North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy is accusing Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean of overstepping his bounds, saying the former presidential candidate should not give up on the war in Iraq. "My words to Howard Dean are simple - shut up," Pomeroy told WDAY Radio in North Dakota on Thursday.Pomeroy later told the Associated Press that he is tired "of the overblown rhetoric on both sides. We have young men and women with their lives on the line," he added. "The debate has fallen far short of what they deserve."
Pomeroy said Dean wasn't representing Democrats like him when he discussed the war. "He is not hired to make major policy announcements on behalf of all the Democrats," Pomeroy said. "As our party chairman I believe he needs to focus on the nuts and bolts of winning elections."
A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee declined to comment on Pomeroy's remarks.
Pomeroy, who has visited Iraq three times, said he believes the United States must stay in the country for now to achieve progress on national security, the creation of a stable government and the establishment of a functioning economy.
Can we have 1968 again? (Though without the assassinations.)