Dr. Dean Has a Plan

Dean goes to heart of GOP

Yesterday night, Howard Dean, M.D., chairman of the DNC, visited the heart of Republican country in southwest Florida. He spoke to about 500 hardcore Democrats, delivering the same lines he used over the weekend in California.

Again, he talked about the Terri Schiavo case.

"It's a character issue and a values issue. The Republicans are willing to reach into our personal lives at any moment," Dean told the St. Petersburg Times , dismissing the notion that the controversy would fade with time.

"There is a deep scar on the American psyche," he said. "This is a great tragedy for the American people and I think the behavior of the governor (Jeb Bush) and the president and the senator (Mel Martinez) is something that will long be remembered."

You'd think he'd stop insisting on exploiting Terri Schiavo's death for political gain. Wasn't that what caused Dems and the MSM to foam at the mouth more than they usually do? That infamous Republican talking points memo was characterized as unconscionable; yet there seems to be little outrage directed at the good doctor for saying outright that Terri is part of his political game plan.

Dr. Dean also laid out his 50-state strategy to win Republicans over to the dark side, by challenging the GOP claim that Dems are out of the mainstream.

"We need a message where people from the Panhandle or Alabama are just as comfortable running as a Democrat as somebody from New York," said Dean, arguing that whether it's balancing budgets or improving access to children's health care, Democrats are more in tune with most Americans than Republicans.

"We need to kick the money changers out of the temple and restore moral values to America," Dean said, drawing roars from the crowd.

Joseph Agostini, State Republican Party spokesman, accurately charged Dean with "politicizing the Schiavo controversy and promoting 'hate-filled speech' and negativity, rather than solutions."

Agostini absolutely nailed it when he said, "The Democrat party is continuing to swerve out of the mainstream of America, and under the leadership of its out-of-the-mainstream national chairman, continues along that high-speed travel to political irrelevance."