It Is Not Dean's Job

[cali]

to speak out against the war
to support censuring the president
to support impeachment
to oppose drilling in ANWR

or to make pronouncements on any hot button policy issues- no matter how much you may want him to. It's simply not his job. He probably speaks out more than he should already.

Dean's job is build the party and get dems elected. These expectations that he should or could be the voice of the party, are unrealistic.

I thoroughly expect people to get pissed off at him for supporting DINOs. guess what? If they win the primary in their states, he'll support them. It's his job.

I keep seeing people threatening to stop supporting the DNC if Dean doesn't do or say this or that.
Not a very productive approach in my book. Time to put aside Dean the candidate and work with Dean the DNC Chair.

[Selatius]

1. You have no complaints with me. You just have to read his job description

If you have complaints, your grievances are best directed at Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid.

[rucky]

2. His job IS to keep us from jumping ship.

and he's doing great! I just got an email from him defending Feingold, and I'm glad I did.

[movonne]

10. Just where do we jump when we jump the ship..this is a real question not

a sarcastic remark..I would like to have some place to jump too.

[rucky]

29. That's why the Senators aren't too motivated, eh?

My plan has been to switch my registration to independent. Parties are pretty much obsolete anyway, and it doesn't stop you from voting how you want. But if the DNC sees their registration rolls dropping in the tens of thousands, it would send a message without actually helping the Republicans.

That's what happened to the AARP when they sold out their members for the Medicaid "reform" plan. they got their act together after they lost 100,000 members in a week.

[Vincardog]

3. It is because we are so hungry for somebody to stand for us.

[cali]

6. I know, I know

and I sympathize with that. I long for people to stand with us too, but the truth is Dean can't do that.

[MoJoWorkin]

4. Thank you ! I agree totally. n/t

[JuniperLea]

5. You are right

What he can do, however, is to build a platform that includes things a new Democratic administration would do differently... ummm... like upholding the Constitution for one thing... for adhering to privacy laws... for upholding just about every law the current administration has bastardized.

But that is as close to chastising the current administration as I think he should go. Let them be the ones to call names and raise their fists and voices in anger. Give them enough rope... Besides, nothing would piss them off more than to go looking for a fight and not find one;)

[Warpy]

7. Agreed. The spineless wimps in congress were his predecessor's

fault and we can't blame him for a bunch of toadying appeasers any more than we can blame him for the myopic programs on the DLC website.

The mess the party is in took decades to make and he's not going to be able to clean it up in less than a year. Part of it is up to us, anyway, since we're the ones responsible for getting this current crop of limp bastards out of Congress via the election.

Yes, there are exceptions like Feingold, Boxer, Kerry, Conyers, and others. However, the DLC weenies are every bit as big a problem in Congress as the GOP they side with is, and probably more of a problem when we consider the party's future. Nobody's going to vote for a party that refuses to stand up for them.

If you love your government, vote for the incumbents. If you don't, vote the bastards OUT. However, don't stiff the entire party. Contribute to progressive candidates wheever you find them. Make your money matter.

[DinahMoeHum]

8. Agreed. We really can't talk about impeachment. . .

until we get the candidates elected to create Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
And that depends on strengthening the Democratic Party at state and local levels in EACH AND EVERY STATE and EACH AND EVERY DISTRICT. Hence Dean's 50-State Strategy.

:kick:

[mattclearing]

9. Thanks for saying this. It bears repeating every once in awhile.

A lot of people expect him to use the DNC chairmanship as a bully pulpit. That's not really what he's there for.

[OzarkDem]

11. Whose job is it?

To take the leadership role for Dems in doing all those things.

I can guarantee, when the GOP was the minority party they didn't have a leadership or identity problem on the national policy stage.

[Rainscents]

13. HARRY REID and NACY PALOSI!!!

It's their JOB! Reid ( Senate ) Palosi ( Congress ) for Dem.

[cali]

14. It's the job of

congressional dems. Governors should be speaking out more. In any case, it's the job of those in elective office. No National Party Chairman has ever been a policy spokesperson. Again, his job is to build the party, elect dems, raise money and support dem candidates. It's essentially a technical and strategic position.

[Rainscents]

12. Your so right!

If Dean was one of our Senator, we all know damn well, he would speak up and speak out! Dean's job is to get the ground work from bottom up and he is doing EXCELLENT job at that!

[BR_Parkway]

15. Can the DNC chair tell someone they can't run as a Demcrat? Even

in the primaries? No, not Lieberbush, but I'm thinking of the nutjob who announced who has ties to racist organizations and such - I thought it strange the guy jumped into the primary as a Dem and figured he was there to hurt someone else - and wondered why the Dem party can't tell someone no.

[magellan]

16. So as Chairman, Dean can publicly defend Feingold

...against Republican mud-slinging, and he can speak out about wiretapping:

"The Bush Administration's secret program to spy on the American people reminds Americans of the abuse of power during the dark days of President Nixon and Vice President Agnew. Why is it that President Bush went in front of the American people and said that a wiretap 'requires a court order,' after having approved a wiretap program without a court order two years earlier? It's time for the President to tell the truth. Americans deserve real answers."

and he can "applaud Democratic efforts to prevent President Bush from outsourcing the control of America's largest ports to a foreign government-owned company" in a radio address...

But he can't offer words of support for censure? Well, color me confused for thinking he had a right to speak up. :sarcasm:

[Rainscents]

17. He did!

Got email from Dean and he is supporting Feingold.

[magellan]

18. What's it say, please? (nt)

[Rainscents]

23. Here is link to from DNC!

Stop Attacking Russ Feingold!!!!
Stop Attacking Russ Feingold
Republicans are so scared of having a legitimate debate about Iraq or national security that they have only one reaction to news of their failures or calls for accountability.

On Monday, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold introduced legislation to censure the President for breaking the law by creating a secret domestic spying program. Agree or disagree with his proposal, as a Senator -- and as an American -- he has the right to speak his mind and express his views without Republican Senators questioning his patriotism.

But that's exactly what happened. This week Republican Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado, in an interview with Fox News radio, said in response to Feingold's action that he has "time and time again with the terrorists".

You'll fine this on DNC website

[magellan]

24. I appreciate that, rainscents, but I think you'll find

...that's about Senator Allard calling Feingold a traitor. Gov. Dean did an excellent job of speaking up on behalf of Feingold -- we really need to hear the Repubs called on their despicable behavior more often! But there's nothing really for or against censure specifically included in Dean's message, and that disappoints me.

[Rainscents]

26. I understand.

I just have feeling, Dean is working on this "Back Door" getting Senator's to support Freingold, this is just my gut feeling.

[magellan]

28. God I hope you're right

As I just said in a reply above, I didn't realize being Chairman of the Party meant Dean could only express unified Dem positions. It's just natural to expect he'd be able to express an opinion of his own. My bad. If he's working behind the scenes to get support behind Feingold, all the better. I guess I just don't understand why the Dems aren't unified on the illegality of the wiretapping already.

Thanks, rainscents. :)

[cali]

19. I guess you are confused.

Of course he can criticize the repubs and bushco. Of course he can defend dems agains gratuitous attacks. What he can't do is take a specific policy position that by rights belongs to a specific branch of the Congress. For one thing, the dems in Congress are not united on this. He'd be siding with some dems against others. He's specifically NOT supposed to do that. He can echo a unified party position. He can't take the lead on policy or get in the middle of a debate in the Senate and take a side.

Hope you're less confused now.

[magellan]

25. Sort of

You say he can only echo a unified party position, which is something I did not know and I thank you for informing me. But in a way that only makes it worse. If Dean can't speak on censure one way or t'other, that means the Dems have no unified position on the illegal wiretapping of US citizens. And we know this has happened. Peace activists have been wiretapped. I find it very sad that the Dems can't unite over that.

[madfloridian]

22. Why are you guys making this about Dean?

No one thought this was really his business, and suddenly here are all these posts about where's Dean...why isn't he speaking up on this.

Like it is excusing others.

[magellan]

27. I'm not making this about Dean

I'm one person, who saw that Dean had spoken up on behalf of Feingold today against Repub attacks re censure, and I expressed irritation that he hadn't commented on censure. I did not realize that Dean can only speak out on unified Dem issues -- which says a lot about where the Dems are on censure over illegal wiretapping. I don't excuse ANY Dem who isn't behind censure for Bush** for his illegal wiretapping of US citizens for political reasons!

[Cha]

20. Here's a very positive article I

saw on buzzflash on Dean's "building from the ground up".

SNIPS~

Efforts on local level strengthening party, winning over skeptics
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | March 13, 2006

ALBUQUERQUE -- When Howard Dean took over as chairman of the Democratic National Committee last February, the selection of the man known for ''the scream" sent chills down the spines of many Democrats in Southern and Western states, where a Dean-injected dose of East Coast liberalism carried the risk of dooming the party for years.

Meanwhile, many Dean skeptics in state Democratic parties -- especially in places like New Mexico, a swing state that voted Republican in the last presidential race -- have been won over. The reason is the millions of dollars Dean has spent rebuilding Democratic organizations in places that haven't seen a coordinated Democratic effort in a long time.


But as Dean's mini-army of more than 150 DNC-paid operatives have fanned out across the country, many rural and conservative-leaning Democrats are nodding with approval.

''I've never really been a Dean guy," said John Wertheim, chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party. ''But I've really bought into his program. Is it risky? Sure. But I think it's a darn good investment."

Much more..
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/03/13/dean_seen_boosting_dnc_from_bottom_up/


Dean's has been gettin' busy doin' his job.

[madfloridian]

21. Some here and in the party are trying to make this about Dean.

Keep your eyes open. They are referring to Feingold as going the route Dean went...which I assume means trying to get the party to stand up and speak out.

It is coming from the left and the right of the spectrum.

This originally had nothing to do with Howard Dean, it is about Feingold doing something he thought was right. People are trying to make it about him.

Haven't figured out just why yet.