Happy 70th birthday to an amazing Democrat who changed history for the better

[DFW]

He never became president, though he would have been a great one. He never held national office at all, though he would have been great at that, too. After a humiliating defeat, he had a long talk with Al Gore, and then selflessly devoted years of his life to turn the fortunes of the Democratic Party around and deliver us Congress AND the White House. When he was denied a deserved Cabinet position due to a petty grudge in late 2008 and early 2009, instead of slinking off into obscurity, he had a plan ("join some firm nominally for some name recognition for them and some steady income for me, and spend my time raising hell for causes I care about" ). As with everything else, has has stuck to his plan and given it everything he has, as he has always done.

In the meantime, away from the limelight, he has still managed to be the devoted family man he always was, but few ever knew.


Happy 70th birthday to my friend (and yours), Howard Dean!

[jaysunb]

1. I've been thinking about Doc a lot these days.

His footprint is all over this past election. From the grassroots organization to the asking for every vote in every place it's evident that the foundation laid in 03 and beyond continues to bear fruit.

HBD Howard.

[BlueMTexpat]

2. Happy Birthday, Dr. Dean!

He gave me hope during the worst days of Bush II!

I am still quite angry about his NOT getting the cabinet position he so richly deserved! It could well have made a positive difference, not only with healthcare, but also with the 2010 midterms and beyond. What a lost opportunity!

But he deserves the sincerest of congratulations for all of his accomplishments and how his strategy has proven - in the long run - to be the best.

[DFW]

5. Rahm Emmanuel was responsible for Howard not getting the HHS post

Rahm was furious that Howard pushed through his 50 State Strategy over Rahm's "safe districts only" strategy in 2006. He was even more pissed when Howard turned out to be right. As chance would have it, I was in Washington at the annual Emily's List gathering in 2006 on the day of the famous shouting match between Rahm and Howard. I saw Rahm later on when he came to speak at Emily's List, and his face was still bright beet red from the meeting with Howard. When Obama named Rahm Chief of Staff, I knew the chances of Howard getting a cabinet post had just sunk to zero. Rahm Emmanuel's petty grudge cost the nation probably the most qualified HHS Secretary we would ever have had.

[democrank]

6. Howard Dean has it all over Rahm Emanuel

in intellect, insight and character.

[dalton99a]

16. By orders of magnitude

[elleng]

18. Thanks for the memory, and Happy Birthday to Doctor Dean!

Occasionally I recall my non-discussion with emmanuel, @ Politics & Prose bookstore in DC. Rahm + co-author were promoting their book, The Plan: Big Ideas for America (maybe,) and I asked whether the plan would include 50 state strategy. He COLDLY failed to answer my question!

[DFW]

20. Ha! I can imagine he ducked that one!

The screaming match between Rahm and Howard was the stuff of legend in DC for as long as Howard was DNC chair, and even afterward, when Rahm engineered Howard's getting shut out of Obama's cabinet. If I ever get another hour with Obama, I intend to pose the question as to whether or not he regretted (or regrets now) listening to Rahm on excluding Howard from HHS. I think it was one of the worst moves of his early administration. Howard was basically responsible for his presidency in the first place. It's not a lack of gratitude I complain about. It's the lack of logic in recognizing who was the one that engineered our party's success in 2006-2008. Was that Rahm or Howard? Follow up question, then who would have been the better man to get things done AFTER your election?

[BlueMTexpat]

63. Thanks for this personal

anecdote! I had the distinct pleasure and honor of meeting Dr. Dean in person myself at an ADACH (American Democrats Abroad - Switzerland) event! His charisma lit up the room and electrified ADACH's activities from 2004 on!

The appointment of Rahm Emanuel as COS was one of Prez O's most costly mistakes in so many ways, IMO. The failure to appoint Dr. Dean to the HHS post was one of the gravest consequences. It ultimately cost us dearly in the 2010 mid-terms. I believe that Dr. Dean either would have anticipated and outflanked the Tea Party Movement or it may never even have gotten started, as it had its origin in the poorly-explained and sold ACA.

Dean had a clearer vision of what should happen in national healthcare than anyone else at the time and Dean knew how to sell that vision. He knew just how to reach Americans at all levels. No matter how hard she tried, Sibelius was way out of her depth.

McConnell may have thwarted everything that he could even from his initial minority position, but I really do not believe that he would ever have gotten a Senate majority again if not for policies championed by Rahm Emanuel. By the time Emanuel finally left, McConnell and his Senate majority were firmly entrenched.

It is truly amazing that Prez O accomplished as much as he did in the circumstances. But he could have accomplished so much more without this costly early decision, IMO.

I am also sorry that, until Tom Perez, the DNC reverted mostly to the old key state strategy, even though they called it a "50-state" strategy. I remain firmly convinced that was also one of the reasons that HRC "lost" in 2016. Thank heavens that the DNC, as well as the DSCC and the DCCC to some extent, finally went back to Dean's vision of fighting in all 50 states at all levels in 2018!

Success speaks for itself and I hope that the true 50-state strategy continues for ALL future elections!

[DFW]

64. Agreed, Sibelius was way out of her depth

Tactically, it was also a poor decision to recruit her away from the Governor's position in Kansas. It took us until now to reclaim it, and Brownback in the meantime was a catastrophe for the state.

It burns me up that ego, that for which we so rightly criticize Trump, is also such a hindrance to our party as well. Instead of consulting with Howard, the most successful DNC chair we've had for a generation, a succession of less experienced DNC chairs have said "I got this," when they plainly did not.

In February, 2009, I was discussing the future of the DNC with Howard (also in Switzerland, as a matter of fact--in Genève), when he was on his way back from an environmental lecture at Davos. He said he wasn't going to stay on as DNC chair because the position of party head passes to the President when that party holds the White House. He knew (how could he not?) what a great job he had done at turning the party's fortunes around in just 4 years, and the last thing he wanted to do was clash at the party head level with a president he had just busted his ass to elect. I was at the Denver convention in 2008 at the "party for your Party," a day or so before Obama gave his acceptance speech, and Howard was reveling in the glow of what he had accomplished. I don't think anyone (except Rahm) had any clue of how badly Howard would be treated after the election, but he took it like a trooper, and said it was Obama's show now. There are a lot of people, myself included, who wish Obama had run that part of his show a little differently.

[BlueMTexpat]

65. True and you

also made a good point about Sibelius and how that appointment basically caused a catastrophe for Kansas until now!

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Happy Birthday, Dr. Dean!

We sure could use you in any office in the land! And I often think of the job he did as DNC Chair, we could use his "50 State Strategy" now more than ever - so many states are turning purple! Wishing him many, many, many more!

[SergeStorms]

4. Dean was my choice for 2004.

I gave a lot of money (for me anyway) to his campaign and worked like hell for him from Florida, where I was living at the time. Then the media trashed him for the "Dean scream," never giving the full story of the rally in Iowa, and the 3,500 Deaniacs in that small dance hall who Dean had to talk over. It was awful. The late night hosts savaged him, the news anchors asked if he had the "right temperament" for the Presidency. Yet they gave Donald Trump a complete pass during the 2016 GOP primaries. Without the media (and Putin, and Comey, and Assange etc.) Donald Trump would still be fleecing real estate buyers today. But Howard Dean was too much for them?

Without Howard Dean I believe we wouldn't have had a "blue wave" this year. He showed Democrats how small donors could compete with the fat cats who courted politicians like flies to shit. He got young people excited about politics again, and laid the groundwork for political activism that we're still using today.

Howard Dean would have made a fantastic President. Happy Birthday to a man who has my total respect and admiration!

[erronis]

29. Dr. Dean was railroaded by the apparatus and the controlled media.

I guess I could be flagged since I'm saying something bad about the apparatus.

[yardwork]

50. I've never forgiven the media for that.

[True Blue American]

7. Howard Dean is

A main part of the backbone of the Democratic Party. Along with Terry McAuliffe they brought the party out of debt and helped give us President Obama and a Democratic Congress that passed the ACA. Terry is back out there in the public again after being Governor of Virginia.

Those 2 make a level headed pair. Obama chose Rahm because he knew him from Chicago. A hot head who should have never been near the WH.

Governor Dean is a treasure!
Happy Birthday Governor Dean!

[smirkymonkey]

8. Happy Birthday Howard Dean!

Thank you for recognizing him! He deserves it!

[DFW]

12. Without Howard

We might not have taken Congress in 2006, maybe not even the White House in 2008.

Even now, Howard is working quietly and furiously on a nationwide project to recruit young Democrats to run for office and start a new generation of Democrats from the ground up. Some of his protégés are already starting in their newly elected offices. Some will surely burn out, but some will surely go on to bigger things, maybe even the White House down the road. The time to start recognizing and supporting these people is NOW, and Howard knows it. Better yet, he is DOING it. He is not making a lot of noise because this kind of thing is better done outside of the limelight (ask Karl Rove--he knows, too), but he isn't looking for headlines at this point.

He is looking to leave a legacy. You don't need headlines to do that.

[Bigredhunk]

9. Happy Birthday!

Dean having to go away because he awkwardly roared is the dumbest thing ever. He deserved so much better.

[Hortensis]

11. He was taken out by the press. I watched the speech, and

his tryout of a different delivery triggered the transformation of bored media into a feeding frenzy of sharks. That's all I knew back then, but it was enough. To put it mildly, I have a huge problem with media taking down a viable presidential candidate.

[DFW]

23. The press definitely didn't like him.

Howard always spoke his mind and backed up everything he said. There wasn't a lot to sensationalize or take him down for. Some reporters hate that during a presidential election season.

[Hortensis]

24. And he wasn't new. They and others had already written

about him in previous elections, and here they were having to do it all over again, struggling to come up with something different that wasn't too sophisticated for their readers or, heaven forbid, outside the safety of the pack's groupthink, while others were assigned to the sparkly new candidates. Well, they found different.

The bastards

[Dennis Donovan]

10. Happy Birthday, Dr Dean! YEEEEARRGH!

I kid, I kid! He was my 1st choice in 2004.

[UniteFightBack]

13. I have to say I think Howard Dean looks great at 70 ! nt

[DFW]

14. Howard looks amazingly fit

He had a hip replacement in 2010, but hasn't had any real complaints since then (none he has mentioned to me, anyway), and he is lean and trim, as opposed to his chunky days as a presidential candidate (all those dinners, I suspect).

This is from last year, when he was here in Düsseldorf (with Thomas Geisel, SPD, Düsseldorf's mayor, and me).

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[dalton99a]

17. +1

[uponit7771]

15. K&R

[oasis]

19. HBHD

[hostalover]

21. One of my favorite people!

[DFW]

22. Yeah, mine, too, but I'm biased

Howard and I have traded Leo Kottke guitar solos back and forth deep into the night on some nearly deserted hotel lobby. Not only does Howard play the 12 string guitar, but he's also a devotee of Leo Kottke, as am I. Anyone who likes and plays Leo Kottke's music will remain forever special to me!

[pbmus]

27. Leo and Shawn Phillips, the guitar melted into there body...

[DFW]

35. Leo is 3 years older than Howard is

I saw him for the first time when he was 27 and I was 20.

Now THAT is scary!

[pbmus]

36. I bought my first Leo album when I was very young...

And then got hooked on Shawn...

[DFW]

41. My brother gave me Leo's Armadillo album when I was 19.

It was like a blind man seeing light for the first time. I was hopelessly hooked.

[BigmanPigman]

25. I always loved Dean and still do.

He knows his stuff and I would have voted for him. Whenever he speaks on a news program I always listen since I still value and respect his opinion.

[DFW]

26. Howard has the (still) refreshing habit of saying what he thinks. Not all appreciate it

Politics has evolved into the realm of never saying what you think, but rather what you think will go over well.

Howard speaks off the cuff. If you aren't terrified of wrongly tailoring what you say to your audience, then you can afford to do that. Ironically, that is also true of Trump. The difference is that Trump is used to have everything he says, whether true or a lie, accepted without challenge. Howard is used to speaking the truth and having it challenged at every turn.

[Cha]

28. Oh yeah, Howard Dean! I was a Deaniac..

Happy Birthday, Dean!

[octoberlib]

30. Happy Birthday, Howard! Thanks for everything you have done and are still doing for the

Democratic Party.

[panader0]

31. Recommended.

Happy Birthday Mr. Dean.

[NastyRiffraff]

32. Happy Birthday, Dr. Dean

from a once and future Deaniac.

[BarbD]

33. Happy birthday to a man who has always been true to himself and

the democratic values of our country.

[Soxfan58]

34. Happy Birthday

You would have made a damn good prez.

[DFW]

38. You got that right!

Interestingly enough, Howard tells of his 2004 campaign explaining that "we didn't know what the hell we were doing."

I talked to him ten years later about that, and he said that NOW he could do the job of President, knowing all the ins and outs as he does now about the politics of how Washington works. But he felt already in 2009 that at 61, he was too old to assume the office, and that an incoming president should ideally be between 45 and 55 (Obama was 47). I told him I thought he was far better suited than most candidates, and he did hint that if no one of any gravitas declared for 2016, that he "might be tempted if asked," but when Hillary declared, and O'Malley was the only other Democrat even trying to run, he tabled his age objections and gave his support to Hillary.

No need to rehash the recent past, but suffice it to say that Hillary and Howard are both working together on projects that recruit young Democrats who are interested in running for public office. One such guy I introduced Howard to last April won his election in Iowa 51-49--something I doubt would have happened without Howard's endorsement and support. I'm betting that dozens of other winners earlier this month can partially credit their won to the quiet behind-the-scenes work of Howard and Hillary.

Howard, and then Hillary--what a better world this would have been, right?

[TryLogic]

37. One of his great ideas was

expand Medicare gradually starting with ages 60-64.

I would add: Start with 60 - 64 and 25 - 29, letting them buy in.
These are more healthy plus less healthy groups, for balancing costs.

[DFW]

40. He was always open to new ideas.

He always picked my brain about Europe in general and Germany in particular, looking for new inspirations.

[HelenWheels]

39. Dean is one politician who has never disappointed me

My daughter was at a gathering Jim Dean had in our town. I was in the hospital following spinal surgery. She told Jim how much I admired Howard. Pretty soon I got a phone call in the hospital from Howard wishing me well. It was so exciting and meaningful for me.

President Obama made a mistake not tapping Howard for Sec. of HHS. Howard played a huge part in Obama's victory.

[DFW]

42. I know Jim, too

Jim just said he was stepping down as head of DFA. I don't know what he'll be doing from now on.

I know exactly why Howard was not tapped to be HHS Secretary. Rahm Emmanuel let his anger at Howard for insisting on the 50 state strategy push him to urge incoming president Obama, whose ear he had, not to ask Howard into his cabinet. Rahm was angry at Howard for sticking to his 50 state strategy over Rahm's "safe district" strategy. Rahm was absolutely incensed when Howard turned out to have been right. But Rahm had Obama's ear and Obama went with what Rahm wanted. I always wanted to ask Obama if he ever regretted that decision, but I haven't seen him since he left office. I'm sure our paths will again cross at some point.

Howard is not at all too proud to give someone a call. I asked him to call my daughter when she graduated from law school, but I shouldn't have bothered. As much as Howard is a giant to us that were around in 2003, my daughter was 18 then and had only lived in the States for 2 years at that point. She was 25 when she graduated law school, but too late. After she hung up, she said, "oh, that. That was Howard Dean." Not the slightest bit excited or impressed. Most students even in 2010 would have been thrilled to get a congratulatory call from Howard Dean. Not my daughter. Too bad I didn't know Beyoncé!

[handmade34]

43. kept Gov. Dean's tie

for a long while in my drawer... years ago at a local fundraiser Howard Dean attended and in order to sell a drill he offered his tie (red and white stripes)…. well, I wanted the tie as much as I wanted the drill (and I did want the drill)…. I overpaid quite a bit and got the tie... it has since been lost... too bad

happy birthday!

[DFW]

45. In this digital age....

I have nothing of the sort from Howard, either. At least I have handwriting from physical encounters or mail correspondence with Obama and Bill Clinton. He DID give me a nice plug for the jacket of my book, though. That might be a jinx, though. Two others who did that are now deceased (Adrian Cronauer and Stan Lee).

[Hekate]

44. Happy birthday, Dr. Dean. I was proud to work on your campaign out here in SoCal.

[cp]

46. Dean's 50 State strategy genius

We still need it.
Blue dot in a purple state

[mnhtnbb]

47. Happy Birthday from a Deaniac

Of yesteryear. I was a huge supporter of Howard Dean's candidacy for the nomination. In fact, it was due to participation on the DFA blog that I discovered Democratic Underground. People at DFA kept mentioning DU so I came over and checked it out. Still here all these years later.

Happy Birthday, Howard!

[FakeNoose]

48. Nice tribute for Howard Dean

Happy Birthday sir, and may you enjoy many more!

[blue neen]

49. Amen.

Thank you for this tribute to Gov. Dean, DFW.

[SCantiGOP]

51. Broke my heart

Most involvement I’ve ever had in a campaign.
Got in early, worked with a lot of great people, thought we were going to win and ...then it didn’t happen.
Enjoyed this thread. He was a good person would have been a good President.

[DFW]

52. When I met him, he was "Howard Who?"

We are introduced in late 2001 or 2002, and I was told "he's thinking of running for president." I thought, an outgoing governor of Vermont want to challenge an incumbent Republican president? But then we got to talking, and I thought, well, if anyone, Howard might just be the man. It was certainly the first time for me that I had known a presidential candidate before be became one. I don't count RFK, since I only knew him slightly (he was my dad's pal), and he never got the chance to see his candidacy through.

[lunatica]

53. He shows you don't have to be President to

do your best and most significant work.

[DFW]

54. Howard was one of the most infuential non-national-office-holders there ever was.

His opinions still seem to be in demand, as I see him on clips from the U.S. network talk shows.

As well they should. He usually destroys and Republican opposition, though from what I have seen, all you need to do that is have facts on your side and be able to cite them. Since the Republican commentators seem to have no facts and mostly lies, they either wilt or shout when confronted about their lies.

[VOX]

55. Howard Dean brought the first ray of hope in the darkness of the Bush II-Cheney Selection.

But the media (liberal??? Hah!) tore into him for leading a victory rally. He was unmercifully savaged from all directions, and that was that.

I’m still convinced that Dean would have outperformed John Kerry in the 2004 election.

[DFW]

56. It would have been quite a campaign to watch

They would have had a hard time Swiftboating Howard. Howard never got to the point where he was considering VP candidates. That would have mattered a lot more with Howard than it did with Kerry. For all their yelling and finger-pointing, I think the Republicans were terrified of a Dean candidacy, as they saw how Howard inspired young people like no one since Bobby Kennedy. All Howard would have had to do to outperform Kerry would have been to carry Ohio so convincingly that Ken Blackwell's election fraud machine couldn't have overturned it.

I'm sure the first half year of a Dean presidency would have been chaotic. Howard himself was the first to say that his campaign had no idea what they were doing, just riding a wave of enthusiasm. However, as witnessed by his DNC chairmanship, Howard was/is able to master big, new, complicated challenges with competency and dedication. I'll tell you one thing, I would have been making regular visits to the White House MANY years before I eventually did (that has now come to an end, obviously), and if Howard had asked me to be Ambassador to Germany, I would have done it.

[VOX]

57. Dean was able to make that emotional connection...

...that Kerry just couldn’t, it’s just wasn’t in him. There are very few who have that gift of appeal and genuine sincerity.

Kerry fell into the trap of “ignore a problem long enough, and it’ll go away.” Not so with Republicans.

There was still a lot of post-9/11 fear to manipulate voters, as Cheney did, stating flat-out that if a Democrat was elected president, we’d be hit again.

[DFW]

58. Agreed. Howard wold have demolished Cheney's BS in seconds flat.

That was something the Republicans weren't prepared for then. They are poorly prepared to counter it now, during a time when total hogwash seems to be the only verbal weapon they have left in a very depleted arsenal.

[R B Garr]

59. Agreed, he would have made a great President.

Nice tribute, DFW!

[octoberlib]

60. Kick!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

61. Thanks for this great tribute, DFW! I concur.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Dean! And many many more...

[DFW]

62. If the way he looks now is any indication

Howard will be around for a long time to come. He was in great shape, physically and mentally and had (as usual) a schedule that rivaled mine.