6.06.2005
Two Democrats Disavow Dean's Jab at GOP (WashingtonPost.com)
By Mike Allen and Alan Cooperman
Monday, June 6, 2005; Page A06
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) distanced themselves over the weekend from remarks by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who is facing criticism for the pace of the party's fundraising.
Dean, who inspired a passionate following when he ran for president in 2003-04 and showed the potential of Internet fundraising, has been as unpredictable with his public remarks since becoming party chairman in mid-February as his Republican counterpart, Ken Mehlman, has been on message.
Biden made his comment on ABC's "This Week" after the host, George Stephanopoulos, played a clip of Dean saying Thursday that perhaps Republicans can wait in line to cast ballots because a "lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."
Asked whether Dean is doing the party any good, Biden said, "Not with that kind of rhetoric. He doesn't speak for me with that kind of rhetoric. And I don't think he speaks for the majority of Democrats. . . . I wish that rhetoric would change."
Edwards, the party's vice presidential nominee last year, said at an annual party fundraising dinner Saturday in Nashville that he disagreed with Dean's comment. "The chairman of the DNC is not the spokesman for the party," Edwards said, according to the Associated Press. "He's a voice. I don't agree with it."
(More ... Two Democrats Disavow Dean's Jab at GOP) ¶ 16:23
Monday, June 6, 2005; Page A06
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) distanced themselves over the weekend from remarks by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who is facing criticism for the pace of the party's fundraising.
Dean, who inspired a passionate following when he ran for president in 2003-04 and showed the potential of Internet fundraising, has been as unpredictable with his public remarks since becoming party chairman in mid-February as his Republican counterpart, Ken Mehlman, has been on message.
Biden made his comment on ABC's "This Week" after the host, George Stephanopoulos, played a clip of Dean saying Thursday that perhaps Republicans can wait in line to cast ballots because a "lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."
Asked whether Dean is doing the party any good, Biden said, "Not with that kind of rhetoric. He doesn't speak for me with that kind of rhetoric. And I don't think he speaks for the majority of Democrats. . . . I wish that rhetoric would change."
Edwards, the party's vice presidential nominee last year, said at an annual party fundraising dinner Saturday in Nashville that he disagreed with Dean's comment. "The chairman of the DNC is not the spokesman for the party," Edwards said, according to the Associated Press. "He's a voice. I don't agree with it."
(More ... Two Democrats Disavow Dean's Jab at GOP) ¶ 16:23
