September 7, 2003
MARGIN CALL:
In an Appearance With Davis, Dean Denounces Recall Effort (ADAM NAGOURNEY, September 7, 2003, NY Times)
Howard Dean today became the first Democratic presidential candidate to appear alongside Gov. Gray Davis as he fights off a recall initiative, urging Californians to turn back a campaign that Dr. Dean said was orchestrated by President Bush and the White House."This is not about Gray Davis," Dr. Dean said, as a tieless Mr. Davis smiled at his side. "This is about whether America is going to continue being a democracy or whether we are going to be dominated by the far right, to serve their own purpose and not the purposes of America."
If the leaders of the Democratic Party continue to side with the 35% against the 65%--as they have on the War on Terror, gay marriage, and now the recall--then America will be dominated by the Bushian far right. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 7, 2003 12:14 PM
The Dems have got themselves into the position where they can't even try any more to get the support of the third in the middle without losing the third on their side. In part, Clintonism is to blame, because the Left can see what happened the last time they moderated their positions for the sake of winning, then having won, going head with imposing their agenda (most notably in the form of Hillarycare)-- they got Republicans first in Congress, then the White House. They are determined to not repeat that mistake, as it's better to go out in a blaze of glory followed by four more years of vicitmhood and moral exhibitionism. (Which is much more fun an actually having to govern.)
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at September 7, 2003 2:39 PMHoward Dean just missed his Sister Souljah moment. All the thoughtful moderates who have been (somewhat) intrigued by Dean should recognize now that he is but a shill. In one sense, defending Davis is worse than defending Clinton, because Davis has no Rubin for a backstop.
Posted by: jim hamlen at September 7, 2003 7:55 PMActually, backing Davis in the long run is probably the lesser of two evils for Dean. His other alternative would have been to go hang out with Cruz in California, but if he never renounced his MEChA ties and ends up elected governor, his issue would become something Howard would have to comment on sooner or later, especially if some of Bustamante's past associates in that group feel empowered to speak out if he assumes the top office (Dean's best choice really would have been to have said nothing about either candidate, but since he's the Democrats' superstar right now, even that would have caused a few ruffled feathers on the left coast).
Posted by: John at September 7, 2003 11:24 PM