Email Zip


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 14, 2005
Contact: Sally Birdsall (601) 540-2691

DOWDY TO DEAN: Will You Be My Valentine?

(Jackson, Miss) – On the eve of Valentine's Day, former Governor Howard Dean successfully has wooed Democratic decision-makers into falling in love with him and his liberal vision for the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Wayne Dowdy, chief of the Mississippi Democratic Party, is one of many Democrats recently struck by Cupid’s arrow. Dowdy eagerly joined other state party Chairmen in endorsing “the Scream Machine” for the post last month. Dean was elected on Saturday.

Is Dean as Chairman of the National Democratic Party a good love match for Mississippi's dwindling Democrats? Not hardly. His liberal views on social issues and moral values will drag the Democratic Party further away from mainstream Mississippi.

Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Jim Herring stated, "No amount of candy-coating can disguise the fact that Howard Dean is a liberal leftie promoting beliefs clearly at odds with the great majority of Americans - and certainly Mississippians who inhabit one of the reddest of the red states. With Dowdy and Dean at the helm of the State and National Democratic Parties, we enter an era of far-left leadership the likes of which we've not seen before. It will take Cupid more than one quiver full of arrows to get voters to fall in love with this incarnation of the Democratic Party."

Perhaps Dean is most out of touch with Mississippians on the cultural issues, but there is a whole litany of reasons why Mississippians won’t be his Valentine. From faith-based initiatives to Osama bin Laden, Dean and the Democratic Party he’s leading are out of step with the people of the Magnolia State. During his bid for the Presidency, he made the following statements which put him at odds with the wide swath of red state inhabitants who voted their conscience and re-elected Bush:

• Dean Said U.S. Is “A Sectarian Country.” “In general, I agree with the ACLU about not putting religious plaques in public spaces. The Ten Commandments shouldn’t be in a public park. We’re a sectarian country. The state should not be in the business of advocating for a certain religion.” (“The McCain Of Vermont,” Arizona Republic, 8/17/03)

• Dean Would Undo Faith-Based Initiatives. “Asked about a number of executive orders implementing parts of the administration’s faith-based initiative without congressional consent, [Dean] said: ‘I would undo every single one of the president’s initiatives.’” (“Dean Does Damage Control,” The Jewish Week, 10/03/03)

• Dean Thinks World Court Offers Justice For Bin Laden, Even Without Death Penalty. MSNBC’S Chris Matthews: “Who should try Osama bin Laden if we catch him? We or the World Court?” Dean: “I don’t think it makes a lot of difference. ...” Matthews: “But who would you like to, if you were president of the United States, would you insist on us trying him, since he was involved in blowing up the World Trade Center, or would you let The Hague do it?” Dean: “You know, the truth is it doesn’t make a lot of difference to me as long as he is brought to justice. I think that’s the critical part of that.” (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 12/1/03)

“To conclude, I would just like to invite all of Mississippi’s conservative Democrats who are disenchanted with the direction of the Democratic Party as I was over 20 years ago to join the Mississippi Republican Party – an organization willing to take a stand for what’s right and good,” stated Chairman Herring.