Howard Dean Taken To Woodshed

Dem Senators Caution Party Chairman About His Rhetoric

(CBS/AP)  Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean was on the receiving end of some criticism from Senate Democrats at a private meeting Thursday on Capitol Hill.

Dean's recent high-octane attacks on the Republican Party have been panned by some senators on both sides of the aisle.

That criticism continued at the meeting of Democratic senators. The session had been previously called to discuss party strategy, but a number of senators took the opportunity to caution Dean.

The party chairman has come under fire for recent comments, including his observation that Republicans are "pretty much a white, Christian party." The former Vermont governor also raised eyebrows when he told a group of progressives that Republicans "never made an honest living in their lives."

While these comments have resonated with the party's liberal base, they have also caused discomfort for moderate Democrats, especially those from Republican states.

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, one of the party's up-and-coming stars, complained to the Los Angeles Times that Dean has not adopted "…the kind of tone a lot of the Democratic governors in mostly Republican states are using to get elected or to govern."