The beginning of the Howard Dean era, and the resurgence of the Democratic National Committee as the driver of the party.
Feb 2nd, 2005 by jimmoore
Well, finally we will have someone at the national level who is willing to stand for something,
and who will be able to articulate the issues, raise important
questions, and expand and make more inclusive the discussions and
actions that follow.
Bravo to the Democratic National Committee members for seeing that a
change is needed, and that Howard Dean is the only nationally-known
Democrat who sparks excitement with ordinary Americans like you and me.
metaphorically–having a big tent with no tent-poles is not worth very
much.
Bravo to the DNC members for realizing that teaching Nancy Pelosi to “speak Evangelical” is a losing proposition.
Bravo to the DNC members for realizing–belatedly–that the DLC should
not be allowed to continue to dominate party discussions.
are responsible for an unbroken string of larger and larger
congressional and presidential losses over the past decade.
The DLC is a loser. The
2004 campaign needs to be seen clearly for what it was: the faithful
execution of a DLC-inspired strategy of pretending to be Republicans in
order to win elections. And the 2004 campaign’s result was a resounding, humiliating defeat.
The disastrous 2004 DLC/Kerry campaign consumed millions of hours of volunteer time, the political
careers of John Kerry, probably John Edwards, and a host of other
candidates who signed onto a DLC strategy that was both cynical and doomed.
The DLC/Kerry strategy directly caused the waste
of almost a billion dollars of hard-wrought contributions by people
like you and me–jading many and setting the stage for difficult
fundraising days ahead.
The 2004 DLC strategy was flawlessly executed in the Kerry
campaign. The strategy failed. The strategy sacrificed
integrity and authenticy and creativity in the service of winning
at all costs. People rallied around the cry, “anyone who can beat
Bush” suppressing their best political instincts in the service of
unity.
The result of the strategy of seeking to win at all costs? The strategy
failed. We lost. This is a fact. This is the
undisputable result. The DLC strategy was touted by its backers
as justified because it would win. It lost. The validation of the strategy
was to be in its victory. The strategy was put to a fair
test. It lost. We lost.
Bravo to the DNC for reasserting its leadership over the party.
The Democratic National Committee directs the party, not executives of
the small self-interested think tank that is the DLC. The
Democratic National Committee is the most representative leadership
group that the party has. It is not perfect, but it is broad and
it is pragmatic and with the choice of Howard Dean it is proving to be
bold and creative as well..
So now we have a chance to begin again together.
strong staff. Seasoned Democratic leaders will be called to
help him, and they will respond. This will set up a very
different dynamic than in the presidential campaign, when most seasoned
leaders conspired to weaken and defeat him. Howard at the edge of
the party was remarkably effective, and he alone has emerged from this
season of folly as a leader whose integrity and judgment has been
validated. Howard at the center may be able to be even more
effective. Let us join him and make it happen!
Photo by Jim Moore