Posted on 06/26/2005 6:25:31 AM PDT by southernnorthcarolina
COLUMBIA -- When National Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean visits Columbia on Wednesday, South Carolina's top Democratic elected official, Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, won't be there.
"I had already, months ago, scheduled to be out of state," she said last week.
Florence Mayor Frank Willis, one of two announced Democratic candidates for governor in 2006, also has other plans.
Willis said he'll be touring Dillon, Marion and Williamsburg counties. "We're going to start early that morning and finish late that evening," he said.
The other Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Aiken Sen. Tommy Moore, couldn't be reached.
Winthrop University political science professor Scott Huffmon said he doubts that any S.C. Democrat running for state office will show up at the $50 per person fundraiser and party rally with Dean .
"None of them want to risk the chance of having a photograph taken standing next to him that could reappear at election time," Huffmon said.
Meanwhile, S.C. Republicans are doing all they can to call attention to Dean's visit. The GOP announced Friday that it will hold a "Dean Scream" contest in front of the State House Wednesday afternoon.
The Republican news release said contestants "will be judged on lack of poise and appearance, loudness and quality of insane angry ranting."
S.C. Democrats, on the whole less liberal than those elsewhere, often hold their national party leaders at arm's length. But Dean, the former Vermont governor who established himself as a charismatic, though polarizing, figure during his unsuccessful run for the party's 2004 presidential nomination, appears to be in a class by himself.
Earlier this month, S.C. Democratic chairman Joe Erwin sent Dean a note telling him he didn't appreciate his remark that Republicans are "pretty much a white Christian party."
Dick Harpootlian, Erwin's predecessor as state party chief, said such comments cause "great consternation" among S.C. Democrats, who are trying to remain competitive in one of the nation's most conservative states.
"It's an affront to all of us who've worked hard for the Democratic Party and happen to be white Christians," Harpootlian said.
S.C. voting patterns over the past 25 years show that increasingly, white voters in the state are identifying with the GOP.
Winthrop's Huffmon said Democrats in the state have been trying to reach "people who are probably slightly more conservative than you might call the typical Democrat ... people with college educations. They're trying to get more white-collar folks into the fold and not just give them up to the Republicans.
"But when they have a national spokesperson like Howard Dean, that hurts their chances."
State Democratic Party Executive Director Lachlan McIntosh said he didn't know how many tickets had been sold.
But, he said, "I think there will be a good group there, and I think there will be a lot of people that we've never really seen at Democratic Party events before."
McIntosh said he was thinking about the self-styled "Deanheads" who used the Internet to organize for Dean's presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, S.C. Republicans are doing all they can to call attention to Dean's visit. The GOP announced Friday that it will hold a "Dean Scream" contest in front of the State House Wednesday afternoon.
The Dean Machine is making its move on the South! Wow, the local pols look like their going to be right behind him. Well, they may be behind him, but they'll also be standing behind bushes too.
Spend all your money down south you idiot.
Run for the hills... Dean is coming !!
The "Dean Scream" contest is brilliant--especially because contestants are judged on content ("quality of insane angry ranting"). And it's so easy! All you need to do is read the man's own words.
If they have empty seats at the Dean affair, perhaps Senator Graham could go.
What a cool idea! Our GOP county committee is doing several events this summer; have to pitch this idea to them.
Cardinal4 A loyal liberal..
You know, I find it hard to rule out the rumors that Dr. Dean is actually working for Mr. Rove. ;-)
"I wish I could be there, but I have a shag rug that needs cleaning, and I just got over some diarrhea."
If Dean screams in an empty state, does he still make a noise?
Any of y'all interested in a FReep? We rarely get a chance to FReep so close to home.
Here's an earlier thread.
Details of his visit from the SC RATS
And also in the SC RAT's blog.
I reckon we could FReep from 4pm to 5pm for sure. Then maybe eat somewhere, and, for those so inclined, FReep again from 6:30pm-7pm.
If you're interested, drop me a FReep mail.
(Columbia, SC) - The South Carolina Republican Party announced today a "Dean Scream" contest to be held on Wednesday, June 29th at 3:30pm in front of the State Capital in Columbia.Link.
Contestants will be asked to recite National Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean's infamous "Scream" from the 2004 presidential primary. The public is invited to participate and in case anyone would like to practice, the "Scream" wording is:
"We're going to South Carolina and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico. We're going to California and Texas and New York, and we're going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan. And then we're going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House......yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Contestants will be judged on lack of poise and appearance, loudness, and quality of insane angry ranting.
"We're excited about Dean's visit...," said GOP Chairman Katon Dawson, "...because it's fun to watch Democrats run and hide when their national leader and spokesman comes to town."
Howard Dean is coming to Columbia to help raise money for the SC Democratic Party. It is unclear if Democratic gubernatorial candidates Tommy Moore and Frank Willis along with Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, Congressman John Spratt, or possible Lt. Governor candidate Michael Hollings will attend.
"South Carolinians are intelligent, informed, and conservative people. They understand the fact the Democratic Party remains out of touch with average Americans and that is why voters keep choosing Republican candidates," said Dawson.
"The Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people,"
Republicans "never made an honest living in their lives,"
to get the Democratic message across to new voters, particularly in minority communities. ....same old rhetoric; no new solutions actually quite a few problems have been solved by the Bush Administration and go unreported by the MSM.
"We have to be rough on the Republicans. Republicans don't represent ordinary Americans and they don't have any understanding of what it is to go out and try and make ends meet."
..Good lord! What drivel
..Republicans are ordinary Americans with honest values, not contrived ones as in Morals de Jure or more succinctly Morals 'R' Us!
You'll probably see Graham doing Dean's intro at the fundraisers...the POS!
run away... run away...
Giggle.
When finally tracked down at a remote fishing camp in Horry County, Moore said, "Jeez, I'd really love to be there but I gotta change the spark plugs in the snow blower that day."
Howard is coming to down to win over the "guys with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks"..... this should be fun....
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