Howard Dean redux: This time, to lead the party

[TheWebHead]

By Dick Polman
Inquirer Political Analyst

Once again, we have Dean reaching for the brass ring, this time the job of national Democratic chairman; once again, various big shots and foot soldiers are horrified at the idea that the antiwar New Englander, more pit bull than politician, might become the face of their party.

One year ago, the stop-Dean forces managed to settle on John Kerry, for better or worse, in the presidential race, but this time they are flirting with failure. The 447 voting members of the Democratic National Committee must pick a chairman Feb. 12, and none of Dean's five rivals can match his moxie and celebrity, much less his ability to connect with the grassroots activists who relish blunt talk and liberal red-meat rhetoric.

....

This was all happening at a Democratic forum where Dean and his rivals were trumpeting their credentials to DNC members - and where it was clear that anti-Dean sentiment was still raging, as evidenced by this letter, from Tennessee State Sen. Tommy Kilby, that was making the rounds: "It is my greatest fear that should be elected, many Democratic elected officials will abandon the party. We, as a party, must get back to mainstream America. We must open our party and allow people who are pro-life, pro-gun and pro-traditional marriage to have an active role... . Howard Dean as chairman will be disastrous."

That fear is shared by prominent liberals who don't want to diss Dean by name, because they'd have to work with him. Privately, they say he'd "brand the party" as left-wing, because of his antiwar stance and gift for left-leaning quips ("If Bill Clinton can be the first black president, I can be the first gay president!") - all of which obscures that he's a fiscal conservative who balanced 11 budgets as governor of Vermont.

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http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/special_packages/election2004/10783200.htm?1c