Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
(snip)"The election of Dean, an early and fierce critic of the Iraq war and Bush during his Democratic presidential primary campaign, runs counter to the advice of some Democrats that the party should adopt a more moderate approach that would broaden its appeal in the South and West.
But even Democrats who supported some of Dean's rivals -- all of whom have dropped out of the race for chairman -- have adjusted to the idea of Dean at the top.
"There has been some anxiety about him in a lot of states, not just Alabama," said Alabama Democratic executive director Jim Spearman, who originally supported party activist Donnie Fowler.
"He wasn't my first choice, but what he brings with new ideas and his ability to build up the grass roots could sell well in Alabama and rural areas everywhere," Spearman said."(snip)
IMHO this is very good news ...... for republicans !
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
Any democrat that thinks an ultra-liberal from the northeast is going to help them win back the red states is sorely mistaken. I predict that this marks the beginning of a long period of minority status for the democrats.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
I disagree completely.
Dem leaders need to get back to the heart of what the party stands for--- I heard a fair amount of complaints by Dems that Kerry was not different enough for them compared to Bush (not something I myself felt- Kerry was differnt in alot of ways that I care about) and that they would rather stick with the person they knew rather than take a chance on a new guy in the middle of a war.
Dean had tremedous support up until the primary (the scream which was taken out of context COMPLETELY- the mic sound was turned up and background sound turned waaaay down for TV broadcasting- typical dirty political trick- Grr.) more support by far than any other person, including Bush at that time. He changed the way campaigning is done and really brought fwd the power of the internet. Dean energized ALOT of voters and that is what the party needs more than anything right now.
People need to be brought out of the cult like fog that Rove and Bush had cast over the country and be reminded why Dems are 100,000,000 % better (imo) for "the people" than the current Repub leadership.
I think Dean has what it takes to do that job.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
Dean certainly can't do worse then McAuliffe; he was an agitative, reality challenged lunatic that only kept his job as long as he did because he could get Hollywood elitists to donate large sums of cash to the party. The DNC lost so many seats under his command. I remember laughing at my TV during the 2002 midterm elections when he said on MSNBC that they'd take back the House and Senate. The guy is completely out of touch with any reality outside of NYC or LA.
Dean isn't as liberal as he has been made out to be, either. His record in Vermont--a state with equally and curiously strong liberal and libertarian tendencies--is relatively liberal, not stridently socialist or neo-Marxist. That was a reflection of his political reality there, sure, but the man strikes me as no dumb ass. He knows how to campaign. He knows how to raise funds. He knows how to energize large swaths of voters and obtain free press coverage. But he still scares Middle America to some extent.
The continuing problem for the DNC will be what it's been since the Dukakis campaign; no serious effort or strategic plan to create a political platform that is broad enough to invite voters that are not socioeconomic elitists:
--Lower and middle class voters (particularly white males and parents)
--Small business owners and employers
--Active-duty military members and veterans
--Religious or faith-oriented voters
--Gun owners
--Entreprenuers
While they still have the vote of the Black Monolith locked up--despite 60 years of questionable progress using that "strategy," the DNC is losing the youth vote with each passing election, as college campuses become increasingly populated with conservative and libertarian students who are excellent at organizing and are well-funded by private lobbying groups. As the populations of Red states increase while Blue states stagnate, this trend will continue. The South used to be entirely Democratic; now it is a virtually unassailable GOP stronghold--and that only took 20 years to happen. The DNC continues to ridicule traditional American values and alienate people of Judeo-Christian faiths--in a nation with some of the highest religious activism in the world--and they do so at their own peril. The demographic trends are not in the favor of the DNC currently and they know it.
Dean could be very good for the DNC if his political savvy takes them where they really need to go, but don't want to--more to the center of political thinking with an emphasis on pragmatism not dogmatism.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
I can certainly respect a party that will be true to it's beliefs and not try to soft-sell them to win votes. However, "the heart of what the party stands for" has not been something most of middle-america is willing to embrace.
CO, perhaps Dean isn't as liberal as he's been made out to be. However, for most people living in red states any liberal from the northeast is an ultra-liberal. ;D
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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Which is what the heart of the Democratic party is truely about.
If that were the case, they'd win every election. Diebold, Halliburton and other ALCOA conspiracies aside, they aren't doing it.
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However, for most people living in red states any liberal from the northeast is an ultra-liberal.
Correct. This is why Giuliani can never run for president, for example. And it's a shame for the GOP, really, since some of the best candidates could come out of the northeast.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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Originally Posted by Casual Observer
Correct. This is why Giuliani can never run for president, for example. And it's a shame for the GOP, really, since some of the best candidates could come out of the northeast.
Socially moderate (or by some standards liberal), FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE Republicans. A dying breed nowadays.
I'm sure the political machine could figure out a way to parlay Guiliani's 9/11 exposure to make him a viable candidate.
Melonie, I think you forget that Howard Dean really galvanized people and changed the face of modern campaigning.
That kind of underestimation is very good news - for Democrats! ;)
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
Post World War II Presidents:
Truman. Missouri. 8 years.
Eisenhower, Kansas. 8 years.
Kennedy, Massachusetts. 4 years elected, 3 served.
Johnson, Texas. 7 years.
Nixon, California. 5 years.
Ford, Michigan. 3 years, not elected.
Carter, Georgia. 4 years.
Reagan, California. 8 years.
Bush, Texas mostly. 4 years.
Clinton, Arkansas. 8 years.
Bush, Texas. 5 years so far.
About 60 years of Presidents. 4 of them by a Northeast guy (Kennedy). There was one other true Northerner who was President, Ford, and he wasn't elected.
Let's look at the Northern/Northeast guys who didn't make it.
Dewey.
Stevenson. Twice.
Humphrey.
Ford, who was defeated when he did try.
Mondale.
Dukakis.
Kerry.
Northern states, with candidates more to the liberal side within each party, are 1 for 8, and the 1 was a squeaker.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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I don't know about that Destiny- I have a hard time buying into the idea that middle America isn't into jobs, education, healthcare etc. etc.
Which is what the heart of the Democratic party is truely about.
Well, if you're talking about affirmative action jobs and civil service jobs, if you're talking about educational institutions with Professors like Ward Churchill filling the minds of the young with "America should cease to exist" or which spend $14k per year per student to graduate illiterates, and if you're talking about healthcare where smokers must pay a big premium while gay men (and soon their spouses) must be provided immensely expensive HIV/AIDS healthcare without a premium, then I agree with you that this is what the Red states think Democrats are all about ! Blue state middle class taxpayers are also starting to get this message along with the higher tax bill.
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Melonie, I think you forget that Howard Dean really galvanized people and changed the face of modern campaigning.
Agreed - Howard Dean definitely galvanized the liberal fringe ! He also wound up galvanizing a lot of southern state middle of the roaders to support GWB.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
"Let's look at the Northern/Northeast guys who didn't make it...."
Tsk, Zeno! You left out George McGovern.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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Originally Posted by Melonie
if you're talking about healthcare where smokers must pay a big premium while gay men (and soon their spouses) must be provided immensely expensive HIV/AIDS healthcare without a premium, then I agree with you that this is what the Red states think Democrats are all about ! Blue state middle class taxpayers are also starting to get this message along with the higher tax bill.
There is that discrimination thing again.
Fact-
All smokers are at risk.
Fact-
Not ALL gay people are at risk for HIV.
If you didn't have that discrimination thing going on you'd understand the logic there. Sadly, as we have all seen over the many months of posting together you don't get it --- and you've made it crystal clear why.
:-X
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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Originally Posted by myssi
"Let's look at the Northern/Northeast guys who didn't make it...."
Tsk, Zeno! You left out George McGovern.
I considered him, Myssi, but I actually think of South Dakota as more rural West than industrial North. But if you do include him, yes, a case of a well-meaning but very liberal guy who lost by a landslide, making the ratio 1-9. Personally, though, I think of him as more West.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
Well, Humphrey was actually born in South Dakota... Stevenson was born in Los Angeles.
Ford was born in Nebraska. South Dakota is north of all those birthplaces.
South Dakota is as far north as Minnesota or Michigan and more north than Illinois (Stevenson's
state). But if 'industrial' is part of the equation, then okay you win.
Your point was a great one though.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
Not to drag this out unduly, but I understand what you're saying, Myssi. For instance, George H.W. Bush was born in Massachusetts. I was relating this on the basis of their political environments. George Bush I got his start after he moved to Texas.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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Originally Posted by Melonie
Agreed - Howard Dean definitely galvanized the liberal fringe ! He also wound up galvanizing a lot of southern state middle of the roaders to support GWB.
Yes, and no. As I'm sure you're aware, during the primaries, it's quite common for the candidates in both parties to try to appeal to the polar ends of the spectrum. Once they get the nomination, they try to move to the center as much as possible. So your assesment of Dean isn't completely accurate, since he was basically cut off at the knees and never had the chance to make his move to the center had he received the nomination.
I think most of the South going to Dubya was pretty much a given though, regardless.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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he was basically cut off at the knees and never had the chance to make his move to the center had he received the nomination.
True.
Dean was just getting started.
2008 will be interesting.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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2008 will be interesting.
Naah ... the script is already written - Hilary Clinton will get the nomination.
And this may come as a surprise to the more liberal posters here. I intend to vote for her ! Why you ask ? Because she's my senator and there doesn't seem to be any other way to get her the hell out of New York.
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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Originally Posted by Melonie
Naah ... the script is already written - Hilary Clinton will get the nomination.
And this may come as a surprise to the more liberal posters here. I intend to vote for her ! Why you ask ? Because she's my senator and there doesn't seem to be any other way to get her the hell out of New York.
I like your agenda on this one , but I would like her to stay !
Re: Howard Dean now at the helm of the DNC
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Originally Posted by Tigerlilly
I don't know about that Destiny- I have a hard time buying into the idea that middle America isn't into jobs, education, healthcare etc. etc.
Which is what the heart of the Democratic party is truely about. But here is a more detailed explanation that can be found on some Dem websites :
In keeping with our party's grand tradition, we reaffirm Jefferson's belief in individual liberty and capacity for self-government. We endorse Jackson's credo of equal opportunity for all, special privileges for none. We embrace Roosevelt's thirst for innovation and Kennedy's summons to civic duty. And we intend to carry on Clinton's insistence upon new means to achieve progressive ideals.
We believe that the promise of America is equal opportunity for all and special privilege for none. We believe that economic growth generated in the private sector is the prerequisite for opportunity, and that government's role is to promote growth and to equip Americans with the tools they need to prosper in the New Economy.
We believe that government programs should be grounded in the values most Americans share: work, family, personal responsibility, individual liberty, faith, tolerance, and inclusion.
We believe in community; that we can achieve our individual destinies only if we share a commitment to our national destiny. We believe in an ethic of mutual responsibility in which government has an obligation to create opportunity for citizens, but citizens have an obligation to give something back to the commonwealth.
We believe America has a responsibility to lead the world toward greater political and economic freedom. We believe that as advocates of activist government, we need to reinvent government so that it is both more responsive and more accountable to those it serves and to the taxpayers who pay for it.
I don't think that middle American refuses to embrace these ideas- in fact I think many Repubs have embraced alot of that ( at least in some of their rehtoric anyway- for example no child left behind) to help win over Dem voters.
* A note on the special rights term- this applies to heterosexuals who get over 1000 special rights and benefits that are denied to homosexuals.
Tigerlilly, most of the above statements pretty much sum up my own beliefs. The trouble is I never see the democratic party actually attempting to put any of the above rhetoric into practice. If I did, I would vote democrat every time.
They claim to be for individual liberty yet never met a government regulation that they didn't like. And individual liberty without personal responsibility is nothing but anarchy. If the democrats truly believe in our capacity for self government then why was the term nanny-state coined to describe thier philosphy? The democratic party is the part of special privelige. They divide america up by ethnicity and gender and award jobs and other economic benifits on that basis and call it affirmative action. Government over-regulation and high taxes do more to dampen innovation than anything else. Yet the democrats are always on the side of more regulation and higher taxes. If the Democratic party is truly open to, "new means to achieve progressive ideals." then why do they refuse to even discuss reforming social security? If democrats really think, "that economic growth generated in the private sector is the prerequisite for opportunity" then why do they allow the public sector continue to suck up so much of the country's wealth?
The biggest problem with the democratic party is they are captives of special interest groups, most notably teachers, trial lawyers and ethnic special interest groups. They are so concerned with appeasing a few members of our society they are unable to appeal to the many. The rhetoric sounds great, but I'll wait to see some actions to back it up.