Last week, front-running Democratic presidential candidate hopeful Howard Dean inflamed his party by saying he wanted to be the candidate for “guys with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks.”

This remark — for which Dean has admitted could have been stated more eloquently — was an appeal to poor white Southerners who would benefit from Democratic reforms but who have recently voted Republican. It was not, as Dean’s fellow candidates have tried to imply, an appeal to racism or a condescending generalization of Southerners. In misinterpreting Dean’s statement and attacking him on it, the other Democratic candidates have ignored an important issue in this presidential campaign and resorted to divisive mudslinging and spin doctoring.

Republican economic policies like the Bush tax cut and the privatization of health and social programs obviously benefit the wealthy of the country, while leaving the middle and lower classes unaffected, if not worse off. Despite this, the party has successfully marketed itself through a variety of means to poor Southern white voters. Not least of these marketing techniques has been the championing of the Confederate flag and its imbedded racism.

During the 2002 elections, Republicans fought Democrats for the preservation of the Confederate flag (and its racist tradition) atop the South Carolina statehouse and on the Georgia state flag, an emotional appeal that won over many voters despite a platform that did nothing for them.

In his statement, Dean was not appealing to the implied racism of the flag, but trying to reclaim the poor white Southern segment of the electorate for the party that actually represents their economic interests. The easiest way to reach this segment, as already shown by the Republicans, is through their most recognizable symbol.

There is no doubt the other Democratic candidates realized this. But instead of acknowledging the meaning of Dean’s statement — the importance of the white Southern vote — they attacked the ineloquence of the statement itself, a move that illustrates the potentially disastrous disunity within the party. Reaching out to Southern voters should be a key issue to all Democrats’ campaigns and could be a great strength for whichever hopeful wins the nomination.

By attempting to reach out to white Southern voters, Howard Dean made an admirable effort to expand the Democratic support base. That he exercised poor judgment in using a racially charged symbol to make that effort should not be held against him, especially by Democrats who will benefit from the votes.