A dispute over gun control between John Kerry and Howard Dean moved on to the subject of civil rights Saturday, as the Massachusetts senator chided his presidential rival for declaring, "I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks."
Kerry proclaimed that the statement, made by Dean on Friday as the two clashed over gun issues, was both insensitive racially and "a level of pandering for votes that is devoid of principle."
In a telephone interview from Iowa, where he was campaigning, Kerry added: "Howard Dean is fast becoming the say-anything-to-get-elected candidate. . . . He's shifting fundamental positions to get votes. It says little about 'straight talk' and even less about principles."
A Dean aide dismissed the criticism, saying that Dean had previously used Confederate flag imagery in his speechmaking and that his comment was not about race, but broadening the field of potential Democratic voters.
"We can't beat George Bush unless we appeal to a broad cross-section," said Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright. She said Dean is reaching out to "white Southern workers who have been voting Republican for 30 years and have nothing to show for it."
Other candidates joined Kerry in criticizing Dean on Saturday.
Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, for example, called Dean's remark "nothing short of offensive."
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where do I get my Dean posters, Ice? [/u]
