Howard Dean to Dem Candidates: 'Show Some Backbone'

Howard Dean to Dem Candidates: 'Show Some Backbone'

On Wednesday’s broadcast of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, former Gov. Howard Dean (D-VT), also a former Democratic National Committee chairman, acknowledged Republicans have been successful in laying out the narrative of the 2014 midterm election, which is putting President Barack Obama on the ballot.

Despite disapproving of that narrative, Dean advised Democrats to embrace it and not try to dodge questions about Obama.

“I think you are on to something here,” Dean said. “First of all it is trumped up vitriol. Trumped up vitriol at election time is pretty effective. And I the Republicans have done a good job doing what they’re doing. I obviously don’t approve of it, but I do think it’s a mistake to run away from who you are in an election. I think Alison Lundergan Grimes is a great candidate. She has done very well. If she doesn’t win this race — you can’t embrace the president in Kentucky. He lost by 25 or 30 points to Mitt Romney. But you can stand up for you who you are. And you can say the president has done some things I like and some things I don’t like. Here’s what I believe.”

“That’s what you got to do,” he continued. “If we don’t win on next a week from Tuesday, which I think we may still. I’m not giving up on that. But if which don’t, it will be because people didn’t say who they were him you can’t allow your race to be about President Obama. You can’t get out of that by saying, ‘Oh the president is not on the ballot.’ The president is on the ballot and the Republicans have done a great job putting him on the ballot. You have got to fight through for who you are and show some backbone. That’s what people want more than anything else in politicians.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor

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