NPR reported Pelosi and Reid don't want DNC Chairman DEAN

[Octafish]

Dunno if it was Cokie the Whore, but NPR reported that the top Democrat in the House and Senate did not want to see Howard Dean serve as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

That news puts me solidly in Dean's corner. Go HOWARD DEAN!

PS: Hope you heard that, Kephra!

[Skidmore]

1. Perhaps we should let Pelosi and Reid know

that they NEED Dean.

[Octafish]

12. Agreed. They should read Hertsgaard: 'Why Dean should take charge'

Why Dean should take charge

With his passion and populist appeal, Howard Dean is exactly the leader the Democratic Party needs right now.

By Mark Hertsgaard

Jan. 24, 2005 | Florida Democrats' decision to unanimously back Howard Dean as the new chairman of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) shows two things: first, there are still some Democrats out there -- including in the supposedly hopeless South -- who have brains and guts and aren't afraid to think for themselves; and second, Dean now has a real shot at winning the DNC job and launching a much-needed makeover of the Democratic Party.

Political and media elites in Washington are at once horrified and dismissive of Dean's quest. They insist that Democrats would be crazy to pick a raving liberal like Dean as their next party chairman. But as is so often the case, this inside-the-Beltway conventional wisdom is based on dubious "facts" and assumptions about how ordinary Americans relate to politics. Dean is exactly the leader Democrats need to become relevant again.

The Florida Democratic chairman's statement to the New York Times reveals just how out of touch the Washington establishment is: "I'm a gun-owning pickup-truck driver and I have a bulldog named Lockjaw," said Scott Maddox. "I am a Southern chairman of a Southern state, and I am perfectly comfortable with Howard Dean as DNC chair."

And the reason Florida Democrats like Dean?

"What our party needs right now is energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to do things differently," Maddox added. "I think Howard Dean brings all three of those things to the party."


CONTINUED (need to subscribe/listen to commercial)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2005/01/24/dean/

[cthrumatrix]

2. precisely... who they don't want ...WE WANT. Dean is more than able

to serve as chairman...and is not a "sell out".

[Octafish]

20. Hertsgaard said he has what it takes.

This mischaracterization has led observers to miss the real source of Dean's appeal to a jaded electorate: He knows what he believes and he's not afraid to say it plainly enough for ordinary people to understand. His vision for Democrats is not about moving the party to the left; it's about Democrats standing for something that resonates with ordinary Americans -- a task that current party leaders have manifestly failed to achieve.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2005/01/24/dean/

[PassingFair]

33. Let's let the party know how we feel before the Feb. 12 vote

Hit this petition, then find the names of your local DNC voting members and write them some old fashioned snail mail!

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/deanfordnc

[bryant69]

3. Wierd

I wonder if they have made an official statement, or if it's just "word on the hill" sort of stuff. Did the report mention?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[charlie]

11. They threw their weight behind Roemer

over a month ago and endorsed him when he decided to run.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/14/dnc.chair

Whether Cokie's taking that to mean they don't want to see Dean in the chair or they've explicitly said as much, I don't know.

[Guns Aximbo]

4. quite frankly

I'm not impressed with Pelosi at all. She's a horrible speaker stutters all the time and she's difficult to listen too.

So.... I don't respect her opinion of Dean.

[Octafish]

22. Pelosi is a professional communicator.

At least, that's what I understood when they made her Minority Leader a couple years back. Like you, I am stunned that she has not been able to articulate the Democratic vision. Then again, Corporate McPravda works for Bushler.

[spanone]

5. Howard Dean is the man for the job. Amen.

Cokie Roberts = :puke:

[Octafish]

23. The party needs to be, um, re-tooled.

Nah. The Democratic party needs a complete overhaul, and not just in the messaging department.

[saltpoint]

6. Maybe Pelosi and Reid are threatened by Howard Dean --

-- and fearful that he might make...can I say this outloud?...

meaningful reforms

to the Democratic Party.

Or maybe their private phone calls from various quarters are urging them to stop him in his tracks and their resistance reflects that.

Either way, I think the decision should be left up to me, and I choose Dean.

[Octafish]

25. I'm sold.

The DEMs have reason to be afraid. The Bushes destroy all who get in their way. Dean has shown he's got the guts to stand up to the turds, both the Bushes and the hidden powers-that-be. If Dean'll take me, I'll help him.

[saltpoint]

27. Hi, Octafish.

Yes. I think Dean would bring a fresh wind to the valley.

I heard him interviewed on Diane Rehm's show last winter and he blew me away.

[shance]

35. Are they worried they may be required to meet with their constituents?

Or, what's even worse, they may have to actually listen to what they have to say.

Yep. That's some pretty tough stuff.

Must be why they are so concerned about Dean.

[Walt Starr]

7. I'd take Dean over Pelosi and Reid any day

add Clinton, Kerry, and a ton of the other Washington insiders to the list too, Dean would outdo them all!

[ixion]

8. status quo neodems fear Dean for his populist tendancies

they are all snug in their careers as lapdogs for the GOP and are terrified that someone might actually encourage people to try and retake their party.

[gorbal]

9. Think about all the bribes they won't be able to take.

You can't expect them to live on their meager goverment paycheck.

[AnnInLa]

10. all the liberal blogs this morning metioned

that the major hurdle to Dean's chances is Hillary. Evidently, she, behind the scenes, is throwing up roadblocks. It seemed to me that the bloggers consider her to be a powerful roadblock herself.

[Skidmore]

14. Hillary also should hear that

we live in a democracy not a monarchy. I'm sick of politicians on both sides inheriting their offices. We are not a monarchy. It's time for the people to step up to assume their civic duties.

[Cha]

32. I Love this Banner!

WE should spread it Far and Wide! :loveya:

[AP]

13. I would be surprised if Pelosi didn't like Dean. It's my understanding...

...that the entire California delegation likes Dean.

I've heard that Art Torres has said good things about Dean in private.

[Octafish]

29. Wouldn't be surprised about the California delegation.

The state is where a lot of progress comes from. Pelosi, though, was mentioned on NPR as favoring another candidate.

AlterNet reprinted a good overview from The Nation:

Life Of The Party

By Robert L. Borosage, The Nation. Posted January 17, 2005.

The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is trying to reassert control, but progressives can — and must — continue to build the reform movement started in 2004.

For a nanosecond after November's election defeat, the Democratic unity forged by the radical provocations of George W. Bush seemed intact. From the corporate-funded Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) to Howard Dean's new Democracy for America, Democrats drew similar conclusions from the election about what needed to be done: Challenge the right in the so-called red states and develop a compelling narrative that speaks to working people – don't simply offer a critique of Bush and a passel of "plans." Champion values, not simply policy proposals. Don't compromise with Bush's reactionary agenda. Expose Republican corruption, while pushing electoral reform. Stand firm on long-held social values, from women's rights to gay rights. Confront Bush's disastrous priorities at home and follies abroad.

But this brief interlude of common sense and purpose quickly descended into rancor and division. Peter Beinart of The New Republic and Al From of the DLC rolled out the tumbrels once more, calling on Democrats to purge liberalism of the taint of MoveOn.org, Michael Moore and the anti-war movement. Apparently anyone who worries about the suppression of civil liberties at home, doubts that the reign of drug lords in Afghanistan represents the dawning of democracy, prematurely opposed the debacle in Iraq or isn't prepared to turn the fight against al Qaeda terrorists into the organizing principle of American politics is to be read out of their Democratic Party.

Then, normally staunch Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi floated for chair of the party former Congressman Tim Roemer, a New Democrat distinguished mostly for his opposition to women's right to choose, his vote to repeal the estate tax and his ignorance of grassroots politics. Consolidating its corporate backing, the DLC solemnly warned against "economic populism" or "turning up the volume on anti-business and class welfare schemes" – despite the corporate feeding frenzy that is about to take place in Washington and Bush's slavish catering to the "haves and have-mores," whom he calls "my base."

CONTINUED...

http://www.alternet.org/story/21005/

Dean talks in a way people can understand. That presents problems for people who like to control the debate, among other things.

[dkofos]

15. I don't care who they want.

This should be our descision.

DEAN for DNC chair

:bounce:

[noamnety]

16. NPR can bite me

(that's just a general observation)

[cestpaspossible]

34. what lwfern said

[cal04]

17. The subject was talked about yesterday with Dean

here's the transcript.

Stephanopoulos: Why do you think that so many Democrats here in Washington—and I'll take two, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the House and Harry Reid the Democratic leader in the Senate—are encouraging others to get into this race?

Dean: I'm very independent and I'm from outside of Washington. Washington has a peculiar culture that's different than everywhere else in the country. In Washington, it's very important to know your place and to have a place. People have worked hard to get to Washington, and once they are here, even second or third place is better than first place. I don't believe that in politics. I think there's only one place in politics that counts, and that's first place and I think it's time the Democrats took first place back.


http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/005851.html#more

[Southsideirish]

18. They're "asceerd" he's going to make them have the hated surgical

procedure - "Spine Transplant."(..shudder...)

[sandnsea]

19. Cokie the Whore

That about says it all. Why oh why would anybody believe a word that twit had to say. Just spreading divisive shit. It was reported last week that it wasn't true at all.

[Bluebear]

21. Well I didn't want Reid & here we are. nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

24. Pelosi and anti-choice Reid need to

start listening to the people who elect them and pay their salaries. They can go to hell. Yup, I'm in Dean's corner too! If THEY don't want him, he must be GOOD!

[Emboldened Chimp]

26. Pelosi and Reid are afraid of losing power

That quote from Dean on ABC about accepting second or third place is right on the money: so long as the power elite retains their place inside the Beltway, they could give a damn about what happens with the rest of the party. Dean represents real change, which means they could very well lose the power they've attained. Go Dean!

[femme.democratique]

28. Tough shit Harry & Nancy, move over Howies coming!!!!

[burythehatchet]

30. the Dean victory will completely sideline HRC

not bad

[DemonFighterLives]

31. Dean, Dean, Dean

I scream for Dean!
:kick: