Looks like Howard De…

Looks like Howard Dean is courting the extreme left. Look at how the centrists in his party react to him.

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean was in Phoenix Wednesday but the state’s top Democrat — Gov. Janet Napolitano– steered clear of the liberal bulldog during his Arizona visit.

Dean addressed a rally hosted by the Young Democrats of Arizona and attended by state Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson. Pederson is a shopping mall developer and is considering a challenge next year to GOP U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl.

But the head of the Democratic ticket, Napolitano, was not at the Dean appearance and had no meetings scheduled with the former Vermont governor and vanquished 2004 presidential candidate.

Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L’Ecuyer gave the obligatory scheduling conflict as the reason for no face time with Dean. Napolitano was in Mesa Wednesday morning, appeared on the local National Public Radio affiliate for a lunchtime interview and was scheduled to meet with high-tech and business executives this afternoon regarding the “sales factor” tax cut bill.

The Democratic governor has thrived politically in Republican-oriented Arizona by appealing to moderate voters and portraying herself as a pro-business, centrist. Napolitano is up for re-election next year and could face a challenge from U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona or Marilyn Quayle, the wife of former vice president Dan Quayle.

The governor has avoided getting mixed in with the more left-wing, Michael Moore/MoveOn factions of the Democratic Party. Napolitano did not endorse Dean or another Democratic presidential hopeful last year until after Sen. John Kerry won the Arizona primary and had essentially secured the nomination.

They’re running away from Dean, who’s supposed to be rallying the troops. Maybe it’s because of nuttiness like this:

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean extended the American tradition of presumption of innocence to terror kingpin Osama bin Laden, but reiterated today that Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay – who has neither been indicted nor convicted – is “guilty.”
…
“I’ve resisted pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found,” Dean said during the 2004 Democratic primary campaign. “I still have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials.”

That was then, this is now.

On Saturday, in an address to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention, Dean said DeLay ”ought to go back to Houston where he can serve his jail sentence,” referring to allegations of unethical conduct against the GOP leader.

Today, the Democratic chief reiterated his comments – which were condemned by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. – telling the Arizona Republic: “There’s corruption at the highest level of the Republican Party, and they’re going to have to face up to that one of these days, because the law is closing in on Tom DeLay.

“I think he’s guilty … of taking trips paid for by lobbyists, and of campaign-finance violations during his manipulation of the Texas election process.”

So much for being old-fashioned.

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