God bless Howard Dean. Yes, I'm talking about that Howard Dean who screeched his way out of the 2004 Democratic nomination, which, by the way, was so distorted by the media and not at all how his spirited speech came across to those that were there.
The Democratic Party is in trouble. It's as clear as can be, and until Dean's name was floated to head up the DNC, I had little hope as to how the party was going to regenerate and get out of their present quagmire.
I fully maintain that the presidential election was the Democrats to lose. I would bet that at least 20% of people who voted for Bush did not in fact cast a vote of confidence for W, but were so confused as to what Kerry would do, they were afraid of "changing horses in midstream." I heard that phrase many, many times while canvassing for the DNC, and my stock answer was,"Well, if you're in a war, don't you want a fresh horse who's had rest to help finish what you've started?" Sometimes, people considered that, but mostly, they were afraid of Kerry and couldn't connect with him or his ideas.
Howard Dean was the primary darling until the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. What happened with Dean was simple. He didn't make for an attractive candidate for the Democrats, and the Republicans were shit scared of the huge following he had and the fact that he could galvanize untold amounts of money and support like no candidate seen in recent years.
So, they both basically cut him loose. When "the scream heard round the world" hit the media, that was it. They both found an excuse to portray him as the unglued, unstable candidate, and his fate was sealed.
His supporters were left with all of this excitement that he stirred and were then forced to throw their lot in with John Kerry, a vastly inferior candidate in terms of making people care, but a "safe" choice, that was electable.
I am thoroughly excited that Dean has decided to forget how screwed he got by Democrats and offer his brand of moxy to the DNC chair position. He is the kind of man, if everything goes as it should, can return that excitement and hope back to the party.
No more sour grapes about how the election was lost, no more "anyone but Bush" rhetoric; Dean can get us back to the grassroots level, that level that makes people remember why they care about this country in this first place. He can bring us back to why people choose to be Democrats rather than why they choose against being Republicans.
We have a party to be proud of, and it's time we started demonstrating why. You go, Howard Dean, and you can scream all you want.
7 comments:
funny you use moxy to discribe dean (moxy was actually invented in maine, it's a soft drink that tastes like shoe leather and it's said it takes moxy to drink moxy), i can think of many other adjectives that are more suitable to the descrition. but this isn't a dean hit piece. i fully support dean, always have, always will. no other man could better symbolize the fundamental cracks in the democratic base. although dean may appeal to the largest sect of kooky leftist socialist wierdos his party has to offer it will never translate into a victory. when one is at the helm of a hodge podge alliance of minorities it is near impossible to set a common course and continue toward mutual goals. the DNC has no mutual goals because it's a group made of fringe elements of tree huggers, gay rights activists, welfare dependents, and the anti war crowd. oh, and the pro baby killers are mixed into the lot as well. with such a diverse mix of members dean surely faces an uphill battle. but it's going to make for good tv. i wonder who will be voted off the island first, dean or hillary? stay tuned.
See, I think that's where you Republicans are going to get bitten in the ass, misjudging what Dean can do for the party. He didn't fully have an opportunity before, but even just his fundraising abilities left a mark that won't soon be forgotten.
The beauty of Dean is not that he only appeals to the "kooks," but that he gets those that have previously been disenfranchised by politicans engaged. He can bring out the college students and the hybrid car owners, etc..What I find amusing about your little rant is that Dean can bring out the liberal equivalent of the "moral base" of the Republican Party that the Democratic Party had dismissed, so the flip side will be major support from the "kooks" that you Republicans dismiss. Keep up the cockiness, by all means.
this is a center-right country. despite the large dollor amounts donated by pony-tailed 60's throw backs it can't be over looked that the DNC has a shrinking following. 40 years ago 22 senators came from the south, now only 3 hale from that republican stronghold. your party is moving almost exclusively to major urban centers on the coasts leaving much more 'fly over country' to the republicans. as the population contiues to age the DNC looses more and more of it's 'old' base. those raised in the 40's and 50's still vote democratic because they remember the DNC for what it was, the working man's party. Kennedy was the last man to represent those ideals and lead a party that truely was for the average american. but somewhere between now and then the ideals changed and all that remians is on the fringes of what was once considered to be all american. would kennedy support gay marriage? would he have been in favor of the war in iraq? if kennedy were alive today he'd be a leader, but in the republican party. howard dean is no kennedy.
I certainly never said that Howard Dean is Kennedy; nor is George Bush Ronald Reagan. I fully believe that the inspirational politicians of yesteryear are a memory, and that's a real shame, but it is what it is.
However, I still think you're wrong about the party, and I think you'll be proven so in the next three years. The following might've shrunk, but the supporters are definitely still there and waiting to be inspired into action.
I'm sorry, but I still think if the idiots within the party leave Dean alone, it will be a godsend for the party. Of course, Bill Clinton would've been ideal, but that position is too much of a figurehead position for Clinton to take it, and Hilary would be the absolute worst choice in the world. She is waaaay too polarizing a person. I think Dean will prove the detractors wrong..at least, I'm hoping..
and i'm still hoping to win powerball, but i'm not staking my future on it. but you're right about dean being a godsend...thank you god....
I'm telling you, you're wrong, but keep up the smugness.
It'll make it that much sweeter when you have to eat your words.
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