Dean Endorsement

Though we are just a little blog (hey, you never know if DNC members are checking to see what people like us say online), we are offering up our endorsement for DNC chair: Howard Dean.

We believe, above all else, that out of all the candidates Howard Dean is the one who most “gets it.” During his campaign for president, he organized an unprecedented grassroots organization by tapping local resources through the Internet for fundraising and organizing. We believe he can do this on the national level and that only by doing so can the Democratic Party be revived as the powerhouse it once was.

We also believe that Dean understands more than anyone the flaws in the current leadership that have led to the Democrats’ defeat in the last few years. Far too many of the other candidates, especially those from the South, have put too must stock into the false idea that Democrats lost in November because of “moral values.” While that had something to do with it in some regions of the country, the main failure was to adequately address national security and foreign policy concerns – and Dean understands this. Dean also understands our failure to make clear our own “moral values” to voters. Many of the other candidates also espouse a flawed “Southern strategy.” While Dean has said he wants to run a 50-state operation, we believe Dean will more wisely choose our battles. Finally, many of the candidates are Democratic “centrists” who believe Democrats should run to the right on economic issues and take corporate money. Dean knows that the Democrats have lost their populist message by doing just this, and openly by being the party of the people will the people vote for our party.

Many are apprehensive about Dean’s candidacy because of the liberal/anti-war label the media branded him with during his race for the presidency and of how they believe it will look to elect him chair. However, this is a flawed line of thought. The DNC chair does not determine the party’s politics. The next presidential candidate will do that. The chairman is most chiefly an organizer and fundraiser, and we have laid out the reasons why we think Dean is best suited for this job.

In conclusion, we ask that those who will vote on February 15th for the next DNC chairman to please not let dubious concerns affect their judgment. We need a true reformer for chair, and we can’t think of a better man for the job than Governor Howard Dean.