Spanking The Chairman by Paul Waldman

[Douglas Carpenter]

"The Washington journalistic establishment just doesn’t like Howard Dean. He’s rough around the edges, and he doesn’t play by the rules, especially the rule casting Democrats as perennially weak and apologetic . And reporters didn’t have to look too hard to find Democrats who would go on record about their displeasure with Dean.

Democratic politicians sometimes seem so ignorant about how the news media work, one wonders how they ever got elected in the first place. Here’s a tip: If you want reporters to write about all the things the Bush administration is doing wrong, don’t criticize your party chair to them. Lots of Washington Democrats don’t like Dean much either, but there are plenty of people to whom they can air their complaints—their staffs, their colleagues, their spouses, their dogs. Heck, they can walk over to DNC headquarters and wring his neck if they like. But when they criticize him to reporters, that enables those reporters to write one of their favorite stories, “Democrats are squabbling again.” If the politicians didn’t give those quotes, they wouldn’t be able to write those stories. Then they’d have to focus on something more advantageous to Democrats, like Bush’s failure on Iraq, or his failure on Social Security or his failure on the economy."

full article here:

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050614/spanking_the_chairman.php

[Vickers]

1. All Democratic congress members should be tied to a chair

and a recording of that article played to them for 48 hours straight.

[chaumont58]

2. I hope Dems in Tenn are not getting their hopes up too much

I think Biden's comments were bad enough, but Ford's comments? Insane. Biden is not trying to move up in life(at least it isn't totally apparent), but Ford, he is trying to become a US Senator from Southern state, he is black, and to make things easy for himself, he disses his party chairman. He goes on the fuckin' Imus show and laughingly says Chairman Dean's help is not welcomed in Tennessee. Shit house mouse. I'm a Dean supporter, not rabid, but a supporter nonetheless. I'm offended by the behavior of the inside the beltway establishment Dems. Governor Dean is telling the truth, with the bark on. The establishment Dems act like he is walking around with his fly open.
Congressman Ford better not be depending on my contribution to continue his campaign. He is SOL.

[ieoeja]

4. Look at it from Ford's viewpoint.

Let's say I'm a swing voter, unsure for whom I'm going to vote. Each party has nominated a man with decent qualifications. They are both born and raised in Tennessee and share the same culture. There is not a whole lot separating them.

Along comes the Republican telling me the Democratic Party is being run by a maniac. Ford, the Democrat, agrees. So why would I vote to give the Democratic Party more power in DC when I would be almost as well served by a Republican Senator from my state.

Oh ... come to think of it that makes Ford (and all those like him) an idiot.

[Larkspur]

6. Ford is a hypocrite. He claims to be a Christian yet

he voted FOR the credit card companies' approved bankruptcy bill. He also voted for Bush's illegal war.

Ford is a Pharisee and if he doesn't want Dean's help in TN, good. Dean has 49 other states and many other Dems who do want him.

[chaumont58]

3. As a reward for his behavior, Biden will be a guest every Sunday

on at least one of the talking head shows for the rest of the summer. Ole Plagiarist Joe can stroke his own ego, big time.

[JNelson6563]

5. Good article

It clearly highlights the destructive path some Dems are taking. Gotta believe it's with self-serving intentions.

Julie