General Dean's Hollow Army

By Stephen Pizzo, AlterNet. Posted August 19, 2005.

If General Eisenhower had the kind of troops on D-Day Howard Dean is stuck with today we'd all be wearing lederhosen. Every time Dean says anything even remotely true about the mess Republicans have made -- domestically, fiscally or internationally -- his own party leaders feel compelled to rush out and apologize. They remind me of an abused spouse who, after every beating from her abuser, refuses to press charges blaming herself for saying the wrong thing.

Dean sent Democratic Party mice running for cover again last weekend when he (correctly) stated that if Iraqis adopt a constitution based on traditional Islam's rules for (mis)treating women, Iraqi women would be worse off than they were under Saddam.

Now, that statement is demonstrably true. A high school freshman on her first day in debating class could win that side of the debate without cracking a book. Just look at Iran, Saudi Arabia or even "liberated" Afghanistan, where traditional Islamic law (sharia) calls the tune. In those countries women are treated in ways that would send Sen. Barbara Boxer into orbit if it were happening anywhere in the US. And rightfully so.

Iraqi Shiites are demanding just those kinds of laws in the newly liberated Iraq. Nevertheless, top Dems elbowed their weaselly way to the nearest CNN microphone to denounce Dean's (completely correct and defensible) observation. Leading the Democrat damage control squad was the dapper senator from Delaware, Joe Biden, who wants to run for President in '08. He was the first to find an open mic and once again denounced Dean's statement.

It was the second time Biden cut the ground out from under Dean. The first was last June when Dean described Republicans as "evil," and that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "belongs in jail." (Which in fact may come to pass since he is under criminal investigation in Texas.) Biden was sent right out to hoist a white flag before GOP snipers took offense:

"He doesn't speak for me with that kind of rhetoric and I don't think he speaks for the majority of Democrats," Biden told ABC News, flashing his overly-whitened teeth, used car salesman grin. People are starting to take note of this Dem strategy of "surrender early and often."

The Democrats' problem is partly a lack of strong leadership. Its main spokesman on foreign policy has become Sen. Joseph Biden, a man who -- how to put this politely? -- seems more impressed with the force of his own intellect than an objective evaluation would warrant. Listening to Biden, you sense how hungry he is to be president, but you have little idea what he would do, other than talk . . . and talk. (Full Text)

And talk he did. Asked if he thought Democrats needed to rein Dean in, Biden said, "I don't presume to suggest that I could rein in any chairman. But I think that the response from the bulk of the elected Democrats -- I don't imagine would be much different."

That statement is true, up to a point. If Biden is referring to fellow Democrat office holders, yes, he is sadly correct. They are a scared and beaten bunch. Their nerves have been shattered and frayed by ten years of no-holds-barred bombardment from GOP storm troopers. Democrats now suffer from the political version of post-traumatic stress syndrome, flinching at any sound or movement that might trigger an enemy counter attack.

Stephen Pizzo is the author of numerous books, including "Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans," which was nominated for a Pulitzer.

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