Two Democrats disavow Dean's jab at GOP

The Washington Post
Published on: 06/05/05

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joseph Biden, 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 fund-raising.

Dean, who inspired a passionate following when he ran for president in 2003-04 and showed the potential of Internet fund-raising, 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.

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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 fund-raising dinner Saturday in Nashville that he disagreed with Dean's comment.

Mehlman, appearing on his first Sunday talk show since becoming Republican National Committee chairman in January, said on NBC's "Meet the Press": "I'm not sure the best way to win support in the red states is to insult the folks who live there. I think that a better approach might be to talk about the issues you're for."

Dean, who portrays himself as a fighter, clarified his comment a day later to say that he was referring to the Republican leadership, not to ordinary Republicans.

Dean's aides, who have declined invitations for him to appear on television with Mehlman, said he was unavailable to comment on the reaction because he was traveling to Seattle for a Women's Leadership Forum fund-raiser and a "DNC Low Dollar Fund-Raiser." His spokeswoman, Karen Finney, said: "He is a voice of the party, not the only voice. We have different voices in our party. But we are all committed to rebuilding our party and getting our country back on track."

A recent article in Business Week was headlined, "Howard Dean's Raised Voice Isn't Raising Cash." The national Democratic Party raised about $18.6 million in the first four months of the year, compared with $42.6 million for the RNC. Finney said the Democratic Party is now raising $1 million a week.