Dean drops out of DNC chairmanship race

[pstokely]

Source: The Hill

DENVER — Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean dropped out of the race to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Friday.

Dean, who served as DNC chairman from 2005 to 2009, announced in a pre-recorded video to a conference of state Democratic chairs that he would step aside to allow for a new face to lead the party as it seeks to rebuild.
That reduces the field of candidates to three.

The front-runner is Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who has racked up endorsements from Washington lawmakers and national labor unions.

South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison and New Hampshire Chairman Ray Buckley are also in the race.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/308547-dean-drops-out-of-dnc-chairmanship-race

[riversedge]

1. oh drats!!

[Hortensis]

26. Whatever. Both DNC and RNC are weak players in this era, and

we shouldn't be making too much of this. There are many liberal power blocs around the nation that are more powerful. Let's face it, in a worst case, if some inept ideologues did gum up the workings for a while, real power would just quietly work around it.

That said, I did like Tom Perez for the job, just because I admire him a lot, but then maybe he was saying, good grief, no!

[Hortensis]

48. Good details from Politico, co-chairs possibility, Perez

still possibility, AFL-CIO members angry at ballot with only Ellison's name on it...

People surrounding Ellison have been working to determine the White House’s intentions in the wake of speculation about a Perez endorsement while Democrats aligned with Sanders have been frustrated that the Minnesota congressman’s team hasn’t relied more on them.

“A lot of the voting members are waiting for [someone new to enter the race],” said former DNC chairman and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, recommending the re-institution of a dual- or multi-chairman system similar to the one implemented under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, given the lack of a unanimously popular candidate.

"Everybody likes — and I put myself in this category — Keith Ellison. We like his personality, his passion, his energy. We like that he represents the part of the party that’s where the energy is coming from. But everybody has doubts, with all the challenges we face, that one could do the job in a part-time capacity."

Personally, I'm hoping Obama's choice will carry over. Obama intends to be very involved in shaping the party's future, and I suspect he wants a DNC chair who shares his vision.

[mattocaster6]

2. Thank God

Go Ellison.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

22. Yes, Keith will represent the progressive movement admirably! Another wise move by Bernie to support him for DNC Chair.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!

[JI7]

3. that's too bad. he was my favorite choice

[NWCorona]

4. I like Dean but he's gotten to close to the health care lobby

[Zen Democrat]

5. Dean has become a lobbyist for Big Pharma. Not our guy.

[burrowowl]

40. Agree!

[LuckyLib]

6. Ellison is very effective, but needs to stay in the House to raise hell there, IMHO.

Somebody else can herd the cats.

[lordsummerisle]

7. He doesn't have to leave the House to be DNC chair n/t

[LuckyLib]

14. True, but DWS tried to keep both plates in the air. I think the DNC is a full-time job.

[KittyWampus]

38. But he should. The DNC chair is a full time job and he'd need on the job training.

[LisaM]

8. Damn it.

I was really pulling for him. I want someone who's not in office to do this. It doesn't make any sense to have someone who can't devote to this full time.

[MBS]

11. I agree.

. .especially given the magnitude and urgency of the task at hand.

[leftofcool]

17. I believe that Dean is feeling like many of us.

We are done with the Democratic Party. Let the so called progressives have it. They can remake it farther to the left and continue to lose elections.

[JonLP24]

19. If we stand up for the 99% rather than sell out

We shouldn't have a problem. Obama won in 2008 on a progressive platform.

On edit: see that Ellison has endorsements from labor unions.

[LisaM]

21. Obama won, but he has had zero coattails

I think he's been a fine President, but he won on personality, not message (I'm not knocking his message). If people cared deeply about that, they would have delivered him the House and Senate in 2010 and 2012, and they would have voted to keep his work going now.

[Ace Rothstein]

43. That is completely false.

We've won one election in the last 16 years when Obama hasn't been on the ticket.

[LisaM]

47. Exactly.

It wasn't his message that people voted for. It was him. Then those same voters couldn't do him the courtesy of giving him a Congress he could work with and they couldn't be bothered ti turn out a couple hundred thousand more people so that we could continue his progress. They sat by and niw ut will all be undone. That tells me that his message was not effective enough.

[YOHABLO]

30. Oh please, the Dem Party tried to become Rep Lite. That's so wrong. We're Progressives.

[Red Knight]

45. Yes because Trump ran on centrist/right positions.

[hollowdweller]

9. I wish they could convince Secy of Labor Tom Perez to run for it.

[femmocrat]

15. Perez is my choice, too.

I read somewhere today that he is considering it.

[TuslaUltra]

10. hopefully he backs Harrison or Buckley. Those two have the vision and time to be good.

and unlike another candidate, lack the baggage.

[MBS]

12. I am worried about Ellison's baggage, too.

I can all too easily imagine how the Repubs will hype those topics at every opportunity.
I also think that we need somehow who can devote himself full-time to the task.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

23. There is no baggage... why bash fellow Democrats?

[MBS]

27. not bashing him. I like him!

I think he's a terrific congressman. But, for DNC chair, we have got to have someone who is not as vulnerable to caricature by the Republican machine as I fear he is. (It's unfair, but they are sure to zero in on his Muslim faith, and on those statements he's made about Castro, Israel, etc.)If you think that this will not be a problem, all I can say is that I wish I shared your optimism.

Even if my worries on this score turn out to be baseless (and I would be very happy if that turned out to be the case) , I STILL think that we really need a full-time DNC chair, not someone with a "day job" to distract him from this BIG job we've got to win more state and local elections, and win back at least one house of Congress, in 2018, and generally to get the Democratic message out across every precinct in this country.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

31. ohh ok, gotcha.

[PassingFair]

42. Who cares what Republicans think about our DNC Chair?

They don't get a vote and the Chairman isn't there to do republican outreach! I know that Dean would have been a great Chair, he's got a proven track record and a reputation for fairness. In this past cycle, Wasserman-Schultz was a lapdog for the Clinton campaign, with NO hint of the impartiality required to run a race that could be perceived as "fair", that was the problem with her, NOT that she had a day job. Personally I'd love to see Nina Turner, Van Jones, or Russ Feingold take the job.

[wordpix]

49. agree about having someone full time who doesn't have a day job

[hrmjustin]

13. He was the best candidate for the job! Sorry to see him drop out!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

24. Dean certainly would not have been a bad choice... but far from the best candidate.

Last edited Sat Dec 3, 2016, 12:51 AM - Edit history (1)

[hrmjustin]

25. Dean has a history of winning strategies in 2006 and 2008.

The others might be good people but not more qualified than Dean.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

32. Best qualified, perhaps... doesn't necessarily mean best choice... but I hear ya.

[INdemo]

16. In keeping with the theme of change and a new era for the Democratic Party

by seeing Nancy Pelosi re-elected as Democratic leader in the House and in the Senate the real change candidate Chuck Schumer as Minority leader, perhaps Democrats should seek Walter Mondale to serve as DNC chairman and keep the tradition of real change for the Democrats going full steam ahead here in 2016....

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

33. Didn't know Walt was still alive.

[INdemo]

39. Yep he is still alive ..he is 88

[annarbor]

18. Howard Dean...

Was my one and only choice for DNC Chair. This sucks huge. For me it was just hope it was a bit of good news in an otherwise horrible month.

[Raine]

20. That's very disappointing nt

[Internationalist]

28. His ideas were correct in 2006.

Democrats need to adopt a national fifty state strategy again. However, they don't need a DNC chair with his connections to lobbying and political donations. It is sad to see what Howard Dean became.

[potone]

29. Yes, I agree.

I am very disappointed in him. I am glad that he took himself out of the running, despite the fact that he did a very good job in that position before.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

34. Along with a true progressive woman/man of the people.

[KittyWampus]

37. How dare he make a living. Now go slam the Sierra Club for lobbying.

[truebluegreen]

53. The Sierra Club lobbies for Big Pharma? Who knew.

Totally.Not.Equivalent.

[kebob]

35. Too Bad, Really

Dean has a proven track record of success.

[radical noodle]

36. Does anyone know anything about Jaime Harrison?

I saw him being interviewed one evening and I liked him but know nothing about him.

[hankthecrank]

41. I like Howard Dean wish he would have gotten this

Voted for Ellison as he is my senator and like him in that job. I feel he should not do both jobs. Dean did a good job with his 50 state policy

[FarPoint]

44. I wanted Howard Dean...

I'm not enthusiastic with Ellison....

[Paladin]

46. Sorry to see Dean passing this up.

And I don't see how Ellison gets us that all-important voting segment we're being told to relentlessly pursue: the No-Information White Guys who pledged their allegiance to the Orangefuhrer, this time around.


(Very light sarcasm alert.)

[Sunlei]

50. The DNC can still use his help and his voice, we Ds need all the GOOD 'help' we can get.

[Motley13]

51. Congress is scheduled to be in session 133 days this year

plenty of time left to chair DNC.

Don't you wish you got paid what they do for 133 days a year?

[killbotfactory]

52. He said he would resign from the House if he was made chairman. He's serious about this.

Go Kieth!