Cenk Uygur: Howard Dean Vs. Rahm Emanuel

[Hissyspit]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/30/788028/-Howard-Dean-vs.-Rahm-Emanuel

Howard Dean vs. Rahm Emanuel
by Cenk Uygur

Wed Sep 30, 2009 at 09:06:08 AM EST

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As it turned out, Emanuel was wrong and Dean was right. The Democrats won everywhere, including districts previously thought unimaginable. Dean's efforts to reach out to all the states paid off huge dividends as the Democrats became competitive in districts no one had thought possible.

- snip -

This time it's the health care debate. Rahm Emanuel has been pushing for a weaker version of reform from the beginning. In his defense, he believes he is focusing on what is doable (nearly the same thing he said during the previous House elections). Emanuel has argued for a trigger from the beginning of the debate and seems to think that a public option is not realistic in this political environment.

Howard Dean has instead argued for a stronger version of health care reform. He believes the country is persuadable (the same position he had in the House elections) and is largely on the side of bolder reform already. He believes the Democratic politicians need to have the courage of their convictionsand they can make a real difference.

Once again, Howard Dean is right and Rahm Emanuel is wrong. The voters didn't vote for a little bit of change. They gave the Democrats the White House and overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate. They voted for real change. The kind of change that Dean always pushes for (and often accomplishes) and the kind of change that Emanuel doesn't ever find "realistic."

Emanuel needs to change his definition of realistic. We didn't elect Obama to fiddle around the edges. We elected him to change the current reality of Washington. We didn't elect him to figure out the best way to appease the lobbyists; we elected him to figure out the best way to beat them. What Rahm Emanuel doesn't seem to get is that real change is realistic. You have all this political power. It's time to use it. If not now, when?

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[bobburgster]

1. Have to agree.

Howard Dean has been right more than wrong on a whole host of topics. Not sure why Obama, Rahm Emanuel and the rest have hogtied him away.

[Le Taz Hot]

2. K & R

There's a reason this administration completely locked him out of the cabinet and out of this debate (he's doing all of this speaking on his own). This administration doesn't inspire a whole lot of competence confidence -- Emmanuel (wrong on SO many issues), Geitner (the fox guarding the banking hen house), and Duncan (he'll do to the American Public school system what he did for Chicago's Public school system), just off the top of my head.

[Hissyspit]

3. .

[bobthedrummer]

4. bttt

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. "Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours "

Fuck the computer-generated "rules". Consider this a K&R anyway.

Howard Dean STILL speaks for me. Rahm Emanuel never has and never will.

[Krakowiak]

6. Is Emanuel wrong or just not interested in real reform?

These are two very different things.