David Broder: Dean hurt himself as well as the Democratic party...

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14251-2003Nov7.html

The can of worms that Howard Dean opened with his ill-conceived effort to identify himself as "the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks" is not one that can be resealed with the words of regret the former Vermont governor belatedly offered. By inadvertently reopening the deepest wound within the nation, the race issue, Dean hurt himself and did a disservice to his party.

He had said similar things several times in the past, without drawing criticism. But with his big fundraising lead and his accumulating endorsements, his words are now more consequential. When I was with him in Iowa more than a year ago, the line was somewhat different. Then he was promising his outreach would include "the guys driving pickups with gun racks on the back." When his opponents started criticizing the stands that had earned Dean an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association back in Vermont, he switched the description to the flag decal.

<snip>

His timing could not have been worse, because Democrats were already undergoing traumatic experiences in and about the South. Bob Graham of Florida had just become the fourth Southern senator to opt out of running for reelection next year, creating open seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, all of which could easily fall to the GOP.

<snip>

It was into this troubled environment that Dean, innocently but recklessly, dropped his words. Display of the Confederate flag and its incorporation into state emblems have been at the center of emotional battles in the past decade in state after state. So I asked Merle Black, the Emory University scholar and author on southern politics, how Dean's words would be heard by southerners. "For a lot of African Americans," he said, "the fact that Dean used a Confederate symbol is very insulting. That remark can be used effectively against him," especially in Democratic primaries, where blacks make up a large percentage of the voters.

As for the white voters Dean embraced, Black said, "These are the most conservative voters in the South and the least likely to vote for Dean. I can't imagine a bumper sticker reading 'Flaggers for Dean.' They are the least likely to participate in the Democratic primaries, and I doubt they're really interested in his message. It comes across as saying that 'Southerners are so dumb they've been voting against their own interests, so I'm going to educate them on the error of their ways.' And what makes it worse, it's coming from a Vermont Yankee."

more

Another view of the Dean flag flap--this one from today's Orlando Sentinel

[Khephra]

1. I lost all respect i had for Broder after I read Alterman's

study of his postions in "What Liberal Media?" I suggest anyone who thinks he's non-partisan read it...even if you aren't a Dean supporter.

[trumad]

3. Damn Khep..Great minds think alike!

How ya been old buddy!

[Khephra]

6. I'm great! And you?

:hi:

Definitely GMTA!

[Cha]

7. I don't think he's "non-partisian"....everytime

I used to see his face on tv I knew there would be some snarky words for Dems and now that he's said this when just the opposite is true..what am I suppose to think of his veracity?

[trumad]

2. Who cares what er...The Dean says about Dean...

Look up Broder on the Daily Howler and you'll forever lose respect for the lazy ass Ho!

[Jacobin]

4. Broder? What a joke this media ho is.

Sorry. Not interested in reading his tripe.

[IndianaGreen]

9. David Broder?

I thought he died years ago!

[Cooley Hurd]

31. wishful thinking...

...as non-partisan as Hitchens!

[Don_G]

5. Sounds Like Typical WP Disinformation

Opinion disguised as fact with a little truth blended in here and there.

[Old and In the Way]

8. So what's the "Dean" have to say about Haley Barbour?

A Republican who really panders to the rascist instincts of many Southerners?

The Republicans have made the Confederate flag folks their own political focus group.....I guess Broder doesn't like Democrats trying to appeal to them.

Next time he disses the Republicans for using race politics, let me know.....

[Frances]

10. Do we have any U.S. historians at DU?

I think Dean is trying to do what politicians did at the end of the Civil War & that is to show non-upper-class whites that if they unite and with African Americans they will be better off economically.

In my native state of Alabama, the 1901 state constitution took away the vote of African Americans, but it also took away the vote of many poor whites because everyone had to pay a poll tax in order to vote and many poor whites did not have the money to pay the tax.

There are simply not enough African Americans for the Democrats to carry Southern states, as you can see in recent elections. If the Democratic party is going to survive in the South and therefore the country, then someone has to tell poor and lower middle class whites that the Democrats want them. These people are being "used" by the Republicans but it won't be easy to win them over unless they are treated with respect.

One other thing: I always hated the Klan, but I hated the rich white men who ran the judicial and police systems more. They were the ones manipulating the evil Klan for their own more evil and greedy purposes.

[ShaneGR]

11. OMG, you mean he started a conversation about reaching out?

And racial reconciliation?

EGADS!

NOTE: I like Clark, but I think the Dean comments were worded badly, but he has the right idea. He should have said "Pickup driving southerners with Dale Earnheart #3 stickers.

[Scott Lee]

29. Yes! If this isn't stopped, Dean might win some southern states!

And Gods KNOW how awfull that could be in 2004!

[leetrisck]

12. No way - musn't let the likes of Broder

tell us what our candidates have done - won't forget what he tried to do to Hillary.

[polpilot]

13. Keep talkin' Dave...free exposure for The New Democratic Leader of the

NEW Democratic Party...and the next President of the U.S.

Dean '04...

[leesa]

14. I think Dean is doing something very good and forward moving

He is facing the issue of the angry white southerner and probably the angry white male by offering dialogue. These people have been conned by the great RW hate machine just as much as everybody else has. They have been told for 40 or more years that blacks (and other races and women) are stealing their jobs, blacks are stealing their college spots, blacks are stealing their sports, etc., etc.. What has really happened, is that corporate America has stolen their jobs and their college rights by increasing costs and reducing loans and grants. Perhaps this can open an era where we examine who the REAL culprits are. And I mean for progressives as well. We assume they are bigots because they cherish a flag, but do we know this for a fact, or has their anger been molded by the RW hate machine?

I think this is an excellent opportunity to face this issue and find out what's really going on. Would you rather have these people remain in the hands of the RW hate machine so that their irrational hatred is fomented by them on a daily basis? I do not believe that Dean is a racist in any way. If he can reach these people and help them to explore what they are REALLY angry about instead of just irrationally exacerbating it like the Republicans do with untruths and cliches, what a revelation this could be!

[Frances]

15. Thanks for saying what I feel

n/t

[Cha]

18. Thanks from me, too, for writing it so eloquently!

I think this will only play out to some good! Of course, it's going to be painful right now..it's a big deep painful issue that's been buried. Leave it to Dean to uncover it and tap it's resource.

[Cha]

16. Who ever drew Dean in that "cartoon" sure

didn't even get a reasonable facsimile.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

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

[Cha]

19. You forgot "fiesty"!

[TruthIsAll]

21. Chill out. And watch your language.

Dean has more integrity than you will ever have..

You may as well go back to where you came from after your 13th post.

Were you appointed Repuke troll of the day?

[ima_sinnic]

23. she or he will soon be tombstoned

all 13 (now 14) posts are in a similar Repuke-talking-points vein

[ima_sinnic]

25. ha ha, tombstoned while I was typing!

second time that's happened in the last week or so!
damn, I'm getting good (walks away dusting off hands)

[ima_sinnic]

24. so you think people are fooled by your Dean avatar?

bored over at your own board today? that "little bastard" will soon be your next president so enjoy your fling here while you can.

[WillyBrandt]

20. As a Clark supporter, let me say that Broder is an idiot

While I doubt the wisdom of Dean's comments, Dean supporters, take heart. If Broder says you're doing something wrong, you're likely doing something right.

This is the crooked old geezer whose greatest act of political courage was managing to say that Jesse Helms was a bad Senator. And for this his media co-whores applauded in admiration.

Broder's a joke.

[Eroshan]

22. Almost every account

of that quote that I have read was either: taken out of context or purposefully misquoted. He is right to reach out to all the disenfranchised, just like the great MLK said.

[robbedvoter]

26. While not a fan of Broder, think Florida 2002:

Primaries - blck votes uncounted again (8,000 in Miami Dade at least). Reno conceded but asked Mc Bride to make an issue of this. McBride chose to ignore it. Those 8.000 + more that gave Gore his victory stayed home election day.

[Cha]

28. Dean is not McBride and will not "ignore"

anything. Dean is in this race to win and we are here to help him.

[chaska]

27. Merle Black said exactly what I said on the subject.

The guy's been reading DU.

[JNelson6563]

30. "My hands were shaking so bad I could hardly

make out the check, I was that angry at Dean" or however that goes...haha

Rock on Doc'!! The people are with you.

Julie