GOP Turns To Howard Dean For Salvation

[Shiver]

Sam Stein: GOP Turns To Howard Dean For Salvation
From The Huffington Post
December 9th, 2008

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, in politics and elsewhere. And after two straight cycles of congressional pickups, outgoing DNC chair Howard Dean is no longer a boogeyman for his Republican counterparts -- he's a template for success.

This past weekend, a candidate for RNC Chair, Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzi, said the Grand Old Party would do well to follow the example set by the former Vermont Governor.

*snip*

This prescription came days after Karl Rove, the architect of the current Republican Party, made a similar plea of his own. Noting incredible margins that Barack Obama had among black and Latino voters, the former Bush strategist -- appearing at a debate on the Bush legacy in New York -- said the GOP had to "be a party governing all Americans... It can only do that by making the case to African American and Latinos."

Implicit within these critiques is the notion that Republicans have become regionalized -- overly reliant on strong turnout among white working class voters, primarily below the Mason-Dixon line. In this context, Dean's vision of building infrastructure across the electoral map -- which, it should be noted, was initially taken from the GOP -- makes sense for the current Republican Party. Why cede the entire New England House delegation when, at the very least, they could force the DCCC to spend resources defending those seats?

But the sticking point, as one DNC staffer argues, is ideology. Putting together institutions to make gains in non-Republican regions only will help if the party has a political message that can resonate among non-conservatives.

*snip*

Full article at HuffPo

[Cha]

1. Dean's the Man,

all right. Everyone recognizes it.

[madfloridian]

2. Not everyone.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/3112

And not the Democratic party leaders in DC. They should, but they don't.

[Cha]

4. Maybe the time just hasn't come

for us to know about it, yet?

[Shiver]

5. I'm taking a more positive outlook...

...and thinking his rewards and accolades are still coming.

If come a year and nothing happens, then I'll get upset.

[groovedaddy]

9. They're in their own little world their in D.C. They need to get out more. n.t

[rurallib]

3. they keep looking for that magic bullet so they don't have to change

their ideology of hate and greed.
I don't believe even Jesus could sell that anymore.

[FLyellowdog]

6. How do you change a bigotted base of voters?

I don't see how they can change anything until they stop supporting racism, bible thumping and biased thinking. Those things are so ingrained in the republicans' way of life that any change would take generations to achieve...that's assuming that they really want to change. Basically all they want is power.

[Shiver]

7. That's the catch-22

They want our success, and they want our diverse constituency, but they make every attempt they can to become "more conservative" and drum out the moderates.

As shown here: Huckabee: GOP Needs to Move Away From The 'Mushy Middle'

That's why I love our party... everyone is represented. :grouphug:

[FLyellowdog]

8. Me too!