Howard Dean’s flag comment
Rivals of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean accused him Saturday of embracing a racially divisive symbol when he said he wants to be the candidate “for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks.”
Dean said he was making the point that, in order for the Democratic Party to win the White House, its nominee must appeal to a broad cross-section of Democrats, including Southern voters.
I don’t understand the brouhaha here. Dean is correct! To guarantee a win, Democrats need to pick up votes across the spectrum, and to me, that’s all Dean was saying.
PS A reader posted Dean’s complete statement in the comments here, which I’m reposting here.
“I intend to talk about race in this election in the south because the Republicans have been talking about it since 1968 in order to divide us. And I’m going to bring us together, because you know what? White folks in the south who drive pickups trucks with confederate flags decals in the back ought to be voting with us and not them, because their kids don’t have health insurance either and their kids need better schools too.” – Howard Dean