Shut up.
There’s absolutely no way one can confuse the meaning of these two words when they’re put together. Well, unless you’re Howard Dean, that is.
North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy is accusing Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean of overstepping his bounds, saying the former presidential candidate should not give up on the war in Iraq. On Monday, Dean likened the war in Iraq to Vietnam and said, “The idea that the United States is going to win the war in Iraq is just plain wrong.”
“My words to Howard Dean are simple – shut up,” Pomeroy told WDAY Radio in North Dakota on Thursday. Pomeroy later told the Associated Press that he is tired “of the overblown rhetoric on both sides.”
“We have young men and women with their lives on the line,” he added. “The debate has fallen far short of what they deserve.” Pomeroy said Dean wasn’t representing Democrats like him when he discussed the war.
“He is not hired to make major policy announcements on behalf of all the Democrats,” Pomeroy said. “As our party chairman I believe he needs to focus on the nuts and bolts of winning elections.”
Dean backtracked on his statements somewhat Thursday, saying his assertion that the United States cannot win the war was reported “a little out of context,” and that Democrats believe a new U.S. strategy is needed to succeed there.
There it is, Dean’s little auto-eject button – the all inclusive “out of context” excuse. He uses this when he knows his message isn’t ‘resonating’ with the constituency.
Oh, and somehow I don’t think Howard believes he was elected party chairman to focus on nuts and bolts. As far as Dean is concerned, he’s the only hope the Democrats have, so he reaches for every piece of media attention he can get. Without a microphone or a camera, he becomes irrelevant.
What Howard doesn’t know is, in many ways he’s already irrelevant.
Too bad the Democrats don’t see this. Oh they will eventually, but it will be too late by then. Howard Dean won’t stop until he’ successfully flushed the party down the political toilet. He won’t take the blame though because of that “out of context” thing.
Hey, it’s cheap entertainment. I hope it lasts.