It is true that GOP state parties have access to a suspiciously large amount of opposition research against Dean; over the weekend, we received e-mails from the Republican Party of Iowa and the North Carolina Republican Party featuring a list of allegedly controversial statements Dean has made.
The North Carolina e-mail starts with Dean's feigned wish to be the first gay president and the "fact" that Dean is an infrequent churchgoer.
Dean, the e-mail says, does not "share [our] values."
The New York Post's Kenneth Lovett writes of a "stunning attack" by the New York Republican Party chair on Dean and the Democrats.
"State GOP Chairman Steven Minarik, commenting on the selection of Howard Dean as the national Democratic leader, called Democrats the party of Lynne Stewart, who was convicted last week for aiding convicted terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman."
"'The Democrats simply have refused to learn the lessons of the past two election cycles, and now they can be accurately called the party of Barbara Boxer, Lynne Stewart, and Howard Dean,' Minarik said."