Florida Democrats Back Dean as Leader

[Freddie Stubbs]

Published: January 18, 2005


The Florida delegation to the Democratic National Committee has voted unanimously to endorse Howard Dean to be the party's next chairman, bucking an effort to orchestrate an endorsement of one candidate by all 50 state party leaders at the same time later this month.

The decision, announced yesterday by Scott Maddox, the Florida Democratic chairman, is a major lift for Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, and it is a shift in a contest where most Democrats have been holding back from endorsing any candidate in the crowded field.

Mr. Maddox said in an interview that Florida made its endorsement despite some Democrats' concerns that Dr. Dean might not be the right ideological symbol for the party as it tries to regain power because of his liberal views on some issues and fervent opposition to the Iraq war.

"The only knock against Howard Dean is that he's seen as too liberal," Mr. Maddox said. "I'm a gun-owning pickup-truck driver and I have a bulldog named Lockjaw. I am a Southern chairman of a Southern state, and I am perfectly comfortable with Howard Dean as D.N.C. chair."

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/politics/18dems.html?oref=login

[Demit]

1. I LOVE Mr. Maddox's quote!

[yardwork]

27. So do I - it made me smile for the first time today!

[expatriot]

2. Arizona will be next weekend...

fyi

[xxqqqzme]

30. there is a chair candidates forum

B4 the CA Dem Party next Saturday in Sacramento - would love 2 go to hear all the different candidates.

[American liberal]

32. I'm sorry, but AZ is currently on my shit list

I learned at a talk on multiculturalism the other day that AZ legislators (the state that balked at making MLK Day a national holiday) appointed white supremacist Dr. Virginia Abernethy to head up the xenophobic, anti-immigration initiative Protect Arizona Now, which passed by a smaller margin than predicted in November.

I have also read that AZ is becoming a sort of national capital for white supremacist, hate mongering groups. Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Asians, and Middle Easterners need not apply.

[Vidar]

50. "Too liberal" is just the repuke phrase for any democrat with balls.

Any dem using it is most likely a collaborator Give 'emr hell, Howard!

[mattclearing]

3. That rocks. Good for them, good for Dean.

eom

[rox63]

4. WooHoo!!!

:toast: :bounce: :beer:

[cal04]

5. something to smile about, but

:)
It's the others that concern me

[wildwww2]

6. Of course we do. He is the lone voice against the usurper.

Howard Dean has a record as a moderate. And is not skull and bones. No allegences in that regard to keep him in line with the worse than Nazi`s in power.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[KaryninMiami]

7. Go Dean! Finally, Florida does something I can be proud of!

[lojasmo]

19. The quote is: "SEEN AS too liberal" N/T-reply to number 8 Sorry.

[stratomagi]

8. TOO Liberal?!?

Just what exactly in the world does "too liberal" mean? Do you think the repugs would say something like that? You'd never hear anyone in their party gripe that anyone is TOO conservative. Fortunately better heads prevailed in their decision but I think a comment like that is part of the problem with the DNC today...we are in danger of just becoming RNC lite...which I think Dean said something about when he was campaigning for pres.

[PapaJoe]

39. Dean is not Liberal.

I like him and support him. I am liberal, progressive, populist and I do not think of Dean as being anything more than a centrist.

[porkrind]

41. "too liberal"

Is that kind of like too good looking, or too healthy, or too intelligent?

[Edgewater_Joe]

9. Guess I Can Book That Trip To The Keys Without Guilt

GO DEAN GO!

[deminflorida]

10. I have a list of the Florida delegates. If any of you want to email

them and say thanks, PM me and I'll forward it to you.

This is really GOOD News.....

Also, I think Scott Maddox is going to be the next Governor of Florida.

[jamesinca]

11. Good!!!

And those that vote against Dr. Dean, IMO, are moral cowards. They are afraid to change a group of defunct, ineffective, elites when and if they vote against Howard Dean. The hardest part of a new idea is letting go of the old one, and that is what the DLC and DNC currently are, old ideas.

[ktowntennesseedem]

12. Lockjaw Rocks!!!!

Love to see a pic!

Lockjaw for Dean!

[ozone_man]

13. Florida showing us the way this time.

This is the way Democracy works, one state at a time, not all 50 at once. Let's take back the Democratic wing of our party.

[Cheswick2.0]

14. With the exception of TX, I think Dean will do

well with the southern delegates. Tx is going to go for Frost of course.

[cannabis_flower]

18. Not if Texas PPC ...

has it's way. We are lobbying hard for Howard Dean!

[Straight Shooter]

15. What's with this "too liberal" crap we keep hearing about Dean?

He's a moderate. I think the media made it a point to confuse "passionate" with liberal.

Go Howard! Rock that DNC world!

[Beth in VT]

24. It's a meme that was planted by the republicans -

not accurate but now very difficult to "reframe."

[Straight Shooter]

26. I'll use it as an example of Republican lockstep ignorance.

I could tell Dean was a moderate from a quick look at his record.

So many Republicans, so much stupidity, so little time.

[Lorien]

38. Well, he is too liberal for a republican

Kucinich is a liberal, I'm a liberal-I'd never call Dean a true "liberal" even though I supported him in the primaries. He's a passionate centrist-and a passionate fighter for the left is just what the DNC needs right now!

[KittyWampus]

16. Wow!

[lancdem]

17. I'm really warming up to the idea of Dean as DNC chair

Not that I didn't like the idea originally. But of all the candidates for chair, he and Wellington Webb are my top 2.

[Rainscents]

23. Great News!!!

I believe, Howard Dean is only person who shake the tree in Democratic party!!! We need someone like Dean to speak out and take no crap against Republicans.

[SeanQ]

49. Although I would like to see Dean as the new chair

I think I would rather he have fully supported and worked with one of the other top reformer candidates. I say this primarily for one reason. IF the DNC ends up selecting some republican lite candidate, or someone unable to shake up the organizations tree and start the reforms it desperately needs to be effective, than Dean is the most likely choice for being one of the leading founders of a new party to sweep away the apologist democrats. If he runs hard for DNC chairmanship and looses, then starting a new party could seem like a sore looser.

[lojasmo]

20. This made my day today when I found out at 5:31 am

GO HOWARD! wOOt

[ExclamationPoint]

21. Too liberal eh,?

It's always bad to be too open minded and too open to the civil liberties of others. Willing for positive change is always bad. :eyes:

[tallydem]

22. Finally some good news from my state

Go Scott

[nolabels]

25. Yea baby, count me in, DLC go suck an egg

I will even re-register as Dem from Green if takes it :kick:

[sasquatch]

28. Thank you Florida (God I'd never thought I'd say that)

:bounce:

[Dudley_DUright]

29. I am a pickup driving FL resident (no guns however)

with a dog named Scotty, and I could not be happier. Go Dean. Yeaaaaaaaaaaargh!

[iamjoy]

31. Yes!!!

For the first time in a long time I'm proud to say I'm from Florida.

I had my doubts about Dean's suitability for President, but no doubts for him as Chairman of the DNC.

[Massachusetts]

33. Best news I've heard all day!

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[Andromeda]

34. Dean appeals to Democrats all over the country

so why can't the beltway crowd open their eyes and realize how far out of the Democratic mainstream they are?

What is their problem? Please, somebody enlighten me. The Democratic party is going in a direction that is not helpful to the well-being of all of us and they are locked into all these misconceptions about Howard Dean.

What the hell is the right ideological symbol for gawd's sake? Bush appeasers? Yeah, let's have another Bush appeaser as the head of our party.

Maybe Terry McAuliffe wasn't a Bush appeaser but he didn't have the fire in his belly that Dean has.

And Tim Roemer? Give me a friggin' break. He's like all the other suits who are trying to tell us what is good for us.

This is making me crazy! Dean is a man who has all the abilities and the qualities we need and the powers that be in Washington are dissing him!

Why are they so blind? What's it going to take to wake them up?

Whether Dean gets to be Chairman of the DNC or not he will still be a force to reckon with but I want him to get the recognition from the Democratic party that he deserves.

[ornotna]

35. Thank you, thank you, thank you

Scott Maddox. It feels good to be a Floridian again.

[HooptieWagon]

36. Floridian, non-Dean for prez here...

...but I agree he would do a great job as head of the party.
First (and most important), he was the first to shout that the emperor has no clothes, when most of the mainstream democrats were kow-towing to BushCo leading up to the Iraq invasion... that alone is more likely to attract "swing" votes in the 2006 mid-terms than trying to "repugize" the democratic party towards the right.
Second, I think he showed the way for the Democratic Party to use the internet and grass-root networking for fundraising and support, thus providing a viable option to the repug's corporate shake-downs. Kerry was slow to realize this, thus costing him badly.
I think Dean could re-invigorate what had become a stale party, and be the push behind an opposition that can challenge the repugs at every opportunity, and use those opportunities to expose repug hypocrisy and show the differences between the two major parties. I applaud the Fla delegation for their choice.

[PassingFair]

37. Someone help me out here....

does this mean that the Florida DNC VOTING members have already come out for Dean?
If so..

Yeeeeeeaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhhh!

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

40. Yippee!!!

:toast: :headbang:

Although, it may be a little premature of me to celebrate. . . Long way to go still. . .

[DebJ]

42. Thank you Freddie. I needed SOME nice news before going to

bed this evening. One can dream.

[Politiclo8]

43. Maddox may have said the right words but..............

....... I'm not sure if he is the right guy for the job in a critical state like Florida. I saw a piece on him shortly after the election and he said he wouldn't rule out a run for statewide office next year.
I don't understand why he was reelected since he doesn't seem entirely focused on getting Democrats elected in this very important state especially governor who now appoints the Secretary of State thanks to the Rethug dominated House( Rethugs have an 80-34 advantage) and Senate (rethugs have a 34-15 advantage).

Whoever becomes DNC chair must focus on elected Democrats statewide in both Ohio and Florida. There is no way mathmatically that a Democrat can become president without winning either Ohio or Florida.
I would prefer they focus on FL since it has 27 electoral votes and will more than likely gain after the 2010 census, but Ohio will lose electoral votes after the census.

BTW wtf does the true blue state like Maine have two Rethug senators?

[pazarus]

44. not the only knock...

I don't agree that the only knock on Dean was that he was seen as too liberal.

I have a lot doubts about his ability to spnd money wisely, after the horrendous wasting he did in his campaign. I mean, he had this huge fundraising support from so many small donors, and he uses it to buy Dean for America bats for a whle crowd of supporters... they didn't want bats, they wanted a victory. Then he continued fundraising and campaigning long long after the race was lost for him, when he could have been supporting the party (financially as well as in rhetoric).

So in a position where supporting the party, handling money, and creating strategic victories are a complete necessity, I would rather see Rosenberg win than Dean, but Dean is my number 2. I'm happy to give him the chance to prove himself finally, after all the hype and misfortunes surrounding his campaign.

[Debi]

48. Don't want to get in to a huge argument about Dean here

But I don't believe it was him who did the spending...in fact, when in Iowa he made the staff (and himself) stay in a hotel 2 miles from an event b/c the hotel was $10.00 a night cheaper than the one close to the site. (He also preferred hotels w/continental breakfasts included in the price so he wouldn't have to foot the bill for a meal).

Do you want me to go on? We took him to get a haircut in between events and he needed to know how much the barber charged before he would even agree to go there.

It may have been someone other than Dean that thought up the fleece jackets for all the staff...the orange Perfect Storm hats for the stormers...the damn bats. At the end of the Iowa race I don't think he was in charge of purchasing merchandise.

[pazarus]

51. sorry, i'm sure its a raging argument elsewhere

but i'm new here and I dont know where.

Maybe he's frugal himself, but he's the boss and he shouldn't let stuff like that happen on his watch... I mean the last thing we need from top Democrats is passing the buck or letting subordinates call the shots; the Republicans have that market cornered and I'm happy if they keep it for themselves. Maybe he's learned his lesson now, but like you said, its part of a bigger argument than this endorsement calls for, so I end.

[Debi]

53. You're kidding right?

<<I mean the last thing we need from top Democrats is passing the buck or letting subordinates call the shots>>

He was running for President, he didn't have time to make sure the staff was buying the least expensive toilet paper.

And as for 'letting subordinates call the shots' - Doesn't Congress do that for the President every day?

Again, I don't want to fight, but holding Dean accountable for staff mistakes is not fair. And, assuming that the DNC Chair will keep the books is ridiculous. The man will be in charge of raising several million dollars, he won't be in charge of making sure nobody takes an extra soda with lunch.

[David Zephyr]

45. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

:bounce:

[KoKo]

46. Dean has Energy. And our Dem Party in the South is pretty tired. n/t

[jack6199]

47. EXCELLANT

yes, it is cool to see this post. you see, i am a v w rabbit driver, from pittsburgh. remember this. we are not liberal nor are we conservative. we are progressive. which is to say americans don't want handouts. we want good jobs for everyone. 90% of democrats do not agree with gay marriage. 100% of democrats agree that tax cuts for the rich is immoral. for sure, i am certain of this. we will not be a super power much longer if we do not have tax payers, and we can not pay taxes if we don't have decent jobs.

[Miami Liberal]

52. Wonderful news!

Florida got something right, finally!