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The outcome of the Democratic Party's presidential nomination could hinge on what happens in Florida and Michigan. Late last year, leaders of both states decided to hold their primaries in January, in defiance of party rules. That led Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean to strip both states of their combined 366 delegates, as he had pledged to do. The impasse could mean that the millions of ballots cast in Florida and Michigan won't count, and those voters will be denied an opportunity to influence the most competitive primary race in 40 years. The apparent Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain,...

CORYDON, Iowa - Democrat John Edwards tried to make light of Hillary Rodham Clinton's big lead in national polls Monday, saying that four years ago it looked as if Howard Dean might run away with the nomination. Edwards, campaigning in the state that will hold leadoff caucuses in January, said his organization is much stronger than at this point in 2004 when he eventually won a surprise second-place finish. Clinton now leads in Iowa as well nationally, according to the latest polling. The Des Moines Register on Sunday had her at 29 percent in the state, up from 21 percent...

In today’s testimony before the house, Fed Chairman Bernanke was questioned by Representative Ron Paul in what was a remarkable exchange. Remarkable for how straightforward, lucid, and anti-statist the question was. In his questioning, Ron Paul stated: “I want to follow up on the discussion about moral hazard. I think we have a very narrow understanding about what moral hazard really is. Because I think moral hazard begins at the very moment that we create artificially low interest rates which we constantly do. And this is the reason people make mistakes. It isn’t because human nature causes us to make...

WASHINGTON (Map) - Former Washington lobbyist and candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination Fred Thompson hasn't let accusations that he's violating Federal Elections Commission (FEC) law by running a shadow campaign slow him down. Thompson will be in the Twin Cities today to raise money for his "testing the waters" campaign while experts continue to assert that Thompson is using a loophole in the law to avoid the scrutiny that comes with becoming an official candidate for the GOP nomination. For someone who is only "testing the waters," Thompson's campaign team has seen a lot of upheaval. Today his communications...

The 2006 Democrat Party Suicide Pact for America 1. Raise Taxes 2. Re-implemented the Fairness Doctrine to destroy Conservative talk radio 3. Pass a new Campaign Finance Law to eliminate any opportunity of Democrats ever losing Congress again 4. Raise Taxes. 5. Unconditionally Surrender the War on Terror. 6. Create programs to appease North Korea and Iran by actively aiding them in developing nuclear weapons. 7. Raise Taxes 8. Double federal spending from it all ready grotesquely too high level in the name of "Homeland Security". 9. Repeal the Fence bill, the Detainee bill The NSA Bill and the...

"Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," administration name, SPP.

"The number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, according to fresh data released by the Census Bureau. And increasingly, immigrants are bypassing the traditional gateway states like California and New York and settling directly in parts of the country that until recently saw little immigrant activity - regions like the Upper Midwest, New England and the Rocky Mountain States. '...Essentially, it's a continuation of the Mexicanization of U.S. immigration,' said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies. 'You would expect Mexicans...

If Democrats are getting antsy about the current governor's race between state Treasurer Phil Angelides and Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger, it wasn't evident Friday at a charged-up "unity" rally in San Francisco. Several hundred union members, supporters and party faithful turned out to support Angelides -- and to hear from the always-fiery Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. Dean repeatedly reminded the audience of connections between President Bush and Schwarzenegger, saying that they shared more than campaign operatives. This week's defeat of U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, a Democrat viewed as close to the Republican president, was "a referendum...

DNC: Dean on Republican Post-Primary Spin 8/9/2006 7:02:00 PM To: National Desk, Political Reporter Contact: Karen Finney or Stacie Paxton, 202-863-8148, both for the DNC WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Yesterday's results reconfirm what recent polls have shown: the American people soundly reject President Bush's failed leadership and don't trust Republicans to do the people's business. In an act of desperation, national Republicans resorted to divisive propaganda in the wake of yesterday's primaries. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following response to the most recent Republican spin: "Republicans can try to spin their propaganda, but the truth...

No to Amnesty ! No to a Guest Worker Program for Illegals!

"There are jobs that just simply aren’t getting done because Americans won’t do them." —President George W. Bush, Cleveland, Ohio, March 20, 2006 [1] The twenty-first-century slave trade involves an organized effort to bring into the United States an underclass of uneducated, impoverished illegal immigrants who will work for below-market wages for companies that plan to commit employment tax fraud and violations of labor and immigration laws. No slave trader may actually go to Mexico or other Hispanic countries to capture workers and force them in chains to come to America to work in sub-standard conditions. Yet, we have termed...

The war over immigration reform among conservatives continues, and, as in most wars, truth has been one of the first casualties. Those who disagree with the hardening positions of people who would adopt more restrictive policies or with people who favor less restrictive measures are attacked as know-nothings, traitors or handmaidens of evil forces out to destroy the America we live in. Many conservatives reacted angrily to the way the Bush administration tried to demonize opposition to the president’s quasi-amnesty and guest-worker proposals when they were first introduced. Critics at the time were characterized as racists or “nativists” more interested...

TALLAHASSEE - Katherine Harris' floundering U.S. Senate campaign lost its high-level staff again this week and is groping for a message -- which doesn't surprise Republican insiders who trace the seeds of her trouble to the story of ``Joe's dead intern.'' This wasn't any old Joe. It was Joe Scarborough, host of the prime-time MSNBC show Scarborough Country and a former Pensacola Republican congressman who was courted last summer by national Republicans to run against Harris. But before he could announce he wouldn't, Harris called major donors and suggested Scarborough would have to answer questions about the strange death of...

Howard Dean Outlines Democratic Agenda for Real Change on ABC's 'This Week' 5/8/2006 10:25:00 AM To: National Desk Contact: Dag Vega of DNC Communications, 202-863-8148 WASHINGTON, May 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On ABC's "This Week," Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean outlined the Democratic Party's agenda for bold leadership and real change. He answered tough questions from host George Stephanopoulos. The following are excerpts from Dean's appearance: The Democratic Agenda for Real Change: "The fact is we want real change in this country. We're going to balance the budget, we're going to have American jobs that stay in America and...

Meeting Democratic National Committee Meeting Democratic National Committee New Orleans, Louisiana (United States) ID: 192086 - 04/22/2006 - 1:30 - No Sale Dean, Howard Chair (2005- ), Democratic National Committee Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean presides over the general session and delivers the keynote address of the DNC Spring Meeting. New Orleans was chosen as the site of the meeting to symbolize efforts to help revitalize the economy of the Gulf Coast.

Dean Response to Indiana Court Ruling on Voter ID Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement on Indiana's voter identification law, one of the most stringent in the country: "Today, I join Democrats in Indiana and throughout America in expressing my profound disappointment over the federal court ruling on Indiana's voter identification law. While Democrats are working to protect the fundamental right of all Americans to vote and have their votes counted, Indiana Republicans have joined national Republicans in pursuing unfair voter ID laws that disproportionately prevent countless poor, minority, elderly, rural, disabled and student voters...

Dean Says Bush 'Scapegoating' Hispanics By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer 11 minutes ago Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean charged Friday that President Bush was exploiting the debate over immigration laws for political gain, "scapegoating" Hispanics with an eye to this year's elections. Dean skipped over the fact that he and Bush agree on the legislation at the heart of the debate. Both support a Senate bill that would expand guest-worker programs for an estimated 400,000 immigrants each year. At a speech in an Oakland union hall, the 2004 presidential candidate sought to tie Bush to a much tougher...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- About a fifth of Americans think federal agents have listened in on their phone calls, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Tuesday suggests. Twenty-one percent of the 1,000 adults who replied to the survey conducted Thursday through Sunday said it was very likely or somewhat likely their conversations had been wiretapped, while 52 percent said it was not at all likely.(snip) According to the poll, Americans appear to be split over the legality of the domestic eavesdropping program. About 49 percent of respondents said the president had definitely or probably broken the law by authorizing the wiretaps and...

DNC: Swann Recites Republican Rhetoric on African-American Outreach 2/13/2006 7:06:00 PM To: State Desk Contact: Damien LaVera of the Democratic National Committee, 202-863-8148; Web: http://www.democrats.org WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- This weekend, in a desperate attempt to distract Pennsylvanians from the Republican Party's failure to address the needs of African-American families, Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann challenged Democrats' commitment to African-Americans. On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Swann argued that "The Democratic Party has had a stronghold over the minority votes for a long time. I think they're misrepresented." Swann's remarks come less than one week after the...

Dean Calls on Republican Party Leadership to Denounce Minutemen and Anti-Immigrant Rally February 10, 2006 Washington, DC - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement today as Republican Party extremist Tom Tancredo joined Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist for an anti-immigrant rally at the United States Capitol. Tancredo's extremist divisive views received the endorsement of Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman last July with Mehlman stating that he was "proud" to have Tancredo's extremism as part of the debate on immigration: "If President Bush were serious about comprehensive immigration reform, he would reject the anti-immigrant fervor on...

(Residents urged to join group...) ACORN, a national community organizing group, is struggling to attract members in the Allied Drive area, but is winning support from two key neighborhood groups. Members from the Allied-Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association and the Dunn's Marsh-Allied Drive Landlords Association urged neighborhood residents to join ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, at an organizing meeting Wednesday. "We need to get these lazy people out of their houses to come out and see what we're talking about," Greg Wright, a member of the Allied-Dunn's Marsh Neighborhood Association, told the group of about 35 gathered...

DEAN UNDER FIRE FROM PARTY DEMS; NEARLY ALL CASH SPENT Mon Jan 30 2006 10:52:31 ET Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are privately bristling over Howard Dean’s management of the Democratic National Committee and have made those sentiments clear after new fundraising numbers showed he has spent nearly all the committee’s cash and has little left to support their efforts to gain seats this cycle, ROLL CALL reports. Congressional leaders were furious last week when they learned the DNC has just $5.5 million in the bank, compared to the Republican National Committee’s $34 million. Senate and House Minority Leaders Harry...

DNC: Three Months Later President Bush Finally Refocuses on Katrina 1/12/2006 6:48:00 PM To: State Desk Contact: Amaya Smith of the Democratic National Committee, 202-863-8148; Web: http://www.democrats.org WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today, for the first time in three months, President Bush visited New Orleans and Mississippi to talk about Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts. Since his last visit to the devastated region, the Administration's attention has waned from Gulf Coast recovery efforts as the President has been preoccupied with his sinking poll numbers, his mismanagement of the war in Iraq, and the Washington Republican culture of corruption which has...

-- ACCORDING to the Democratic Party's leaders, we all have been betrayed by the Bush administration's Big Brother intelligence tactics as evil government operatives invaded the privacy of innocent Americans. Stop lying. Show us the victims. Name one honest citizen who has been targeted by our intelligence system. Name one innocent man or woman whose life has been destroyed. Come on, Nancy. Give it up, Howard. Name just one. Can't do it? OK. Let's dispense with the partisan rhetoric and reach for the facts: 1) Has a single reader of this column suffered personally from our government's efforts to defend...

Jolene Jonas, an Intel employee in Oregon, has been listing her company email (jolene.jonas@intel.com) on various webpages relating to the activities and transactions of the Oregon Democratic Party, as the contact email address. While nothing should prevent an Intel employee from using her free time to pursue her political affiliations, use of company email address for this purpose should be expressly prohibited at Intel. Are there any Intel Freepers here that can raise this issue within the company? In addition to the State party webpage, she also lists her email address on the Columbia (Ore.) County Democratic Central committee webpage:...

No complete history of the Howard Dean Presidential Campaign has yet or is likely at this point to be written. Let this become our collective memory. Talk about your experiences, the Meetups, the tabling, traveling to strange states to sleep on the floor and go door to door. Were you on the staff at HQ? What happened there? Tell the untold Trippi stories. A wiki is wide open, take advantage of that. Just a reminder, if you have a story that's worth it's own page, you can create one. Just create a local link (while editing a page highlight the...

One-third of Americans say they believe President Bush should be impeached, according to a new survey – a figure that mirrors the number of people who say the United States cannot win a military victory in Iraq. Scott Rasmussen of the polling firm Rasmussen Reports said his survey found an even higher percentage of respondents believe Vice President Dick Cheney also should be removed from office.

I have been a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party. I have contributed financially, canvassed for candidates, and volunteered for Democratic causes throughout the past three decades. But following the events of the last few weeks, I finally hit my limit. I wrote Howard Dean last week to inform him that I am withdrawing my financial support until I see a new direction taken by the Democratic Party. My decision was prompted by two recent developments. First was the party's lack of unified support for Congressman Jack Murtha following his call for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq. Second is...

Janeane Garofalo, left-wing actress-turned-Air America radio host, is a miserable woman. Last week before the holidays, she turned up on cable TV. No, not to count her blessings – but to rant against conservative journalist Bob Novak, author Ann Coulter, and the Fox News Channel. She didn't have anything better to do for Thanksgiving? Accessorized by a permanent scowl (hard to believe she was once considered a comedienne), Ms. Garofalo accused conservatives of having "an anger management problem." Without a trace of irony, the frowning Garofalo griped about "right-wing partisan hacks" who "are always on the verge of punching somebody...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on President Bushs campaign-style event today in Tucson and his failed policies on immigration: "President Bush's campaign-style event today in Tucson comes after five years of failed leadership that has weakened America's border security, and allowed the extremist anti-immigrant wing of the Republican Party to dominate the critical debate on immigration reform. "To keep America safe, Democrats know we must have secure borders and an orderly flow of immigration, but scapegoating immigrants, as the Republican Party has done for political gain, is simply wrong....

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The 2008 Democratic National Convention will be held from Monday, Aug. 25, through Thursday, Aug. 28, after the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Democratic chairman Howard Dean announced Friday. Democrats will decide where they will hold the convention sometime after the 2006 midterm elections, party spokesman Josh Earnest said. Dean will appoint a committee to consider bids from various cities and come up with a recommendation, Earnest said. The late-August date will allow the Democratic nominee to raise and spend private money for almost a month longer than in 2004, when Democrats held their convention in late July...

Because some times it's good to laugh, here are a couple snippets from Jeeni Criscenzo, candidate from Congress from Oceanside CA. From her campaign site: Seeing how the American people were being manipulated by an alliance between the neo-conservative-controlled Republican party and the corporate-controlled media, Jeeni decided to take to the road to report directly on the extraordinary events leading up to the Presidential election in 2004. She sold everything to finance her mission and traveled from the FTAA protests in Miami to the G8 Summit in Georgia, to demonstrations in Washington DC and both the Democratic and Republican Conventions,...

Last year, Iowa. This year, Denver. If Howard Dean is there, Joel Weierman wants to help. The Boulder resident, 32 and a self-confessed "die-hard Deaniac," shelled out $100 Thursday to hear the former presidential candidate spell out his vision for leading the Democratic National Committee. Dean got big laughs and lots of applause at the Oxford Hotel as he ribbed President Bush and the three Rs: Republicans, Rove and Rush: • "Focus on the Family? What focus on the family? If you want to focus on the family, how about raising minimum wage?" • "No Child Left Behind ought to...

To: Democrats in U.S. Congress Recently some Democrats in Congress have chastised Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, saying that he does not speak for the party. We the undersigned have a simple message we would like to convey to you: Howard Dean Speaks For Me And, we respectfully request that you refrain from public criticism of your fellow Democrats and that you begin to speak for us as well Sincerely, The Undersigned View Current Signatures

.Ed Kilgore says that he's got no problem with Howard Dean: "Every party chair spends a lot of time speaking to Democratic activists, and inevitably serves up a lot of red meat. Dean's recent "controversial" remarks would have been completely unobjectionable, and probably unnoticed, if they had been uttered by his predecessor.....The media's tendency to distort and then hype Dean's rhetoric is predictable and unavoidable. In a NewDonkey post congratulating the Doctor on his victory in the DNC chair race, I observed that he would be playing by "Hillary Rules," which means exceptional and unavoidable scrutiny of every single word...

Democratic leaders back Dean, don't want 'wimp' By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent Sat Jun 11, 2:56 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic National Committee leaders embraced feisty party boss Howard Dean on Saturday and urged him to keep fighting despite a flap over his blunt comments on Republicans. After a meeting of the DNC's 40-member executive committee at a downtown hotel, members said Dean was doing exactly what they elected him to do -- build the party in all states and aggressively challenge Republicans. "I hope Governor Dean will remember that he didn't get elected to be a wimp," said...

More than anything, William Rivers (Pied Piper) Pitt wants to be a MAJOR player in Democrat Party politics. Oh, how he yearns to be on the inside of a Kerry or Hillary campaign. However, the sad fact for him is that none of those campaigns are in great need of his delusional bloviations. Add to that the fact that the idiocy he has already posted on the Web and chronicled hilariously here in the DUmmie FUnnies makes him a LIABILITY to any campaign. I mean even the major Democrats have enough campaign sense not to be saddled with the...

The GOP a "Christian" party? Wait a minute - I thought it was run by, ahem, "neocons." Anyway, aren't American parties supposed to "look like America"? And last time I checked, wasn't America full of Christians? Like 95%? And is the insinuation here that there's something wrong with being white or Christian? That whites and Christians are a rather unattractive and robotically single-minded bunch? (If true, by the way, that would sure have spared Europe a lot of wars over the past 2500+ years ...) Isn't that an unwise thing to say for a Dem chairman who has promised to...

Howard Dean must be the product of a Karl Rove plot. How else to explain the Democratic National Committee chairman who so often acts as an unpaid agent of the Republican party? Democratic governors and senators run from him when he visits their states; he is badly losing the fundraising race to the Republican National Committee; and he routinely produces new gaffes. Dean’s handlers have carefully kept him off national TV, until they unleashed him on “Meet the Press” this past weekend. Dean was returning to the forum of one of his signature triumphs in his presidential campaign. He appeared...

After Howard Dean last weekend declared Tom DeLay ought to be in jail, a longtime Democratic operative told me the party's national chairman had momentarily ripped off his muzzle but that it soon would be restored. My source erred, however, in believing that Dean ever had been muzzled. It's just that nobody has paid much attention to his rants. Since his election as chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Feb. 12, Dean has studiously avoided most national television exposure. But he has been talking to party gatherings across the country, and his intemperate language at these outings contradicts the...

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean was in Phoenix Wednesday but the state's top Democrat -- Gov. Janet Napolitano-- steered clear of the liberal bulldog during his Arizona visit. Dean addressed a rally hosted by the Young Democrats of Arizona and attended by state Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson. Pederson is a shopping mall developer and is considering a challenge next year to GOP U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl. But the head of the Democratic ticket, Napolitano, was not at the Dean appearance and had no meetings scheduled with the former Vermont governor and vanquished 2004 presidential candidate. Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine...

Introduction Although former Vermont governor Howard Dean failed to win the Democratic presidential nomination, his campaign left a strong imprint on the political world. It assembled a network of over a half-million active supporters and contributors, raised over $20 million in mostly small donations online, and demonstrated the power of the internet as a networking and mobilizing tool in politics. Who are the internet activists ­ the people widely known as "Deaniacs" ­ who joined the Dean campaign as it slowly grew from asterisk status in early 2003 polls to the frontrunner position at the beginning of 2004? A new...

http://www.indystar.com/articles/2/235764-5112-010.html

When Howard Dean hit New York several weeks ago, he made two stunning but characteristic comments. Speaking with fervor at the final D.N.C. forum prior to his election as party chairman, he explained to the assembled flock that he didn’t just disagree with Republicans on specific issues, but rather that "I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for." If the Democrats are to combat this elephantine evil, he went on, "we cannot change our faith." Back in the fall of 2003, when Dr. Dean was still riding high in the Presidential primary, I’d listened in on a conversation among...

The Democratic dominoes clearly are beginning to fall when Jon Stewart, the host of "The Daily Show," says, "I haven't seen results like this ever in [the Middle East]." As anyone who watches the Comedy Central "news" show knows, Mr. Stewart isn't a serious political pundit, but he is unabashedly liberal both on and off air. And since he commands a fairly large audience of mostly younger adults, he is perhaps as much an indicator of the liberal mindset as the New York Times. His comments came during a Tuesday night interview with former Clinton aide Nancy Soderberg, who was...

ATTENTION ALL AMERICAN MEN & WOMEN AGED 16-45: Pursuant to Sub-Section 8, Paragraph C of Executive Branch Classified Directive #13334-P, dated 1 May 2004, the Armed Forces of the United States stand directed by President George W. Bush to accelerate preparations for compulsory induction of the adult non-homosexual population into active combat duty in the War Against Terror. Henceforth, and in accordance with established Federal conscriptional provisions, all male and female citizens aged 16-45 must register for the impending draft. Each registrant's personal information will undergo rigorous computer analysis to compile a profile of overall physical, mental, and moral fitness...

There are "two Americas," according to former Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards. One is prosperous and affluent, with well-stuffed stock portfolios, good schools, and generous healthcare programs. But the other America is poor, underprivileged, and insecure. To big applause, Mr. Edwards promised to "fight" to close that gap. We are likely to hear more of that kind of rhetoric, with Howard Dean crowned as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The notion that Republican policies favor the privileged while neglecting the needs of the little guy is a constant theme of liberal politicians and pundits. Such class warfare talk does...

WASHINGTON - A year ago, an activist group from the Seattle area gave Howard Dean (news - web sites) a thin, golden statue of a backbone. The Oscar-like award honored the former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont governor for standing up against the Iraq (news - web sites) war and other Bush administration policies. Now, as Dean settles into his new role as head of the Democratic Party, that golden spine has come to represent, for many liberal Democrats, Dean's potential to develop a tougher, take-no-prisoners attitude among the party faithful. "There's no gut-check required for Dean. Dean just needs...

The Governor of Ohio, Bob Taft, and other prominent state officials, commute to their downtown Columbus offices on Broad Street. This is the so-called “Golden Finger,” the safe route through the majority black inner-city near east side. The Broad Street BP station, just east of downtown, is the place where affluent suburbanites from Bexley can stop, gas up, get their coffee and New York Times. Those in need of cash visit BP’s Diebold manufactured CashSource+ ATM machine which provides a paper receipt of the transaction to all customers upon request.

Yeeaaighh! It looks like the national unemployment rate should have dropped a little more this week, because at least two famous people have new high-profile jobs: Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and screaming Howard Dean, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee. First, one disclaimer about Dean: Aside from his hilarious Yeeaaighh! scream after his loss in the Iowa primary, you get the idea that he's consistent in his views. Although I couldn't disagree with them more, I find that worthy of some respect - unlike a certain other "flip-flopping" Democrat candidate who couldn't stay consistent on anything, including foreign...