Would love Joe as head of DNC

[elfin]

he could do it while being VP, couldn't he? He would be unleashed to work his magic on down ticket races, which I doubt DWS will do, given her apparent uber support for HRC and only HRC.

That is if Hillary would let him campaign like it is needed to bring in groups like firefighters, at least in House and Senate races. May be a ticket splitting year for "Reagan democrats."

[KamaAina]

1. Excellent call!

[mmonk]

2. It would be better than the current situation.

[cilla4progress]

3. Great idea!

Send to the folks in charge!

I like that he is coming out with some progressive positions, too. Stealing from Bernie's free college for all!

[jonno99]

4. +1! nt

[Maedhros]

5. Biden may be a great guy, but don't forget:

he's one of the key Senators that gave us that stinking pile of excrement known as the “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005”

https://www.propublica.org/article/bidens-cozy-relations-with-bank-industry-825

With Sen. Joe Biden joining the Democratic ticket, there’s renewed scrutiny of Biden’s connections to the credit card industry. Biden has been particularly cozy with MBNA, a financial services company from Delaware, and now a subsidiary of Bank of America.

Over the past 20 years, MBNA has been Biden’s single largest contributor. And as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal note, Biden’s son Hunter was hired out of law school by MBNA and later worked as a lobbyist for the company.

The Times also details just how helpful Biden has been to MBNA and the credit card industry. The senator was a key supporter of an industry-favorite bill—the “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005”—that actually made it harder for consumers to get protection under bankruptcy.

Some claim Biden was working to improve the bill for consumers, but the facts say otherwise:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/us/politics/25biden.html?_r=2&sq=MBNA%20biden&st=cse&oref=slogin&scp=1&pagewanted=all&

But a review of the legislative record finds as many instances when Mr. Biden joined Republicans to defeat attempts by his Democratic colleagues, including Mr. Obama, to soften the bill’s impact on those same constituencies. He was one of five Democrats in March 2005 who voted against a proposal to require credit card companies to provide more effective warnings to consumers about the consequences of paying only the minimum amount due each month. Mr. Obama voted for it.

Mr. Biden also went against Mr. Obama to help defeat amendments aimed at strengthening protections for people forced into bankruptcy who have large medical debts or are in the military; Mr. Biden argued that the amendments were unnecessary because the legislation already carved out exemptions for those debtors. And he was one of four Democrats who sided with Republicans to defeat an effort, supported by Mr. Obama, to shift responsibility in certain cases from debtors to the predatory lenders who helped push them into bankruptcy.

In many of these battles, Mr. Biden’s Democratic colleagues often voiced their frustration with the big financial interests arrayed against them. Senator Paul Wellstone specifically cited MBNA during a floor debate in March 2001 over his call for stronger protections for debtors forced into bankruptcy because of medical bills — an amendment that Mr. Biden would later vote against.

Putting Biden in charge of the DNC would further cement the banking industry's hold on the Democratic Party. I say it's a bad idea.

[djean111]

7. I agree 100%. n/t

[eissa]

8. I never understood why Howard Dean was taken out of that position

He did so well as head of the DNC. I thought he would have been a shoe-in as Health and Human Services Secretary (far better than Sebelius.) Not sure why he's not utilized more.

[jeff47]

9. No.

Biden's got a long track record. It has some rather ugly spots on it.

In addition, it's time to "pass the baton" to younger people. Not cling to it while shouting about the interlopers among the landscape.

[DFW]

10. I doubt Joe would want that

I remember when Howard was DNC chair. I got to see him in tiny squeezed-in bits of time, usually five or ten minutes, before he was off to someplace else. Joe wouldn't want to do a half-assed job like either of Howard's successors. He would want to do it full-time, and that is a job for someone who is willing to be on the road almost permanently. It's one of the reasons that people in Congress are sometimes are less effective than people who can devote their full attention to the job of Party Chair. Like Secretary of State or President, it requires all of your time if you are going to do it right, and portends failure if you don't give all of your time.

Joe is going with his head held high, and when he talks, he will be one elder statesman all will listen to.

[Hortensis]

13. Interesting input, thanks. I also like him as an activist elder statesman.

[DFW]

14. I've only met Joe a couple of times, don't know him really

But Howard has been a friend since well before he ran for president, and when he became DNC chair, he suddenly was rarely anywhere for more than minutes at a time, and even then, his phone was always ringing with "I gotta take this" calls. Hell, his phone STILL constantly rings with "I gotta take this calls," but nowadays, at least he puts his phone down and we can resume our conversation. He is FAR more relaxed now. When he was DNC chair, he always had to run off to the next train, plane or meeting. I can't imagine Joe wants that at 73. Howard put up with it at age 56-60, and he was ready to chuck it when the results of the 2008 election were in ("job well done" comes to mind).

[Hortensis]

16. A remarkable man and a remarkable life. I know nothing about it,

but I was sort of surprised when he didn't become part of the Obama administration. In any case, it sounds like he has a nice mix now, busy but not frantically. I "see" him in passing on TV.

[DFW]

18. You weren't the only one who was surprised!

Of course, Rahm Emmanuel has hated Howard's guts since the famous shouting argument in 2006 over the 50 State Strategy. Howard was DNC chair and won the argument. However, when Obama chose Rahm as White House chief of staff, it was pretty clear that the cabinet post of Health and Human Services, which would have been IDEAL for Howard, would never go to him. Indeed, Rahm managed to exclude Howard from the administration altogether. Obama's (and our) loss. I don't think the electoral disasters of 2010 and 2014 would have been anywhere near as bad for us had Howard been at Obama's side, working with the two Davids (Simas and Axelrod) on electoral strategy (although David Simas is impressive in his own right).

Before the decision was final, I asked Howard in early 2009 what he would do in case he got shut out of the Obama administration altogether. He said, "I'll lend my name to some law firm for some steady income and spend the rest of my time raising hell for causes I care about." As usual, he has been doing mostly just what he said he would. One time I got a request to contribute to some walk from Bangkok to the Burmese border to protest and bring attention to human trafficking and slavery in the region. I checked to see who was behind it. Sure enough: Howard.

[TDale313]

11. Hate to say it, but no.

I like Biden a lot, but I want someone in that position who is ready to fight Republicans with everything they've got, and who understands we're past the point of thinking fondly of our friends across the aisle. It may suck, but they've been at war with liberals and every thing we stand for for decades.

[DFW]

12. The party chair is SUPPOSED to remain neutral during the primaries

Howard showed how that was done during a difficult primary season in 2008. DWS seems to have lost the message somewhere. As Hillary was a member of the administration (SoS) while Joe was VP, he'd have a difficult time convincing supporters of Sanders or O'Malley that he intended to remain fully neutral during the primaries.

Aside from his very valid personal reasons for not wanting to put himself or his family though a presidential campaign, I'm sure he'd ask Howard, who was our last highly effective party chair, what the job entailed to be done properly, and receive an answer that would make him turn down the position in two seconds flat.

[Nitram]

15. I'd vote for Joe.

If I had a vote.

[JI7]

17. why would he want a job like that ?

[KamaAina]

19. Lieberman? Why the hell would you want that?!