There is always hope when the Democrats showcase Howard Dean. Hope for the GOP, that is. You would think the Dems would make an all out effort to muzzle this goofball. Howard Dean compares Katherine Harris to Stalin during stop in WPB By Josh Hafenbrack South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted July 26 2006, 5:20 PM EDT West Palm Beach -- Democrat leader Howard Dean called the Iraqi prime minister an "anti-Semite" during an address before party loyalists on Wednesday, drawing a swift rebuke from Republicans. The Democratic National Committee chairman also called Republican Senate candidate Katherine Harris a "crook" and compared her to Stalin. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who addressed a joint session of Congress Wednesday, came under fire from Democrats for recent comments on the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah. Al-Maliki hasn't condemned Hezbollah, but he criticized the "Israeli aggression." "The president made a big deal about bringing the Iraqi prime minister to address Congress," said Dean, the former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential candidate. "The Iraqi prime minister is an anti-Semite. We don't need to spend $200, $300, $500 billion bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself." Dean spoke for before the Democratic Professionals Forum Wednesday in West Palm Beach. Republican National Committee spokesman Danny Diaz responded: "It is incredibly troubling that Howard Dean would defend the presumption of innocence of a terrorist like Osama bin Laden, yet attack the democratically-elected prime minister of Iraq." He was referring to a comment Dean made in 2003. Dean also had a harsh assessment of Harris, a U.S. House member trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. "Thank God for Bill Nelson, because we'd have another crook in the United States Senate if it weren't for him. He is going to beat the pants off Katherine Harris," Dean said during his 20-minute address. "She doesn't understand that it's…improper to be chairman of a campaign and count the votes at the same time. This is not Russia and she is not Stalin." The Harris campaign called the comments "unfortunate."