Democrats are fond of claiming that the rhetoric of the right is degrading the national debate, yet they manage to overlook their hideous and childish behavior. Whether it is Al Franken dropping numerous F-bombs at a Dean rally, Gephardt calling the President a miserable failure, the personal animosity and level of vitriol has hit an all-time high (low?). But really, they just dislike his policies:
“To insinuate that I would get rid of Medicare is wrong, it’s not helpful and we need to remember that the enemy here is George Bush, not each other.” – Howard Dean at the Democrat Debate
Asshole.
greg
Now that it’s autumn, will Dean stop rolling up his sleeves at campaign appearances?
Pauly
It’s a war, and he’s just a soldier. *snicker*
Kimmitt
As versus saying, “If a Democrat wins the White House, the terrorists will have won”?
Rob Hartsock
This is why the D.’s will not win: They are not running FOR anything, they are running against Bush. There is nothing there there.
r.
Kimmitt
Right, you can see this because the Democrats do not put forth any kinds of differing policy proposals, then debate their various merits on national television. This is especially apparent in the health care sector, where there are not four different major models being discussed. Among the models not being discussed (and the candidates not discussing them) are:
Single-payer, which is not being advocated by Rep. Kucinich, Amb. Moseley-Braun, and Rev. Sharpton;
Variants on Medicare expansion, which are not being advocated by Gov. Dean, Sen. Kerry, Sen. Graham, and Sen. Edwards;
Tax credits for private provision, which are not being advocated by Rep. Gephardt.
Other substantive policies not being discussed include the utility of free trade, the erosion of our civil liberties, or campaign and election reform.