Students pack Union to hear Dean speak

[unfrigginreal]

By Scott Rank
Daily Staff Writer
November 17, 2003

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean spoke to ISU students Friday, bringing his fiery campaign and strong anti-Bush platform.

He spoke before an audience of 1,200. The program was originally scheduled to take place in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union for 500 attendees, but due to crowd overflow, the walls were opened up for additional people to stand in the Great Hall.

<snip>

During his speech, a few people held up a poster reading "Vote for Dean," adorned with a large Confederate Flag. The flag was in reference to a controversial promise Dean made to be "the candidate for guys with Confederate flag decals on their pickup trucks."

Responding to the flag, he said he "welcomes our Republican colleagues with the confederate flag."

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/11/17/3fb83bbe261e3

[Occulus]

1. ka-SNORT

"Responding to the flag, he said he "welcomes our Republican colleagues with the confederate flag."

BWAHAHAHA! He caught on!

That little tactic won't ever work again. The confed flag issue is hereby DEAD.

edit: of course, it could backfire. They could decide they really are republicans.

But hey, it's repub interests keeping the 'issue' alive, no?

[Skwmom]

2. I willing to bet money that the confederate flags

were encouraged by the Dean campaign because he is trying to sell the meme that he will take the south by winning over supporters of the confederate flag.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

3. LOL

Yes I'm sure he just loves this sort of disruption. Probably made the flags himself.

Dean will prove his abilities in the south when it's time to vote.

[Skwmom]

4. Of course I might be giving the Dean

campaign too much credit. It could be that Rove is behind it since he is also trying to get people to fall for the ludicrous idea that Dean is electable so he'll be the Democratic nominee.

When it comes right down to it, it's hard to tell how much of Dean's campaign sucess has been due to Dean's campaign team and how much is due to Rove manipulations (my money favors Rove).

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LuminousX]

6. Yeah, Rove is some sort of Uber-God

The man behind the banner mess up. Rove's tactics have proved to be too crude. They worked in the Republican primary, but haven't worked anywhere else. The man may be a good manipulator, but I really don't think he is as good as everyone seems to believe.

Besides, I don't like to assign supernatural powers to people if a more mundane answer can be given. I don't think the Republicans are any better at choosing a Good candidate vs. a Bad candidate than Democrats. I also don't think anyone has enough pull or power to affect the primaries of another party. There are just too many variables to control.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

8. LOL

This theory is starting to amuse me, now.

43 busloads of people sent by Rove at the JJ Dinner? Hee hee.

[DemBones DemBones]

9. Somebody trucked in 43 busloads of people, could have been

Dean, could have been Rove. A better question is whether the 43 busloads of people were from Iowa.

[helleborient]

10. I know who some of those people on the buses were...

The parents of my wife's best friend (age 60 or so)

Good friends of my wife's parents

Another couple from their church

All proud lifelong Democrats...caucusgoers since the "Jimmy Who?" days of 1976.

[KaraokeKarlton]

12. I think it's Kerry supporters

They have been pulling really stupid stunts in NH and Iowa at Dean events for awhile now. It's not all of them obviously, but all it takes is a few knuckleheads. If some fool will dress up as a waffle at a Dean event and try to promote Kerry they would certainly show up with Confederate Flag. :eyes:

[unfrigginreal]

16. LOL

Now let's not start mixing up our conspiracy theories. You're only allowed one per thread.

[polpilot]

17. Hope it not your rent money you're betting with.

Dean '04...

[Speck Tater]

15. Anything that shows up at a Dean event...

came from the campaign simply because of the structure of the Dean campaign. The people ARE the campaign, and the campaign IS the people. So if a Dean supporter brings a sign to an event then that sign came from the campaign since that supporter IS part of the campaign.

This is what makes the campaign so much better and more flexible than the traditional top-down command structure where nothing can happen without being sanctioned from the top of the pyramid.

Back when Dean was capping off the Sleepless Summer tour in New York and we were just filling up the "bat" with contributions, someone on the Dean blog suggested that "the campaign" get a baseball bat to present to Dean on stage in New York to signify breaking the bat. Another blogger noted that there was a Toys-R-Us store near the park where the event was scheduled. This all happened 15 minutes before Dean went on stage, yet in that 15 minutes time a baseball bat was purchased and presented to Dean on stage. That's how fast the campaign can and does respond to the grass roots.

Did the idea originate with "the campaign?" Of course. In this case with some blogger in Pittsburgh or Scaramento, or where ever, who is no less a part of the Dean campaign than any of us "Deaniacs."

[madfloridian]

7. "welcomes our Republican colleagues with the confederate flag."

Chuckle.
:evilgrin:

[DemBones DemBones]

11. Since Dean supporters here were supportive of

his use of the Confederate flag, isn't it possible some Dean supporters would carry signs with the flag on them as a way of supporting Dean's stand?

And since he raised the flag issue, why is he accusing them of being Republicans? I don't think that was the best way to handle it.

[LuminousX]

13. Because the message was clearly made by Dean

that he feels using the confederate flag image was hurting people so he wanted it dropped.

[helleborient]

14. Supporting the point he was attempting to make...

And supporting his use of the Confederate flag are two entirely different issues.

It was those who oppose Dean who insisted someone had to support the Confederate flag to understand and support Dean's attempts to reach out to Southern voters.

Care to clear up the mis-characterization of Dean supporters?