More Dean Day Four News (UPDATED)

"For years, the GOP has cried foul saying the Democrats unfairly tried to frighten voters by saying that Republicans were out to weaken or destroy Social Security. They always insisted that they had no such intention. Now that claim stands fully exposed. The Bush administration and the Republican majority in Congress clearly are on an ideological crusade aimed at gutting the retirement program and causing its collapse. Dean needs to make that case, and to bring the party, and its elected officials with him. They need to make the argument that Democrats will not compromise on Social Security, and that they will not allow the president’s plan to peel younger workers off of the program with a promise of "private" investment accounts."-from the article on the ILCA website, "Electoral Politics: Will Dean Make a Difference?" ""President Bush's budget has brought Enron-style accounting to our nation's capital."- from "Howard Dean's Statement on Fiscal Responsibility" in support of the "Blue Dog Democrats" news conference calling attention to the Rovian's fiscal blunders. Keep in mind this observation from Bob Shields that he sent along, when you read/hear about how Howard Dean is such "wild" man: "So, an administration that does background checks on prospective audience members at campaign events, even now on Bush's Social Security tour, allows a cretin like Gannon/Guckert into the White House for two years with no checks? That Gannon/Guckert is gay isn't the point, of course, it is the fact that he is a tax evading prostitute that makes his acceptance immoral." And New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is still waiting for her press pass, after two years. Update: A reading of Maureen Dowd's column today reveals that I misunderstood the timing of Maureen Dowd's press pass problem. It was during the first two years of the Rovian Administration. I can't wait to see what question she asks, if she ever gets called on at a White House press conference. Update: Want to win "a free subscription to the American Prospect, a night on the town with the magazine staff, and former Labor secretary Robert Reich's distinctive voice on his or her home answering machine..?" The liberal periodical is having a contest: "You're in an elevator with a potential moneybags," he wrote, "and you have, say, seven floors to tell him why he should write you a check. Well, we all know the basic outline of conservatism's elevator pitch: 'We believe in freedom and liberty, and we're for low taxes, less government, traditional values and a strong national defense.' But what is liberalism's?"-reported in this LA Times story today, "Seeking a rallying cry, louder voices." The article offers some early contest submissions. It's not about Dean, but the idea and the article are in the ballpark. They are both, I think, very weak efforts at political strategy and journalism. If you want more blather about Gannon/Guckert, go to Kos. Update: By at least one frame of reference, Dean is a moderate, middle-of-the-road kind of politician. Chastised by those to his "right" for blunt talk and "liberal" positions on the issues, folks like Joshua Frank, writing on the CounterPunch site say the DNC job has neutralized him and his supporters: "The Hogtying of the Deaniacs."