Dean May be the Right Guy at the Right Time -- If Democrat's Don't Castrate Him First.
I'm not wild about Howard Dean being named as Chair of the Democratic National Committee. My reasons however are not based on any concern about Dean's effectiveness in doing the job, but rather on my hope that he would continue to be a rockthrowing outsider who would tell the nation when the president isn't wearing any clothes. (Which appears to be most of the time.) But unlike Jonathan Chait of The New Republic, who in a recent opinion article in the Los Angeles Times asked " Are Democrats suicidally crazy? " I don't think it's such a bad idea. And here's why.
First off, things aren't as bad as they seem. A review of the electoral map shows that John Kerry, "the most liberal member of the Senate", came within one state (Ohio) of defeating an incumbent President. Dean is taking over a Democratic Party that is not as far behind as some would have you believe
Secondly, the assessment of the electoral map and call to focus on "moral values" in an appeal to "southern voters" by some Democrats is flat out wrong. Instead of focusing on southern states they probably can’t win by acting like Republicans, Democrats should focus on Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico, and take steps to secure states in the upper Midwest. Dean understands that Democrats won't win by being "Republican Lite." Additionally, his new organization, Democracy for America has already made inroads in Western states and Dean will appeal to newer younger voters whose immigration to those states is changing the shape of the electorate.
Third, Howard Dean isn't as liberal as a lot of people have spent a lot of time and money trying to make Americans believe. As Governor of Vermont, he was a downright penny pincher who cut taxes, trimmed spending and balanced the budget. (Note to President Bush, you might want to read up on how that works.) His record of fiscal conservatism will serve Democrats well as they position themselves for the next election.
Most importantly for a party chairman, Dean has proven that he excels at the basics of political campaigns -- Money, Message and Organization.
When it comes to money, Dean turned the political world on its head last year by raising record sums in the Democratic primary by reaching out to donors small and large through an innovative Internet-based strategy. Dean's success paved the way for Democrats to be able to compete financially with Republicans in the general election. Even after he dropped out of the race, Dean was able to use his fundraising skills to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Senate and congressional candidates. Dean's fund raising prowess will serve the Democratic party well and help to even the playing field in the upcoming congressional elections.
More than money, the Democrats need a message and a messenger to deliver it. It was Dean's ability to connect with average voters that first launched him onto the national stage. He was the first Democrat to stand up and in effect say the President was wrong, that the war in Iraq was mismanaged, that his actions were making America less safe, and that his policies were ruining the economy. He came across as honest and credible, and his message rang true for a large swath of Americans who were greatly concerned their country was headed in the wrong direction. And in the final weeks of the election, he more than proved himself as an advocate for John Kerry, challenging President Bush and making the case for a Kerry presidency. The Democrats desperately need a spokesperson with national stature who can challenge the President and offer an alternative message. Based on his pabulum like response to the President's state of the nation address, Harry Reid isn't going to cut it. Dean offers the Democrats the ability to reach out to voters who are increasingly disenchanted with the leadership of President Bush. The latest Associated Press/Ipsos poll shows the Presidents job approval ratings are sinking and that a growing number of Americans think the Country is on the wrong track. Democrats need to capitalize on that public disenchantment. Dean can do that, and while he is at if, offer cover to elected officials who need to run in conservative states and congressional districts and may not be as free as Dean is to challenge the President.
I also think that Dean can deliver an effective message to voters who may feel ignored by the Democratic party. One of the most important if controversial things that Dean said during the primaries was that "Democrats need to talk with the guys in Pick-Up Trucks, the ones with Confederate flags." He may have said it poorly, but he was absolutely right. There is no justifiable reason that blue collar workers who have been laid off from manufacturing jobs by the thousands should continue to vote against their own economic interests by supporting Republicans whose policies are basically robbing the working poor and middle class to benefit the rich. Democrats cannot continue to let Republicans divert voters from their own economic interests by framing elections as choices over moral values. Fiscal responsibility is a moral value, a good job that can support a family is a moral value. Dean understands that and is committed to reaching out to those voters.
As for organization, the rap on Dean is that he is is not a good manager. In his article, Chait sites several campaign types who complain about Dean's management of his presidential campaign. I have no idea if those claims have any merit, but they are irrelevant. It's not a candidates job to manage a major campaign, and it should not be Dean's job to manage the day to day functions of the Democratic National Committee. That's why candidates hire campaign managers, and that is why Dean will hire a skilled manager to run DNC operations. But there is another way to look at the importance of "organization," and that is the ability to engage and organize voters on behalf of a candidate or cause. At that, Dean has more than proven his merit. His ground breaking use of the Internet during the primaries to create "meet-ups" engaged thousands of new voters in the political process. And since the primary, Dean's Democracy for America has focused like a laser beam on grassroots development, energizing voters and electing dozens of Democratic candidates at the state and local level. That experience can only help to re-energize the Democrat's grassroots organizational efforts.
Maybe Chait and other Democrats are right, maybe Dean will be a disaster. But I think that Dean may bring the right combination of skills and talents to the job of DNC chairman at what is possibly a turning point for Democrats. The only thing I really worry about is that "Democratic leaders" may castrate him before he even gets started, turning him into just another voiceless eunuch without anything meaningful to say.
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