Dean backs up Harry Reid on the issues after their meeting today

[ClarkUSA]

Put away the pitchforks, fellow DUers, and let's start focusing on the issues.

"You know, I think a lot of this is exactly what the Republicans want, and that's a diversion," Dean said after meeting with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid about the Democrats' agenda for the next few weeks of Congress. "The truth is
that we need to focus on exactly the issues that Harry Reid just talked about, and we're going to."
..........

"No matter how people focus on other issues, we're going to talk about what we feel is so important to people all across this country," Reid said.
..........

Reid has been criticized for making strong comments as well, including calling President Bush a "loser" and a "liar." Reid apologized for the former.

When asked if he had any advice for Dean, Reid said: "Well, I think, as all of you know, that there isn't a single person" among Democrats or Republicans, "that haven't misspoken."

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/politics/AP-Dean-GOP.html?hp

[politicaholic]

1. The repuke media machine is putting words in the mouths of the dem party..

Telling us that, "Dems are worried about Dean...", "concerned about his tactics", "he's even too extreme for the liberal party" and "some say that he's ripping the democratic party to pieces with his extremist tactics."

BUT...how the hell do they know? Since when did the repub media have their fingers on the pulse of the democratic party?

Fuck them, the democratic party is strong as ever and this little propaganda stunt is just going to bring us closer. You'll see the results next year.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. yep they are getting too freaking obvious

and time to break even more china...

[janx]

6. Dean wants media reform. The media know it.

He has proposed Dem meetings twice a year--OUTSIDE of Washington, D.C. to focus on media.

[Cha]

29. I'm all for that!

"He has proposed Dem meetings twice a year--OUTSIDE of Washington, D.C. to focus on media."

At least! Thank you Dr, Gov, Chairman, Dean..if it weren't for our sold out media there would be no bush and his Machiavellian puppeteers.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

32. Revisit the TelCom Act?

The horror of it all.

[Adelante]

3. Hallelujah!!

"What we're focused on is how to have a decent Social Security system, how to have a strong national defense, how to have jobs in America again, how to deal with incredibly high gas prices and get a decent energy bill which actually will do something about gas prices."

A sure as shit Democratic agenda.

Maybe we can ALL talk about this now.

[ClarkUSA]

Some people like their pitchforks, apparently

[welshTerrier2]

14. ummmmmm, uh, errr ...

and the war in Iraq !!

of course, it will probably be more of the same support for bush's occupation ...

did Dean actually even mention Iraq?? ... the quote provided in the NY Times article did not ...

[Adelante]

16. You're right

I emailed Harry Reid today about that and Howard Dean the other day.

Did you happen to hear Wes Clark on Ed Schultz today? I didn't hear it myself. From what I've heard he did talk about Iraq, criticizing the Bush foreign policy that has gotten us in this mess. He said the country is not behind the war and if they don't have the public's political support they have to reduce our commitments in Iraq. He's been saying he sees the pullout beginning by the end of this summer. About Gitmo, he always thought NATO should have been recruited to run the prison operations, Gitmo and in Iraq, and that the US has to either sentence these people or release them.

That's all I know and that it was a brief interview.

[welshTerrier2]

17. nope ... i missed it ...

it never ceases to amaze me that stations like AAR don't have Democrats and "real progressives" (i'll exclude General Clark from that slight) on the air for a full hour interview everyday ...

what kind of nonsense is it to give major spokespeople like 5 minutes to give their views???

is AAR supposed to be helping the progressive cause? do they think talk show listeners would get bored listening to "politicians droning on and on"? they should give our guys plenty of time to educate progressives on their views ... we need to hear their arguments and they (i.e. our spokespeople) need to hear from us !!!

they (AAR) complains about right-wing media bias and then they don't give adequate time to those we support ... WTF ?????

[Adelante]

33. I had tuned in too late to hear Wes

But I did hear Ed say to a caller he's going to have him on again. I'll try lobbying for a long interview. Can't hurt to try. I'm not a regular listener, but I was interested in hearing a truck driver call in from the road. Ed Schultz isn't appreciated by everyone, I gather, but it's good he reaches regular working people this way and to know they're not all just getting Rush speak.

[welshTerrier2]

34. Ed's not my favorite but ...

he's OK ...

i think he's a little too full of himself but he does have a certain "working man" blue collar ethic that has its good points ...

AAR should have a "Dem-a-Day" policy where they provide an hour to a Democrat or progressive every single day ...

maybe we should start a "Dem-a-Day" lobbying effort to AAR ...

now that i think of it, how cool would it be to have a new DU forum called "Dem of the Day" where a leading Dem is invited to chat with DU'ers ... the forum would probably have to be moderated by an admin or the mods or the guest would get hit with hundreds of posts all at once ... hmmmmmmm, isn't that an interesting idea ...

[Adelante]

36. Two excellent ideas there

We should do it.

[ClarkUSA]

38. I love your idea too. It would lend some real heft to AAR's programming.

So, write up a OP tomorrow about this, will ya, welshT?

:headbang:

[welshTerrier2]

39. your wish ...

is my command ...

coming soon to a theatre near you ... it's on my "to do" list for tomorrow ...

[CAcyclist]

22. When Ed Schultz Stated that Dean Needed a Handler

I got pissed and turned off AAR. I haven't turned it back on yet.

[ClarkUSA]

18. Both Reid and Dean need to remember to mention election reform

It's amazing to me and very discouraging to our prospects in 2006 and beyond how very seldom it's mentioned by Democratic leaders who have the spotlight on them.

[Adelante]

20. You're right, too

:)

[sundancekid]

4. amen! once again, we have allowed the repigs and the msm "frame"

the debate -- shame on us; but mostly shame on the self-indulgent dems like biden, lieberman, edwards, pelosi and richardson -- they have surely lost me and my loyalty to them ... who's gonna be their daddy at the primaries??? and how will we like them then????

a house divided against itself will ... (sure as hell NOT win elections)

[jmaier]

5. interesting note

that you continue to divide the house by bailing on these other Democrats, some of whom have done more good than harm in their careers, all while decrying divided houses?

[sundancekid]

19. choosing wisely at primary season is NOT the same as "dividing"

I backed Clark in 2004 but worked like hell for Kerry, thank you very much; on the other hand, with me character counts and these named characters have a HISTORY of taking positions that are merely expedient and that I cannot support; this is hardly a SINGLE case of throwing out the baby with the bath water -- and many of us are pure and simple DONE with some of these asshats. You get my drift????

[FreedomAngel82]

7. Glad to hear!

Yay! :) I'm glad to hear that Reid and Dean are talking and working together.

[jhain]

8. I don't care

who thinks WHAT anymore.

This is the best thing I have seen since November.

Thanks.
I needed that.

-J

[Carolab]

9. What in the hell does this mean?

"Dean's has come undee Democrats have joined the criticism of Dean, Reid refused to join in."


Good to see some more nice, careful reporting from the NYT.

[ClarkUSA]

10. Is that all? What about what Dean had to say?

I think the typo is forgivable considering the message is clear.

Let's not sweat the small stuff and focus on the big picture.

[Carolab]

12. Right. I'm just saying they don't care what Dean said or about clarity.

They only want to bash him.

[ClarkUSA]

13. How did you get that from a typo? What in the article is bashing?

I didn't find anything in the article that was derogative. I thought the message was great from both Reid and Dean.

[LisaLynne]

11. Oh my! That's so bad ...

it sounds like something * himself might have said. Yikes.

[ClarkUSA]

15. Are you talking about what Dean said?

I thought both he and Reid had a very sensible and smart message of what's been happening and what we all need to focus on which happen to be the issues.

[LisaLynne]

30. I was replying to post #9 about the ...

grammatical nonsense that was printed in the article. I'm sorry -- I'm an English major and a Virgo. I can't let stuff like that go. It's like * is spreading his mangling of the language.

[wyldwolf]

21. wait. No one is piling on Reid for saying Dean misspoke?

[ClarkUSA]

23. Reid did NOT say that - he was being diplomatic and Dean didn't mind

Stop trying to stir the pot.

:spank:

[wyldwolf]

24. sure he did

Direct quote:

When asked if he had any advice for Dean, Reid said: "Well, I think, as all of you know, that there isn't a single person" among Democrats or Republicans, "that haven't misspoken."

Surely you're not going to suggest Reid wasn't referring to Dean when he used the term "misspoken" after he was asked about Dean.

[ClarkUSA]

25. Reid did not say that as you put it - and Dean didn't mind, DID he?

Reid is ever the diplomat and what he said was a reminder to everyone that the Republicans have said their (un)fair share of comments directed at Democrats.

Are you trying to start trouble? Because there's been enough.

Put down the pitchfork. Dean is backing Reid. Reid wants us to stick to the issues and so does Dean. The DNC leadership is united. I think this was a meeting of great symbolic meaning - why aren't you satisfied with it?

Unless you want to keep the anger stoked instead of listening to what both Dean and Reid are saying to us?

I like their message and am not interested in continuing the diversionary course that Reid and Dean are talking about in this article. Why don't you do as Dean is doing and supporting Reid's message of ISSUES?

Say, did you watch Wes Clark on the Ed Shultz show today? I missed it. How was it? Aren't you a supporter of General Clark?

[wyldwolf]

26. Come on

He did not say that as you put it

It was a direct cut and paste from your opening post which was a direct cut and paste from the times article.

If he didn't say it as I put it, then why did you and the NY Times present it as such? Further, if you know the Times was wrong in how they put it, why did you cut and paste it in?

and Dean didn't mind, DID he?

Well, I don't know. I haven't asked him. Did he mind what Biden and Edwards said?

Are you trying to start trouble? Because there's been enough

This is a discussion board. If we were all in agreement on everything, what would be the point?

Put down the pitchfork. Dean is backing Reid. Reid wants us to stick to the issues and so does Dean. The DNC leadership is united. I think this was a meeting of great symbolic meaning - why aren't you satisfied with it?

There are not many people here more supportive of the DNC than I. I've merely pointed out that Reid did in fact say that Dean has misspoken and asked where the anger was at Reid.

Why don't you do as Dean is doing and ssupporting Reid's message of ISSUES?

I'm a huge supporter of Reid's issues and Dean as DNC chair. But I do find it amusing how some here will pick and choose who to be mad at for mentioning Dean's misstatements.

No, I missed Clark on the Ed Shultz show today. I know Schultz had previously complained that Clark's people had not responded to his invite to come on the show.

[ClarkUSA]

28. I stand by what I said - Reid was being strategic with his words

Dean sure liked what Reid had to say enough to back Reid up. So do I. I like the team messaging, so I choose to focus on that.

I am not amused by the sources of Democratic divisive anger - it's something that Republicans and certain others definitely must feel, though.

[ClarkUSA]

37. I concede your point is somewhat valid upon further thought, though

"But I do find it amusing how some here will pick and choose who to be mad at for mentioning Dean's misstatements."

I suppose context matters here. The other Democratic lawmakers some here are "piling on" acted solo while Reid spoke with Dean next to him as a comrade-in-arms, so to speak.

But I do agree the "piling on" can appear to be subjective and a bit over-the-top at times, which points to the diversion from the issues that both Reid and Dean spoke of today.

Thanks for explaining. :hi:

[stickdog]

43. I took that as another Bush bash. (nt)

[Cha]

31. What, you wanna stir up

some shit on Dean AGAIN?

[NYCGirl]

35. Reid was referring to HIMSELF when he had to apologize for

calling Bush a "loser".

[wyldwolf]

41. Be he was asked to give advice to DEAN

and said that we all misspeak sometimes.

[GetTheRightVote]

27. Thank you Harry, Dean is our party man.

:kick:

[wisteria]

40. I thought it was the other way around-Dean backs Reid. n/t

[bklyncowgirl]

42. Reid and Dean have both faced down death threats

Reid for his work on the Nevada Gaming Commission and Dean for signing the Civil Unions bill in Vermont.

I imagine that experience may give a politician a sort of inner toughness and a perspective that others may lack.