Why did progressives support Howard Dean??

[JonLP24]

31. center-right platform?

He ran on a near universal health care proposal, no vouchers for education, middle class tax cuts combined with tax raises on the rich, opposition to Iraq. He didn't favor gun restrictions but didn't make it a focus of the campaign (I'm sure he would have played it up in the General though).

He ran on a balanced budget based on his success but I don't know how that would be considered center-right since fiscal conservatism is tax cuts for the wealthy combined with a slash of safety nets.

Gay marriage was an issue where he was center with his leave it to the states approach. He mentioned he'd worry whether a civil unions legislation would be constitutional the federal law which would make sense why he'd feel that worry with the situation in Vermont, he said states that did have the civil unions or marriage should be afforded the same things a marriage does at the federal level.

Even on guns was a leave it to the states approach. If the platform was center-right, I just totally did not see it.