To be honest, this doesn't sound too good: Howard Dean Says He Leads With His Heart
Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean, struggling to recover from his politically damaging Iowa speech, said Thursday that his bellowing was fueled by emotions, "in other words, I lead with my heart and not my head."
He has lost his way entirely.
This is a remarkable, remarkable turn of events. Losing in Iowa was one thing, but he appears to be headed to total meltdown: from nigh on to presumptive nominee to struggling to survive in less than a week is amazing.
Side note: I have noticed that a large percentage of stories are using pictures from the now infamous speech, even though that was days ago, and even though they aren't directly related to the story.
Posted by Steven Taylor at January 22, 2024 03:27 PM | TrackBackDean is a proxy for the left-wing of the Democratic Party.
His abomination of a "concession speech" the other night and the attendant primal scream will, in time, be viewed as the manifestation of a political movement in its final death throes.
The brutal and harsh reality for the left is that they are completely irrelevant from a national political standpoint. They are a minority in a political party that itself is a decaying minority. The most bitter irony for them is that, unlike the lunatic-fringe on the right (e.g., the Michigan Militia of the world) the left is addicted to mainstream political power. We've now reached the point, however, that a non-incumbent liberal who actually runs to the far left (instead of outright lying about their views) would not be able to win a state-wide office in any state in the Union; much less a national general election. So, they are lashing out. At the status quo in Washington, D.C. At the few outlets in major media (e.g., Fox News) that do not espouse their principals. And, ultimately, at the public itself.
Soon, they will be invisible. We will be able to see right though them. Their latent racism. Their sanctimony. Their duplicity. Their condescention. All on display. Out in the open for the world to see.
Dean's entire campaign up until one week ago was, in essence, the left's political suicide note. He channelled all of their emotions. Especially the anger.
Keep in mind that the Republican Party is the dominant majority party in all facets of government, both at the federal and state levels. The left simply cannot come to grips with that. And, deep down, they know that, after this November, it only will get worse. So, Dean gave them their final 15 minutes, and thus their final moment in the sun. That the moment ended last Monday is really no surprise. After all, the primary electorate in Iowa was meeting to nominate a candidate for a presidential race. Dean, however, is the most unelectable candidate in U.S. political history. Worse than McGovern. Worse than Mondale. Worse than Dukakis. His pitiful 18 percent vote talley (in a left-of-center caucus) and his upcoming defeat in New Hampshire will be the left's de facto political obituary.
Now, he will continue on the trail, mind you. Undoubtedly, he will still be making noise come the convention. It's even foreseeable that he will turn into the new century's Ross Perot, with the slight caveat that literally 100 percent of the votes he draws will siphon off the Democratic total, as opposed to Perot's talent of draining votes from both parties. But, in the end, that will not matter. What will matter is that the left-wing of the Democratic Party will have moved off of life support and into the political morgue. Never to re-emerge as a relevant force in national politics again. I say: "Good riddence."
Posted by: jtj at January 22, 2024 09:47 PMIt is an interesting theory and you make it eloquently but in the end I think you are a tad optimistic.
The left ain't dead. And let us not get too comfortable thinking they are.
Posted by: Paul at January 23, 2024 03:53 PM