Update: There's some great commenting
here. My point, which may have been lost, isn't Armando perpetuating a culture of victimization by just repeating their quotes with no real dialogue as to why Obama and Dean are idiots? They have given their life to the cause, they're
human, and we can't expect them to have the perfect talking point every time they speak. Building a team takes time, let's try to be more positive.
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In this
diary Armando sagely writes that:
Does Warner believe in deadlines or timetables? Clark for training or redployment? Who cares? None of it matters until Dems get some power.
Can we keep the focus on Bush please?
Yet today in this
diary writes:
Idiot No. 2, Barack Obama:
I think that two-thirds of the American people think the country is going in the wrong direction," " said Senator Barack Obama, the first-term Illinois Democrat who is widely viewed as one of the party's promising stars. "They're not sure yet whether Democrats can move it in the right direction."
Mr. Obama said the Democratic Party had not seized the moment, adding: "We have been in a reactive posture for too long. I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes."
Thank you Karl Rove Obama. Well done. Idiot.
And:
Idiot Number 4, Howard Dean:
"We're going to keep hammering this," said Mr. Dean, the party chairman, referring to the scandals. "One thing the Republicans have taught us is that values and character matter."
Republicans taught us? For fuck's sake. Idiot.
He also refers to Phil Bredesen and Chris Dodd as idiots, but I know nothing about them. I do, however, know a bit about Howard Dean and Barack Obama and they are not idiots. It's easy to take anyones quotes out of context and call them names. I ask Armando if he's had television commercials made about him implying that his election would be a vicotry for Osama Bin Laden, stereotyped as "uncontrollably angry," his wife's personal life delved into, and had an innocent scream of frustration replayed on cable every 20 seconds. And I can't imagine all the emails Obama receives with the n-word, especially since standing up to John McCain and Chris Matthews.
I played little-league up until high school and tennis until college, and if there's one thing I've learned it's that you never call members on your team an idiot. Constructive criticism is one thing, but given what Armando is quoting I can't help but wonder WTF?
Last time I checked Republicans have been winning and defining public policy for the last five years, and if you think "character and values" has nothing to do with then I guess we'll keep losing. His job is to help persuade America (which yes, believe it or not, includes Republicans) to vote for Democrats. What kind of team are we when screaming "idiot" for conceding that how Republicans talk about values attracts voters. I can personally assure you that Howard Dean is persuasive and is winning the hearts and minds of Americans: he won mine. I
voted for George W. Bush when I was 18 in 2000 (something I've come more than anything to regret) but after researching and looking into the Iraq war it was Dean who convinced me to not only become a Democrat but do something about it.
As for Obama's remarks, I really have to ask, what's wrong with what he said? Is this some grudge for criticizing the filibuster on television (even though he voted against cloture)? It is time that Democrats stop being so reactive and start promoting our own policies: that's how you win elections.