More details on Dean's visit to the Rio Grande Valley last week.

[madfloridian]

This is a good article which goes into more detail about what he said about immigration and other issues.

Democratic chief makes points with party's faithful in Valley

EDINBURG — "Sooner than most people realize, Texas will look much like today's Rio Grande Valley, where the population is heavily Latino and growing much more rapidly than the rest of the state.

Whether Texas' politics will more closely resemble the Valley's is another matter, however, because here, Democrats still rule. That may be one reason Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean came here last week before attending his party's Hispanic Leadership Summit in San Antonio.

In Hidalgo County, every elected official is a Democrat. But just as local Democrats could not recall a Republican being elected here, neither could they remember another national party chairman ever taking the time to visit their area."

"Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd in a university theater, Dean drew cheers by vowing that the Democratic Party would no longer concede any states — or any counties — to the GOP. But the Democratic Party can be revitalized only by returning to its old ways, he said, and by offering clear, principled alternatives to GOP policies. Most important, he emphasized, the party must be inclusive and reflect the wishes — and the demographics — of its partisans."

"The Republican strategy is to divide Americans so they can win," he said. "I think the Republicans are going to single out immigrants, the way they singled out gays in 2004 and blacks in 2002, to make them a wedge issue. "It's a disgrace," he added. "Vigilante justice is never justified."

And here is more on what he said about immigration. Most of the other articles did not seem to be clear.

"Immigration policy needs an overhaul, Dean said, but not one that will result in massive deportations and erosion of wages and worker protections. Reforms should bolster national security, while also recognizing immigrants' vast contributions and providing a way for those who have been here, working and contributing, to earn their legalization...."

[Carolab]

1. Thanks, MF.

That is much clearer.