Howard Dean has always been an impressive figure to me. He’s always been one of those guys that as a conservative I actually fear him a little. Not so much in his 2004 run, where just got way too angry and partisan, but as DNC chair he was certainly a thorn in our sides and dealt us some pretty big defeats.
Is anyone on the Democratic side interested in Dean as chairman again? For those who don’t know, he is running for the position, so this is not a speculative thread:
Hell, I’d have voted for him instead of Trump or Hillary. Not that I am the DNC’s target demographic…
Neat. So all is forgiven for the “Rarrrrhh!?”
After watching it again, it seems really mild for something that, at the time, was deemed to wreck his political career. Weird.
It wasn’t even the roar, it was just such an awkward sound. If it had been a real roar I think it might not have been so funny. But no, it’s not a big deal, it’s nothing, and his campaign was already sinking at that point. Dean ran a campaign that succeeded in getting a small state governor no one had heard of attention, but it was just not going to work in a general election and I think most Democratic primary voters had figured that out.
But make no mistake, this is one brilliant man. He would have made an excellent President had he gotten the chance. Party chairs usually aren’t all that bright or competent, they are usually just tools of the party leadership. But Dean got a chance because the party was leaderless and now it’s leaderless again.
I absolutely support Howard Dean for DNC chair. The worst thing that the Democratic Party could do is listen to Bernie Sanders and install Keith Ellison as DNC chair. The British Labour Party made an awful mistake in running to the left and appointed Jeremy Corbyn as leader. Try to appease the so-called progressives in the Democratic Party by appointing a Muslim congressman who probably couldn’t even win a statewide race in Minnesota is suicide by purity test.
It is a perfect indicator of the different standards the left and the right have. Dean makes a slightly weird sound, it’s over. Trump spends two years as a sizzling racist cow patty, President-Elect, bitches!
Mr Ellison, the Lutheran Muslim, is my representative, and he doesn’t deserve this shit. I think Dean’s strategy approaches are sound, in my estimation. So, whomever gets to be DNC, I certainly hope they reflect that approach, in which case, it doesn’t matter who the person is, it only matters who’s ideas they are using.
Either candidate would be terrific. I’ve met Dean and admire Ellison. In the end, I’d go with Dean.
BTW, they’re both progressives. This isn’t a centrist vs progressive thing.
Yeah, but even on the progressive scale, Ellison is well to the left of Dean. Plus Dean comes from a governors’ perspective, so he’s been a critic of the management of federal programs, which can make him sound like a conservative at times. Ellison’s never run anything, so he can be purer.
As a Muslim, Ellison’s many criticisms of Trump/GOP policies would likely provoke Trump more than Dean’s would, making him look less presidential and hurting his reelection chances.
Just for shirts and giggles, can you tell us precisely what about Ellison makes him more “progressive” on the Adaher Scale of Leftitude?
We could start with gun control, where Dean is an A+ and Ellison an F according go the NRA.
Sidebar: what’s a Lutheran Muslim? It seems an oxymoron.
Its a Minnesota thing, you wouldn’t understand.
It’s Islam with covered dishes.
To me, the main thing is going back to the 50-state strategy. In 2004, it was clear that we didn’t just lose a Presidential election, we also sucked all the way down to state legislatures. With an assist from GWB, to be sure, the 50-state strategy reversed that.
But ever since we ditched the 50-state strategy at the beginning of 2009, the Dems’ electoral fortunes have eroded from the bottom up. In the states, we’re in much worse shape than we were after the 2004 elections. Now that we’ve lost the Presidency, we don’t have nothin’.
I’d feel more comfortable with Dean since he’s already done this. And I also agree that the DNC chair should be full-time DNC, and not in Congress or with some other major responsibility elsewhere.
ETA: I think where Dean and Ellison are on the political spectrum is less important than how effective they are in the work of the DNC - organizing, messaging, and decisions on which candidates to support with money. Again, the fact that Dean’s already been there and done well is a big point in his favor.
There’s one aspect of the 50 state strategy that won’t work a second time though: nominating Democrats for Senate and House who talk one way home and vote another way in DC. A new 50 state strategy either gives into the red states by giving them conservative Democrats in the Manchin mold or works hard to promote mainstream Democratic values.
Ya think? Boy, pretty deep there, addy.
Well, Dean actually thought the 2006 strategy was sustainable. I guess he never figured on Reid, Obama, and Pelosi making 70 Democrats he worked hard to recruit take one for the team.
addy? What in blazes are you talking about? You gotta understand, a lot of your brilliant insights look a lot like broad, sweeping statements without foundation. Hard to digest more than one of those every other day.
Just saying, more Manchin, less Landrieu.