2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: If Clinton gets the nomination, what do you think [View all]karynnj
(59,498 posts)You forget that after Kerry lost, he sent an email to everyone on his huge list speaking of how they should stay involved and fight for everything that they had fought for in 2004. He promised to stay involved himself and he did. He also gave several million dollars to the DNC when Dean was named to head it and to the DSCC and DCCC.
Kerry actively worked to fund and support several candidates, many vets in 2006 - mostly in races that no one else supported a Democratic candidate. He also importantly, he proposed several plans to get us out of Iraq - most notably the Kerry/Feingold resolution that while it got only 13 votes in July 2006 - by early 2007, every Democrat running backed a variation of it. (Incidentally, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Reid, Schumer etc all were furious when he did this because they were against having a specific Democratic plan thinking that Iraq was not "our" issue.)
As to contesting 2004, they conceded after the Democratic lawyers, who advised Gore to contest 2000 told them that they did not have a case that could win. The problem was that the Republicans cheated in Ohio mainly through voter suppression and you can't count votes not cast.
Even on Iraq - the issue that Dean used against Kerry, it was never true that he was less hawkish than Kerry. He simply did not have to vote. He supported the first Gulf war, that Kerry opposed. IN 2006, he supported Korb, instead of Kerry/Feingold. On Iran, where Kerry put his heart, soul and gut into what were very long shot negotiations, Dean was against even talking to them - mainly because he was a paid lobbyist for the MEK.