Howard Dean from his new book....we can NOT vote across party lines.....

[madfloridian]

on our critical values.

Dean's thoughts on adherence to core beliefs when voting. Very long, so just a snip from his book, "You Have the Power." He sounds very tough in these pages, surprisingly so.

SNIP..""Democrats shouldn't be crossing party lines to help Republican ideology dominate, or breaking ranks to vote for measures like the Medicare prescription bill...."

"There should be consequences for Democrats who do. For one thing, there is no reason not to pose primary challenges to Democratic incumbents who vote with the Republicans on critical Democratic priorities." (He further explains that when they vote with Tom DeLay, it means that he get to go to Republicans from moderate districts and say he does not need their votes.)

"We're fighting now for the future of our country and the future of democracy. To vote with the Republicans is to let extremism get the upper hand. In the past, our party's own ideal about inclusiveness kept us from having the necessary tools to fight. We need to toughen up. We can't afford to be divided by members peeling off on issues that touch upon our deeply held beliefs."

We don't need to march in lockstep on every vote. But on critical votes that touch on our key issues, Democrats can not abandon their core values. The history of the twentieth century teaches that we must never compromise with extremists"...."END SNIP

Pages 170, 171 of You Have the Power by Howard Dean.

[Forkboy]

1. Well now I'm confused

Another poster just said we need to attract republicans and that's the goal.

Who to believe ;-)

[madfloridian]

2. Yeh, I know. It is so doggoned confusing to stand up for things.

:hi:

[demokatgurrl]

16. get REPUBS to cross party lines but stay with the Dem party. n/t

[mazzarro]

3. Damn RIGHT!

Go Howard - this is what I have been crying for! MODERATES my a** - we have to hold the ground on the CORE PRINCIPLES of the party.

[Old and In the Way]

4. Time for "the spirit of cooperation" is over.

We need to go back to the days of Tipper O'Neil when Party discipline meant something. The Democratic Congressional leadership needs to demand and get unanimity on bills that attack the interests of the majority. We need to pull membership on elected officials that come to Congress as Democrats, but end up voting Republican.

[aquart]

5. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damned right I want primary challenges for those idiots.

The other thing I want is an end to unopposed elections. Too many Republicans (as well as Democrats) are the only candidate to vote for.
That's disgusting.

Okay, now I want Dean for DNC chair.

[madfloridian]

6. I think our Democratic leaders would do well to read this book.

I doubt any of them have, as he really lays it on the line about what needs to be done. Most of the book though is dedicated to what we can do to win again and to do it our way.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743270134/qid=1103179727/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-7872402-8178262?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[Gold Metal Flake]

7. Hmm. Another frame opportunity?

Perhaps, we should stop talking (typing) about the DNC. Perhaps, we should use DFA. How can we help the DFA to win? What will be the official DFA position on this issue? How can we help the DFA win in 2006? Urge Sen. Headupasso to join the DFA and vote x on x bill.

Sure, it will be kinda silly at first, until lefty-leaning candidates and the DFA catches on. But I think we can help to expand the DFA and the congressional reps that they endorse. With numbers and repetition, we can make the DFA look like a place that a candidate needs to be. With our voices, we can make having DFA approval or an association with the DFA to be an important endorsement, a seal of Liberal approval. We can, by force of will, elevate the importance and the profile of the DFA and therefore capitalize on what once was a slur that almost half the voters (or more.....oy) in nthis country voted for "the #1 Liberal in the Senate". We will make our OWN DNC!

Chair of the DNC? Fuck. We can make it irrelevent.

We can do this, people.

We can do this.

[roguevalley]

8. God. Howard Dean is da man.

[Melodybe]

9. Finally! Thank you Dr. Dean!

Seriously if one more democrat votes with the nazis, I will cease to be a democrat. I am so sick of this shit, patriot act II, the New Freedom Commission, and our dems just line up to sell our rights down the river. ARG!

Kick for Dean :kick:

I sure hope plenty are listening.

[madfloridian]

10. I have thought of sending his book to some Democratic leaders.

I really have. It is like blast at them the first pages, but then he offers so much in organization and ideals and just getting things done.

To paraphrase what he said on MTP..."I fried the party", but a lot was deserved.

[janx]

12. The book was distributed to all of the members of the meeting

in Florida last weekend.

But there are many more members who don't have a copy...

[madfloridian]

15. And maple syrup and Ben and Jerry's too, I heard.

Or was that just to certain ones. I thought that was funny.

[Cheswick2.0]

18. they gave out maple syrup and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream?

LOL, good idea. VT really is a wonderful state. More people should visit there.

[PassingFair]

14. I asked for the "bat" to be put up on the DFA site...

and the numbers be fed to the DNC in real-time, so that they can see just how serious we are. Money talks.....

[Cheswick2.0]

17. Hey good idea

How can we help DFA candidates get into power? How can we help DFA elect more democrats to office?

Great idea.

[madfloridian]

11. Kick for the morning. He is right. They are voting with Republicans.

Now they are offering to sell us out on Medicare and Social Security. They want to be fair to Bush and enable his policies.

Shame on them all.

[Walt Starr]

13. Dean is the only Democrat out there that shows he has a clue

If only what passes for "leadership" in this party would get a clue or at least listen to a man who knows how to do this!

[prairierose]

19. I have been saying this to my congress critters for some time....

appeasement didn't work for Chamberlain when dealing with Hitler & it won't work for dems this time either.

Compromising our core values is one of the reasons that people do not know what we stand for.

Compromising our core values is why so many believe that there is no difference between the 2 parties.

[madfloridian]

20. Kick for all those Democrats crossing over on the Soc. Sec. issue.

There is no excuse for their doing this....they know what it is about. They know they are selling us down the river.