Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Fifty State Strategy Pays Off

It was only just a short few years ago when Governor Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy was being laughed at by veteran Clinton insiders James Carville and Paul Begala, among others. Maybe it's because Dean wasn't Clinton insider Terry McAuliffe.

Here's Carville on November 15, 2006, after Democrats took control of the House and Senate:
He added, “I think he should be held accountable.” He added, “I would describe his leadership as Rumsfeldian in its competence.”
And here's Paul Begala (h/t to Markos) bloviating on what he hoped was Howard Dean's imminent demise.
BLITZER: Very quickly, is Howard Dean in trouble?

BEGALA: No. I think Candy's report was spot on.

He -- yes, he's in trouble, in that campaign managers, candidates, are really angry with him. He has raised $74 million and spent $64 million. He says it's a long-term strategy. But what he has spent it on, apparently, is just hiring a bunch of staff people to wander around Utah and Mississippi and pick their nose. That's not how you build a party. You win elections. That's how you build a party. [emphasis mine]
Let's look at the scoreboard. Since Howard Dean became chair of the DNC, Democrats have won majorities in the House and Senate, expanded on those majorities by winning special elections in districts they weren't expected (by conventional wisdom) to win, are poised to expand those majorities even more in 2008, and have a good shot at making history by electing an African-American man as President of the United States.

McAuliffe was a great fundraiser as chairman, but he's no Howard Dean. People-powered Howard has changed the political landscape, restored the power to the people, and showed us all that Democrats can win anywhere and everywhere.

Democrat Travis Childers winning Mississippi's 1st Congressional District last night shows that the 50 state strategy works. President Obama the Democratic Party would do well to keep Howard Dean as chair (NPI's position is that the decision is not Obama's to make).

Comments:

Blogger Howard Martin said...

Thanks for giving Dean some credit, richly deserved.

May 14, 2008 8:35 PM  
Blogger Ken Camp said...

In my opinion Dean deserves a lot of credit for the state of the Democratic party today. We have a lot more work to do, but Governor Dean deserves credit for having the vision and carrying it through to this point.

May 14, 2008 8:40 PM  

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