The Forgotten Man: Howard Dean Made This Happen

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/16047

The Forgotten Man: Howard Dean Made This Happen
Howard Dean
by Alan Bisbort | July 24, 2008 - 9:56am


Four years ago, I placed a bumper sticker on my car emblazoned "Howard Dean for America." It is still there. Other stickers have come and gone since then, but the "Howard Dean for America" sticker remains.

I received the sticker after making a donation to Dean's 2004 presidential effort, the first and only time I've given my credit card number to a political campaign. I felt strongly enough about Dean to allow his campaign to deduct money from my credit card for the next six months. It was a small price to pay for freedom from the suffocating status quo represented by other candidates at the time.

Dean did not, like the rest of them, play patty-cake. He played for keeps. And, because I have yet to find a candidate—at least one who stood a chance of getting elected to any office—to inspire me the way Dean did back then, the sticker stays.

snip//

And yet, a former mayor of Burlington and governor of Vermont stepped up and said what needed saying and, for doing that, he recharged America's batteries. When all was dark and hope seemed a luxury, Dean was the only glimmer of light. He also seemed to relish fighting in the trenches and had enough energy to take on all comers, something no other candidate, with their test-marketed spins and spineless sucking up, seemed to do. As chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he implemented a 50-state strategy that, though mocked by the Beltway Democrats at the time, has the party on the verge of a historic landslide victory.

Another feather in his cap: Dean inspired hatred among the embeds in D.C. The press corps covered his campaign as if he were an al Qaeda operative, condescendingly calling his supporters "Deanie Babies" and "Deaniacs." Anyone who got Cokie Roberts' AND Brit Hume's knickers in such a twist was A-OK with me. And when, in December 2003, he said, "The United States is no safer today, after capturing Saddam Hussein, than we were before he was captured," I nearly fainted. Though he was correct, the mere fact that a national leader would have the guts to go right into the Bush-Cheney wheelhouse and toss that flaming bag of feces in their face showed moral courage. But, of course, it was political suicide. Americans can't stand too much honesty too soon.

At the Netroots Nation conference in Austin last week, Paul Krugman made that point with stunning clarity. He told the group of progressive bloggers that the media's failure was not due to politics but for lack of what Dean had in spades: guts. Krugman said their credo was, "It's better to be conventionally wrong than unconventionally right. ... There's something wrong with you if you actually figure this out too early."

Dean figured it all out in 2003. It was too early for his own political aspirations. Fortunately, he was not too late to save the rest of us.
_______

[KingOfLostSouls]

1. Howard Dean is my hero

he's a political Ali to me, a true inspiration, even moreso than al gore or others, Dean stood up when so many others were willing to roll over.




America owes howard dean an unspoken amount of gratitude and praise and the best thing about it is he's never asked for any of it, he's just standing up for all of us.


Howard Dean will go down in history as one of the true great heroes of the republic.

[democrattotheend]

2. I was a hardcore Deaniac in 2004

It was my first presidential campaign and it was so exciting to see him rise from obscurity (when I started supporting him, I had to explain to my mother who he was) to the top. When it all came crashing down after Iowa it broke my heart and threatened to quash my commitment to politics.

Four years later, I was afraid to get on board with Obama the way someone who has been hurt from a relationship is afraid to date again. It wasn't until after Iowa that I dared to hope that he could go anywhere. In so many ways, volunteering on the Obama campaign has felt like picking up where we left off four years ago when Dean fell short, and Obama's ascent and the triumph of grassroots over the establishment that it represents has been a vindication that makes me feel that the work I did four years ago was not for nothing after all.

[cali]

37. Aaargh. Dean was NEVER Mayor of Burlington. Big bzzzt.

Dean was in the legislator and then Lt. Guv. When the repuke guv keeled over from a heart attack, Dean became guv. Elected 5 times subsequently.

[madfloridian]

40. I did not catch that....no, he was never mayor.

He was seeing a patient when he got the word the governor had died.

I did not catch that when I read the article.

[Radical Activist]

3. Yawn. More revisionist history about Dean the Messiah.

You cut out the part where the writer saw no pandering in Dean. He wasn't paying attention. This is the DLC Governor that claimed to be from the "democratic wing of the Democratic Party" to one audience and then called himself a moderate and fiscal conservative in national press interviews. He was already moving to the right before Iowa voted and that's a major reason why he lost. Iowa saw he was a pandering fake pumped up by constant media hype.

He was a DLC Governor that acted liberal for less than a year because he saw that was the way to win the primary. Anyone who thinks Dean wouldn't have taken a hard right turn after the primary is a sucker. And the writer has the gall to pick out one issue to paint Obama as a panderer. An issue where Obama took the right stand but saw the futility of a filibuster. This guy's hero worship is clouding his judgment.

Dean used populist and leftist rhetoric sometimes depending on which of his advisers he had been talking to most recently. Obama comes from a background of community organizing focused on empowering the average person. Obama lived it, worked it and understands it in a way that Dean never has and probably never will. Dean had the rhetoric fed to him. Obama is the real thing.

[depakid]

6. I think it's you who are embracing revisionist history

Dean took no corporate money and pioneered the netroots fundraising and networking that Obama's used so effectively.

His loss in the Iowa caucuses had more to do with Kerry's local "troops" on the ground- native Iowans who went to the caucus, than with anything the media said.

Everything else you've mentioned is just speculation- and none too informed at that.

[Radical Activist]

10. There's no speculation

about Dean's back and forth in how he portrayed himself, sounding liberal to one audience and moderate to another. I remember very clearly the December '03 national press interviews where Dean distanced himself more from the liberal label. A lot of other people saw it too and that's when his support started dropping.

No one was allowed to take direct corporate contributions but his biggest contributor through the early primary was employees of media giant AOL/Time Warner. But they media all hated him, right? That's why they gave him more coverage than any other candidate before Iowa I suppose? Dean wasn't the first candidate to use online fundraising. But he was the first candidate who got a whole lot of media hype and fluff stories for doing so. He had a great press team.

Yes, Dean had a real problem with people coming from out of state who just didn't fit in. He also had a problem with not effectively connecting his online and on the ground field operations. That's something the Obama campaign has done a much better job of handling. Obama has taken online organizing and fundraising to a whole other level.

[madfloridian]

12. He said the party had gone so far right it made him look like a liberal

He said it as a joke, then he sort of shrugged.

He never claimed to be liberal, he just called out those who took us in the wrong direction.

[Radical Activist]

56. "I'm from the democratic wing of the Democratic Party"

That was Paul Wellstone's line and everyone knew what it meant. If Dean wasn't a liberal then he was a liar every time he said it.

[iamthebandfanman]

71. "and everyone knew what that meant"

wow, ramble on just using assumptions much?

sheesh,
all youve done is make accusations and assumptions.

apparently you were the only person who was tricked into thinking he was a liberal...cause nobody i knew that supported him thought of him as such. he was a moderate through and through. he did have progressive ideals tho when it came to some subjects. i think we all saw him as a guy you could trust to make good judgements for the good of the people.

but hey
you dont like dean, we get it. enough said.

[Radical Activist]

88. I repeatedly met people who thought he was a liberal

and we have some people claiming that here on this thread. We even had one person claiming he was no different than Paul Wellstone. Which is it and why is it that his supporters have never been able to agree on what he is from day one?

And how is a guy who never showed up at an anti-war rally, supported keeping pentagon spending levels high at Iraq-war levels, and supported staying in Iraq for at least 3-5 years after 2004 a so-called peace candidate? That's the kind of double talk that made me lose respect for him. Other than the fact that Dean opposed the war earlier, there was no substantial difference between the Iraq plans of Dean, Kerry, and Gephardt.

Yes, I've made accusations. Accurate ones. And so far no one has been able to refute any of them.

[xxqqqzme]

95. It is obvious to me you never saw Dean in person

I saw him a number of times and whenever he used the 'Democratic wing' line he gave credit to Wellstone. The first time I saw Dean was a small breakfast gathering, there were maybe 75 people in attendance. His speech was short because he was more interested in questions from the group. He did not dodged one question; answered each questions completely. He had facts & figures to back up his answers. I was so impressed w/ that impromptu Q & A, I became a dedicated supporter.

BTW Howard Dean is no dlc lover - why do you think carville suggested tool harold ford would be a better DNC chair?

[Radical Activist]

98. Isn't the mention of Wellstone

a more direct way to imply and lead people to believe he's a liberal? We all knew what an outspoken liberal Wellstone was. Yet, people here are claiming that Dean never portrayed himself as a liberal. I guess he found a clever way to imply he's a liberal without actually saying it directly. Kind of like how he led people to believe he was more liberal than the DLC by attacking the DLC constantly. Kind of like how Bush implies Iraq was connected to 9/11 without directly saying it.

I heard Dean speak in person once to a small group in New Hampshire. I talked to young people there who thought Dean was a liberal anti-war candidate. I looked beyond his speeches to his record and policy positions and found that he was neither liberal, nor truly anti-war given his support for continuing the war another 3-5 years.

[jaysunb]

13. I won't be as nice as Depakid

You're full of shit ! :evilfrown:

[Cha]

50. Thanks..that

needed to be said.

[Radical Activist]

60. And yet

no one can contradict what I wrote and we have three or four different opinions on what Dean was in '03. The fact that people STILL can't agree if he was liberal or not says a lot about the kind of campaign he ran.

[FatDave]

33. "Dean distanced himself more from the liberal label"

That's funny, because I remember several occasions where Dean said that he wanted to rid the term "liberal" of the negative connotations right-wingers had assigned to it. It was a long time ago, but I seem to remember the gist was that being liberal was not and should never be something to be ashamed of.

So I didn't see so much distancing.

But I do understand if you feel this article is giving too much credit to Dean while short-changing Obama. Obama's own contributions are not to be underestimated. But it isn't an either/or proposition. The fact is that Dean and Obama have similar styles that compliment each other expertly. They built this movement together and both deserve credit.

[Radical Activist]

59. I remember the Dec. '03 Time article where he said he wasn't a liberal

after months of appealing to the liberal base of the party by presenting himself as one.

I think its funny and telling that you wrote this response while others are writing that Dean was never liberal and someone else wrote that he's a "moderate liberal." All the confusion and contradiction about who Dean is results from the type of campaign he ran. He tried to be all things to all people. Its amazing that he did that for his entire campaign and still has a reputation for sticking by his principles just because he criticized other Democrats who didn't.

[stlsaxman]

77. same specious talking point as MSM spews about Obama re fund raising-

"No one was allowed to take direct corporate contributions but his biggest contributor through the early primary was employees of media giant AOL/Time Warner."

Individuals contributions DO NOT represent the employers of the individuals. Period. It wasn't a loophole- it was an internal grass-roots movement. Do you think they were forced to write those checks under threat of losing their employment? Certainly THAT would have leaked to the press.

a bogus argument we've heard all to often.

me wearing MY favorite possession:

[karynnj]

23. You are ignoring that Obama also followed the

example of Kerry in building local troops on the ground. There is at least as much similarity to Kerry's primary run as to Dean's. Dean's fundraising and networking was incorporated into Kerry's own campaign - he raised a huge amount of money - well beyond the Dean numbers in spring 2004. He also had a very active blog and website that did networking locally. Dean's campaign was the first to have them, but they were quickly adopted by everyone.

[Radical Activist]

63. Kerry has a large influence on the Obama campaign.

Many of Obama's early staff, including temporary ones who organized his announcement event, were on loan from Kerry. Obama is an organizer by profession, not a figure head candidate who has too rely too much on strategists and staff. His campaign has done an amazing job of coordinating online organizing and on the ground field organizing in a way that no one has done before. The Dean campaign did good online organizing but they had a problem translating it into productive action on the ground in coordination with everything else they were doing.

[XemaSab]

15. He never claimed to be a liberal

He just claimed to be a DEMOCRAT.

Which is more than a lot of other politicians can say.

[karynnj]

25. Although Kerry won points introducing Kennedy as the leader of the Democratic wing of the Democratic

Party - effectively taking away Dean's ability to claim it for himself.

Exactly who in 2004 was not a Democrat? Kerry was a lifelong Democrat, endorsed by Kennedy, with a more liberal record than Dean's. Gephardt was the type of old fashioned Democrat that unions liked. Clark, with no political history ascribed to mostly liberal policies. Edwards, who was a very hawkish DLC Democrat, might have been the closest to a Republican, but his record differed significantly from the Republicans.

[XemaSab]

30. I kinda got the feeling that Dean was more going after the Clintons than Kerry

with that line.

My "proof" as it were is that he's referred to the DLC as the Republican wing of the Democratic party several times. :P

[karynnj]

31. I think you are partly right - the Clintons were the obvious leaders of

the "other" wing, but they were not running. I think he was not saying that any specific opponent was the "Republican", rather he was claiming leadership for himself of the other wing. My point was that Kerry's giving that designation to Kennedy trumped Dean's comment, without the chutzpah or controversy of designating himself.

[Radical Activist]

64. That's another example of that phrase being used as a synonym for liberal.

Ted Kennedy has long been recognized as the leader of the liberal wing of the party. That's what it meant when Paul Wellstone said it and that was the common understanding when Dean co-opted the term for his campaign. If Dean wasn't a liberal, as several here claim, then his use of that phrase was deceptive pandering to the liberal base of the party.

[Guaranteed]

29. He IS a liberal- a MODERATE liberal.

They do exist- those that believe in liberal principles but also understand that they can be taken too far.


Contrast the "liberal moderate"- no, this is a moderate liberal.

[Radical Activist]

61. Is that like being a hot cold?

Its a contradiction in terms. The fact that four years later people still have to use oxymorons and still argue over what Howard Dean really is results directly from his attempts to be all things to all people.

[Guaranteed]

82. It's clearly not a contradiction because I already explained the concept. nt

[Radical Activist]

57. "I'm from the democratic wing of the Democratic Party" was Paul Wellstone's line.

Every Democratic activist knew what that meant and Dean used it very selectively and deceptively at meetings of liberals at party activists. Either Dean was a liberal or he was a liar every time he used that line.

[Usrename]

68. I'm curious about why you contrast Dean against Wellstone.

What's the difference that you see between Howard and Paul?

To me they both seemed to advocate (strongly advocate) basic Americanism, which I'm not sure is either a liberal or conservative notion.

Dean might be the best choice now for VP, based solely on who would be the best person to take the reigns if Obama could no longer serve.

[Radical Activist]

69. Well, Dean was known as a moderate DLC Governor before he

started pandering to the liberal base in the primary. Wellstone was known as one of the most liberal members of the Senate and had the voting record to back up his rhetoric. He went beyond Dean's vague statements about empowerment. I don't know what you mean by "basic Americanism."

I don't think Dean has done a bad job as Chairman but I don't see anything that makes him especially qualified to be President over the many other choices and I don't think he would help strengthen the ticket.

[Usrename]

80. What is the DIFFERERENCE between them?

You say one was a moderate governor and the other was one of the most liberal members of the Senate.

What does that mean.

Howard Dean was never a big military supporter like Paul Wellstone was. Right? That's what I mean by an objective difference.

But I still don't see how that makes Wellstone more liberal than Dean. They both supported basic American ideals such as the right for labor to organize, defending basic civil rights, opposing unjust wars, etc. What do you think the difference was between them is, other than the press called one of them one thing and the other some other thing?

Was there some other substantial difference?

Howard Dean was selected to be chairman by the party membership, over the advice and objections of the party leadership. That makes him more qualified than any other person to be on the ticket. Unless you just want more of the same, or a repeat of the sixties.

[Radical Activist]

94. Well

Dean went back and forth on trade depending on what audience he was speaking to and never took a strong fair trade position. Dean supported keeping Pentagon spending levels high at Iraq War levels and keeping troops in Iraq for another 3-5 years. Both of those things separate Dean from Wellstone. Also, Wellsonte was a champion for organized labor while Dean never distinguished himself as a labor champion during his years as Governor. There are clear differences when you look beyond Dean's rhetoric. And Paul Wellstone would sure as fuck never called himself a fiscal conservative like Dean did.

The party leadership votes for the DNC Chairman so they voted him in. There was never a general election for party chair where members got to vote him in. But I realize that's part of the Dean mythos.

[Usrename]

99. Wellstone died before we invaded Iraq. There was no Iraq War.

:eyes:

You don't know that Wellstone wouldn't have called himself a fiscal conservative if he had lived to see the corrupt "borrow and spend" ("cheat and steal") policies of this current bunch of crooks. By comparison, they make every sane person into a fiscal conservative, like myself, and I do believe in economic justice which is a lot more conservative than these criminals. I'm not sure you know what you're talking about. Labor endorsed Dean over Dick fucking Gephardt for crissakes. But whatever. I guess you think that Rahm Emanuel and Terry McAuliffe and Harold Ford are the REAL liberal Democratic leadership.

[Radical Activist]

100. Wellstone lived long enough to vote against the Iraq War.

He was one of only two Senators up for re-election who did so.

Wellstone was around for Reagan and Bush I, who did "borrow and spend" just as much as the current President. The term fiscal conservative has been around for a long time and Wellstone never glorified the term "conservative" by referring to it like its a good thing. But you think you know what Wellstone might have said differently if he had lived longer? Please. :eyes:
Someone who was serious about defending the liberal label would stand up and say that being a fiscal conservative means spending money you don't have while giving tax cuts to the rich. But Dean was more interested in being all things to all people, sometimes a fiscal conservative, sometimes a moderate, sometimes a liberal from the democratic wing of the Democratic Party. To some crowds he said he would defend the liberal label but on other days he called himself a fiscal conservative. Its just another example of the Dean double talk.

SOME unions endorsed Dean (only after they thought he was going to be the nominee to side with a winner) while others endorsed Gephardt and Kerry. I just pointed out several areas where Dean and Wellstone differed and you haven't contradicted anything I wrote, except with two factual inaccuracies. The reality of Dean doesn't match the legend his supporters created.

[RaleighNCDUer]

86. You keep saying "Dean/DLC". Got a link for that?

Perhaps at one time he was DLC, until he understood that they are the Republican wing (as he said so many times) but he clearly distanced himself from the DLC which is why they so badly want to take him down - 99% of the anti-Dean screeds are by DLCers and Hillaryites because he exposed them for what they are - the entire Florida/Michigan debacle was a set up by the DLC just to undermine Dean.

So why are you still making a DLC/Dean connection?

[Radical Activist]

89. It was four years ago. Search the archives.

There were plenty of articles pointing to Dean's moderate record as Governor and his being praised by the DLC before he got into the Presidential race.
Yes, Dean distanced himself from the DLC in the Democratic Primary when he saw that it was politically advantageous to do so. It was a clever tactic to appeal to liberals by attacking the DLC while never having to be an actual liberal himself. His attacks against the DLC and empowerment rhetoric distracted from his moderate positions on the issues.

[RaleighNCDUer]

96. So you think moderate = DLC.

His attacks against the DLC simply indicated that you can be a moderate and still oppose the Republican agenda, which the DLC did NOT do.

HE NEVER CLAIMED TO BE A LIBERAL. Everybody knew him as the "moderate Democratic governor..."

You are the only one making that claim.

And you can be a moderate without being a republican shill/DLCer. And you can be a moderate and claim the "Democratic wing of the Democratic party". There are, in fact Blue Dog Democrats who belong to the "democratic wing of the democratic party" in that they see themselves as opponents of the Republican party, despite their conservative credentials.

You, OTOH, are just an anti-Dean bomb thrower.

[Radical Activist]

97. 2002 articles calling him a DLC rising star

plus a moderate record do make him DLC.

Yes, he did claim to be a liberal. Read his speech at the Take Back America conference again and tell me he wasn't claiming to be liberal. The "democratic wing of the Democratic Party" was a Paul Wellstone line that had a well understood accepted meaning before Dean ever used it. This is like claiming words suddenly have new meanings just because Dean spoke them. And if everyone knew him to be a moderate why are there people on this very thread claiming otherwise? Why is it that on every Dean thread you had half of his supporters arguing how he's a liberal and the other half claiming that everyone knows he isn't one. There's no one to blame for that confusion but Dean and his campaign. I suspect how liberal or moderate he sounded on any given day depended on which adviser he had spoken to most recently. That's what Joe Trippi's book suggests.

Sorry but the rest of your post is the kind of tortured double talk that is made necessary by Dean's equivocation.

[newmajority]

16. Are you the same guy with the Che avatar who used to whine about Dean during the 2003-04 campaign?

Can't remember the username, but I do remember that guy was outed as the son of DLC co-founder Bruce Reed.

[Radical Activist]

58. lol

I made the same points about Dean's double talk during that primary. No one has outed me as anyone's son.

[democrattotheend]

24. I agree that Dean would have moved to the right after the primary

Just as some say Obama has. But I still think his campaign was revolutionary and cleared the path for Obama. Neither Dean nor Obama was ever as liberal as they were made out to be by the media, but both embraced grassroots, bottom-up campaigning and helped to reenergize the Democratic base. In his campaign and as DNC chair, Dean has reenergized Democratic activists in places they were ignored and revolutionized campaign fundraising and demonstrated that courting small donors could be worth the effort., making it possible for Obama to be where he is today.

[madfloridian]

28. Neither of them are about liberal or conservative...more about right and wrong.

What makes sense, what is moral.

Neither are perfect, but they are catalysts.

[Radical Activist]

65. Obama has a liberal career record and professional background

that Dean never had. That's what makes him more credible when he talks about liberal issues.

[Coexist]

4. ,

[Iwillnevergiveup]

5. One of my most prized possessions

is an autographed Dean poster. He still screams for me - an incredibly tough, smart gentleman.

[bbgrunt]

7. Howard IS the man. I love the guy.

[blogslut]

8. I love Howard

A lot.

[eleny]

9. I remember the day he made his first announcement of his candidacy

It was quiet and he seemed a little nervous but it was obvious that he was very special.
:patriot:

[madfloridian]

11. "What I want to know"...The speech from 2003 that started it all for us. Video

"What I want to know is what in the world so many Democrats are doing supporting the President's unilateral intervention in Iraq?"

March 15, 2003, Sacramento

[JNelson6563]

73. Makes me smile every time!

Damn I love Dean! Always have, always will. :toast:

Julie

[XemaSab]

14. My Dean sticker is on there for keeps

:D

[FraDon]

17. Bullseye !

This proud Vermonter has watched him for years. For many of us he's a bit centrist, but he's got a fierce conscience and the heart of a grizzly bear.

Vermont :: small state • big impact .

[wilt the stilt]

18. Karl Rove vs. Howard Dean

Karl Rove who once dreamed of a permanent republican majority has led the party to it's lowest point in 40 years.

the boy genius(Rove) who didn't finish college and was too smart for everyone and learned his trade from Lee Atwater( who regretted all the crappy things he had done on his deathbed) has been outflanked and outsmarted by a diligent guy who went to school studied and became a Doctor and then went into politics. There is something to be said about working hard, studying hard and doing things the right way with class.

[leveymg]

19. Can you imagine where we'd be now if Terry McAuliffe was still DNC Chair?

:scared:

[karynnj]

20. Although it may be Dean's rebuilding of all the state's parties that help Obama win in November,

this entire article is revisionist history. The Obama campaign in the primaries had far more in common with the careful, methodical, on the ground campaign Kerry waged in the 2004 primaries than with the Dean campaign. In terms of young people, a category Obama dominated, there is a similarity, but Kerry did as well as Dean with this group in the early primaries. The Edwards 2008 campaign was more in the Dean mode - more outspoken and more popular in the netroots than in the community as a whole. They also shared some rhetoric - that I suspect originated with Trippi accusing the other candidate with being corporate controlled and too close to lobbyists - though it was not true in either 2004 or 2008. (both Kerry and Obama have made significant contributions against corruption - far more than their respective accusers did.)

[madfloridian]

21. Could you just let it be?

Dean spoke out for many of us when Kerry was not. That is a fact. It was refreshing to hear the truth and it started the change in the party.

If Kerry had spoken out then as he does now....he would have won.

[karynnj]

35. Though I love the Beatles song of that name, no I won't - any more than you will

The fact is that Kerry did speak out in 2004 and I found him to be the most truthful - his style was different than Dean's, but his charges were not that different. The fact is that the situation in 2004 is not what it is now and Kerry would have lost by a landslide had he said what he did in April 2006. The situation in Iraq was not the same and the country was not the same. Dean, himself, did not say things Kerry said in 2006 - even in 2006! The fact is in 2004, there were some swing voters in prior years, who thought Kerry's attacks on Bush's motives and the way he ran the war were too strong. There was a reason Dean polled about 20 points behind Bush in Dec 2003. You do realize that saying both before Bush went to war and afterwards that it was not a war of last resort meant it was not a just war.

But, more important, nothing you said was related to the comments I made - which I had as much right to make as you have to make your comments. There is NOTHING in Obama's cool demeanor or style that relates to Dean's aggressive style. There are elements of Dean's campaign in Obama's, such as the use of the internet for fundraising, but there were far bigger differences. I see greater similarity between Edwards 2008 and Dean. You of course can disagree, but instead you went into a personal attack.

[madfloridian]

36. You can not let Dean get credit.

So be it. This is not saying Dean and Obama are alike in style. You don't get it, you just think everyone is attacking Kerry...that is not true.

It is not an attack when I say Kerry would have won if he had spoken then like he is doing now.

The day he on CNN said if he had to do again...he would still vote FOR the war was a turning point.

The OP was giving Dean credit rightfully for a movement.

[karynnj]

53. That is not what the op said

And in my first post, I gave Dean credit for what he did. As to the Kerry, he did not say he voted for the war, on CNN or elsewhere, he said he would have voted for the IWR - there is a distinction - and it was NOT a turning point. The fact is that Kerry got the votes of people who were anti-war - there were simply not enough of them. Kerry spoke against rushing to war before it started when Bush did not do as he promised.
The comments I challenged were that Obama's campaign had much similarity to Dean's campaign. You have yet to dispute anything I said.

Given that you've said the same things at least 100 times, I see no point to continue responding to you. Your comments implying Kerry did not speak out, had anything to do with my comments or the OP - that is what YOU bring up constantly. I know you think Dean would have won and that he was the only candidate against the war. I don't - he was 20 points behind Bush before he had the fight with Gephardt and before Iowa.

[Radical Activist]

66. Good comparison.

Edwards was the Dean of '08 with his shift to the left despite a moderate career, pandering rhetoric to the liberal base, appeals to the netroots, and unfairly portraying other candidates as conservative. I think Trippi did a lot of damage to the party with the online campaign to paint Obama as a conservative. The meme was inaccurate, unfair and lives on in the general election despite the meager evidence to support it. Its a shame to see so may people online repeating that Obama isn't a liberal despite his liberal career record and policy positions.

[ozone_man]

79. Perhaps neolibral is a better description.

He's a corporate friendly liberal. Liberal by itself has come to lose much of it's original meaning.

Progressive is a better term and Obama is not a progressive. He makes that clear himself. He's a pragmatic centrist. Dean is no liberal either in the progressive sense, although he is in social areas (a social liberal), and he's a fiscal conservative, which is a very good thing to be. We see now where fiscal irresponsibility has led us.

More importantly, Dean is a free thinker who stood up to the main stream media. He tells it like it is. Not a great quality for a politician at this point, but I'm hopeful that people will one day want politicians who do tell the truth (as they see it). Like Dean, Kucinich, Gravel, Nader, Paul.

[Radical Activist]

90. That's a very ugly label and you'll need to back it up with examples.

Obama has a nearly 100% career record with the AFL-CIO, opposed CAFTA and supports fair trade policy positions. That's not the description of a neoliberal corporate candidate. A guilt by association article full of innuendo about Obama's adviser is not a credible way to discount his entire career record and publicly stated issues positions.

Sorry but these constant accusations sound like recycled Ralph Nader garbage that is used against every Democratic nominee.

[Radical Activist]

92. Also, I find it ironic that you list Dean

as a candidate who tells the truth but call Obama a neoliberal. It was Dean who had a shifting back and forth position on trade and was clearly to the right of Obama.
Dean called for keeping Pentagon spending high at Iraq-war levels and staying in Iraq for another 3-5 years. Obama actually had the guts to speak at an anti-war rally before the war began (something Dean has still never done) and has had a much more consistent position in favor of quick withdrawal. Obama has for more in common with Kucinich than Dean does.

[EFerrari]

22. Highest kick for Howard.

:kick:

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

26. Damn straight he did

Having Dr Dean as party chair is the best thing that has happened to the institutional Democratic Party in he last forty years.

Go Howard, Go!

[tbyg52]

27. Hooray for Dr. Dean! nt

[bigwillq]

32. Dean is probably

my biggest political hero. I love me some Howie. :bounce:

[FatDave]

34. I have not forgotten Howard Dean (nt)

[bahrbearian]

38. Gore and Dean For 2008

[DFW]

67. Funny that about that combination

I was at a tiny gathering in May with the two of them standing side by side standing three feet
from me, and I was thinking that I was standing right in front of what would have been THE ideal
ticket for President and VP, and wondering why the hell couldn't we have such a ticket? Why must
we always end up settling for less?

[David Zephyr]

39. Great article, babylonsister. Thanks for posting it. Howard Dean is a great chairman.

Most everyone knows I'm a big fan of Howard Dean, but the truth is that he doesn't get his due and that's how I think he likes it. He wants the candidates to be the star act.

Dean and his 50 state strategy gave us our wind back!

Great article and here's a heartfelt hello to you, babylonsister. :hi:

[janet118]

41. Some lessons I learned from the Dean campaign

1) The Internet is a great organizing and fundraising tool.

2) Watch your back. The DLC will knife Democrats faster than Republicans.

3) Create a bench. Support progressive candidates at all levels. Barack Obama was on the first "Dean Dozen" fundraising list.

4) Stay in it for the long run. Don't give up just because you lost the election. Stay active. Take back the Democratic Party.

5) Leave no state behind.

6) Feed the grassroots. They will generate their own energy if they are given space and respect.

Give 'em hell, Howard.

[madfloridian]

48. And the one he repeated over and over: "Energize your base."

That is what many centrists forget in trying to attract Bush's base.

[mzmolly]

42. Dean is a visionary.

I am proud to have supported him in 04 and am pleased to continue doing so as he leads our Party.

[TexasObserver]

43. Amen, Sister! Amen!!

Howard Dean has given yeoman's service to the party and the country. He has been the best National Chair in decades and decades.

[lojasmo]

44. Howard Dean democrat for Obama!

[Mass]

45. He definitively had an important role in this. As do others.

This said, it is ironic that the author quotes Krugman. Krugman did what it could for it not to happen.

[BlooInBloo]

46. Not forgotten in the least. Kos among others has been very good at keeping this fact in mind....

Dean set em up, Obama's knocking em down.

[Joanne98]

47. YAY

[WhiteTara]

49. Chief of Staff

now that would be a great boon for the country.

[Egnever]

51. He will never be forgoten by me

Dean got us here.

[Cha]

52. Dean's a keeper on the National Stage...

I hope he remains there for awhiel.

[Kire]

54. now, if only he can make this happen

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=244x2453

[Hekate]

55. I worked hard for Dean & have never forgotten. We Dems owe him a tremendous debt...

I hope to gods that the 50 state strategy survives his eventual departure from the DNC.

Hekate

[MaineDem]

76. Obama has said he will continue the 50-state strategy

As did Clinton and Edwards and a few others.

The State Chairs will hold him to it. Dean deserves a lot of credit for following through on the 50-state project but it was the State Chairs who suggested it. They want it to stay.

[RNdaSilva]

62. Undercover, but not forgotten.

[DFW]

70. LONG term Deaniac here

Proud to have known Howard since he was "Howard Who?"


"You are still the one..."

[nradisic]

72. I am a Deaniac..

I was one of the first two hundred contributors to Dean's campaign in October of 2002. Howard Dean has had it right from square one. The 50 State strategy he established is helping Obama now.

Way to go Dr. Dean.

[Upfront]

74. Dean Bumper Sticker

I still have a Dean sticker on my car. I thought I was the only one. I could not agree more with all you said. Clear thinking like you demonstrate here is absolutely refreshing. K&R

[crispini]

75. I (heart) Howard.

[mod mom]

78. It was the good Doctor who turned me into an activist!

[RubyDuby in GA]

81. I got off the couch and involved in politics because of Howard Dean!

Met my husband working on his campaign. We were so grateful to him that we named our son after him, Carter Dean Todd.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for him and will be the first to shout from the rooftops that he was right then and he's still right today!

[TheDonkey]

83. Lets win this before we get too excited

but I hope for all our sakes Dean pulls this out.

[SidneyCarton]

84. K&R For Dr. Dean, the man who made this possible.

I'm sorry he didn't get the nom in 04, but that may have been the best thing to ever happen to our party.

[Historic NY]

85. Dr. Dean the man with the 50 state plan, doctors ailing Democrat Party.

[ooglymoogly]

87. KR...The forgotten man who should have been president

if not drop kicked out of the park by a treasonous corporate media. Imagine what it would be like today if Dean had made it to the presidency.

[BootinUp]

91. No it wasn't

it was me with my Obama voodoo doll. lol.

[musiclawyer]

93. HD will never be forgotten by me; I wrote a song for him

http://johntitorensemble.com/song/42