Say Goodbye to Howard Dean

[Psyop Samurai]

Lost in the dialectic that oftens takes place here and throughout the progressive blogosphere between the "my candidate is the saviour of planet earth" and the "can't we all just get along?" camps, is the fact that both camps fundamentally misjudge why this Democratic primary is so important.

This primary is neither about the individual candidates nor about unifying behind a single Democrat to defeat the Republicans in November. Instead, this battle--in its own way not dissimilar to the conflict being waged in the Republican party--is a fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. It is similar to the battle that was waged in 2004 between Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt (and, to a lesser extent, John Kerry).

It is a battle over whether we will chart a new course in Democratic politics for the 21st century involving economic populism, 50-state strategies, big changes and national governing coalitions, or return to the politics of the 1990s involving incremental changes, triangulation, swing-state targeting and corporatism.

<...>

Dean may have lost the battle for the presidency, but he won the battle for at least a part of the Democratic Party's soul through his election to the chairmanship of the DNC. Triangulation, small poll-tested moves and a shrinking map were out. Fifty-state strategies, bold moves, harsh talk and doing the right thing were in--much to the chagrin of the Party Establishment led by people like Rahm Emmanuel and Terry McAuliffe.

Many people take these hard-won gains from the Democratic Establishment for granted. They should not.

<...>

continued...

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thereisn_080116_say_goodbye_to_howar.htm

[DrDan]

1. that would more correctly read "Forty-Eight state strategies"

he cannot be moving on fast enough, imho

[Demeter]

2. I'm Not Saying Good-bye And Neither Should Anyone Else

If Hillary tries to oust him, she'll have a fight on her hands that she will lose. And that is exactly what is going on right now--the DLC is Hillary's shock troops, and they are trying to remove the Good Doctor, who is the best Chairman we've had since the days of LBJ.

[cobalt1999]

3. I was a big Dean supporter in 2004 and was thrilled he at least got the Chairman job

However, I have been less than impressed with him during this election cycle. The handling of the Florida/Michigan primary moves and his whole hearted continuation of the Iowa/NH favored positioning, have soured me on him. He turned out to be another committee backroom decision guy.

We win big this cycle because of the mess Bush and the republicans have made, not because of anything special Dean has done.

[flyarm]

8. understand this..the stripping of FLA delegates was wanted by the DLC

1. they wanted it knowing Dean would have to be the bad cop..

2. they wanted it because it benefits one candidate..Hillary..don't kid yourself other wise!


now the DLC with Rahm at the helm..( who has fucked our 2006 elections and interfered with our state FL)has set up Dean as the bad guy..and this state is now ready for Hillary to steal our delegates..

and i would bet the farm that is what they planned in Michigan as well.


many of us from Fla have written about this now for over 6 mos here!

fly

[cobalt1999]

11. Sure they wanted it, it was the stupidest move by a national party in many years.

Of course they celebrated when Dean fell right into this mess (whether they created the situation as a trap or not).

Dean had a golden opportunity with Florida/Michigan to make a statement on how the primary system is setup. He could have spoken out against the exclusion of two large populous states, he could have worked with the committees to minimize or suspend the punishments, he could have talked about how all states deserve an equal say in the process.

He didn't though.

He became the champion for the status quo.

The DLC may have set up the situation, but Dean could have turned the tables on them. Instead, he was unimaginative and out of touch to the point of not even knowing candidates were removing themselves from the Michigan ballot.

If this election cycle wasn't such a slam dunk, this move would have been disastrous.

[Kucinich4America]

15. Moving up the state primaries was bullshit. Period.

We don't need a nominee in fucking February, and that whole thing is a DLC scam rigged to benefit the candidate with the most corporate money. I sincerely hope that NOBODY takes a serious lead on 2/5, and that this thing goes all the way to Denver.

[flyarm]

17. i could not agree more!!..this was a whole manipulation by the DLC

and it works against we the people..and the sooner Americans and dems figure that otu the sooner we will take back our country.

we need to clean out this dlc bullshit from our party..but should Hillary win..you will see the DNC killed out ..and we the people will have lost our last vestige of voice...that you can count on..we have seen this in Fla for the last election cycle, and within our party and throughout the state party leaders!

fly

[cobalt1999]

19. True, but

I was referring to Dean's reaction to two critical swing states moving in violation of a committee rule...Dean's next move is critical to him and the party.

He blew it. He did exactly what the DLC hoped and prayed he'd do. No imagination, no challenging the system, no control, no damage control statements, nothing. Even if you love the primary calendar as it is, Deans handling of the situation was disappointing.

Thankfully, it happened during an election cycle that is close to a sure thing.

[dionysus]

4. awesome article!

k&r

[Bread and Circus]

5. This is probably one of the most important issues at stake this election.

I will be very sorry to see Dean go.

[MrMickeysMom]

6. Meanwhile, on that same link (OpEd News)...

... is an article "The DLC is Desperate", by John Sanchez Jr.

It is difficult to determine if their desperation has led them to make principle subservient to ambition or if this is just how they are.

In any event, I don't see a scenario where they will be returned to the White House. The best they can do for the sheep's clothing set is to ensure a "Republican victory". I placed that last term in quotation marks, because a "Republican victory" is not an electoral victory in the traditional sense. It is a situation where they can get close enough to let Diebold, et al flip the results with a reduced chance of getting famous for it.

If the nomination is secured by Hillary Clinton and her K Street crowd (including McAuliff) she is certain to motivate the Republican base while leaving the Democratic base yawning at home. This will be Karl Rove's belated Christmas. That gets them as close as they can get and minimizes the number of votes that they have to steal.

If John Edwards were to be nominated, he would mobilize the Democratic base, but also the Corporatist Republicans, and would inspire Corporatist Democrats to stay home. The consoling factor is that the Corporatists are what they themselves consider to be the elite, so they keep their own numbers down. Edwards' margin would be larger.

If Barack Obama Wins the nod, he can turn out the Democratic base, disillusion the Republican base, and draw independents and even some Republicans to rally to his cause. This would present a prohibitively large margin for Mssrs. Rove and Diebold to overcome.

If Dennis Kucinich were to somehow win the Democratic nomination, the likely scenario would be for Dubya to declare martial law and abolish elections.

Of course, none of this takes into account the array of fascist tactics that will be deployed against any of the Democratic nominees, but I am working on the assumption that no candidate is completely immune to the slander, so the effects upon each will be more or less equal.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thereisn_080116...

[robbedvoter]

7. Not a 2004 supporter, but liked him afterwards as charman - until the Fla/Mi

debacles. That was badly mishandled. NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING is more important than people's right to vote - and have their vote count. To do that to Florida - even worse!

[Diamonique]

9. Great article! Thanks for posting. k&r

[mod mom]

10. the same anti-progressive forces that brought you NAFTA, triangulation, swing-state targeting, welfa

The truth is that the same forces that were desperate to squash Dean's presidential bid, and that tried every desperate measure to keep him from running the DNC, are still strongly at work in the Democratic Party. To be blunt, those forces are united under a Presidential campaign explicitly running on the record of the Democratic Party during the 1990s. In fact, the disgrace to progressive politics that is Terry McAuliffe isn't even lying low, but rather coming out in the open to crow about the victory of establishment forces with "experience". They're battling right out in the open, nor are they making any pretense: the same anti-progressive forces that brought you NAFTA, triangulation, swing-state targeting, welfare reform, the DLC, video game censorship, line-item veto requests, the apotheosis of Alan "Bubbles" Greenspan, a near decade of personal scandals, and tamping down Al Gore's fire and putting him up on a ticket with Joe F'ing Lieberman, would like to return you to the good old days when they were in charge.

Howard Dean knows this. That is why the DNC is standing with the Culinary Workers Union against the preposterous lawsuits being brought to bear by the suppress-the-vote-if-at-all-possible forces of the 1990s Establishment. Dean can't come out and endorse any specific candidates (or specifically oppose any of them), but I guarantee you he knows who is on his side and who isn't.

-snip

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thereisn_080116_say_goodbye_to_howar.htm

[truedelphi]

21. I am so glad seeing this issue discussed today. n/t

[liskddksil]

12. Edwards has consistently said that he would campaign in all 50 states

While I dont know if Senator Clinton or Obama have made the same pledge, I believe Edwards would support Howard's leadership at the DNC.

[MaineDem]

13. All 3 of the major candidates have pledged to support the 50-state strategy

I think Dean is serving his last year as Chair, regardless of the November results.

I'm glad our nominee will support Dean's efforts moving forward, even if Dean is not the Chair.

[Kucinich4America]

14. Why are DLC shills like McUseless and Emmanuel referred to as "party establishment"

The DLC is NOT the Democratic Party. They are not Democrats. They are not Leaders. I suppose they might actually be a council, but if so, it's a council of thieves and liars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG_-rq1ON9Y

[havocmom]

16. Word

[LaPera]

18. The great Howard Dean(DNC)is who progressive democrats need. Certainly NOT DLC corporate moderate!s!

[mzmolly]

20. Dean will leave when he's ready. He's a fighter, that's why I support him.

:hi: