Not all of us must blindly accept a Dean misspeak.

[saracat]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1830725&mesg_id=1830734&page=

John Edwards is being unfairly pilloried over this IMHO. I know some don't care for Edwards but I thought exactly the same thing when Dean made his comment about the Republicans. Why are we supposed to defend misspeak? Even Dean knows that he went overboard and didn't mean it the way he said it. I am really tired of this mantle of sainthood.Dean made a MISTAKE.But these people will not let it go and whip anyone else who notices or corrects his mistake.My God, they have given him the equivalent of papal infallibility! The Pope doesn't have as many stalwart defenders of invincibility!( And we won't go into what I think of the Pope!:rofl: :grr: :banghead:

[WildEyedLiberal]

1. I made a couple of comments on a couple different threads

This canonization of Dean drives me up the wall. Have you ever noticed how the "Dem Unity" crowd only comes out when someone assails Dean for something? Kerry can get called everything short of the Devil and that's okay - that doesn't threaten "Dem Unity" apparently. But Jesus God Almighty, speak less than absolute adoration of Dean and suddenly you are an Enemy of the Party. That Elizabeth Edwards thread was sick, and I chipped in my two cents.

It really is almost like a religious cult, saracat.

[saracat]

3. I just can't take it anymore. Both Dean and his cult will never progress

unless they learn from their mistakes. But apparently neither they or their leader make mistakes. Only those who notice are wrong.And woe be it to anyone who corrects them. Shudder. I used to think Dean was above all this but I am beginning to think he is buying into his own myth. Sad.

[WildEyedLiberal]

4. I've been thinking that for a while, now

The fact that some of his former paid lapdogs (a site we all know and... love...) are still on the primary bandwagon says volumes to me.

[saracat]

5. Now Biden and Edwards are being blamed for Dean's mistake!

New mantra, the rest of us have to be bobbleheadsin support of whatever stupid remark Dean may accidentally say. To not be a bobblehead is to be a traitor!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1830915&mesg_id=1830952

[karynnj]

6. Especially when they GLORIFY some of the mistakes

and praise them for being in your face comments. I was annoyed when Limbaugh made a crack about Democrats not working. For Dean to make an equally tactless comment about Republicans is in some ways worse; Limbaugh is a RW loud mouth, Dean is the Chairman of the party. Defaming people who vote Republican is not the best way to move the more moderate ones to our side. The open letter to Elizabeth Edwards is disgusting and seems a disingenuous way to attack her husband.

It seems the frequency of embarrassing remarks is high. Under the scrutiny of intense Republican focus, Kerry made very few comments that could be used against him. Only the $87 billion comment - which when all his comments that day are viewed mainly show that he used an unfortunate shortened version of a well stated explanation he had just given in response to a heckler. All others were desperate Republican attempts to take things out of context. If Dean would have been the candidate, I can't imagine how terrible watching the campaign would have been.

The Dean supporters should learn to differentiate between strong, well reasoned criticism of Bush and embarrassing comments that don't stand up to light.

[XanaDUer]

14. I came back from a great vacation and was barely

able to face DU anymore. Like a bad habit, here I am.

I see that the usual suspects are out in full rude force, slashing and burning everything in their paths. Biden sucks, Edwards is evil now, the whole smack.

Sigh.

[whometense]

2. Ugh. Just ugh.

Reading that made me feel like I need to take a shower.

[Mass]

7. I am tired of every type of sainthood

whether it is Dean, Edwards, or even Kerry.

I have not heard Edwards, so I cannot judge what he said and some of Dean's supporters have often difficulties recognizing their great man's faults, but it is as hard to make some of Edwards's supporters accept that their man misspoke or that everybody is not going to swoon when they see him.

EDIT : after having read what AP reports, I have no problem with what Edwards says(it was his right, though Edwards is even less the spokeman of the Democratic Party at this point), but we are in the typical mode on DU, where supporters of one candidate (here Dean AND Edwards) cannot stand that somebody criticizes their man.

And frankly, I do not remember as much outrage each time McAuliffe said something stupid (and that was more often than his time).

[saracat]

8. I don't put the mantle of sainthood on anyone. But I have never seen such

idolatry as displayed by the followers of Dean. I just read another thread where they are bemoaning that Dean would have won. I haven't seen this zeal from anyone else. Most of us have preferences but nothing like this. I have been known to slam Kerry when I disagree.As far as the outrage expressed when Mcauliffe spoke, he watched his mouth much better than Dean. If anything he was too polite!

[Mass]

9. Unfortunately not always

and as far as I can see by the threads on GDP, both Edwards and Dean's supporters behave identically, and frankly, I dont care how they behave.

I come on this forum because I want to hear news about Kerry, and about issues I care about. I am new in this forum, but I do not understand why we should bring here the bickering between the different clans among Democrats.

IMHO, Dean said something that was overboard. Edwards said he disagreed, which is his right, but I really do not care what he said. Basta. End of story.

[TayTay]

10. I think people are not thinking this through

It is Dean's job as Chairman to deflect criticism from the folks he works for (the elected Dems, and in Edwards case, the Once and Future Kings.) He makes a raucous comment and everybody pretends they are outraged by it and he apologizes. That way, the naughty comment that implies truth gets out there, everybody gets to play outraged (which they aren't) and nobody who has to actually run in in an election before the general public gets hurt. It's a win/win.

This is the oldest game in the book. Come on, this helps in the fundraising. People who like Gov Dean think he's out there truth-telling things that other Dems are too chicken to say. Those other Dems get to make political hay by disavowing what Dean said. It's a game. (Come on, see who Dean talks to and who his comments are directed to. It's all party grassroots people who love this stuff. Dean is not in trobule. Give me a friggin break.)

[Dr Ron]

12. Dean might be wrong person

Speaking like this does excite the base, but I don't think it is a good idea for Dean to be doing this as Chairman. If he didn't have his position, then it would be a different story.

Note that the Republicans avoid speaking like this. They have plenty in the noise machine who do, but not government or party officials. While Dean is primarily only speaking to Democrats, GOP leaders are out there speaking to Democrats they are tying to get to cross over. In the long run, I fear Dean's strategy is a losing one.

It would help a lot if he would even differentiate between the current Republican leadership and the average Republican and make the point that the Republican party is under the control of extremists who do not share the views of the average Republican.

[JohnKleeb]

11. Its a deleted thread but damn is it just me or does Dean mispeak a lot

[XanaDUer]

13. Yes, he misspeaks a lot.

...

[JohnKleeb]

15. This is why I have a problem with him as a presidential candidiate

and the fact hes way too moderate for my liking. I think the thing about Dean is ironically what they say about Kerry is that he panders, Dean seemed unwilling to prejudge Bin Laden or was it Saddam's guilt in the primaries and that got him flack, now I am not saying he deserved that flack but then he does something like what he did with Delay a few weeks ago by saying he belongs in jail, and that really makes him look bad. So basically my two biggest problems with Dean are this, he runs as a liberal but hes really in the moderate wing of the party and that he misspeaks a lot. I just hope he and the other parry bigwigs can get us some gains in the midterms, I dont expect to gain a house of congress back but I will consider gaining back a few seats to be a victory.

[saracat]

16. Amen Kleeb

[JohnKleeb]

17. Thanks

I tried to frame that in a way that doesnt sound flammatory but its the way I feel. I feel Dean is a moderate in liberal's clothing, and while rhetoric is nice, its proving that you are in fact what you say you are, and to be honest, Dean's history doesn't show that about him. He also misspeaks way too frequently, now I could understand an occassional one but hes been doing it a lot lately.