Howard Dean "accomplish real change and reelect President Obama in 2012"

[Still a Democrat]

We've come a long way together over the years. We've had many victories and our share of setbacks. The next few years aren't going to be easy either. It's going to be a fight to stop right-wing Republicans from rolling back progress and forcing gridlock in Congress. We'll need to work harder than ever to accomplish real change and reelect President Obama in 2012. But we've never been afraid of hard work.

We've never sat back and hoped for change, we've always done what it takes to make it happen.

Which is why, it's time to discuss the State of our Progressive Movement. How we can move forward to unite our country for a better future and take stock in how far we've come. We must decide together where we go from here.

...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/20/937739/-The-State-of-the-Progressive-Movement

[Poboy]

1. Howard Dean. A bigger man than Obama will EVER be.

[MineralMan]

3. Howard Dean - An Obama Supporter

There, I corrected your title.

[LoZoccolo]

4. Howard Dean is 5' 9.75", and Barack Obama is 6' 1". n/t

[Poboy]

6. Ah, it is no wonder you are so slow. You are stuck in literal land.

[davidwparker]

13. +1

[MissDeeds]

22. Yes

And height has nothing to do with it.

[FrenchieCat]

30. Wow.

[LoZoccolo]

2. I wonder who is going to run in the primary against Obama now.

Not that I'd vote for the challenger, but I've seen people say that there is great demand for a primary challenger.

[grahamhgreen]

28. Gravel (I hope) - the debate will rock!

[Jefferson23]

5. "We'll need to work harder than ever to accomplish real change and reelect President Obama in 2012."

That is an understatement...thanks for posting.

[Poboy]

8. Indeed. With Obama as president, "We'll need to work harder than ever to accomplish real change"

[MissDeeds]

23. +1000

Very true, Poboy.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. "We won't start wars of choice and then perpetuate them...' Unless Obama does.

What a crock of rah-rah B.S.

[MineralMan]

9. Replied to wrong post.

[frylock]

10. this time it's for real!!1

[JDPriestly]

11. Obama gives great speeches. But he has no strong sense of direction.

He has no moral commitment to the wellbeing of ordinary people. Fundamental human rights are of no consequence to him, and he "compromises" far too easily -- especially when the other side waves around big-buck-campaign-donation money.

That is my response to Howard Dean's plea for unity.

I am just one person, but I probably represent the feelings of a lot of Americans when I say that Obama has disappointed me very deeply.

He continues illegal, unnecessary wars. He continues to snoop on innocent Americans. His Attorney General does not prosecute big crimes -- only small ones.

Obama has not done what he needed to do. If he can't do better, he will not be re-elected no matter what we Democrats think. And so far he has shown no inclination to do the things that would bring him and the country success. He has already lost. Howard Dean is wasting his talent on trying to help shore up Obama.

Howard Dean, we need YOUR leadership at this time, not more of Obama's.

[ProSense]

12. Howard Dean from

the comments:

Thanks, DeanDemocrat, for the kind words. As you may remember, at the time I said that "You have the power" to change things, not me. Any of us by ourselves can only complain, but by taking action together we can make a difference.

This is a time of unwarranted pessimism and some loss of perspective among progressives. When I speak to LGBT groups, I remind them that when George Bush took office in 2001, there was one state in the country (Vermont) with marriage equality. When Bush left office in 2009, after eight of the most conservative years under any president, I think there were nine states with marriage equality. That is a testament to the power of the American LGBT community and their supporters who believe strongly in social justice. We are making progress and we make progress everyday. We have to have a long-term perspective. Over the long-term, we will outwork the forces of regression and hate in this country. 44 years ago, when I started college, many of you know that I had two African-American roommates, both of whom had gone to segregated schools in the south. All three of us are amazed today to be living in a time when we have an African-American president. Progress is being made every day; we often can't see it. We are making progress every day on climate change and small amounts add up to big amounts over decades. We are making significant progress on women's rights, although the forces of hate and misogyny on the right are deeply threatened by this and we need to keep fighting. It's important never to be satisfied, but it's also important not to paralyze ourselves with fear that we might fail.

[madfloridian]

29. Dean was wrong. We do not have the power to change things.

We only have the choice to go with the status quo or else.

He should not have made us think we had the power. We don't.

[SidDithers]

14. recommend...nt

Sid

[patrice]

15. Just think of all of the lost momentum if we hand the whole thing over to Republicans by primarying

Obama. It will set the entire movement back at least a decade and anyone who says the deprivation, suffering, and deaths of OTHERS is worth ____________________ is not a Liberal.

Step up right here and now and tell us all that you are willing to throw away OUR OWN (not! Obama's) momentum on:
- Medicare Reform
- Domestically manufactured alternative energy technologies
- The Employee Free Choice Act
- Protecting Social Security
- LGBT Civil Right to Marry
- The Dream Act
- and so very much more!

There is no American Left, BECAUSE there are too many people making tooooooooooooo much out of Obama and not enough about themselves and the concrete work that all of us SHOULD be doing ON THE ISSUES in order to stand effectively against Obama et al.

Working on the issues will build our base, an authentic movement, and THUS prepare us for viable candidates from Left POWER in 2014-16, not from weakness which is the truth about what "we" really are despite some (???) people's oh so satisfying bluster.

[Jefferson23]

17. I believe Dean understands full well the consequences of a primaried

Obama..and why he won't even suggest support for such a move. It is not about him approving of Obama's policies imo., he sees the bigger political picture is my take.

[patrice]

19. Agreed. I wish more people would focus a little less on Obama and a little more on creating

the kind of movement that ****NO ONE**** can disregard.

[davidwparker]

16. I appreciate Dean's party loyalty. This is what his

statement means to me.

[patrice]

18. It could logically also mean: His loyalty to the grassroots, because anyone who says there is even

the remotest chance of winning by primarying Obama in 2012 is either delusional or dishonest and a loss will make things exponentially worse for at least a decade, by handing the whole thing over to the Republicans just as they are selling us out to foreigners.

[davidwparker]

21. Have you heard about the free-trade deal with Korea

that http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/10/unions-ready-to-fight-obamas-free-trade-pact-with-south-korea/">Obama is wanting to accomplish. It looks like this is equal opportunity selling out.

Your assessment that a primary challenger for 2012 would have no chance of winning is your opinion. Just like it is my opinion that given a creditable (R) challenger, Obama will loose. He will not carry this commonwealth again and he is working hard to loose the base.

(Enter Dean.)

[patrice]

25. I'd bet a poll of the un-biased experts would side with me, but that's actually beside my point.

Win or lose in 2012, nothing will change as long as the people are as weak as they are. Whether I like Obama or not is beside the point, a Republican win in 2012 will only hurt those who are already paying the highest price for what America has become.

Tell me, what unquestionable assumptions is your opinion based upon? Change = ?

[patrice]

20. "real change" is Y - O - U, not Obama! nt

[madfloridian]

24. Dean has made his decision to stand with the party leaders...

the same ones who made sure he had no place in party leadership after 2008.

I wish him well.

[patrice]

26. Dean has made his decision to stand with those who will be HURT by a loss in 2012. nt

[patrice]

27. Those of you who disagree with this decision, please show me the non-Obama win in 2012.

Like it or not, this IS the way things are. Planning to hurt one whole hell of a lot of people, because we don't like the truth, just isn't in Howard Dean's nature.