Howard Dean: The Candidate for Confederate Flags and Assault Weapons

It sickens me that Howard Dean embraces the Confederate flag in this manner. The angry, elitest, liberal faction of the Democratic party is soiling its pants over these comments. Dean's ship has sprung a leak and is taking on water at a rapid pace!

(CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean sparked criticism from his rivals Saturday after invoking the Confederate flag in a defense of his views on gun control.

"I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks," the former Vermont governor said in an interview published Saturday in the Des Moines Register. "We can't beat George Bush unless we appeal to a broad cross-section of Democrats."

It was at least the second time Dean publicly used the Confederate flag to describe Southern voters who often vote for Republicans.

Dean previously used the flag reference during a February meeting of the Democratic National Committee.

At that event, Dean received a rousing ovation from the crowd when he said, "White folks in the South who drive pickup trucks with Confederate flag decals on the back ought to be voting with us, and not [Republicans], because their kids don't have health insurance either, and their kids need better schools too."

All the other Democratic candidates at that time attended that session except Sen. John Kerry, of Massachusetts, who was absent for health reasons.

Kerry and Rep. Dick Gephardt, of Missouri, both issued statements Saturday attacking Dean's recent comments.

Gephardt, who polls show is in a close race with Dean to win January's Iowa caucuses, wrapped his criticism in patriotism.

"I don't want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks. I will win the Democratic nomination because I will be the candidate for the guys with American flags in their pickup trucks," Gephardt's statement said.

Kerry used his statement to illustrate his views on gun control and his support of the NAACP.

"Howard Dean is justifying his pandering to the NRA by saying his opposition to an assault weapons ban allows him to pander to lovers of the Confederate flag," Kerry said in his statement. "It is simply unconscionable for Howard Dean to embrace the most racially divisive symbol in America. I would rather be the candidate of the NAACP than the NRA."

Dean told the National Rifle Association in a 1992 questionnaire that he opposed restrictions on private ownership of assault weapons, and received the NRA's highest ratings when he was governor.

Dean has said he believes gun control laws should be a state matter, a position that might be considered a liability with the liberal base of the Democratic party, which supports federal gun control measures.

Gephardt, the former House minority leader, said Dean appears to believe "that if we sacrifice our support for reasonable gun legislation like the assault weapons ban, we will win the support of those that disagree with us on bedrock Democratic values like civil rights."

But a Dean spokesman called the criticism "a desperate political attack on the part of Governor Dean's opponents."

Spokesman Jay Carson said Dean was trying to explain that Democrats need to broaden their appeal to Southern men, who in recent years have voted Republican in growing numbers. Carson said Dean has been using the flag line since he started campaigning, and that his rivals misconstrued it as support for the Confederate banner.

"He uses colorful language to describe what he means. That's all that he is doing," Carson said.

Dean's campaign staffers fired back at Kerry in particular, accusing him of writing off Southern voters.

Spokeswoman Trish Enright pointed to a March article in the Charlotte Observer, which quoted Kerry describing a strategy in which he could take the presidency without winning a single Southern state.

 

Once again you make a faulty assumption that leads to error. The title contains no mention of my preferences. The title describes Howard Dean's position on two issues. There is no logical way to conclude that I share Dean's opinion from reading the title. Your assertion is destroyed. Moving on to my commentary in the first post, you will see that I am very critical of Dean throwing his support behind the Confederate Flag. One would then logically conclude that I disagree with Dean's stance on that issue and disagree with what Dean stands for. Your argument is revealed to be both wrong and poorly reasoned.

 

GreenVegan, please understand the difference between an 'elitest' and 'the elite'. One is merely perceived, the other is tangible. Dean's mob of angry liberal supporters fall into the 'perceived' category.

 

MacBeth, please read this definition from dictionary.com

Elitist:
The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources. Don't ever try to correct me again, son.

IPSO FACTO'D

 

Just for grins, what subtle pandering are you talking about here? Please be specific. I certainly hope you do not consider being against affirmative action as 'subtlely pandering to racists'.