Howard Dean Apologizes To Veterans For 'American Sniper' Comments

Sam Levine
Updated

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) apologized to military veterans on Tuesday for his recent comments linking audiences for the film "American Sniper" to angry tea party enthusiasts.

Appearing on "Real Time With Bill Maher" last week, Dean said that there was maybe "a lot of intersection" between people seeing the movie and the tea party.

"There's a lot of anger in this country. And the people who go see this movie are people who are very angry," Dean said. "This guy basically says, 'I'm going to fight on your side.' They bite for it."

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The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, tells the story of Chris Kyle, who may have been the deadliest military sniper in U.S. history. Kyle was killed in 2013 by another veteran. The film has been nominated for several Academy Awards, including best picture.

After criticism from conservatives, including actor Gary Sinise, Dean apologized, acknowledging he hadn't seen the movie.

“I’ll apologize to the veterans. I haven’t seen the movie and I think I was wrong,” Dean said on the MSNBC show "Hardball." "I make no apologies to all of the right-wing nut-jobs that have been twittering me in nasty language, but I do apologize to the veterans.

"We owe them a lot and I think this movie was much more nuanced than I thought."

The film has been criticized for its portrayal of war, notably by filmmaker Michael Moore.

An Ecological Man

"You are an -- an ecological man. Why would you want to drive that around?"
"You are an -- an ecological man. Why would you want to drive that around?"

Biden Zinger

"You're crazy, you're absolutely crazy. You're getting as bad as Biden. Of course we all now Biden is the intellect of the Democratic party."
"You're crazy, you're absolutely crazy. You're getting as bad as Biden. Of course we all now Biden is the intellect of the Democratic party."

Don't Mention Romney's Law Degree

"I think attorneys are so busy -- you know they're always taught to argue everything, and always weight everything -- weigh both sides. They are always devil's advocating this and bifurcating this and bifurcating that. You know all that stuff."
"I think attorneys are so busy -- you know they're always taught to argue everything, and always weight everything -- weigh both sides. They are always devil's advocating this and bifurcating this and bifurcating that. You know all that stuff."

Hot-Dogging It

"There are a lot of conservative people, a lot of moderate people, Republicans, Democrats, in Hollywood. It is just that the conservative people by the nature of the word itself play closer to the vest. They do not go around hot-dogging it."
"There are a lot of conservative people, a lot of moderate people, Republicans, Democrats, in Hollywood. It is just that the conservative people by the nature of the word itself play closer to the vest. They do not go around hot-dogging it."

You Know? You Don't.

"I mean, what do you say to people? Do you just -- you know -- I know -- people were wondering -- you don't -- handle that OK."
"I mean, what do you say to people? Do you just -- you know -- I know -- people were wondering -- you don't -- handle that OK."

Whose War Was That Anyway?

"But you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean -- you thought that was something worth doing. We didn't check with the Russians to see how they did there for the 10 years."
"But you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean -- you thought that was something worth doing. We didn't check with the Russians to see how they did there for the 10 years."

Possibly, Maybe Time For Romney?

"Whenever interest they have is not strong enough, and I think possibly now it may be time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem."
"Whenever interest they have is not strong enough, and I think possibly now it may be time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem."

Tell Romney

"What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. I can't tell him to do that to himself."
"What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. I can't tell him to do that to himself."

Maybe Use A Plane

"And I think it's that time. And I think if you just step aside and Mr. Romney can kind of take over. You can maybe still use a plane."
"And I think it's that time. And I think if you just step aside and Mr. Romney can kind of take over. You can maybe still use a plane."

Mental Masochists

"What I'm saying, we do not have to be mental masochists and vote for somebody that we don't really even want in office just because they seem to be nice guys or maybe not so nice guys."
"What I'm saying, we do not have to be mental masochists and vote for somebody that we don't really even want in office just because they seem to be nice guys or maybe not so nice guys."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.