Dean, Republicans Spar Over 'Graffiti'

[dajabr]

August 28, 2003, 9:23 PM EDT

Howard Dean has gotten himself into a paint brawl.

The Democratic presidential hopeful is drawing heat from City Hall after appearing in front of a graffiti-covered backdrop during a rally at Bryant Park on Tuesday.

"It's unfortunate that Mr. Dean would promote and romanticize a form of vandalism, especially considering this city's success in eliminating this urban blight," said Bloomberg's press secretary Ed Skyler.

The backdrop, spray-painted by Brooklyn "aerosol artist" KEO, was commissioned by Dean's campaign. Dean's staff said they placed no restrictions when commissioning the piece.

Councilman James Oddo, a Staten Island Republican, says the backdrop is an insulting token of bygone 1970s New York.

More: http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/newyork/politics/nyc-dean0829,0,6963221.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-politics

Did Gulliani get back in office while I wasn't looking? :wtf:

[Cha]

1. Oh bullcrap bloomberg!

"Urban American youth are among those who have the most to lose from another four years of George W. Bush," said Dean's New York spokesman, Eric Schmeltzer, reading from a written statement. "Howard Dean ... afforded the opportunity to an artist loved and respected by many of them to express himself in a creative and constructive way."


And something about a republican talkin' about "pandering"

Is that like a charred pot calling the kettle black?

[killbotfactory]

2. Could republicans be more lame?

No?

Didn't think so.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. For Chrissakes, it has been an art form on LA streets and in

art galleries for years. Same for NYC, I'm sure.

They gave KEO a job for crying out loud. More than I can say for Whistle A$$tm!

[Rose Siding]

4. In restless dreams I walked alone

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:v705J4mds3cC:classicsdelrock.dreamers.com/imatges/simongarfun-silence.jpg

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. SOS?

There's 5 of us idiots here. Say something. I'm getting scared!

[dajabr]

11. Next, there will be a warrant out for Kenny Scharf...

Man, I love his stuff! Close to graffiti...



"Big Bong Theory"

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. Speaking of bongs...

(“You know what I got Jessica for her birthday? A Howard Dean bong . . .”)http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/41/features-wolf.php

[KaraokeKarlton]

5. I love good grafitti!

It was one of my favorite things I saw when I chaperoned a field trip for one of my kids to New York City. I loved the United Nations too...and this once very tame squirrel that practically tried to climb into your lap. Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, all great. But some of the grafitti I saw was just breathtaking! My kid is an artist, so maybe that's why I appreciate it as art...but I like grafitti and loved the backdrop! I think this whole dumb whine fest is going to help Dean with those young taggers and hip hoppers all over the country, too! But that's fine by me...the more the merrier. This train is big enough for everyone...and we can add so many train cars it'll stretch all across the nation!

[Ellen Forradalom]

6. In case it escaped your notice Mr. Bloomberg

KEO was invited to do this on a backdrop. It was NOT vandalism and did not promote it. Many of the best known graffiti people (like Lady Pink) switched from subway trains to canvas and did pretty well for themselves--far better than if they'd just worked at McDonald's, like good little obedient urban youth.

[Khephra]

8. Someone should remind Dean of the "made in America"

Bush box backdrop bs. That would make a great comeback.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. Kef,

did you catch this: http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/41/features-wolf.php Interesting story from an "alternative" LA mag(they used to be). Good read.

[Khephra]

13. Thanks! This part is brilliant!

"The most impressive thing about Howard Dean, and what seems genuinely to distinguish him from his fellow candidates, is his ability to think in three dimensions, to connect disparate ideas and concepts and problems in a remarkably intelligent and compelling way. It’s a doctor’s way of thinking: puzzling things out. “That’s what the job is,” he explains a few months later, “that’s what physicians are inherently required to do in the course of their work . . . to accurately assess and analyze data, in order to reach a diagnosis and a plan of treatment.” To the extent that this process involves evaluating the reliability of information, the history of past outcomes and the availability of resources, it’s fair to say that doctors can acquire a certain amount of expertise in crucial elements of government during the regular course of their practice."

I don't believe a person should be afraid to modify their views. I've noticed this about Dean. While some people call this a weakness, I think it can be a strength. Dean has shown that he'll sit down with people on issues and let them explain their postion. As a result he's shown movement on some issues.

I don't want someone who stops learning and never changes their views. Dean has shown me to be a man who examines the issues and the data and, unlike Bush, has shown that he's willing to update a postion based on that new info. Dean always gives you his reasons for any shift in his reasoning too.

3-d thinking...I really like that.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. 3-D...

Dean Dumps Doofus?

[DrFunkenstein]

22. I Found These Parts Brilliant, Too

Because Dean lacks the innate musicality and voice control that mark the great speakers, from Clinton on back through Reagan and JFK, he’s not a particularly good orator, and when he reaches for the rhetorical flourish, like the one — “I want my country baack!” — with which he ended the speech that caused such a sensation at the California Democratic convention in Sacramento later in March, or “You have the power! You have the power!,” the chant with which he’s been ending speeches since his official kickoff in June, he can come perilously close to a screech, provoking unbidden recollections of Peter Finch’s character in the movie Network, the unhinged television executive who opens his New York apartment window and starts shouting to the streets “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” But there are other times when he captures something so eloquently that tears can sting your eyes.

Beginning in May, it gets harder. This is when Dean starts making his somewhat dismal showings...in the tête-à-tête with Rose, despite the more leisurely time allowance, Dean seems to have trouble summoning the confident, unflustered straightforwardness that’s so compelling when he talks to a group: His presentation is choppy, questions that are even mildly confrontational appear to make him defensive, and he allows himself to be diverted into more than a few small, pointless squabbles.

He is utterly convincing about the necessity for replacing Bush; what comes across less clearly is why it’s he who should be the Democrats’ standard-bearer.

Almost entirely absent are his invigorating displays of how one set of things relates to another, or his vision of mutual interdependence among disparate groups of Americans, the understanding he’s demonstrated previously of the yearning for this kind of politics — call it the Bobby Kennedy “we-can-do-better” mode — still percolating across the country.

Even when he talks about his ever-growing grassroots army, the references seem almost bellicose, more like boasts of strength than anything conveying the watershed, transformative nature of his electoral strategy and how radically distinct it is from that of any of the other candidates.

"I mean, we’ve already got 39,000 people working for us all around the country . . . I really do believe — and I think about this — I want to get this nomination, and if I don’t . . . these kids are not transferrable. I can’t just go out and say, ‘Okay, so I didn’t win the nomination, so go ahead and vote for the Democrats.’ They’re not going to suddenly just go away. That’s not gonna happen."

:loveya:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

24. Yep.

Unlike the :puffpiece:'s that you regularly post. I figured a warts-and-all piece would be more telling and give the reader a more realistic portriat of the man.



:D

[mandyky]

18. Excellent article

Very thoughtful.

[Demobrat]

9. One man's blight is another man's art form.

Just another example of how out of touch Repukes really are.

[dean4america]

12. i guess the only question left to ask is...

when will Lieberman come out in support fo Bloomberg?

these repubs are so terribly out of touch it's no longer funny.

[caledesi]

14. I guess the background should have been beige!

[tedoll78]

17. Is this the best they can come-up with?

It's kinda sad.

[kdpeters]

19. Oh Puhhhhleeeeze.

Now, Bloomberg. Listen close. With your left foot firmly in the stirrup and both hands grasping the reigns and saddle, swing your right foot around the rear in a smooth controlled motion, and slowly lower yourself down from that high horse.

Come on. Before you hurt yourself up there.

[dajabr]

20. LOL

Good one! And welcome to DU, kdpeters! :hi:

[Garage Queen]

21. Heeeeeheeehehe! Nice one.

The election is 15 months away and Bloomberg is apparently so scared of "Deanie the Meanie" that he feels the need to attack some paint on a canvas. Hmmm. Interesting.

Guess that "Dean" guy may be more viable than we thought ... ;-)

[DrFunkenstein]

23. The Funny Thing Is That Bryant Park Is In A Ritzy Neighborhood

Probably not far from where he grew up with his Wall Street tycoon father.

<>

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

25. Isn't it right next to the Heinz factory?

Richest Politicians

Rank Politician (Party) Office or Campaign Net Worth
1 Michael R. Bloomberg (R) Mayor, New York $4.8 billion
2 Winthrop Rockefeller (R) Lt. Governor, Arkansas 1.2 billion
3 B. Thomas Golisano (Ind) Gubernatorial candidate, New York 1.1 billion
4 John Kerry (D) Senator, Massachusetts 550 million
5 Tony Sanchez (D) Gubernatorial candidate, Texas 500 million
6 Amo Houghton (R) Representative, New York 475 million
7 Jon S. Corzine (D) Senator, New Jersey 300 million
8 Herb Kohl (D) Senator, Wisconsin 250 million
9 Jay Rockefeller (D) Senator, West Virginia 200 million
10 Mark R. Warner (D) Governor, Virginia 200 million


http://www.forbes.com/2002/10/29/cx_dd_richpols.html

Number 4 with a

[dajabr]

26. Or the Hotel Cipriani?

Man, I wish Kerry would invite me to his $20,000+ Dollar "lunches" there!

What do you have to do to get an invite? I think I know...

Sheraton Boston, Boston, MA
$58,318
3/21/2003
Catering

Cipriani 42nd Street LLC, New York, NY
$29,524
3/7/2003
Catering

The Palace Hotel, Long Beach, CA
$27,163
4/4/2003
Catering

Cipriani 42nd Street LLC, New York, NY
$20,000
2/19/2003
Catering

The Yale Club of New York City, New York, NY
$17,521
6/10/2003
Catering

Pines Manor, Edison, NJ
$16,585
4/2/2003
Catering

Cipriani 42nd Street LLC, New York, NY
$13,965
3/12/2003
Catering

Hyatt Regency Washington, Washington, DC
$13,782
5/21/2003
Catering

Abbey Event Services, Houston, TX
$13,634
3/4/2003
Catering

http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/expend.asp?id=N00000245&cycle=2004&sort=X

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

27. Mmmm...the Yale Club.

Is that the East's version of Der Wienerschnitzel?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

28. Darn...guess not.

[dajabr]

29. I'm sorry...

I was just grilling outside on 40th & Park - had to turn the brats...

You were saying... :-)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. lol

Fire one up for me!

[dajabr]

31. XXXXXXX

nevermind...