Video: Dean explains why he won’t debate Mehlman
posted at 1:06 pm on October 24, 2006 by Ian
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The Political Pitbull provides the transcript:
Q: Why won’t you make TV appearances with RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman? We’ve tried to book you a number of times on various NBC programs and been told by your staff that you won’t make appearances with him. Why?
DEAN: The reason I don’t do that is because the spectacle of the debate overwhelms the desire to get message out and talk about policy and serious issues. You know, a lot of what happens on television is what I call infotainment. And I don’t think that’s a particularly good thing. Interviews like this give us a particularly good chance to talk about our message. Debates with Ken simply inflame things and it looks um, gladiatorial contest. I’m interested in getting the message out not gladiatorial conferences, er, contests for the sake of entertainment.
Last year Dean was scheduled to debate Mehlman on Meet the Press, but pulled out at the last minute.
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What a wimp!
Defector01 on October 24, 2006 at 1:08 PM
He’s just worried he’d get his butt kicked by Mehlman.
theovermind99 on October 24, 2006 at 1:11 PM
Way to cut and run, Howard. And these are the people who claim they can protect us from terrorists better than the Republicans? The POS can’t even stand up to Ken Mehlman, let alone Al Qaeda.
ReubenJCogburn on October 24, 2006 at 1:14 PM
Give Dean credit for knowing that he’d look like an even bigger idiot. What a tool.
KelliD on October 24, 2006 at 1:14 PM
WOW! what a surprise..isn’t this a perfect of example of “cut and run”. I gues the GWOT is just too gladiatorial!
Wellfed on October 24, 2006 at 1:18 PM
‘but I can’t lie to people and get away with it in a debate dummy’………
ehehehe
Limerick on October 24, 2006 at 1:22 PM
Isn’t that supposed to be, like, his JOB!!
jdpaz on October 24, 2006 at 1:23 PM
You don’t want to see him angry!
budorob on October 24, 2006 at 1:25 PM
And if there’s anything Dean hates, it’s making a spectacle out of himself.
Jim Treacher on October 24, 2006 at 1:27 PM
Pretty much. Because he knows he has no real answers.
vcferlita on October 24, 2006 at 1:28 PM
Much as I despise that lying weasel Terry McAuliffe, at least he was never short on guts to get out and represent. Of course, the Republicans would like nothing better than a constant supply of Deanisms to play off of.
ReubenJCogburn on October 24, 2006 at 1:29 PM
I listened to Ken Mehlman on NPR. He gave the commentator an earful,which resulted in “No further questions.”
Terrific comment.
Ouabam on October 24, 2006 at 1:33 PM
If wee Howie is correct then what’s the point of having any political debates?
there it is on October 24, 2006 at 1:34 PM
Dear Coward Dean,
We’ve been watching your circus act for years now. No
excuseexplanation was necessary.fogw on October 24, 2006 at 1:38 PM
putz
jummy on October 24, 2006 at 1:48 PM
gladitorial must’ve been on his Word-A-Day calendar.
dalewalt on October 24, 2006 at 1:53 PM
Its so much easier to get the talkings points out directly to a friendly press; than be challenged.
lorien1973 on October 24, 2006 at 1:53 PM
fogw…..coward dean….thats the best….I cant wait to use that on my moonbat brother in law…..thanks
Locrian on October 24, 2006 at 1:55 PM
Gladi-di-di-torial contests are scawy!
infidel4life on October 24, 2006 at 1:56 PM
that dem party shows bravery every time they open their mouths….not
Locrian on October 24, 2006 at 1:57 PM
I think Dean-o is still stinging from the smackdown that Sharpton laid on him in the Iowa debate in ‘04.
rw on October 24, 2006 at 2:05 PM
Coward Howard Dean…sounds good to me…
He has no ideas…no adjenda…just pliticize, obstruct, mislead, and be ridiculous…
As you can see Coward Howard…you are well respected…
areseaoh on October 24, 2006 at 2:07 PM
EEEAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH
Valiant on October 24, 2006 at 2:09 PM
The spectacle is everytime this crackpot opens his mouth (arrrrrgh!!).
Rick on October 24, 2006 at 2:11 PM
I think the only proper response to his answer would be to stick you hands in your armpits, wave your elbows while shouting, “Bwock, bwock, bwock.”
But maybe that’s just me.
JasonG on October 24, 2006 at 2:26 PM
chicken.
pullingmyhairout on October 24, 2006 at 2:36 PM
My guess is that Hillary and Bill have told Coward that he is never to debate anyone under any circumstances.
They must recoil in horror picturing Dean up against Mehlman. (or anyone else for that matter)
If it ever happened, it’d be good for a 3 point shift to the GOP in nearly every race in the country.
I am Bacadog and I approved this message.
BacaDog on October 24, 2006 at 2:39 PM
All Mehlman would have to do is needle dean a bit and watch him go boom
Defector01 on October 24, 2006 at 2:51 PM
Still hasn’t got over the beat down that Kuchinich put on him during the primaries I guess.
/
LakeRuins on October 24, 2006 at 3:03 PM
“Girlyman,” coward, liar, and fool all describe Howard “The Duck” Dean. This is true.
But let’s follow up the point that Wellfed made above.
If Dean and the DNC is unprepared to take up a debate or enter the ring with his Republican counterpart, then WHY SHOULD AMERICA BELIEVE that under their control, that they would lead the defense of America.
Or, in other words, if they are afraid to face Ken Mehlman, who despite their propaganda does NOT behead his opponents, why should we believe that the Democrats are not afraid to face Al Qaeda on the battlefield of OUR choosing, Iraq?
In my final response to Constantine (now no longer visible in the “blog” column), I wrote concerning moonbats in general, but which also applies to the Democratic Party as a whole:
“…are unwilling to accept the fact, that we face a war “to the knife,” one which was not-of-our-choosing, that you hide in the comfortable denial of the mantra: BUSH LIED!!”
The official position of the Democratic Party is that the war in Iraq has nothing to do with the GWOT. Nothing. Unless, of course, they are using it as a partisan club where they then to refer to it as Al Qaeda’s training camp.
I submit that anywhere on the planet, where Al Qaeda is engaged in combat with America is ABSOLUTELY part of the global war on terrorism, and this certainly applies to their “training camp” most of all. The very word “global” means that the fight is more than in Afghanistan.
This offical stance by the Democrats is beyond mere politial rhetoric, even as a prosthetic in service to regaining power. It is at its core, THE DENIAL OF THE EXISTENCE AND WILLINGNESS OF A DEADLY ENEMY TO COME TO AMERICA TO DO MURDER, the same enemy who has proclaimed a “war to the knife” against each and every one of us.
Couple this with the Clinton years hiding behind the “it is only a criminal justice issue” mantra when it came to repeated acts of war against the United States — a view held by the nay-saying contrarians like Paul Pillar, and those vicious, undercutting, sabotaging LEAKERS at the CIA who violate their oath of service (as well as the Espionage Act) for political advantage — and we have a party locked in raw, absolute denial.
Or worse, we have a party that is willing to put the lives of all 300 million of us at risk for PARTISAN POLITCS.
Dean’s cowardice to debate this issue underscores why giving control to this Democratic Party, at this moment in time, is the height of folly — and that doing so is a guarantee that thousands, if not millions of us, will be murdered by our enemies, because the Democrats are too incompetent, to blind, to filled with hatred of the Republicans, to properly protect America.
The fact that Al Qaeda has NOT struck in America since 9/11/01 *COUNTS*. It is an important data point. And it is reason, all by itself, to repudiate the Party of “Cut and Run” in November.
[Note, Constantine thinks that because the MYDD thread is no longer visible that he got the last word, that his rebuttal went unanswered. It is unfortunate that thread has been moved to the archive, because — believe me — I most certainly answered him! See: http://hotair.com/archives/2006/10/22/mydds-googlenuke-campaign/
georgej on October 24, 2006 at 3:27 PM
Had just read your last one there before visiting this thread, George. Very impressive work.
LegendHasIt on October 24, 2006 at 3:38 PM
No infotainment will ever be heard from Doctor Dean.
YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!
Black Adam on October 24, 2006 at 4:05 PM
Wow, he invented a term! Oh wait… that term has been around for years and we all hear it regularly. But ignore all that, Dean says it’s “what I call” because he clearly coined the phrase.
What a bitch though, right? Does anyone remember that debate he had at some venue against some Republican a year or so ago (can’t remember who exactly) but he banned reporters?
RightWinged on October 24, 2006 at 4:14 PM
Growing up my Father used to say concern really stupid comments and/or behavoir “What a Bonehead” and in this case I echo that. I guess when you are held accountable for stupid comments you make by others who know the truth. You do look stupid and would want to avoid debating them too.
Proudandugly on October 24, 2006 at 4:47 PM
georgej, I went back and read that thread (the link is broken, so let’s try it again HERE), and I must say it’s a pleasure to watch you work.
Ultimately rational argument won’t get you anywhere, though, because as I’m sure you’ve noticed, constantine is a cartoon–a caricature of the stereotypical moonbat. Damn, that liberal hivemind can sure crank out the drones.
On the other hand, I’ve never known two conservatives who completely agreed with each other on everything. I think that’s because we all had to find our own path, since before the New Media existed there were damn few sources of conservative thought that reached a mass audience. Makes us more independent, too.
ReubenJCogburn on October 24, 2006 at 5:08 PM
Howie’s been very quiet lately. Do you suppose the Dem’s are intentionally holding him back so they don’t get trounced again partly as a result of his far-left antics? Even Pelosi is being careful lately in saying she won’t support an impeachment hearing for Bush. It’s all politics folks, and Howie knows his ideology can easily be crushed in the theater of real debate.
thedecider on October 24, 2006 at 7:56 PM
Dino… it’s GLAD-Duh-Tor-Ray-al. Don’t do that anymore, you made me spit all over my screen laughting at you.
Maxx on October 24, 2006 at 8:51 PM
ReubenJCogburn: “I must say it’s a pleasure to watch you work.”
LegendHasIt: “Had just read your last one there before visiting this thread, George. Very impressive work.’
Gentlemen, thank you for your kind words.
georgej on October 25, 2006 at 12:07 AM
Well, the fact that he’ll get his a$$ handed to him by Mehlman is secondary.
The fact that he gets to spew his hatred, stupidity, and lies uncontested with ‘interviews’ is why he refuses to debate anyone.
webproze on October 25, 2006 at 8:49 AM
Dean’s stumbling over “gladitorial” and “contests” makes Dubya look positively articulate! No wonder he won’t show up on the same screen as Mehlman.
ptolemy on October 25, 2006 at 10:39 AM
Sometimes a blog could end with just one bloggers comment.
Nothing more needs to be said.
right2bright on October 25, 2006 at 1:01 PM
“Because I don’t want the liberals to be reminded of my rabid tendencies; they’re already embarrassed for me”
Entelechy on October 26, 2006 at 2:25 PM
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