IMO Dean has lost a great deal of integrity.

[IranianDemocrat]

He has resorted to pandering to southern racists, in a desperate attempt to gain Southern votes. That's what it all boils down to.

[mzmolly]

1. Oh really, that is so different then the integrity you thought he had

up til now. :eyes:

[IranianDemocrat]

2. Actually besides push polling allegations...

...and some fellow dem bashing I thought he had a some excellent integrity.

[Supply Side Jesus]

4. "allegations" being the key word

not that someone would 'leak' a story like that to discredit Dean.

[mzmolly]

6. Gosh I must have missed your posts to that effect in the past..

:shrug:

I saw Dean say those words in Iowa months ago, and I applauded.

[pruner]

3. LMAO!

your thread "defending" Dean was locked.

:bounce:

[JVS]

5. Rather vote for the guy who tosses them an empty line

that the guy whose entire campaign strategy is to talk about how well he could do with the same demographics (Southerners and Reagan Democrats).

[usregimechange]

7. hehe

Saying that we need to bring diverse people on board is pandering to racists! Desperation, in its pure form.

[usregimechange]

9. His quote

"We can't beat George Bush unless we appeal to a broad cross-section of Democrats."

Dean in 2004! :kick:

[IranianDemocrat]

11. Good job leaving out the part about the Confederate flag.

Learning some good tricks from the Dean campaign.

[HFishbine]

13. And leaving out the part

about it being an appeal to rednecks to begin to think about identifying with blacks.

"There's no reason why white guys who have a Confederate flag in the back of their pickup truck shouldn't be walking side-by-side with blacks, because they don't have health insurance, either," Dean said.

[LoZoccolo]

25. Insert sound of crickets chirping...

...here.

[usregimechange]

27. ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

What on earth is wrong with Dean's quote? He said we need to appeal to a diverse group, even rednecks with confederate flags. I agree. Clark campaign---desperation mode.

[Old and In the Way]

8. Don't confuse compromise with integrity

Every candidate is going to compromise their positions to gain an electable majority. Positions will be nuanced and bent, but every candidate in this race as more integrity in their character than the unelected fraud who currently disgraces 1600 Pennslyvania Ave.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[IranianDemocrat]

12. uh

1.)No I don't support Bush.
2.)True but his statement was uncalled for. If Clark said it I would call him out on it immediately.

[onebigbadwulf]

15. Im sorry

What part of telling southerners without health insurance to vote Dem is "uncalled for"?

[Code_Name_D]

18. What about the center!

That is why you keep claiming that Clark is the one one who can win, isn't it? Becase he is appealing to the mythical center while Dean is pandering to the loser left. That Dean would lose on the peice ticket.

Oh, but now that Dean has truly reached across the devide that truly seporates us, he sudnly becomes a racists.

Vary quickly followed baching the red-neck nove over the head with their own old glorly. Bwahahaha. Oh perhaps is remanes to be seen if Deen can win the South. But one things is for sure, Clark has just lost the South. BIG TIME baby.

[JVS]

21. Yeah I thought that Southern and Centrist voters are the most important...

voter in the world. Aren't we supposed to be willing to forget our dumbassed principles and court them?

[Cha]

14. Dean is talking to voters who should be

voting Democratic and you call it "pandering". While the real Panderers are the people who are twisting Dean's words with Desperate Lies.

[IranianDemocrat]

16. People who put up racist symbols should be voting democratic?

?

[JVS]

17. Don't worry Clark is #1 is SC!

[MercutioATC]

20. Yes they should. They have the same needs as the rest of us.

...those of us without millions in the bank, that is. Showing people the ways in which we're all alike will make much more of a difference than simply writing them off as racists.

[moondust]

19. Dean the dumpster diver.

This guy will scrounge for votes absolutely anyplace.

[MIMStigator]

22. And hes been attacking Clark for acting like a "Republican"??

hypocritical if you ask me

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Imajika]

24. I don't think so..

Dean is not my candidate of choice, but I don't think his comments are so terrible.

Howard Dean is just trying to make a point about being able to appeal to rural voters and the types of people thoughout much of the South and middle America whom the left has written off as "red-necks" unworthy of pursing as voters. You know, the sorts of people that once voted reliably Democratic but now are all but totally lost to the party.

He used the confederate flag as an example and he shouldn't have. It was certainly a slip up, but I got his point, and quite frankly I agree with him.

You know, I live in Virginia, and there are a heck of a lot of trucks and cars with the Confederate Flag stuck on them. Most of these people are not "the South will rise again" types. Usually they are non political, often totally unaware that so many people find the symbol so offensive. Believe it or not, for a lot of folks it is just a Southern pride statement more than anything else. In a way that flag has, for some people, come to represent more of a "country boy can survive" type of thing.

Dean is entitled to use the wrong example from time to time. Live and learn. All people do it. Everyone knows perfectly well that Dean is not a racist, nor is he actively pursing the racist vote. I am actually glad to hear he is aware of the importance of reaching out to Southern and rural voters. Bout' time the Democrats start taking that seriously again.

As I said, Dean is not my candidate of choice, but I won't hold this against him.

Imajika

[quaker bill]

26. Reach for that stereotype.

Show your prejudice. Bush* needs us to react this way to assure an easy victory in the south.

[LoZoccolo]

28. Why do you want racist southerners to remain racist?

Eh?

[dkf]

29. If Dean hadn't brought up the confederate flag

would we even be talking about this issue of appealing to white southerners whose kids don't have health insurance?

Sad but I don't think so.

[mbali]

30. We would be

if Dean had simply talked about reaching out to Southerners whose kids don't have health insurance.

As it is, we're not talking about that. Because of his intemperate, not-ready-for-primetime comment, we're all talking about the Confederate flag, not health insurance for Southern families.

The injection of the Confederate flag puts the whole discussion on a totally different level.