Houston Democrats

Look for an Op-Ed piece in the Houston Chronicle either Wed., Thurs. or Friday in response to Berg's innane,irrational diatribe against Howard Dean....authored by Stan Merriman, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Populist Caucus. P.S. I actually represent a constituency within the Democratic Party having been elected to this position by our Statewide membership. What the hell is Berg's portfolio of representation, other than his influence peddling selective financial support of some candidates?

Lyn,

By all means tell me how Joe Lieberman is trying to get rid of or getting Howard Dean to shut up.

Hi Greg

This post was by Muriel Stubbs, but I'll be happy to respond. Lieberman and the DLC have jumped on every opportunity to criticize Dean, because he's not afraid to tell the truth about the harm the Republicans are doing to this country. The DLC seems prefer to follow the advice of right-wing extremists who have them convinced that they have to go along with the Republicans in order to survive, when just the opposite is true. As Democrats, we must take a stand against turning government over to corporations and erosion of civil liberties. (Can you tell RFK Jr. got me fired up last night?)

I must admit that Greg has caught me out making a smartass statement that I can't back up with a specific quote YET.(Give me a day.) I guess in the heat of the moment I just assumed that Lieberman would take his usual stance of making a virtue out of playing nice instead of facing up to the fact that right now, there is a hell of a lot of difference between Democrats and Republicans where basic values and basic principles of governing are concerned. I think that before we (D's and R's)can come to any kind of rapprochement, there are some battles we must fight--one of which is about the Republican hobnailed boot on our necks because they have 10 more votes than we do. Lieberman wants to make peace with these people when it seems obvious to nearly everybody that peace is not possible when one side has 10 more chips (and a potential army of howling Fundamentalist nuts not willing to give an inch in the peace department.) For instance, we gave up the 4 judges--Priscilla Owen, et al. I thought our side was supposed to gain something in return. The Republicans didn't give up a damn thing that I could see. I don't call that trading off. Maybe something parliamentary will come up when Rehnquist retires, but one of my problems, Mr. Wythe, is that I wouldn't trust a Republican to keep his word as far as I could throw him wrapped around the Capitol--but I think Joe Lieberman would.(I'd truly like to be pure in heart, but I'm just not.)And I don't think we need to burden Howard Dean with worrying about whether what he says is going to injure the feelings of potential Republican crossovers. Since their votes for that international pariah Bush fils got us into this mess in Iraq in the first place, and they aren't like to get us out any time soon, why aren't they worrying about OUR feelings?

There. That's my best answer for the moment. Now I'm going to go suck my thumb and think about what I should have said.

Touche, sir.

Lyn/Muriel ... I'll parry this one right back at each of you. I guess it just depends on the definition of "every opportunity." Here's Ed Kilgore of the DLC making a rather pointed defense of Howard Dean ...

My basic take on Howard Dean's DNC chairmanship is simple. After the 2004 elections, Dean had a choice. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for him to have assumed leadership of an abrasive and divisive faction of the Democratic party, as a proto-candidate for the 2008 presidential nomination. But instead, he chose to pursue the difficult and often thankless job of party chairman, building on the aspects of his 2004 candidacy that virtually all Democats appreciated: small-dollar fundraising, and grass-roots efforts to expand the ranks of party activists. For all my differences of opinion with Dean's 2004 campaign, his self-sacrificing choice afterwards earned my respect, and my loyalty.

Dean's work as party chairman has focused expanding the Democratic base in red states, and that, too, is exactly what I hoped he would do.

Every party chair spends a lot of time speaking to Democratic activists, and inevitably serves up a lot of red meat. Dean's recent "controversial" remarks would have been completely unobjectionable, and probably unnoticed, if they had been uttered by his predecessor.

For all the FEW differences of opinion that a minority of liberals have with Joe, it might well behoove them to move beyond the 2004 campaign just as Ed has.

Naturally, I strongly encouraging that one reads a healthy selection of the pronouncements offered by the DLC before pretending to speak with any degree of authority on what they believe, what corporations they wish to sell the party out to, or whatever imaginary ills one might devise on their part. The number of enemies this party has within is far fewer in number than it would seem based on the postings of no less than HoustonDEMOCRATS.com, ya know.

Read Stan Merriman's op-ed in today's Chronicle at http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/3225989

Okay--here's stuff from the horse's mouth--or, in this case, the colt's mouth (a very nice young man
named Amit in Sen. Lieberman's office): Lieberman WAS critical of Dean in last week's NYT piece. He wants Dean to tone it all down, but he doesn't want to get rid of Dean. David Berg, on the other hand, obviously DOES want to get rid of Dean. So one wants to shut Dean up(sort of), and the other wants to get rid of him. I think I'd better rest my case. BUT: Does all of this matter in the long view of political "things"? Only to the extent that when Dick Cheney gets on national TV--the White House's vast platform--and says that Dean's mother may have loved him but he's never met anyone else who does, I want to get Dean's bat, beloved of Dean supporters, and leave "Louisville Slugger" indelibly imprinted on that bastard Cheney's backside and on the backsides of everyone supposedly on our side who gives aid and comfort to Cheney and people like him in this administration, who have been responsible for the deaths of thousands and are as much our enemies and the enemies of Democracy as the bomb planters in Baghdad.

As for me, fellow Democrats,...IT'S JUNE 15, AND I SUPPORT HOWARD DEAN!