The Gun Counter

Howard Dean, 2008:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that he’s looking forward to one party controlling all aspects of government, despite GOP charges that it would be a disastrous Nov. 4 outcome. “Republicans had a chance to rule. They failed miserably. I think it’s time to give the other party a chance,” Dean said on MSNBC.

Howard Dean, 2005:

We need more than one party in charge. And the vote on Tuesday is going to be critical to decide whether American democracy still allows those of us who didn't vote for the president to have any say in running the country whatsoever.
[...]
Someday, the Democrats will be back in charge again. Do we want a Democratic Party that's in charge of everything? Well, you know, I suppose it's my job to say yes. But the truth is, as an American, it's better when parties share power. It's better when even those people who didn't win the election have something to say.
[...]
[There] is a culture of corruption and abuse of power in Washington. This is what happens when one party is in charge of everything.

Scott Free wrote:That, and I wish that I had a car that I could deny owning and afford to [strike]have trashed by[/strike]boobytrap with claymores and napalm for the [strike]brownshirts[/strike] [strike]hitler youth[/strike] liberals exercising their first amendment right to censor those with whom they disagree...

“And again, you can’t just have one-party rule here.”

“The point is that there have to be checks and balances here. A check and a balance does not necessarily always mean a majority vote. We have 60 votes before you can do certain kinds of spending increases. The Senate is always supposed to be, Chris, the cooling saucer.”

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer of New York today argued that in the current climate a politically divided government is a bad thing. He was seeking to counter a closing GOP argument that voters should not give Democrats control of the White House, the House and a potentially filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. “They can’t win on domestic policy; they can’t win on foreign policy; they can’t win on sort of trying to tag our candidates; so the latest theme is, ‘Oh, let’s have some balance in government. Let’s have divided government,’ ” Schumer said at a press briefing. “Our view is very simple, and that is Republican senators, Republican incumbents aren’t for checks and balances. They’re for blocking change and backing [President] Bush.”