The Washington Times
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'Gutsy' Dean rouses Democrats with call to arms
Donald Lambro
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published February 22, 2003

The Democrats' bitter split over Iraq broke wide open yesterday
at their winter meeting when presidential candidate Howard Dean won
standing ovations as he sharply rebuked party leaders and his
political rivals for backing President Bush's war policies.
The long-simmering division in the party over whether to go to
war to disarm Saddam Hussein erupted at the second day of the
Democratic National Committee's gathering to preview its presidential
contenders, who denounced many of Mr. Bush's policies and vowed to
defeat him in 2004.
"What I want to know is, why is the Democratic Party leadership
supporting the president's unilateral war on Iraq?" the former
Vermont governor asked DNC members who were packed into a ballroom at
the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill, with an overflow audience in
two adjacent rooms. Why, he asked, jabbing a finger into the air for
emphasis, did three of his Democratic rivals back the
administration's war resolution in Congress?
"I'm Howard Dean, and I'm here to represent the Democratic wing
of the Democratic Party." That line was greeted with thunderous
applause and shouts of approval from rank-and-file party officials.
He questioned why Democrats had supported Mr. Bush's tax cuts or
education proposals, which he described as meaningless. And he
challenged his party "to stand for something." He left the podium to
shouts of "Howard, Howard."
The most prolonged response came when he said, "White folks in
the South who drive pickup trucks with Confederate flag decals in the
back ought to be voting with us and not them, because their kids
don't have health insurance, either, and their kids need better
schools, too."
When the speeches were over, all the buzz was about Mr. Dean's
performance. "I thought that Dean blew the roof off today. There was
no mealy-mouth, wishy-washiness about it. It was very gutsy," former
Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson said. It was a view that was widely
shared by other DNC members, as measured by nearly a dozen interviews.
Until now, Mr. Dean was a dark-horse contender who has been
campaigning for more than a year and impressing Democrats, though
getting little national attention. But yesterday Democrats were
elevating him to a higher tier and comparing him to a little-known
governor who won the presidency in 1976: Jimmy Carter of Georgia.
Compared with Mr. Dean's reception, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of
Missouri and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut received a tepid
response when they explained their reasons for supporting Mr. Bush's
war plans in Iraq. The response to former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun of
Illinois was somewhat muted despite her opposition to military action.
When Mr. Gephardt said, "I'm proud that I wrote the resolution
that helped lead the president to make his case to the United
Nations," someone in the audience shouted, "Shame."
Mr. Lieberman, considered the most conservative of the
Democratic contenders, delivered the most forceful defense for using
military action to topple Saddam. Although he criticized the
president for not doing enough to lead a broader international
coalition, Mr. Lieberman said, "The objective is correct and critical
to American security."
"Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction must be destroyed
sooner rather than later; because sooner or later, if we do not, they
will be used against us," he said.
Mrs. Moseley-Braun attacked Mr. Bush's plans to invade Iraq. She
said the president was "in a mad rush to pre-emptive, unilateral
military action" that would isolate the United States and put the
country on "perpetual alert."
"Duct tape is no substitute for diplomacy, and the saber
rattling that has made us all hostages to fear must stop," she said
in a relatively low-key but politely received speech.
The field of Democratic candidates has grown to eight, and DNC
Chairman Terry McAuliffe said yesterday that "it could climb to 9 or
10 or higher." Interviews with DNC members and state chairmen showed
no clear national front-runner, but after Mr. Dean spoke, several DNC
national committee officials said they were taking a closer look at
his prospects.
"Dean came out best. He put himself on the line and challenged
the party. That's what we're looking for right now. I was very
impressed," said Ken Foxworth, a DNC member from Minnesota.
"He's the type of dynamic candidate we need. He has a vision for
this country that I like," said Christine Montague, a DNC member from
Michigan.
Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said that "Dean won the day
hands down," adding that his feisty delivery and anti-war
rhetoric "could carry the day in many state primaries." But she did
not see his anti-war agenda "winning the White House, because people
want to be sure that we protect our national security and our
homeland."
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, one of the party's rising
stars, who is running newspaper ads around the country promoting his
recently enacted plan to cut state income taxes by 40 percent, will
address the DNC today.
Democratic presidential candidates the Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep.
Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina
are scheduled to address the DNC today.

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