and red states and blue states for that matter, and promoting the similarities we all experience as women. Why has the pro-life issue increasingly been allowed to become a man's issue? Last time I checked it was the women who was the one who becomes pregnant.

I think we have a distinct deficit and absence of womens' voices that need to be heard from our party. If we want to make the abortion issue an issue, then let's do it fairly, by promoting those individuals who have lived it and have important life experiences to share. That would provide a more honest perspective and light on the subject.

Do we not have enough confidence in our own principles and beliefs that we cannot promote a message that reflects the power and the responsibility of our choices as individuals?

If we are truly proud to be Democrats and we are a party that stands on principles of choice and fairness and true morality, then let us deliver OUR message and not continue to be guided by a GOP message that attempts to govern womens' bodies in an effort to control and essentially dominate in the name of religion. I think that is the greater issue surrounding the abortion/birth control dilemma. It's also interesting to note that over 90% of the anti-abortion leaders are male.

These issues are not as readily discussed and warrant attention as well.

[Mojambo]

9. His stance on the issues aside

He isn't a terribly effective speaker.

I guess the idea of inclusion is a good idea, but I would hope we could find far better conservative Democrats to tap for this kind of thing.

I'll give Dr Dean the benefit of the doubt though.

[Totally Committed]

10. I have not read any of the other replies,

because I want this to come just from what I'm feeling after reading this:

What the hell is Dean thinking?

I had misgivings about his chairmanship, but was just starting to think maybe I was wrong... that he was going to be good, even great, for the Party.

Now, this.

Roemer is anti-choice, fercripessake. He's just to the left of Atilla the Hun on most other issues. WTF?????????? It's bad enough this Party allows Joeseph Lieberman to speak on its behalf, but to actually seek out and tap Roemer on the shoulder to do it is... disappointing and troubling, imo.

TC

[shance]

11. It very well may not be the actions by Dean.

The article says that "apparently" Dean thinks he would be a good speaker. That's all it says with regards to Governor Dean.

[Tom Rinaldo]

14. The DNC is itself a coalition of forces

Horse trading goes on inside all political parties. From the outside it is impossible for us to know why it is Roemer got this role or how extensive it will be.

The Democratic Party is not DFA. There are many diverse forces and power bases within it with differing priorities. It is easier to be relatively pure in vision and action outside of coalitions than within them. To the extent that any of us are tempted to judge what Dean is doing we need to be realistic and somewhat patient. It will play out in the balance of many decisions made over time. Dean is not in a position to rule the Party nor should any DNC Chair for that matter.

Since I am not privy to behind the scenes deal making I am not in a position to cast judgment about the wisdom of any single move or the justification for it. Roemer is far from my favorite Democrat, but he is not consigned to the same Hell I place people like Zell Miller in.

Dean still has my trust. I have no reason to believe another DNC Chair would be a better advocate for my general view points and priorities for the Party than Howard Dean is. You can't win them all but over time I expect Dean to produce a good overall winning percentage in my book, and I am willing to give him time and space to do just that.

But thanks for the heads up. It is a relevant piece of "data" to track.

[saracat]

15. There is NO excuse for this. I disagree with this 100%

Another time I am disppointed in a DNC dercision. Dean should know better.This is just WRONG!

[dave29]

17. There is nothing inconsistent with this decision

Dean has repeatedly said we are a big tent party. We welcome "pro-life" viewpoints because we understand that people who believe profoundly in this issue value life beyond just the womb - all the way through death in fact - unlike the Republicans. Roemer may not be in sync with the base, but I guaruntee you he will be in sync with the message the DNC gives him to take wherever he goes.

This is not a rubber-stamping of his ideals, rather a symbol that we can allow differing viewpoints in our party. And that will go a long way towards getting people to pay attention, and realize we are the party of the people, not the elite.

My two cents.