‘We Are Here to Fight,’ Dean Says

Howard Dean said Saturday that positive responses from supporters had reinforced his determination to keep talking tough, despite suggestions from some congressional Democrats that the party chairman should tone down his rhetoric.

“People want us to fight,” Dean told the national party’s executive committee. “We are here to fight.”

Addressing Iowa party activists later Saturday in Des Moines, he added: “We need to be blunt and clear about the things we’re going to fight for. I’m tired of lying down in front of the Republican machine. We need to stand up for what we believe in.”

“We can use some of your passion,” Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) told Dean at the Iowa fundraiser.

At the earlier session in a downtown Washington hotel, Dean accused Republicans of trying to suppress the vote, selling access to the White House for lobbyists and being dishonest with the public.

“The reason the Republicans are in trouble is because there are so many cases where they say one thing and do something else,” Dean said.

He said that President Bush’s No Child Left Behind educational program cut school spending and that his environmental Clear Skies Initiative permitted more pollution.

A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee said Dean would rather sling mud than discuss serious matters.

“Dean’s inflammatory rhetoric makes it clear that Democrats have no vision and would rather pander to the maniacal fringe than talk about the important issues facing our country,” Tracey Schmitt said.

In his remarks, Dean made few references to the recent controversy over his remarks.

But when a Democratic National Committee member joked that the best way to get the chairman’s attention was to “jump up and down,” a grinning Dean fired back: “That’s my job.”

The crowd of Democratic activists burst into applause.