Go check out the text of Howard Dean’s speech as the new DNC chair today. There’s a lot there that I like.
Republicans wandered around in the political wilderness for 40 years before they took back Congress. But the reason we lost control is that we forgot why we were entrusted with control to begin with.
The American people can’t afford to wait for 40 years for us to put Washington back to work for them.
It can’t take us that long.
And a few things that I question. But all in all, a big ‘YEARRRGH’ for him.
I was originally for him because I believed that his 50-state policy would absolutely force the Party out of the Upper West Side and Brentwood and into the neighborhoods where the folks who ought to be Democrats live.
That may just be more transformative for the Party than for the folks…
Actually, AL, I agreed with a lot of it, too. I think, however, that grassroots organization needs to mean the national Democratic Party listening to local concerns rather than the national Democratic Party proclaiming the gospel to the heathen.
Is Howard Dean the right man to do that? I guess we’re going to find out.
his 50-state policy would absolutely force the Party out of the Upper West Side and Brentwood
What 50-state policy? Claiming you’re going to fight in all 50 states is not a policy.
If Dean had such a policy, he would be on his own. The people who put him in that chair don’t want a 50 state policy, they want a 10-12 state urban policy that makes no concession to anyone who supports the war or doubts the righteousness of partial-birth abortion.
Don’t tell me about the local Red-state party organizations who pushed for Dean. Those are the same people who’ve been driving themselves to extinction. Those are the people who go to the national convention and apologize for the fact that they’re from Texas or Idaho, instead of a “civilized” place.
Good summary of Dean’s position statements:
http://www.issues2000.org/Howard_Dean.htm
The fact that Kos and the DU crowd seem so bubbly over Dean getting the chairmanship is enough to make me concerned. I agree with him that the party needs to move beyond ABB, but I think it more likely that he’ll bring the Michael Moore wing further into the decision-making loop than that he’ll spearhead the setting-aside of the loonies that the party needs to come back to sanity.
In any case, it’ll be interesting to see which guy turns up: the Dean who was a moderate governor, or the firebrand seeker of the Presidency.
I’m no sympathizer of the Dems, but I think a healthy country needs a healthy opposition, which lately the Dems ain’t.
Unlike a lot of right-wingers who are gloating about Dean, thinking he’s tetched, radical and a potential disaster, I think he’s smart, articulate, lively, and more of a centrist than they think.
I agree on both counts, GOM.
bq. _*This week, the Republicans introduced a $2.5 trillion budget that deliberately conceals the cost of their fiscal recklessness.*_
I listened to most of the 4 hour debate concerning our budget on C-SPAN yesterday. I heard more complaints about cuts in the budget than I can count. Of course those cuts in the budget mentioned were those aimed at social policies and the inhumane treatment of those that depend on social services. I did not hear anyone say increase taxes to pay for social policies. Several mentioned how governors of states would be burdened by the cuts or how their state suffer. No one mentioned that the possibility of funding should be at the state level. I did not hear anyone say cut this policy and shift the money to support this one instead. I heard lots of rhetoric about abolishing 150 programs that will never be abolished since it is not a favorable position for either side of the house. I heard one lone voice say “just say NO to all new policies we’ve lived without them to this point why must we implement them now”. Most of the complaints centered around social security, Nothing on how to fix it other than the proposal presented is just as fiscally unsound and inhumane as the current policy. I heard some complaints about medicare and medicaid that acknowledged the fiscal unsoundness of those programs as well. I heard a lot of complaints about the current deficit and the interest paid on loans from foreign counties. How bad it is and why we shouldn’t borrow more money. Again I heard no mention of new taxes. Now for the kicker, many just hung around long enough to get their voice on the record and left. For those that left I guess further explanation and debate didn’t need to be heard. So which is it? Is it too much or not enough? So which is it? No new taxes or more new taxes? Will the house do the fiscally responsible thing? Democrat or Republican? Not a chance in hell.
bq. _*We’re going to take this country back for the people who built it.*_
Who is we? This sounds more like the Democratic Party telling the people what is best for them and yet again working furtively to force it down our throats. More importantly – what is it that you are going to give back to me that you took away to begin with?
AL, do you like this quote by Dean?
“You think the RNC could get this many people of color into a single room?” he marvels. “Maybe if they got the hotel staff in there.”
I don’t think that someone who likes to publicly proclaim his opponents as evil should be the face of the party.
_Hei Lun Chan_
Thanks for the link. I wasn’t sure if I should be laughing or crying. One thing is for certain though. Dean didn’t make any promises but he certainly said the right words to the crowds. If they took it as promises I certainly feel sorry for them. The reaction I got was like the commercial where the guy is asked by his boss to do 20 bijillion things and all he can do is say yes to all of them. At the end the reality sets in and he asks himself how am I going do all of that.
USMC –
That “We’re going to take this country back” schtick really annoys me, too. As if the country were the rightful property of the professional political class.
We’ve been hearing this trash-talk from every Democrat in every election for as long as I can remember, and Dean is more of the same, only louder.
By this they tell people “You don’t have a country right now, all you have is us.” It appeals to all the worst national instincts – nativism (take the country back from the Jews, the Arabs, the Japanese, the Hyundai Corporation); the anti-capitalist (and anti-democratic) malcontents; and everybody in the country who believes that you never get anything unless the government gives it to you.
Congrats to Howard Dean.
I think his chairmanship of the DNC is a good thing. The Dems need to become an effective party of opposition, and need to come up with policies that are qualitatively different from those of the repubs. What use to anyone is a party of “republican-lite” that some wish to see the Dems pursue?
I for one would rather the Dems have solid principles and platform and lose than have wishy washy ones and win.
I don’t think that someone who likes to publicly proclaim his opponents as evil should be the face of the party.
So, you don’t think it’s fair political game to point out that the Republicans’ policies (or, at least, the Republican Party) have no traction in large segments of the American population? Is it a hush-hush secret that there are more people voting for Kerry in Idaho than for Bush in any black neighborhood in America (except a few in Ohio with Diebold machines)?
It is not the number of states. It is the policy.
Medical marijuana is more popular than Bush. By 3% in Montana. Kerry might have won if he could have converted that 3% difference into votes across the nation.
Silence. Total silence.
I find this very interesting.
The question is – why is tis happening.
The Dems could get votes and prove the Rs are not really compassionate.
Silence.
Can some liberal please explain it?
Simon
I was accused of insults recently, and took a peek at the complainants blog, and I was thinking as i looked at the blog page header graphic.
Member of the “Reality Based” … along with that, quicky comes the memory of JesusLand, dumb hicks, residents of dirtland. “F..k Middle America!” went one sign.
Why. you was so dumb, that you did not vote for John Kerry, who supported the regime of the %5 Death quota (Stalin and Mao mass murdered by death quota also) who slimed our troops and helped a regime guilty of crimes against humanity, cover the south with more crimes against humanity, well if you was so dumb you didnt vote Kerry …..
Well,, Then your not “Reality Based” your “Jesusland” your one of those the UK paper spoke of when the headline read “How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb!”
It brought a smile to my face.
The leftist tinfoil hat bunch, one of their myths, is that Sistani forced the Iraq election on Bush, then while the right (and certain enlightened liberals like Hitchins) are celebrating the happy faces of new found liberty (it reminds me when the berlin wall came down, and the impromtu rock concert in front of the brandenburg gate, Mr Gorbachov, Tear Down This Wall! .. Remember that?)
So as we are celebrating the happy faces and ink stained fingers, and the left, who accused that the election was forced on us, are pissing on our joy, its a fraud, its civil war, bush didnt really want it, etc …
Its the content, not the packaging that was rejected our last election, no changes to the makeup on, only the makeup of, the party, will bring the democrats any chance for power again.
A lot will be required for the democrats to win again.
the “Reality Based” sneer, and thats what it is, is all that required for them to keep losing however.
Good luck winning hearts and minds, when even their page logos say everyone that dont agree with them are idiots.
It certainly gives us all the political ad ammo we will need for years and years to paint all of them as elitist Regular Joe hating snobs.
I hope they get used to losing.
OK,
AJL. The Democrats want to steal my property and micromanage my life.
They are the evil party.
Are you on my side yet?
LOL
You can’t win with
a. a bad message
b. a bad messenger
Pick any two.
LOL
Bush is going to cream you on individual accounts. Read your DeSoto again to find out why.
Joe has a very nice article up on him published a while back. Maybe Bush reads this blog.
Andrew — Bush made signficant inroads into conservative African American churchgoers over Gay Marriage. They also liked the presence of Condi Rice and Colin Powell.
Imagine for example Rice vs. Gore; Dems would likely lose a lot of the African American vote.
Right now the Dems are on the defensive, concentrating on not losing votes instead of gaining them. That needs to change but I’m pessimistic that Dean can make this happen.