Well, well, well. So much for the Republicans thinking that Dean will be easy to beat. They've launched one of their most vicious attack dogs against him. Tom Delay issued a press release today calling Dean "a cruel and extremist demagogue" because Dean questioned Ashcroft's patriotism.

Ha. HAHAHAHA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Remember, Ashcroft is the same guy who told Congress that anyone who wouldn't go along with his latest anti-COnstitutional scheme was aiding the terrorists. Now who's cruel and extremist?) I think, Tom, that those words don't mean what you think they mean.

Dean for America Communications Director Tricia Enright responded: "The narrow ideological agenda of the Delay-Ashcroft wing of the Republican Party threatens basic American freedoms that have been enshrined in the Constitution for over 200 years. Those policies are not only extreme, they are cruel." This nonsense from Delay just goes to show me that the Republicans can dish it out (as they have done for years and years -- read some of the books in the sidebar here for evidence) but like most bullies, they can't handle it when someone stands up to them and calls a spade a goddamn spade! Whiners.

In the meantime, during John Kerry's announcement speech this morning, 1,000 people signed up to MeetUp for Dean tomorrow night. As of this writing, more than 101,600 are on Dean's MeetUp list.