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Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy

By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 10:38:50 AM EST
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Update: Former Dean Campaign Manager Joe Trippi endorses Simon Rosenberg

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It's official, Howard Dean has announced he's running for Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Daily Kos has his full statement.

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    Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy | 16 comments (16 topical)
    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 12:14:37 PM EST
    Aaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh!

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#2)
    by kdog on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 12:32:23 PM EST
    The infamous scream is what made me like the guy, what's wrong with a little passion? I hope he gets the chair, it might be our last hope for getting the dim-witted democratic party back on track.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 12:51:54 PM EST
    The dim wits were those who voted style over substance. They liked Dean's positions yet they voted for Kerry because he seemed more electable. When a party votes for their representative because of perceptions rather than passion, we deserve to lose to nit wits like dubya.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#4)
    by BigTex on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 01:39:38 PM EST
    If he wins, th' elephants control their destany in 06 and 08. The donkeys will win on th' national level when they want t' win. Right now they do not, and this is a perfect example o' not wanting to win. Right now the donkeys want t' talk about issues and fight rather than put together a coalition that can win in a national election. Fundamentally, the donkeya have a better vision for the country (this is coming from an elephant .) Th' donkeya seek to provide basic needs that often times th' elephants do not. Social Security, some form of health care, protecting consumers from businesses. And they will take care o' th' administration o' th' benefits, all th' herd has t' do is meet th' criteria for the benefits and they are granted as an entitlement. That's a very appealing message. So why do the donkeys lose on the national level? They lose bnecause they alienate th' conservative members of their party, and hold views that will not convince elephants t' cross over. The South used to be solid donkey because it was a socially conservative, fiscally liberal area and th' donkeys were far more socially conservative than they are now. If the donkeys would allow the states t' determine their own future on abortion and homosexual marriage they would win some southern states, which would be enough to put them over th' top. Plenty of the "evangellical" Christians would vote donkey if not fer those two issues, because fundamentally th' donkeys view matches closer with the evangellical view outside of those two issues. Dean, however, does not match those views. He will continue th' pattern o' movin' left that started when th' Sherrif won in 2000.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#5)
    by BigTex on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 01:46:17 PM EST
    One example o' what I was referrin' t'. Take national healthcare as an example issue. Moderate donkeys could craft a plan t' get some form o' national health care. Propose national prevenative and catestrophic health care insurance. It'll work with th' socially conservative elephants because o' th' desire t' help th' herd. It'll work with th' fiscal elephants becasue th' money spent in prevention and treatment will end up bein' recouped by th' increased productivity from th' herd because o' th' care given. It's a couple o' day recovery fer an angioplasty, but perminate damage, and potentially perminate loss o' productivity from a heart attack. Similar examples could be said fer breast cancer. Smaller recovery t' eliminate th' cancer before it spreads, greater, if not perminate, once it has spread. Any type o' cancer fer that matter. Th' Dean - H. Clinton - Gore wing won't compromise t' get th' system.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#6)
    by desertswine on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 02:13:19 PM EST
    Jeez Tex it's too hard to read your stuff. Donkeys, elephants, th' herd, o'cancer, th' sherrif, c'mon already.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 02:22:14 PM EST
    Appreciate your thoughtful comments, Tex but have to sort through intense irritation at having to mentally fill in the blanks. If you wouldn't mind typing an "e" at the end of th instead of an "'" (same effort, right?) I could still read your comments in your chosen vernacular (sp?) without all the excess mental exercise. Thanks for your thoughts again.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 02:41:36 PM EST
    Dean is ideal. He was anti-war before it was cool to be anti-war. As the significance of the Iraq debacle begins to take center stage in the next few months and the American public sours on Bush it will pay huge dividends to have the party led by someone who saw through Bush from the beginning. He is also strong on other issues, I think he will bring a fiscally rational policy forward that still allows for a real safety net and real affordable healthcare for the American people.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 03:48:16 PM EST
    There is an old saying about the forest and the trees that would be relevant here for Progressives who want to see a more responsive Democratic Party. I love the message that was branded "Howard Dean" and served eagerly to progressives by the Democratic Party. Whether or not I would have loved the reality of Dean v. Bush or even President Dean will never be known. What I can for certain never know also, is whether Howard's candidacy was about furthering progressive ideals or something else. Exactly what kind of influence does Howard Dean bring to the party? In what way does Dean's chairmanship diminish the power of the DLC? How exactly does a Howard Dean DNC candidacy moderate the Conservative Senate leadership? How exactly does a Howard Dean chairmanship empower a hopelessly outnumbered Progressive minority in the House? The DSCC? Is Howard Dean going to bring in a handful of super rich donors that will bankroll the Democratic Party, or is it more likely that his "branded" message will be used to solicit thousands of donations somewhere south of $100. Exactly what kind of "Access" does my $50 donation to the DNC buy for me? Exactly how does my intention to donate based on Howard's message translate into a more Progressive Democratic Party? It equals more money for the DLC, less strings attached. (Would be a great idea if not for the Corporatist-Militarist complex entrenched in the mainstream Democratic Party). Howard Dean's chairmanship is most likely a facade meant to hold onto the Progressive base. If by some miracle a truly Populist Presidential candidate emerges between now and '08, perhaps there will be a synergy of ideals between the Party and the Campaign that could together break through the clouded judgment of hypnotized Americans - but I won't hold my breath. Greed, fear, and bigotry are powerful motivators and the Conservative propagandists have all of the bullhorns at present. Dean may be a great guy. The message he "branded" was great. But at most, a Dean DNC Chair will (1) improve national party focus on regional politics and (2) attempt to improve the fundraising focus of the DNC. At least, it is a cosmetic stirring of the pot that allows Al From, Will Marshall, and the other Corporatists to define the ideals of the Democratic "Government-in-Waiting" while shoring up the base. My response: If Howard isn't truly Progressive, then it is just another DLC manipulation and "whatever". But, if Howard truly has a Progressive agenda in his heart, then he should pass on the job and find better ways to influence our political system.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 04:06:16 PM EST
    Th' Dean - H. Clinton - Gore wing won't compromise t' get th' system. Definitional Assumption. It is the barrier that stands between someone like you and someone like me working together to accomplish anything with regard to political action. With regard to Healthcare - Dean, Kerry, Gore, and Clinton (either Clinton) have/had significantly different plans. I recognize the difference between Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, and GWB -- why can't you?

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#11)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 05:03:46 PM EST
    The South used to be solid donkey because it was a socially conservative, fiscally liberal area and th' donkeys were far more socially conservative than they are now. Umm Hello Tex...let's take a trip back to reality for a second and realize that the Democrats fell outta favor down South as soon as they started going along with DESEGREGATION. Republicans prior to that time were the party of the Northern elitists that had imposed Reconstruction on the defeated Confederacy, and hence the "Yellow Dog Democrats" that would vote for anything besides the hated party that had demoralized the South by letting Black people vote for a while in the 1870s. The real demolition of the modern Democratic party started when Bill Clinton sold out the Democratic core in 1993 by pushing NAFTA. The result was the 1994 midterm elections when the Democratic core voters stayed home, and the Democrats have remained a minority since due to their lack of allegience to working people. Why vote for a party that kowtows to the same big money interests as the bad guys? Grassroot organizing and fundraising MUST wean the DNC off the corporate money teat if the Democrats have any hope of becoming a force again. Dean has the credentials to start this process.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 11, 2005 at 11:25:01 PM EST
    Finally! Now the Dems can get that Support for Zionist Assassinations of Palestinians plank Dean and Kerry so very much want. Keep stacking up those losses, Dems!

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jan 12, 2005 at 05:22:12 AM EST
    Dean has done more to expose the asinine nature of liberalism, than Ronald Reagan and the entire Bush family combined. Keep up the good work Howie.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jan 12, 2005 at 08:30:24 AM EST
    yeah, i hate to quibble - but i really think that in order to 'wean the dnc off the teat of corporate money' there needs to be a desire to be weaned. and i am not yet convinced that there is anyone in the democratic party (other than consituents) who wishes to be weaned. as alanis morrisette said, 'it's easier not to'. dean is intriguing, and i really want to believe what he says. but i am not ready to trust him yet. he's gotta prove it. i liken it to dating. when you've had your heart broken by liars and cheats for several years, it's really hard to buy that the new suitor isn't a liar and a cheat. no matter how good his pitch is.

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jan 12, 2005 at 04:18:58 PM EST
    "The dim wits" They are NOT. You ignore the death of Wellstone and the federal-anthrax attack on Daschle and others. You ignore the Valerie Plame outing, and the thuggery of Bush's fascist appeals to the worst in human beings. " were those who voted style over substance. They liked Dean's positions yet they voted for Kerry because he seemed more electable." Kerry had seniority; Kerry WON the election; Kerry outed USPNAC policy and repudiated it (in the first debate, where he handed Bush his hat); Kerry is an honorable American who would make an excellent president, and is the current leader of the party. If you don't like Democrats, why don't you become another third-wheel purist. The rest of us will continue to support our party, and try to improve it. I don't blame Dems. I BLAME BUSH "When a party votes for their representative because of perceptions rather than passion, we deserve to lose to nit wits like dubya." We did not lose. They STOLE THE ELECTION. We CAUGHT Triad in Ohio changing the tabulation machines statewide to prevent a legal recount. We CAUGHT Ohio's Katherine pulling every dirty trick in the book, and running from expected supoenas. Circular firing squad rhetoric makes Karl Rove grin. Being so fey as to require purity from representatives is TRULY to live in a fairy land, kelite. Like any human being, our representatives have their moments, good and bad. To litmus test them with an ax in your other hand is immature. And we don't have time for that. SOLIDARITY. -

    Re: Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jan 12, 2005 at 04:45:14 PM EST
    who's "alanis morrisette?"

    Howard Dean Announces DNC Chair Candidacy | 16 comments (16 topical)