Dean says 'high road' is best for Democrats- May 10th Boston Globe

I just googled Howard Dean's name and came up with this on News search (Gee, that was difficult) :eyes: :



Dean says 'high road' is best for Democrats
By Nina J. Easton, Globe Staff | May 10, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Howard Dean, the former presidential contender and current Democratic National Committee chairman, yesterday warned Massachusetts gubernatorial candidates to avoid a ''scorched earth" primary that could destroy the party's chances of regaining the state's top office for the first time in 16 years.


The prospective Democratic candidates have been polite to each other so far, though the former Vermont governnor appeared to be trying to head off the possibility of a bruising primary battle that would send a wounded nominee into the general election campaign.

''I don't like to lecture states, but if you run a scorched earth campaign, the nomination won't be worth anything," Dean said in an interview. ''We have to have everything on the same page." Dean said a ''high-road" approach is especially important given the short, two-month period between the September primary vote and the 2006 November election.

Dean said he would deliver that message when he speaks Saturday before the state Democratic platform convention in Lowell, where likely candidates for governor in attendance will include Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly,former assistant US attorney general Deval Patrick, and Secretary of State William F. Galvin.

Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, has not said whether he will seek reelection; many political analysts say he will pass up another statewide race to focus on a run for the GOP presidential nomination.

Aside from gubernatorial posturing, the most watched portion of this weekend's state platform convention will be the party's expected decision to add an explicit endorsement of same-sex marriage. While most Democrats in the state have voiced support in polls for same-sex unions, the state's legalization of same-sex marriage last year prompted a backlash throughout much of the nation. Some analysts theorize that the issue hurt the Democratic Party's chances of winning the White House. Last week, US Senator John F. Kerry the party's 2004 presidential nominee, warned that a plank endorsing same-sex marriage would be a mistake.

Dean, however, said, ''States can work these issues out for themselves. I'm not going to tell Massachusetts Democrats what to do."

Here's the high road: how about D candidates only attack Romney!

Point out his carpet-bagging idiocy and unfitness 24/7.
Don't attack each other - attack the incumbent.

That way, all the campaign $$$ is used for shells against the Mormon enemy,
not against the people you 80% agree with!!!

MA is a winnable state if the goddam egos will just get out of the way.

Expletive-squared - a fifth-grader can figure this out.

disclaimer 1
(Nothing against Mormons, I have met many who are very nice in person,
but I have never met one who didn't support
killing Iraq and the oppression of my gay friends.
Such Mormons may be out there.)

disclaimer 2
No, I don't even know if Romney is a Mormon, but I distrust him reflexively bc he came from Utah.

flame away!

1) He is a Mormon. So is Harry Reid.

2) He is a carpetbagger. So is Hillary. And we want Hillary to remain a Senator in New York for a long long time ;) (or at least until long after the 2008 election)

So it might be better just to attack Twit based on the fact that he's a right wing extremist who has no business representing a liberal state. :)

Running a pussified campaign will do nothing. The Repukes are nasty; they lie, cheat and steal. We can smile prettily and say that "sticks and stones may break our bones. . . ."-- you get the picture; it just won't work. Scorched earth all the way, and send the Repigs straight to hell. We've tried to be candy asses too many times, and it's time we learned a lesson for once.

However, when dealing with other Democrats is concerned, that is the time we all should play nice. We don't want to let accusations fly and shred our own so that the opposition will be able to use them in a general election.

And your point is VERY well taken - the time to make nice-nice is during primary season when we don't want to eat our own. OR do the enemy's legwork for them. But otherwise, I think this is one time when Howard Dean is off the mark. Ordinarly, I almost literally burn incense to the man. I've loved him and what he says and stands for, and have been an ardent supporter for a LONG time. But this time I think he's wrong. We should NEVER EVER EVER pull punches with these jackals. We HAVE to hit hard, AND hit as far as possible below the belt. Think of it this way: would they do any less to us?

less attention on 'tone' and more attention on mobilization


High road, low road, who cares? Just as long as it's consistent and speaks to the rank and file and makes them feel like they're actually fighting for something

he's saying Dems shouldn't attack each other and should save their fire for Republicans so they don't damage the primary winner in the process. Nothing to get upset about.

bring on the scorched earth.

and I think we all know that Gov. Dean agrees with that.