ABC--Preview of a Dean DNC (about what Dean has promised various leaders)

[BlueInRed]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=472594&page=1

The reason I'm posting this is it contains a lot of information on what Dean has promised State and Congressional Democrats. It's pretty long and has all the expected pro and anti Dean stuff. Mainly it's new info on exactly what Dean has told the Dem leaders to expect.

[jswordy]

1. Thanks, that was great!

Howard Dean is gonna surprise a lot of people in this party, if he is given the chance to do so as chairman. He is not the radical nutcase he has been made out to be by his enemies.

[BlueInRed]

7. glad to pass any new info along :)

:hi:

[saracat]

2. OMG, I just hate those "business as usual "Dems. That guy from New Jersey

can just shove it! Apparently they don't care whether we win or lose, but that they retain their personal power and influence!

[BlueInRed]

6. I thought that guy was pretty bad - a real loyal

Democrat, obviously. :spank: He'd rather be a Republican or Independent than work with Dean. That's telling.

[KittyWampus]

19. Honestly, What An Asshole... Won't Even Give Dean A Chance?

that's no way to be.

[Nite Owl]

3. Sounds like some of

these dems are used to the status quo. It hasn't worked, it's time to try something that has a chance.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. I think Dean will surprise a lot of people

I've heard a lot of good coming from Dean and his grassroots efforts. Even if we don't win the Presdiency at least if we get more people in offices in locally and in the Senate and Congress that would be great. At least have some balance there.

[jswordy]

11. I think we have candidates who can win the presidency in '08, but...

...that aside, what Dean is going to try to usher in is the concept of a Democratic farm team. It is what he said in his book, "You Have the Power," and it is what he has worked for with the around 800 candidates his DFA organization helped run in '04.

Like a baseball team, we need a farm organization from which to pull rising political stars into the national spotlight and to give our party a new and young face. We need to nurture today the up and coming pols of tomorrow, by getting them into lower office where they can learn the fundamantals and then advancing them into our nation's next leaders.

This is exactly what Dean proposes, and it is fundamental and generational change for our party. No longer will the DNC only show interest in candidates once they have somehow clawed their own way to a national level. Instead, the DNC will nurture the farm team and lift the most promising people from it to a greater role in the party.

Dean's idea -- if implemented fully -- would not be new to the party. But it is something that has not been practiced by Democrats for at least 25 years. But it has been practiced by Republicans for that period.

[moggie12]

4. I read this as saying Dean is going to focus on organization-building

And that policy decisions will be left to the Congressional leaders. It will be interesting to see how this plays out....

[madfloridian]

5. Oh, I get the picture.

The big fundraisers and the DC insiders are the nervous ones. They are the status quo, and I think it behooves them to be a wee bit edgy now.

The days of status quo are about over, I think.

Also I will make a wager that Rosenberg plays a big role in the party...any takers?

[janx]

8. Rosenberg's going to be right there with Dean. n/t

[BlueInRed]

10. And another - NYMag: Ds should stop worrying and learn to love Dean

another article I ran across --
"Dean Without Screams -- Why even center Democrats should stop worrying and learn to love Howard Dean (or, at least, love fighting with him)."
http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/politics/columns/nationalinterest/11019/

[jswordy]

12. Bob Reich -- whom I admire deeply -- has the best quote!

“The Democratic Party doesn’t really exist as a national movement,” says former secretary of Labor Robert Reich. “It’s essentially a glorified fund-raising mechanism.”

I WANT MY PARTY BACK!!!

Excellent piece, BlueInRed...thanks for sharing!

[ieoeja]

13. I'm going to miss Dean.

He appears to be making it clear that he is going to work on the nuts and bolts of the party management and finance and leave the party's message up to others. A lot of rank and file who supported Dean for this position did so because of his message, and his principle promise upon taking this position is that he will stop his message.

I've always said I was of two minds about Dean as chair. It is really good seeing the rank and file rise up against the idiots who honestly believe the Democratic Party is in great shape because we raised more money than the Republicans last election (losing the election doesn't seem to matter to McAulife as long as we win the fund raising battle). But Dean did make it clear all along that his taking the chair would necessitate his being muzzled for the next four years.

[BlueInRed]

14. I think he'll be on TV as much as Terry and end up stating

a lot of positions. He will probably add his "straight talk/common sense/doctor analytical" delivery to consensus Dem viewpoints.

Our problem is not our positions, but the ability to articulate those positions and stand up to guys like Russert. That's what I expect from Dean - not necessarily making policy -- but articulating the consensus policies in a straight-forward, properly-framed manner. (When he knows what he's supposed to say, he's pretty good at it.) And when the Dems can't get their message heard, Dean will be able to help spread the word.

My guess is he will just be more reluctant to express the opinions where he strongly disagrees with Reid, Pelosi, et al.

[dave29]

15. It's impossible to muzzle Dean

he's a bulldog Democrat ;)

Besides, you'll be seeing a lot more of him than you would have had he decided to fade into obscurity.

[BlueInRed]

16. Bulldog Democrat :)

I like that term, has it been floating around for awhile or did you just come up with it?

We've got yellow dogs, blue dogs, green dogs and now bulldogs. I think that is a great description of the fighting spirit I want to see in our Dems.

[dave29]

17. I came up with it a while back when writing

a pro-Dean piece to an editor last year. I really like it as well, but I'm sure someone else came up with it first, unbeknownst to me, which seems to happen to me frequently - much to my chagrin :)

[BlueInRed]

18. We need a good avatar for "Bulldog Democrat" n/t