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The Clue Primary: Reed and From prove the point

Bruce Reed and Al From, leaders of the DLC that attacked Governor Dean’s supporters for being “activist elites” last quarter, now write an op-ed in today’s LA Times:

Activists Are Out of Step

Real Democrats aren’t ideologues. They don’t vote to make a statement; they vote hoping to get things done. They want social progress, but they’re not on a social crusade. Most Democrats don’t think they know better than everyone else; they are everyone else.

Well, sure. I’ll agree with that. But in the same article they try to paint Governor Dean as a liberal unelectable candidate whose platform is “defined by weakness abroad and elitist interest-group liberalism at home.”

Is there anyone who actually reads his campaign positions (pay special attention to his address to the Council on Foreign Relations) or who reads the comments on the campaign weblog who actually believes this?

I’ll co-opt Sharpton’s line from a few weeks ago: Reed and From are my color, but they’re not my kind…

3 responses to “The Clue Primary: Reed and From prove the point”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Rick,I'm inviting some out-of-step activists to comment on the character strengths of their candidates in response to two posts about the moral courage of Harry Truman that are on my site. Edwin Large of Progressive Christians for Dean has posted. There are a couple of Kucinich posts as well. I thought I'd invite you to take a look.

    Reply
  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Immediately adjacent to the From/Reed commentary “Activists Are Out of Step” was a political cartoon by the dyspeptic Michael Ramirez. The image was Ramirez's attempt to sign on to the “Dismiss Dean” campaign, apparently already in full swing.Below is a copy of my letter to the Tribune owned Los Angeles Times.p.s. He who frames the arguments gets to choose where the arguments will hang. Dear LA Times Editors,Michael Ramirez's drawing of Howard Dean as a morph of George McGovern (Commentary, July 3) is a tidy bit of neocon agitprop. Apparently a believer in the preemptive-strike school of journalism, Ramirez attempts to marginalize the candidacy of the number three Democratic fundraiser by depicting him as a sure loser. This tripe is not the work of a legitimate political commentator: it is the work of a wingnut mercenary. Has FOX News taken over at the Times? Make no mistake–Ramirez's cartoon is in fact a tactical move to help diminish the potential legitimacy of a progressive candidate. That the drawing looks more like a cross between Rudy Giuliani and the Elephant Man reveals more about a lack of artistic talent than of any latent political message.

    Reply
  3. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Woah. The sheer idiotic hypocracy of this thing is unbelievable. Reed and From [wasn't that an old vaudeville duo?] are against elitists who talk down to people. Okay, then WHY ARE THEY ACTING LIKE ELITIST AND TALKING DOWN TO ME? Howard Dean tells little ol' me that I have the power to restore America to her true values, is that talking down to me? Are they against me having power? And who the hell do they think they are? Who on this planet listens to them? When have you ever met someone who's said, “I was interested in Howard Dean for a while, but then I hear that Bruce Reed and Al From said he was no good so now I'm all for Lieberman. Go Joe, Go!” I'm assuming that's their plan. That's the intended effect, as they say. Well it ain't happening. All they're doing is sparking interest and sparked interest eventually leads to deanforamerica.com and from there, you're hooked. Thanks for helping the name-rec, Bruce and Al, now go fuck yourselves.

    Reply

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