Howard Dean describes the Dem platform

Howard Dean recently spoke to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and had this to say:

The Democrats have a better idea. First we will conclude the negotiations with the Chinese and the North Koreans to disarm North Korea. Secondly, under no circumstances will a Democratic Administration ever allow Iran to become a nuclear power. Three, we will kill or capture Osama bin Laden and four, the authority and the control of the ports of the United States must be retained by American companies.

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Referring to Dean's comments, James Taranto (OpinionJournal.com) observed that...

"Dean seems to be lifting material from "Monty Python's Flying Circus." This is from a sketch called "How to Rid the World of All Known Diseases":

Alan (John Cleese): Well, last week we showed you how to become a gynecologist. And this week on "How to Do It" we're going to show you how to play the flute, how to split an atom, how to construct a box girder bridge, how to irrigate the Sahara Desert and make vast new areas of land cultivatable, but first, here's Jackie to tell you all how to rid the world of all known diseases.

Jackie (Eric Idle): Hello, Alan.

Alan: Hello, Jackie.

Jackie: Well, first of all become a doctor and discover a marvelous cure for something, and then, when the medical profession really starts to take notice of you, you can jolly well tell them what to do and make sure they get everything right so there'll never be any diseases ever again.

Alan: Thanks, Jackie. Great idea.

Back in 1988, Joe Biden's presidential campaign ended in scandal when he was found to have plagiarized material from the speeches of British pol Neil Kinnock. Now it seems the same is going to happen to Dean. To coin a phrase, those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."

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Source.

Only a couple of months ago, Dean remarked on (IIRC) Meet the Press, that the Dems didn't have to come up with any plans or prescriptions, all they had to do was respond to the GOP. Seems Dean is still of that opinion.

Well, 1st of all let me say I am excited to see Dean come up with ANY idea at all, stolen, borrowed, or otherwise. If you remember back last year,shortly after endorsing a Socialist Party member for the Senate and in the height of his Bush-Bashing, he declared that the Democrats were indeed an Obstructionist party right then, that their whole role was to stonewall, obstruct, and criticize the President and the GOP. He said it was not up to the Democrats to come up with any ideas or alternatives because they were not in power. He surmised that if the Dems could derail the GOP as much as possible, ensure nothing gets done, the Dems could blame he GOPfor nothing getting done and roll into power. Of course, at the same time, he was thrilling terrorists worldwide by announcing that the United states could not win in Iraq an that we should immediately surrender and retreat!

Americans don't have as sort a memory as the democrats hope we do. We remember, for example, how after America rejected the Democratic party's embrace of Hollywood immorality et al in the last election, the Dems did not listen to and learn from the voters. Instead, they lashed out, revealing their true inner self, by calling the voters "In-bred, Redneck, Bible thumpers'! Yeah, THAT will win the voters back!

We remember how Kerry embraced the U.N. and encouraged America in joining him in outsourcing our security to the U.N., only to be humiliated when the Oil-4-Grub scandal broke revealing he and his Dems had been embarrassingly DUPED!

We remember how Durbin and Kerry called our troops Nazis and terrorists.

We also remember how the Democratic party's leaders called 9-11 a 'MISSED OPPORTUNITY' for the Democratic party because it would be hard to unseat a President in a time of war. While 9-11 was a NATIONAL Tragedy for Americans, it was a missed opportunity for the Dems who cared more about getting the White House back than a couple thousand lives of 'ordnary' people. I really wouldn't even doubt if Kerry and the Dems felt like : Those who died were probably Republican's anyway, so it didn't really matter." All that matters tothe Dem party is getting back the power!

Quote:
The Democrats have a better idea. First we will conclude the negotiations with the Chinese and the North Koreans to disarm North Korea. Secondly, under no circumstances will a Democratic Administration ever allow Iran to become a nuclear power. Three, we will kill or capture Osama bin Laden and four, the authority and the control of the ports of the United States must be retained by American companies.

You'll note the first three are goals, not plans. Goals shared by both sides. What the Democrats have to do is state how they will accomplish them. The forth is just a lie even if he had stated it correctly what is he going to do cancel the vast majority of contracts that exist already.

I'm still waiting in several other threads for Democrats to come here and say why I should vote for them. What specifically are they going to do to accomplish these shared goals.

oldreliable67 said:

Howard Dean recently spoke to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and had this to say:

Referring to Dean's comments, James Taranto (OpinionJournal.com) observed that...

Source.

Only a couple of months ago, Dean remarked on (IIRC) Meet the Press, that the Dems didn't have to come up with any plans or prescriptions, all they had to do was respond to the GOP. Seems Dean is still of that opinion.

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1. Your source does not have the article you cite.

2. I follow Dean pretty closely and I have never heard him say anything close to that.

I watched the recent MTP interview - it wasn't there. He has said that the Dems will release their platform soon, and that they can't just sit back and watch the GOP self-destruct.

Here's the transcript from a recent FTN interview - not there either.

He did say this:

DEAN: I can tell you what our agenda is for the '06 elections which we've agreed with Senator Reid and Leader Pelosi and others.

One, we want honesty and openness back in government again.

Two, we want a strong national defense, first of all, based on telling the truth to our citizens and our soldiers before we send troops abroad to defend America.

Three, we want American jobs that will stay in America using energy independence as a new industry to create millions of construction and manufacturing jobs.

Four, we want a health care system that works with everybody just like 36 other countries have in the world.

And five, we want a strong public education system so we can have optimism and opportunity back in America.

I think that's a pretty good agenda and that's one that could win it for us in '06.

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I agree.
http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/02/dean_on_face_th_1.php

hips,

Sorry to be so long responding; had not re-visited this thread in a couple of days.

Deans remarks that were quoted by opinionjournal.com can also be read at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs website, here.

I thought the comment was from Meet the Press, but I cautioned that, "IIRC". Here is something he definitely said on Meet the Press:

Dean: "But the thing that really bothered me the most, which the 9-11 Commission said also wasn't true, is the insinuation that the president continues to make to this day that Osama bin Laden had something to do with supporting terrorists that attacked the United States. That is false. The 9-11 Commission, chaired by a Republican, said it was false."

Source.

Of course, thats not what he meant to say, it was just a slip of the tongue.

hips,

Went to msnbc.com and found the transcript of the Dean appearance that I was thinking of; here is the relevant portion:

R. DEAN: We have an alternative agenda. We made it very clear. We want a strong national security based on telling the truth to our people at home, our soldiers and our allies. We want jobs in America that'll stay in America, and we believe that renewable energy is one of the areas where we can do that. We want a health-care system that covers everybody, just like 36 other countries in the world. We want a strong public education system. And most of all, we want honesty back in government. I think that's a pretty good agenda.

MR. RUSSERT: But those are words that will appeal to people. But when you go behind them, for example, what is the Democratic position on Iraq? Should we withdraw troops now? What do the Democrats stand for?

DR. DEAN: Tim, first of all, we don't control the House, the Senate or the White House. We have plenty of time to show Americans what our agenda is and we will long before the '06 elections.

MR. RUSSERT: But there's no Democratic plan on Social Security. There's no Democratic plan on the deficit problem. There's no specifics. They say, "Well, we want a strong Social Security. We want to reduce the deficit. We want health care for everyone," but there's no plan how to pay for it.

DR. DEAN: Right now it's not our job to give out specifics. We have no control in the House. We have no control in the Senate. It's our job is to stop this administration, this corrupt and incompetent administration, from doing more damage to America. [emphasis added]

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Dean ducked the issues then and it appears he is still ducking. Like Russert said, your quote from Dean "are words that will appeal to people. But when you go behind them...What do the Democrats stand for?

Dean is the best thing for the Republicans in 06 and 08.

oldreliable67 said:

hips,

Went to msnbc.com and found the transcript of the Dean appearance that I was thinking of; here is the relevant portion:

Dean ducked the issues then and it appears he is still ducking. Like Russert said, your quote from Dean "are words that will appeal to people. But when you go behind them...What do the Democrats stand for?

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Thanks for the info. It's funny, I was thinking the same exact thing that Dean stated this morning. When you have no power and no chance to present legislation that will see the light of day, your time is best spent trying to block what you see to be bad policy, or pointing out errors in the way the party in power is running things. That strategy has been very effective to date - look at the poll numbers.

In late 05 and early 06 Dean was making the point that it is too early to put out a platform for mid-term elections. I agree - it would get the Rep. off the defensive, which is exactly where we want them. I expect to see something more formal within the next month or so.

KCConservative said:

Dean is the best thing for the Republicans in 06 and 08.

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We shall see wont we? I think you're dead wrong. Dean's 50 state strategy is just what the Dems needed. His strategy is definitley a big picture strategy, where the old one, especially for the Pres elections was to focus only on key states. Dean wants to rebuild the party from the ground up, and focus on grass roots movements in every city. He wants to field Dem candidates in every race - rather than writing off huge sections of the country.

I think that's good for America.

My city is very strongly Dem - but I would love the GOP to field strong candidates and make the elections more competitve. Why? Because it would keep the candidates honest, they would have to answer questions that usually go unanswered.

Any system without checks and balances is doomed to failure and rampant corruption. We're seeing that now with one party rule by the GOP federally. I've seen it in my town for years.