Old and busted: Dissent is patriotic! New hotness: People who disagree with Democrats on voter-ID laws should “go to Ukraine or Russia!” This sounds an awful lot like the “America — love it or leave it” argument during the Vietnam War to which anti-war Democrats so loudly objected at the time. Look who’s suddenly equating citizenship to shut-up-ship (via Twitchy):

Howard Dean, who is still alive, told attendees at a fundraiser for a Democratic congressional hopeful that Republicans “are not American” and would “be more comfortable in the Ukraine or Russia.” He also screamed that GOP supporters should “stay away from our country.”

Dean, a former Vermont governor, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and a 2004 presidential candidate, made the statements last week in a fit of zeal as he was speaking in support of Colorado 6th Congressional District candidate Andrew Romanoff.

“This is a Republican party that has decided they like power so much that they think it’s okay to win by taking away the right to vote,” Dean told the gathered assembly of 750 people at Dora’s Mexican Restaurant in Aurora, Colo.

“They are not American,” he bellowed. “They could be more comfortable in the Ukraine or Russia but stay away from our country. This is based on the right to vote.”

Amusingly, Dean then lectured Republicans on tolerance and love:

“We have had enough of the extreme right wing,” Dean continued. “We have had enough of the politics of anger, we have had enough of the politics of hate, we have had enough of the politics of division,” Dean told the estimated 750 in attendance at Dora’s Mexican Restaurant.

Yes, let’s demonstrate tolerance and love by demanding the deportation of all Republicans to Russia. What a wonderful demonstration of open debate!

By the way, if Dean wants to deport all Americans who want stronger voter-ID laws, he’d better be prepared to deport more than a few Democrats, too:

Seven out of ten registered voters support voter ID laws, which makes them racist, or something. … The survey conducted by Fox News found a majority in every demographic (race, age, income, sex, political bent) support voter ID laws – including 53% of self-described liberals, 70% of men, and 71% of women.

A Marist poll in July of 2013 also found a majority (65%) of Americans describing themselves as “very liberal” supported Voter ID laws.

John Hinderaker writes that Dean is emblematic of a “terrible insanity” plaguing the Democratic Party of late:

A terrible sort of insanity has gripped the Democratic Party. On almost a daily basis, when you see the party’s leaders in action, you want to start edging toward the door, murmuring “Nice doggie. Nice doggie.” Today it was Howard Dean (filmed a week ago, but seen on YouTube today). He was addressing a Democratic crowd in Colorado, and went off on a tirade against Republicans. Yes, he really did say that Republicans aren’t American. And that they should stay away from the United States, and go to Russia where they belong. One gets the feeling that if the Democrats ever have the opportunity, they will have us all arrested. Or deported …

This is a very bad thing. We need two functional political parties, and these days the Democrats don’t get over the bar, no matter how low you set it. Their rants are so crazy that it is hard to tell what they are talking about. Dean says that Republicans want to “take away the right to vote.” Huh? Can you name a single Republican who has ever argued that anyone who has a right to vote should have it taken away? I have never heard such an argument made. Republicans do say that ONLY those who have a right to vote should be casting ballots, and that no one should vote more than once. Apparently Dean disagrees with these propositions, but of course he doesn’t tell us why. It is always easier to lie.

And to hate, and to suffer from projection.