Turns out that it’s the media, serving the interests of the right wing, that’s to blame for the all the attention given to Howard Dean’s outrageous statements. So says Senator Dick Durbin here. According to some of Durbin’s colleagues, other (Democratic) chairmen have made harshly partisan remarks, but they’ve gone unnoticed and, even in this case, the people don’t really care. It’s a tempest in a teapot.
I guess the lesson is that we shouldn’t pay much attention to what Democrats say among themselves about Republicans. It’s no clue to what they really think, which we should glean from what they say to the press when, unlike "Dr. Dean" (as the NYT decorously calls him), they’re on message. Heh.
Update: For an argument that the media for the most part havent been paying attention to Deans gaffes, go here.
If a Republican Senator had thrown a tantrum like Durbins, wouldnt the press be all over him for trying to pressure journalists, intimidate broadcast news organizations that depend on government licenses for their existence, shred the First Amendment, etc., etc.?
If we dont pay attention to what Democrats say about Republicans then I guess we wont pay attention to Democrats at all since all they talk about is Republicans.