Thank you, Howard Dean, for opening the dialogue.

[madfloridian]

And for a year of memorable quotes which speak to the heart of what our country is about. You have started something which will take a while to come to fruition, but it will. I feel it when I hear from the candidates running because you encouraged them. I have never been so aware of candidates from all over the country, and I have never been so aware of how important it is to get someone running against an unopposed candidate. It is beginning.

Thanks for these special quotes:

"Since the time of Thomas Paine and John Adams, our founders implored that we were not to be the new Rome. We are not to conquer and suppress other nations to submit to our will. We were to inspire them. The idea of America using its power solely for its own ends is not consistent with the idealistic moral force the world has known for over two centuries."
Howard Dean

"Every American President must and will take up arms in the defense of our nation. It is a solemn oath that cannot -- and will not -- be compromised.
But there is a fundamental difference between the defense of our nation and the doctrine of preemptive war espoused by this administration. The President's group of narrow-minded ideological advisors are undermining our nation's greatness in the world. They have embraced a form of unilateralism that is even more dangerous than isolationism."
Howard Dean

"At every turn when there has been an imbalance of power, the truth questioned, or our beliefs and values distorted, the change required to restore our nation has always come from the bottom up from our people. "
Howard Dean

"You know, to listen to Senator Lieberman, Senator Kerry, Representative Gephardt, I'm anti-Israel, I'm anti-trade, I'm anti-Medicare and I'm anti-Social Security. I wonder how I ended up in the Democratic Party. I'm not a new entrant to the Democratic Party. I've been here a long time."
Howard Dean

"The State of the Union may look rosy from the White House balcony or the suites of George Bush's wealthiest donors. But hardworking Americans will see through this president's efforts to wrap his radical agenda with a compassionate ribbon. "
Howard Dean

"People have said I'm the candidate of anger. Well, we have a right to be angry. We lost 3 million jobs. We lost our place as the moral leader of the world. "
Howard Dean

"Look, I'm not a perfect person. I have my warts. I sometimes say things that get me in trouble. I wear suits that are cheap. But I say what I think and I believe what I say, and I'm willing to say things that are not popular but ordinary people know are right."
Howard Dean

Quote from Michael Moore: "Howard Dean is a prick."
No, Michael, I don't think so. Do you really believe that?

[havocmom]

1. Dr Dean gave us very valuable lessons

It is cool to be honest and call a naked pResident what he is

The internet is our friend

We all better get off the porch and run

America is US not them!

[madfloridian]

2. Yes, he made it ok to say that the emperor had no clothes.

:hi:

[upperleftedge]

4. Admit it...

he is the only reason some of us managed to get where we are today, including Kerry. I had been out of politics for years until I heard Dean. But I'm back. Of course, Bush also bears some of the guilt.

[madfloridian]

5. He brought a lot of folks back into politics, including us.

:hi:

I just hope the backbone stays, but I fear it won't.

[sonias]

3. I second that

Thank you Howard Dean.

Sonia

[madfloridian]

6. "We do not dream of empire"

"America became America by rebelling against imperial power.

America emerged from isolation to greatness by beating fascist power.

America became synonymous with justice by supporting independence for colonies from an imperial world.

America's ideals triumphed when it confronted communism to the point of extinction.

America is not Rome. We do not dream of empire. We dream of liberty for all."
Howard Dean

[madfloridian]

7. Kick for the evening.

:kick:

[Eloriel]

8. And my favorite quote of all:

I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!!!

Love your threads, Madfloridian. :hi:

[PassingFair]

9. and for my personal fav...

"I'm tired of fundamentalist preachers telling us what to do"

Still rootin' for People Powered Howard...

[madfloridian]

15. Me, too, Eloriel.

Thanks for the kind words....Some don't like my posts, you know. Bothers me not one bit. I admire the man's courage and intelligence.

[IronLionZion]

10. coalition of the wild-eyed

I hope this guy doesn't disappear. He'd make a great Sec. of Health and Human Services or even Veep.

:headbang:
keep on rocking in the free world

[Doctor_J]

11. it's been a group effort

howard came up big this year, so did Wes Clark, so did Michael Moore. I think that *'s corruption and incompetence really energized a lot of people.

[stickdog]

12. History has proven all of his "controversial" statements true.

The media tried to make a joke out of him (like they do with any man of integrity), but we'll get the last laugh yet.

[madfloridian]

14. And how about this one....it may be coming true. Thanks, zidzi, for this.

I never heard this one, but it is powerful.

"Will it be long before a prominent panel of fundamentalist theologians, conservative columnists, and a few token scientists take up the question of whether the theory of evolution should be banned from the nation's classrooms? Stay tuned. In George Bush's America, ignorance is strength."

Governor Dean

[madfloridian]

13. Dean & Gore...Iraq vote set in motion the Bush doctrine of preemption.

From April 2003:
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0417-07.htm

Published on Thursday, April 17, 2003 by CommonDreams.org
Bush: It's Not Just His Doctrine That's Wrong
by Howard Dean


SNIP...."When Congress approved the President’s authorization to go to war in Iraq – no matter how well-intentioned – it was giving the green light to the President to set his Doctrine of preemptive war in motion. It now appears that Iraq was just the first step. Already, the Bush Administration is apparently eyeing Syria and Iran as the next countries on its target list. The Bush Doctrine must be stopped here."

SNIP..."Many in Congress who voted for this resolution should have known better. On September 23, 2002, Al Gore cautioned in his speech in San Francisco that “if the Congress approves the Iraq resolution just proposed by the Administration it is simultaneously creating the precedent for preemptive action anywhere, anytime this or any future president so decides.” And that is why it was such a big mistake for Congress to allow the president to set this dangerous precedent."

[Mechatanketra]

16. I miss Howard.

For a (relatively) brief shining moment, I had faith that Samwise was right, and there was still some good left to save.

But not enough good to win Iowa, apparently.

Now I'm just gritting my teeth and hoping I can survive another four years of hell -- I just get a choice between pure hell and less-carb hell.

[Seabiscuit]

17. Dean was "Samwise"...

And lest we forget...

"Show me the country where bombs had to fall,
Show me the ruins of buildings once so tall,
And I'll show you a young land with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, go you or go I -- you and I.
You and I."

Joan Baez: "There But For Fortune"

:scared:

[truthspeaker]

18. kick for the doctor

[madfloridian]

19. " In George Bush's America, ignorance is strength." Howard Dean

"Stay tuned. In George Bush's America, ignorance is strength."

http://www.caglecartoons.com/previewColumn.asp?columnID={8CFF2462-78B9-40BE-A90C-054720EA4B8C}
SNIP..."The Bush administration has declared war on science. In the Orwellian world of 21st century America, two plus two no longer equals four where public policy is concerned, and science is no exception. When a right-wing theory is contradicted by an inconvenient scientific fact, the science is not refuted; it is simply discarded or ignored."