Dean draws fire for `Confederate flags' comment
I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks. We can't beat George Bush unless we appeal to a broad cross section of Democrats.
- Howard Dean
I had such high hopes for Howard Dean when he first announced his candidacy. As time has marched inexorably onward, however, Dean has proven himself to be something of a loose cannon, which does not bode well at all for his chances against George Bush. Perhaps Dean has just not grasped the reality that everything he says and does is going to be parsed under the political equivalent of an electron microscope. Ultimately, that could well cost him the Democratic nomination. This harldy means he is not a good candidate, but it does indicate he doesn't understand the rules which govern the game.
WAVERLY, Iowa -- Howard Dean's rivals for the Democratic nomination roundly attacked him Saturday for telling an Iowa newspaper he wanted "to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks" in defending his opposition to some gun-control legislation.
But Dean retorted that he had said much the same thing in front of largely black audiences months ago and said his opponents were merely flailing away at him in desperation.
The fracas comes as the other contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination -- especially Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt -- are struggling to overtake Dean, who leads in most polls in Iowa and in New Hampshire.
On Friday, Dean came under criticism from Kerry for having opposed an assault-weapons ban while seeking the National Rifle Association's endorsement for his bid for governor of Vermont in 1992....
Kerry called Dean's statement "craven," "pandering" and "the worst kind of politics as usual." He said, "I'd rather be the candidate of the NAACP than the NRA, who understands that the Confederate flag belongs in museums."
An aide to Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Craig T. Smith, said, "Gov. Dean ought to be more careful about what he says," and called the remark "irresponsible and reckless."
Gephardt, meanwhile, issued a statement saying he planned to "be the candidate for the guys with American flags in their pickup trucks."
Candidate and civil rights activist Al Sharpton -- who has accused Dean of having an "anti-black agenda" -- said he was "surprised and disturbed" by the Confederate flag remark. "If I said I wanted to be the candidate for people that ride around with helmets and swastikas, I would be asked to leave," Sharpton said.
Dean's reference to pickup drivers with Confederate flags is one he has made several times, albeit in a different context: Calling for a reversal of Richard Nixon's 1968 Southern strategy.
In February, for example, at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee, he said, "White folks in the South who drive pickups with Confederate flag decals on the back ought to be voting with us and not them, because their kids don't have health insurance and their kids need better schools too."
The two southerners in the Democratic race, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas, also protested. "Some of the greatest civil rights leaders, white and black, have come from the South," said Edwards. "To assume that Southerners who drive trucks would embrace this symbol is offensive."
Clark said, "Every Democratic candidate for president needs to condemn the divisiveness the Confederate flag represents."
I know that some of you are shocked that the DUMASS AWARD committee would bestow this "honor" upon a fellow Democrat, but if there is one thing I've discovered on my long and painful journey, it's that the one truly nonpartisan quality is human stupidity. Ignorance knows no party lines.
Dean may have some interesting ideas, and he is certainly the most passionate of the Democratic candidates. The problem with passion, though, is that when not properly harnessed it can and usually will blow up in your face. I hope that Dean will learn this lesson soon, but I have a feeling that this is likely not going to happen. Accordingly, Howard Dean has shown himself to be capable of upholding the high standards expected of DUMASS AWARD wieners.
Congratulations, Governor; your bust in the Hall of Shame awaits you....
