Stamford, CT Advocate: Local Democrats examine party strategies

[Larkspur]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.dems6dec02,0,2689392.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines

NORWALK -- Democrats gathered last night at the Silver Star Diner for a post-mortem on the presidential election and to discuss the future of the party, both in Fairfield County and nationally.

The event was an expanded "meet-up," held the first Wednesday of each month at the diner by representatives of Democracy for America, which rose out of the ashes of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's unsuccessful primary for presidential candidate. About 55 Democrats attended the event.

At the invitation of Democracy for America, Democratic Town Committee chairpersons from Norwalk, Stamford and Greenwich, as well as supporters of former congressional candidate Diane Farrell, attended to work on unifying the party.

Howard Dean's brother, Fairfield resident Jim Dean, was on hand to encourage Democrats to get beyond the results of this year's election and start focusing on the 2005 municipal elections that will be taking place around the country, particularly in "red" states.

Dean said that Democrats winning municipal races could give the party leverage in the 2006 congressional elections.

"Get involved with a candidate or consider running yourself," Dean said. "This is where we lay the groundwork for a Congress and Senate that's Democrat."

Touching on his brother's stated interest in taking over leadership of the National Democratic Committee -- "we're making phonecalls to test the waters" -- Jim Dean added "Howard is very committed to changing the party" and merging it more with Democracy for America.

While losing his bid for the White House to nominee U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Howard Dean is credited as a straight-spoken candidate who brought new energy to the Democratic Party through a grassroots Internet campaign and by talking tough against President George Bush and the war in Iraq.

In a brief interview afterward, Dean said the country will "never know" if his brother might have succeeded against Bush.

"Certainly it would have been different. Howard's quite direct, and that would have been helpful," Jim Dean said. But Kerry had more experience as a legislator, Dean noted.

Jim Dean believed Kerry lost because "it's psychologically very difficult to vote against an incumbent at a time of national security (issues)." But, he added, 51 percent of the popular vote, and an electoral win decided by 136,000 votes in Ohio, is "not a mandate" for Bush.

Ellen Camhi, chairwoman of the Stamford Democratic Town Committee and a representative of the national party, said she looked forward to a change in party leadership, and Dean could be the man for the job.

"Terry (McAuliffe) did a great job in raising money, (but) he didn't do a good job, I think, in speaking," Camhi told the group. "I don't think the Democrats have to change their message. We need somebody to deliver it."

Those words were echoed by Farrell, who arrived about two hours late from another event. After thanking members of the audience for supporting her bid against Republican U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, the retiring Westport First Selectwoman said: "We clearly have got to learn how to message better."

"We in this room get it and a lot of our peers get it on the East and West coasts, but obviously there were major gaps in understanding and finding common ground" in the mid-West.

She said one person in a good position to do that would be Howard Dean.
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[Capn Sunshine]

1. That's what I'm talking about!

We need to do this and leave our "leaders" in the DNC and DLC alone so they can wonder to themselves where the parade went and whether they can catch up to the front of it.