Dean calling on Dems to forget swing-voters and rely on liberal base to win. Read below. Is that stupid or what? Swing-voters are the ONLY ones who decide the election. Base turn-out is important but without swingers you lose by a landslide. Ask Dukakis, Mondale and McGovern.
Notice Kerry is tackling the Diebold voting machine scandal along with Edwards.
"Democratic Hopefuls Bash Bush in Florida
Anger Over 2000 Fuels State Gathering
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 7, 2003; Page A05
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Dec. 6 -- The Democratic presidential candidates returned to this land of dimpled chads, faulty vote tallies and bitter recounts Saturday to lament President Bush's contested victory here in 2000 and lambaste his policies, performance and intellect in office.
After former representative Carrie Meeks set the tone at her party's annual convention here with a plea for a "leader to help us get revenge" for Al Gore's disputed defeat in 2000, six of the nine candidates put aside their personal differences for a day of often-angry Bush bashing and recount rehashing.
"I have served with five presidents. This one is by far the worst," said Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.). "He has the least experience, the least knowledge, he has no curiosity, and he has surrounded himself with the worst advisers. I am nostalgic for Ronald Reagan."
There was more. "He doesn't have a clue," Gephardt said to hearty applause. "He only has one idea in his head if he has one, and it's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans."
Retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who spent nearly 15 minutes reciting his military résumé, indicted Bush's foreign policy and overall leadership. "We've got a president today who is so deeply divisive, so carelessly indifferent, so incredibly lacking in judgment, wisdom and leadership that this ship of state is about to capsize," Clark said.
Ralph Reed, a Republican strategists sent here to defend Bush, said voters "don't want anger and pessimism and personal attacks." But he was drowned out by a mob of Florida delegates shouting, "No GOP!"
While several candidates said the party will defeat Bush
only with a positive, upbeat message in 2004, they spent
much of the day sharing the one emotion that has often
bonded the party since Bush beat Gore here in 2000: anger.
It started with the recount, intensified with Bush's tax cut and reached a steady peak with the debate over Iraq. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean was first to tap into
this discontent, and many Democrats believe it has fueled
and sustained his pace-setting campaign.
The candidates and party activists blamed Bush, the Supreme Court and GOP Rep. Kathleen Harris, the state's former secretary of state, for stealing the election from Gore in 2000. "Al Gore won the state of Florida in 2000, and we should never forget it," said Democratic Party Chairman Terence McAuliffe. Democrats hope to inspire voters to turn out in record numbers by reminding them of this dispute.
After five weeks of legal and political disputes over voting machines, punch-card ballots and civil rights in late 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court halted the recount and handed Bush a 537-vote victory in Florida, the state's 25 electoral votes and the presidency. To this day, Democrats maintain they rightly won Florida and insist a full statewide recount would have delivered the presidency to Gore.
"We had more votes. We won, and we are never going to let the United States Supreme Court choose the president of the United States again," said Sen. John Edwards (N.C.).
The North Carolina senator, who trails his rivals in Iowa and New Hampshire, offered a broader indictment of the U.S. vote-counting system, an issue that has galvanized Democrats here but faded as a major political and policy issue elsewhere. Edwards called for Michigan Democrats to reject a plan there to allow residents to cast their primary votes over the Internet. The senator said Internet voting is unfair to minorities who statistics show are less likely than whites to own a computer.
Edwards also joined Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) in demanding that Bush return contributions from a major GOP donor who is CEO of a voting machine company.
Kerry promised to put together "the strongest legal team" ever, if elected president, to fix the vote-counting systems, which vary from state to state, and avoid another recount, such as the one that paralyzed politics for more than a month after Election Day in 2000.
Dean called on the crowd to scrap the party's strategy of appealing to swing voters and focus on its liberal base to prevent Bush from winning again in 2000. Dean, who spent tens of thousands of dollars on the event, was clearly the crowd favorite, winning easily the loudest ovation when delegates were asked about its feelings toward the candidates.
While Dean has complained about attacks coming from his rivals, he was the only candidate to criticize his opponents by name when he assailed several rivals for supporting the war in Iraq. After speaking, Dean continued to be dogged by demands he release sealed records from his days as governor of Vermont, telling reporters he did not want to discuss the matter.
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio), who drew as large and active a crowd as many of his rivals, offered frustrated Floridians the clearest alternative to Bush. Kucinich said he would pull troops out of Iraq, create a federal department of peace and dramatically expand the government to cover more health care and education needs.
The candidates were free to break away from their usual pleas for votes Saturday because Florida is unlikely to play a pivotal role in picking the nominee. Florida holds its primary March 9, and many Democrats believe the race will be over by then. McAuliffe told the audience a nominee will be selected by the middle of March.
Florida Democrats wanted to hold a straw poll, but the Democratic National Committee opposed it. The compromise was this joint appearance by the candidates. Al Sharpton, who was hosting "Saturday Night Live," and former senator Carol Moseley Braun (Ill.), who was ill, did not attend. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, an orthodox Jew who was observing the Sabbath, is scheduled to speak Sunday. In remarks prepared for delivery, Lieberman plans to accuse Bush of "blatant deceptions that diminish the presidency, degrade our security and divide the American people."
While Florida's role in the primaries may be minimal, many Democrats believe the presidency will be once again won or lost here in 2004. The state is trending Republican, but often elects Democrats statewide.
Bush leads Democrats in the most recent poll here, but his approval rating is slipping. Dean, the crowd favorite, leads among Democrats with 16 percent, followed by Lieberman and Clark at 15 percent. In a news conference afterward, Dean noted that the poll showed him losing to Bush by single digits and said he would outline his vision of how he can compete in the South during a speech Sunday in South Carolina.
Sen. Bob Graham (Fla.), the first and only Democrat to drop out of the race for the party's presidential nomination, was honored throughout the day. Every candidate said Graham would be on his short list for vice president, though many privately said his stock has dropped because of his lackluster performance in the race. |
