Dr. Jekyll and Howard Dean



I like Howard Dean. No, really, I’m serious. I don’t like him for the same reason his followers like him; that is to say, I don’t feel a passionate connection to him on account of any shared worldviews. Nor do I like him for the same reason Sean Hannity likes him; in other words, I’m not drawn to the fact that he benefits the Republicans more than the Democrats. I just like the guy. He’s a raving lunatic, he speaks his mind, and I thank God he isn’t president. Still, I don’t quite understand why conservatives are so shocked and appalled by him.

As a libertarian Republican, I can even think of a few areas on which I agree with Dr. Dean. He favors medical marijuana for certain illnesses (though unfortunately wants to increase funding for the war on drugs), he speaks frequently about fiscal responsibility (though we may differ on how to approach that), he supports NAFTA, is pro-immigration, pro-capital punishment and has been endorsed eight times by the NRA. With credentials like these, how bad can he be? Okay, so I disagree with him on this number of issues times a thousand, but still, let’s give the devil his due.

I could go on and on about his misguided policies: how he opposes the privatization of Social Security, opposes school choice, supports raising the minimum wage, supports subsidized healthcare, supports increases in corporate taxes, yadda yadda yadda...But that is not my purpose with this particular entry. No, I have two specific objectives: 1) To point out to conservatives that Howard Dean really isn’t that big of a deal, and 2) To point out to Democrats that they might, in the future, want to refrain from placing their party in the hands of someone as outspoken as the good doctor from Vermont.

To address both issues, I present the following personal observation: Howard Dean isn’t much of a politician these days, but he sure would make one heck of a political pundit. If you are reading this and you have been deeply offended by something said by Howard Dean, I ask you, “Why?” I mean, I don’t think Republicans are evil (with a few exceptions, perhaps), nor do I think most are mean, and I’ve read enough books by Larry Elder, Thomas Sowell, Michelle Malkin and Dinesh D’Souza to know that it isn’t merely a “white, Christian party.” Sure, the majority of Republicans can be classified as Christian and white, but as John Stewart pointed out, so can the majority of AMERICANS. And if you want to nitpick about proportions and percentages regarding the voting records of various minorities, knock yourself out, but again, that isn’t my purpose here. As I said before, I’m not offended by Howard Dean.

According to Dean, “Republicans are evil.” Yikes. Maybe those words made you gasp in shock; maybe you heard the quote on FOX News and then spent the rest of the day griping beneath your breath as they echoed in your mind. If you’re the kind of person who reacted this way, then chances are, you’re probably also the kind of person who enjoys reading, listening to, or at least looking at Ann Coulter. Now just for the sake of objectivity, let’s look at some of her more colorful quotes. Now because I’m a lazy bastard and didn’t feel like sifting through my copy of Slander, I just borrowed some of the examples from Al Franken’s latest book. Forgive me. Anyway, here are just some examples. “My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to The New York Times building,” and “I don’t remember liberals being indignant about the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” She has also described various public figures as ‘birdbrain,’ ‘airhead,’ ‘boob,’ ‘truly stupid,’ ‘half-wit,’ you get the idea...That’s without delving into her charge that liberals are ‘traitors.’

Now, am I pointing these things out to rip on Ann Coulter? Of course not! I love Ann Coulter, and I think she’s a delight to read, not to mention being one of my favorite frequent faces (love the alliteration!) on cable news. My point is that hyperbole is a big thing in politics these days, and like it or not, it’s here to stay. If you are one of those people who was shocked and appalled by Dean’s recent comments, let me ask you this. Imagine if he had said, “My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the FOX News building.” Chances are, you would be fuming, but again, if it’s hilarious when Ann Coulter spouts off absurdities for comic or dramatic effect, then who are we to judge Dr. Dean for doing the same thing? It is human nature for us to revel in exaggerations that compliment our view of the world while taking umbrage to those that threaten our way of thinking. My challenge to liberals and conservatives is to keep that in mind, and not take it so personally when a Howard Dean or an Ann Coulter says something “shocking or appalling.” If nothing else, do it for your own sanity.

Lastly, for the Democrats who supported the election of Dean as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, what in the world were you thinking? Once again, I like Howard Dean personally, but there is a reason I used Ann Coulter as an example for dichotomy. Howard Dean doesn’t behave like a politician; he behaves like a political pundit. For the record, I like political pundits, conservative and liberal, and I have learned a great deal from them, but I don’t think I would elect one of them to be the face of my chosen party. To resurrect my previous example, I sincerely admire Ann Coulter (for many reasons, believe me), and I make it a point to visit her website every Wednesday to read her latest column. However, I would have to be smoking some pretty potent stuff before I would ever vote to elect her Chairman of the RNC. This is because I have the sense to recognize that if I want Republicans to be elected to office in the future, it might not be in my best interest to place the party in the hands of someone who has publicly announced a desire to invade the countries of Islamic terrorists, kill their leaders and convert them all to Christianity. That’s just my opinion.

There is a reason for the line existing between the worlds of politics and political punditry. It is the job of the political pundits to say the things the politicians cannot; to point out the elephant in the room and spark the public debate. On the other hand it is the job of the politicians to pretend to like all of us. That is why the two worlds cannot overlap. In order for a politician to be successful, he or she must win support beyond his or her “base,” or a sizeable amount of swing voters. Someone like Howard Dean is not going to achieve this (remember, despite his overwhelming Internet support during the presidential campaign, the only state he carried was his home state of Vermont). If you don’t believe me, look at Arianna Huffington, the former California gubernatorial candidate and full-time political pundit, who made the mistake of conducting herself like a pundit during the public debates. Long story short, she dropped out of the race after polls revealed she was carrying less than two percent of the vote.

So Howard Dean, my hat’s off to you. You’re not afraid to speak your mind, and I like that. For strategic purposes I think you’re hurting your own cause, but I’m not your political advisor, and I wouldn’t vote for your breed anyway, so it’s no loss for me. And for those of you who lose sleep over comments made by Dr. Dean, or Ann Coulter, or Michael Moore, or Rush Limbaugh, or Hillary Clinton, or Bill O’Reilly or anyone else for that matter, LET IT GO. Chances are you’ve cheered for someone who’s equally as insane.


Sources
1) http://www.issues2000.org/Howard_Dean.htm
2) Al Franken, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.” pp. 17-18
3) Larry King Live, Monday August 4th, 2003