I don't think that's completely true. I don't mean that the Dems should go after eachother tooth and nail, but it's a hallmark of Democratic fights to be long and drawn out. It's what we do.

The real thing is that the Dems need to get better about closing ranks when one of the group is attacked by a Republican. And Democrats have to be careful to only do those things that can improve their chances of win the primary, not necessarily lower their opponents' chances of winning the general. And that, in my mind, is what is most dangerous about parts of the Kerry-Dean dispute. Dean is saying Kerry is flip-flopping. Kerry is calling Dean incoherent. Those are both general election quotes.

As for the RNC, you can tell Rove loves the Dems in disagreement, as they devote a section of their "research" to specifically those instances.
Matthew Singer | Email | Homepage | 04.05.03 - 12:07 pm | #

I think it's always a good idea to defend democrats from republican smears, but I also think it's good and healthy to have the candidates debate and critique each other about the issues, otherwise it just becomes a beauty pageant. Unfortunatly for the other candidates, I don't think any of them can challenge Dean on the issues. He's effectively got them beat on each one, IMO. That's why the other candidates pretend to take the high road while using their campaign workers keep giving the press comments about Dean such as he's "unelectable", "incoherent", "wants to give the UN a veto power on our defense", "If he didn't exist Karl Rove would have to invent him", and the recent attacks on Dean's honesty. That's the kind of thing I think should stop.
Phil | Email | Homepage | 04.05.03 - 12:57 pm | #

I agree with all those who say that Dems should close ranks after the nomination process. I also agree that personal attacks should be minimized. The one attack strategy that Dean has used that I approve of is the "Democrats have to stand up for what we believe in" attack. One major reason I like Dean is that he's in fight mode against Bush, and we need to fight to reclaim America. In this particular war for the White House, we can't have Democrats afraid to stand up to Bush and the Republican Rhetoric. Good for Kerry for fighting back this week.

But I have to say, it seems to me that the biggest problem we face in 2004 is one of TV and radio media. What do we do when Fox and Clearchannel attack Dean as being anti-American and show "patriotic support of President Bush" to contrast it? We need to think now about how we're going to get our message out, because they're not planning to do it for us.
CTDem2 | Email | Homepage | 04.05.03 - 2:22 pm | #

I think the family analogy is apt: everyone argues around the dinner table, siblings beat eachother up in the backyard and fight over the remote -- but it's something else completely when an outsider picks a fight with one of your own.

A scrappy primary (I didn't say scorched-earth) is healthy and good. But when Rove-DeLay-et al. start stepping into the argument, there needs to be a time-out and a concerted response. The Kerry campaign utterly failed to do this when Dean was attacked; here's hoping they'll improve. Dean himself struck the right tone in response to Kerry's comments.
joe rospars | Email | Homepage | 04.05.03 - 6:10 pm | #

I personally don't think Dean or his supporters have any responsibility for protecting Kerry from himself. I simply don't like dishonest people like Kerry, and though I'll vote for a dishonest liberal-moderate over a dishonest fundamentalist conservative like Bush, I have no love for Kerry and don't mind ripping him when his lies come to light. There's a reason I'm registered Independent (though I'll temporarily reregister Dem to vote for Dean): I think we need more truth and honesty in politics. For goodness' sake, call a spade a spade, even if that spade happens to be a Democrat! Dean brings honesty and truth to the political process, and we need to emulate Dean in that regard by being unafraid to ccriticize the stupidity of one of our own.
Nonpartisan for Dean | Email | Homepage | 04.08.03 - 4:13 am | #