Howard Dean was in a conundrum. The Democrat Playbook is to DENY being a socialist while being a socialist. The Democrat Playbook constantly fights against the "Socialist" labels and descriptions of their belief system in order to keep getting re-elected.

Tom Dashle got the boot specifically because he couldn't hide his "Socialism" anymore.

One last thing I forgot to add to my post.

Howard Dean is in 100% agreement with Bernie on Bernie's belief system. Yet he is 100% upset with Bernie's unwillingness to be a team player in the Democrat Party. Rule #1: Thou shalt not admit who you are.

This article also fits nicely with another Democrat Playbook.

The social security obstructionism by the Democrats is an obstructionism designed to "refuse" to provide an alternative plan to President Bush's plan. Democrats know that bringing an alternative plan would just mean exposing themselves to the public.

So, a democrat comes forth with an alternative plan. Hob Wexler starts talking about a 6% tax hike and an increase in the retirement age. This plan is exactly what the Democrats Want but the Democrats do not want the public to know it.

It has oft been noted that, if you look at the Republican and the Democratic party platforms of today, and then look at the Republican, the Democratic, and the Socialist (and the Communist*) party platforms of 1932, you will find that today's Democrats and Republicans resemble the Socialists of 1932 than their own parties in that fateful year. The Socialists, of course, call this "Progressive". I'm a Reactionary, proudly.

I have to ask the Socialists: If Socialism is so good, why do they have to sneak it over on people?

(*It has been said that Socialism is but Communism on a slow train.)

WOW!! You actually found ONE Democrat who actually fit your "liberal as evil pinko socialist" stereotype! At long last you've found that long-needed rationalization for calling all liberals evil and sucking up to the party of Sun Myung Moon, Alan Keyes, "al Qaeda Pat" Robertson, Jerry "me too -- I think -- no, maybe not" Falwell, Richard Mellon Scrapie, Charles "keep your daughters virginal and pure while I plunder your 401-Ks" Keating, Grover "drown our democracy in the bathtub" Norquist, and Ann "she treats her parents the same way, so it's all okay" Coulter.

And this Democrat's a friend of your favorite boogeyman, Michael "Dude, Where's My Integrity?" Moore, too. BONUS!

And I'm sure it's nothing but coincidence that you started screaming about Dean just as Republicans all over the place are starting to realize they can't shout down questions about our military's performance -- or its effect on our credibility -- by trashing Newsweek.

Can we talk about socialism?

How about the post office? defense spending? massive government control of nearly every major industry and asset? most of this is supported by the statist Republicans and nearly everyone on the Right.

You people haven't even bothered to define Socialism. You have no authority to criticize those whom you accuse of practicing it.

While we're cleaning up all the socialism, don't forget to close the public universities, K-12 education, all roads and freeways, all airports, all bus depots, public transit, gasoline and other petroleum industry subsidies, assorted bailouts, FDIC, Social Security, Police, Fire, 911 Service. Of course, none of these things are on the chopping block. Smells like hypocracy to me.

You guys really showed me!

I'm actually glad we're here for each other. I keep you off the streets and you keep me amused.

what's hypocracy? is that like theocracy? is it rule from below?

Dennis: you're getting an even sweeter deal than you think: you don't need to make any effort to keep me off the streets, 'cause I have a real job, so you're getting your amusement for free.

At any rate, you've missed the point of the post, which was to note Dean skirting the question of socialism by accusing Bush's judicial nominees of potentially working to repeal minority rights.

How might that happen, and why would one fear it? Is it by virtue of the president's approval that these judges would be covert operatives of the KKK?

Ah, not long now till my best friend's 'evil pinko socialist' wedding. Can you believe he made me the best man? A fascist neo-con like me!

The funny thing about being a libertarian is that you can coexist with Democrats (the socially liberal) as well as Republicans (the fiscally liberal), yet be hatefully villified by those wearing political blinders when they fail to see that you're both socially and fiscally liberal.

The authoritarian wing of the Republican party has far less control than you would have us believe, while the authoritarian wing of the Democratic party is the party.

Cheers.

I think he might mean hypnocracy.

The authoritarian wing of the Republican party has far less control than you would have us believe, while the authoritarian wing of the Democratic party is the party.

Wrong again. Sun Myung Moon has been a major contributor to Republican candidates for decades; Alan Keyes, despite being an obvious loony and over-the-top homophobe, was the GOP nominee for a US Senate seat; Scrapie, a long-time opponent of the Civil Rights Movement, was a central and guiding figure in the anti-Clinton smear campaign that passed for a Republican agenda during the '90s; Pat Robertson, last seen taking al Qaeda's side against Americans he didn't like, has been an ardent Bush supporter, has run for the Republican nomination for President, and inspired the creation of the very powerful Christian Coalition; and Republicans have been doing their best to inflict bogus sex-ed curricula and creationist "science" on our students since at least the 1980s. Can you tell us exactly WHO are "the authoritarian wing of the Democratic party," and WHAT exactly they're doing to us?

If you want us to buy your '50s-era "Democrat=Communist" propaganda, you'll have to put a bit more effort into it than I've seen so far.

You've got a lot of explaining to do when you claim that the Republicans are jointly controlled by the Moonies and the Christian Coalition.

PS: What's a scrapie?

First, I did not say that Moon and the Christian Coalition "control" ther GOP; I said that these people were, and are, influential beyond their numbers or the popualrity of their policies among the general public. Furthermore, the "moderate elements" in the GOP are about as powerless, unorganized and cowed as the "moderate elements" in Iran. (Remember John McCain? He ran against Bush for the nomination in 2000 and Bush responded by smearing the military service record of a FELLOW REPUBLICAN who -- unlike Bush -- did not dodge his duty.)

If you can think of any socialists, Stalinists or other extremists who are just as influential within the Democratic Party, you have yet to name them.

Second, GOOD GODS, what kind of Democrat am I?! Here I am, trying to describe the Republicans' blithering, dangerous extremism, and I TOTALLY FORGET to mention that ongoing, over-the-top, mind-crushing (and decidedly un-Libertarian) emotional meltdown known as the War on Drugs [and the Non-Rich Users who Use Them or Question Our Rhetoric About Them].

At any rate, you've missed the point of the post, which was to note Dean skirting the question of socialism...

A politician SKIRTED A QUESTION?!! Why that's INCONCEIVABLE! I'm shocked SHOCKED and hurt HURT that anyone would do such a thing THING.

Um...speaking of skirting questions...how many press conferences has Bush submitted to? How many public events has he attended where the "public" were not pre-filtered by his handlers? Has he EVER satisfactorily explained why we never found those WMDs in Iraq that he said were our main reason for going to war?