Wish we could get Howard Dean back to run our party again

[Laura PourMeADrink]

Just saw him on MSNBC. He's SO informed and SO savvy.

That's all

[CurtEastPoint]

1. sorry, drawing a blank... Howard?

[XanaDUer2]

2. Dean? Nt

[CurtEastPoint]

8. brain in gear now. Thank you

[Laura PourMeADrink]

26. Your brain's in gear??! Love it

[roamer65]

3. Howard Dean.

I wish we could, too.

[brooklynite]

4. What would Dean do that Jaime isn't?

And please don't say "50 State Strategy" again. Most people don't actually know what Dean meant by the phrase, and Jaime is doing pretty much the same thing.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Everything

[MerryHolidays]

13. Win his own elections, for one thing

Howard Dean was an elected official at various levels in VT state government for years and won two terms as VT governor. Jaime Harrison ran only once, and frankly got annihilated by Lindsey Graham in 2020. So there's the personal experience of winning. I don't mean that in any mean-spirited way but just to point out Dean is/was far more experienced than Harrison in direct political experience.

Second, in checking Dean's Wikipedia page, it does seem like the 50 State Strategy was Dean's idea and one that was implemented well in 2006. In fact, it worked so well that Barack Obama used this as a central part of his 2008 campaign strategy:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean

I certainly wish for Mr. Harrison to succeed. And, I fully appreciate that 2022 is very different than 2006. It's just not clear to me that there is a cohesive message from the DNC at the moment. Perhaps the Alito opinion and J6 will help, but I don't see what Mr. Harrison is palpably doing just yet. It is admittedly a very difficult time, so I hope he achieves as much as possible.

[honest.abe]

15. +1

Well said.

[DET]

17. Truer words...

“Win his own elections, for one thing”. Ain’t that the truth. And he lost after amassing a fortune in contributions - including from me. So of course we pick him as DNC chair. I thought anyone would be better than Tom Perez, but I was wrong.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. Yes. Oddly no savvy. JHC we had maybe a zillion?

opportunities to run ONE single generic ad denouncing the FG as devil incarnate. Perhaps I was in a state where it didn't run? Or no money? What???

[Laura PourMeADrink]

27. Lordie... Great response! So what would it take

To get him back in the mix?

[DemocraticPatriot]

37. pre-election polls showed Mr. Harrison as within a hairs-breath

of winning his senate race in 2020 in South Carolina... but "suddenly" he lost it, by a wide margin.... according to whatever vote-counting machines they use, in South Carolina...

(probably not the same machines that Trump and Guilliani say mis-counted the lost Trump states, I will wager.... Just putting that out there.... "they always project&quot


Nevertheless, I don't see what good he has done as party chairman... but I think perhaps he was robbed in his senate race...

(Republicans were always the experts in 'election fraud')

[brooklynite]

40. Vermont vs South Carolina...practically a mirror image comparison.

[MerryHolidays]

41. Your sarcasm is well-noted, but Harrison wasn't even close in SC

What concrete things has Mr. Harrison done as DNC Chair? There is NO doubt that this is an extremely tough election season, but I am simply not aware of any messaging coming out of the DNC. A

[uponit7771]

16. Go Stacy Abram's at every community of color in the US. I'm shocked to see the polls of CoC and ...

... and the response to those polls for over 2 years is to get worse.

If its money Jamie needs to speak up or something but dem can't allow the trends in CoC to continue

[Laura PourMeADrink]

28. Okay, duh wracked my brains ... What is CoC? Apologizing in advance.

[uponit7771]

33. community of color

[DemocraticPatriot]

36. What is Jamie doing ??

Sorry, can't see any evidence of whatever it is, from the trenches in the 'fly-over' states...


I did not support Dean for the 2004 presidential nomination, but I thought his efforts as party chair were much better than any others, before or since...

[mahina]

6. Oh damn I was just saying that!

Last edited Wed May 4, 2022, 10:17 PM - Edit history (1)

We need the 50 state strategy back yesterday!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

19. 5?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

29. Sorry!

[mahina]

32. Not for a moment.

Saying to my friend.

[Meowmee]

7. I have lost hope for anything but more disasters from this country

But he might do a better job.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. Agree. It's like you have to think who in the world is our best hope?

PS I am a Ryan - D - fan . He's got such brilliance and such passion we have missed for so many years. My opinion

[Meowmee]

34. I feel no hope

And do not care anymore, it’s all a **** sand-which to me now and will be forever. I just hope fascism does not completely take over. I have not followed him much, he is too conservative imo.

[iemanja]

9. I was a Dean supporter back in the day

I agree with your assessment.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. Get back on bandwagon :)

[keep_left]

10. His "50 State Strategy" was a great idea.

At least I think he came up with that. Dean was one of the few really willing to take the fight where it was needed. I remember hearing an interview with Ruth Conniff (then with The Nation) who mentioned how when Dean was running against GWB, he wasn't the most progressive left-wing candidate by a long shot, but he was always the one who had a few choice words about the corruption and lies--especially when it came to the Iraq War 2.0 debacle. Now It all just makes me feel old.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. Noooo... Time to revive it all !

[honest.abe]

11. Yeah, I was Deaniac back in the day.

He is a really smart guy and inspires people. I know he's getting up there in age but I think he can still do it.



However, I think I recall DFW, who knows Howard personally, said that he is not interested in coming back as party chair at least that was the case a couple of years ago.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

24. Yup... Too bright and probably realizes we aren't gonna

change for better. Sad

[keep_left]

31. It sounds like there is a story there about why he doesn't want to come back...

...but nobody's talking. That's usually how these things go. What is really a shame is that the 50 State Strategy was quickly abandoned, which may be part of the reason Dean's not around. I admit that after he dropped out of the race, I stopped paying much attention. But it was really disappointing when his best idea (the 50 State Strategy) was abandoned. People forget that even some of the "chud" states once had a lot of radical politics. (There's a book about it called Hammer and Hoe).

[appalachiablue]

12. The GOP, Alec, the Koch Bros & more are working on the

state level with gerrymandering, vote suppression, etc. People are more focused national level politics than in the states where issues receive much less attention. Jim Crowe started in the states. 'Laboratories of Autocracy' new book by author David Pepper, Ohio Democratic Party.

[Demsrule86]

14. I love Howard...he is the best. We need someone experienced at the DNC.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

30. Amen. And I know nothing. But I do know one thing, intuitively

The MF FG was polluting our world for 4 years. And he's like a bunch of garbage in a bag that breaks on the way to the bin for 1 1/2 years now since he tried to overthrow the effin government. That I never ever saw a generic Democratic ad against this piece of shit tells me ONE thing... Need a new chair. Serious as a heart attack.

[dalton99a]

21. That asshole from Chicago fucked him over pretty good

The mayor, not the president

[Laura PourMeADrink]

25. Man, wouldn't you LOVE to have Howard Dean across from you

at a dinner table? Bet he has the best insight and the best knowledge about it all.

[Raine]

35. Howard Dean was the BEST

leader for the party, I'll always remember all the wins in 2006. I knew from that the Democrats would win the Whitehouse in 2008 and they did!!!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

38. He's busy working for a law firm that lobbies on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.

I think Dr. Dean’s views have moderated in the last several years for some reason.

[Saboburns]

39. Watching how Democrats and the Dem Party torpedoed Dean for the "Dean scream" was quite a lesson

For me 20ish years ago. I loved Howard Dean then, I loved when he headed the DNC, and I love the guy still. IMHO Howard Dean is/was the best Democratic political candidate, with the best and brightest future, since John F. Kennedy. An absolute Progressive star, likable, fantastic speaker, wise and intelligent. Did I mention a true Progessive?

And he was cut down in less than a week, by Democrats in the Party, for Yeehawing at one of his raucus campaign rallies.

Goddamn right I'm still bitter.