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BigBadBrian
01-26-2004, 09:43 PM
Dean Hits Kerry's Judgment, Raises 'Dirty Tricks'


Jan 26, 11:51 AM (ET)

By Patricia Wilson
NASHUA, N.H. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean on Monday questioned chief rival John Kerry's judgment on the issue of war and accused unnamed campaigns of engaging in "dirty tricks."

The former Vermont governor, who is trying to claw his way back after a dismal third place finish last week in Iowa behind Sens. Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, said the race had "closed fast" in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first state primary on Tuesday.

Dean, who has toned down his "red meat rhetoric" after his much-ridiculed bellowing concession speech in Iowa, took on Kerry directly over his votes on the 1991 Gulf War and last year's U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

"John Kerry has gone out of his way to say how inexperienced I am in foreign policy," Dean told a town hall meeting in Nashua. "Let's talk about this. In 1991, I supported (President) George Bush the first ... because one of our allies had been attacked, there were Iraqi troops on the ground in Kuwait setting fire to oil wells, an environmental disaster, and John Kerry voted against the war."

"Where was John Kerry when (President) George (W.) Bush was handing out all this misinformation about Saddam had something to do with al Qaeda?" Dean asked. "He was voting in favor of the war and it turned out all the reasons the president gave us were not true."

Dean, who has acknowledged a foreign policy "gap" in his resume, argued that expertise in the international arena depended upon "patience and judgment."

"I question Sen. Kerry's judgment when he voted no in 1991 and yes ... I think it should be the other way around," Dean said.

Kerry held a shrinking three-point lead over Dean on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, according to a Reuters/MSNBC/Zogby poll released on Monday. Dean shaved four points off Kerry's advantage in the latest three-day tracking poll, as supporters who wavered after his poor showing in Iowa and fist-pumping shrieking speech, appeared to be returning to the fold.

RAISES "DIRTY TRICKS" POSSIBILITY

When an audience member asked Dean what he would do about the possibility of Republican "dirty tricks" to get Bush re-elected on Nov. 2, Dean used the question to raise the specter of underhanded tactics in the Democratic primaries.

"In terms of the dirty tricks, I think we are seeing some of those in the primaries. You get used to it," he said. "It's not nice, it's not good for the democracy, but people do them."

Dean did not elaborate, but aides said they included telephone calls at odd hours with scripts that questioned Dean's ability to be "president for everybody" when his wife and children were Jewish and another that was just a loud scream.

Dean spokesman Jay Carson also told reporters fake e-mails had been sent out looking like legitimate Dean e-mail but including offensive lines.

One offered internships, but contained a paragraph that said: "due to close sleeping quarters, homosexuals will not be considered for this position," Carson said. Another, headed "Christians for Dean," contained the line, "due to the constraints of this organization, Muslims and Jews are not welcome," Carson said.

Neither Dean nor his campaign immediately pointed the finger at any particular opponent. Late last year, Dean got into hot water by perpetuating a rumor he had heard that Bush knew in advance of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Dean said the American people did not approve of "the kind of stuff" that he alleged was happening in New Hampshire and had happened in Iowa. The best way to counter it was by "shining a spotlight" on it, he added.

FORD
01-26-2004, 10:35 PM
Judas and his DLC backers have been behind all the attacks on Dean in the last few months. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

ELVIS
01-27-2004, 12:49 AM
I'm a rocket scientist and I didn't know that...:rolleyes:

John Ashcroft
01-27-2004, 08:54 AM
Are the Clinton's "DLC backers"?

Little Texan
01-27-2004, 09:15 AM
Excuse my ignorance, but what does "DLC" stand for?

Little Texan
01-27-2004, 09:16 AM
Dickhead Liberal Cocksuckers?

FORD
01-27-2004, 09:26 AM
Originally posted by Little Texan
Dickhead Liberal Cocksuckers?

That's almost accurate. They are definitely dickheads and cocksuckers, but not liberals. It actually stands for "Democratic Leadership Council". What it has become though is the corporatist Republican wing of the Democratic party.

FORD
01-27-2004, 09:29 AM
Originally posted by John Ashcroft
Are the Clinton's "DLC backers"?

They definitely used to be. Bill Clinton was DLC back when they had a respectable purpose. I've heard he's no longer a member and doesn't like the direction the DLC has gone.