Would Dean being DNC Chair be a Good thing or a Bad thing?

[Quixote1818]

I will give you a couple of pro's and con's.

Pro's - He fires up the base big time! At least the Dean base.

Con's - He is controversial and tends to talk about the Right in harsh terms which could turn people away from the Democratic Party.

Summary - Dean is a Gamble that could Pay off Big or completely Backfire and hurt us badly!

What do you think?

This is important because Dean seems to really want this and his base wants it for him. They are after it! Should this movement be embraced or stooped cold before it gets out of control?

[DaveinMD]

1. Doesn't matter who the chair is

Fighting about this is stupid. The Chair does not determine policy. The Chair raises money and builds the party. It should not be turned into a turf fight. Democrats need to be rallying together.

[JohnKleeb]

10. we agree on this

but many people like division which is something we dont need.

[madfloridian]

12. Do you realize that Dean did not release this?

It was a guy who defected from his campaign just before WI and went to Kerry. I believe they might be trying to force Dean into an either/or decision....it was not released by his campaign.

I disagree with you. We rallied as Democrats to support Kerry. Dean kept a lot of folks with the party, as many of his supporters were not Democrats to start with.

Now almost every party talking head puts him down. Now that is divisive.

[DaveinMD]

15. and that's wrong too

What I'm saying is we don't need to have these fights. We need to rally together. I don't think Dean wants this job anyway.

[Zynx]

2. I'm really not sure at this moment.

I think though we need a party leader because there are no strong voices in leadership positions at this time.

[sendero]

3. I think.....

.... DNC chair might well be the perfect role for Mr. Dean. He is just what we need in that position, but as a presidential candidate he might not have the discipline of message nneded to get elected.

I like him a lot and the party already owes him IMHO, this would be perfect.

[madfloridian]

4. It does not matter. He already is building a good base from which to work

Most of us want him to be a voice in the party in some form. As for myself, I don't care which role.

He has a large group, and is building coalitions with others.

You are really are determined to convince everyone he is a danger to the party. I find that absolutely silly.

I was not going to respond, but I wanted to let you know he will be invaluable to the party one way or the other.

We only work with DFA right now anyway. We supported Kerry, and we are working to take part in the local DEC. However, the party itself has failed me, I feel, and now they must prove they are still a force for voices other than corporate.

[DirtyDog]

5. Well...We have a choice

Do we stand on principles but continue to lose elections or do we move to the center and take control of the issues that matter to the MAJORITY of Americans and win elections?

[Skittles]

14. as long as there are no fair elections

it doesn't really matter what our principles are, does it?

[FubarFly]

16. As if the majority of Americans don't have our principles.

sheesh.

This is why we lose elections. We Democrats are seen as nothing but opportunistic cowards who will shift whichever way the wind is blowing. Frankly, it's becoming damn near impossible to refute that point.

[sleipnir]

6. Couldn't get much worse than now.

Fuck Terry and his band of corporate whores who gave King George an easy romp to win.

[SayitAintSo]

7. I don't think the DLCers will allow it....

I'd be surprised.... Personally, I think he would do a great job. Terry worked hard but doesn't have as much credibility as Dean IMHO.

[LiberteToujours]

8. And the GOP isn't controversial?

Since when have they ever been too polite to demonize the Democratic party and say exactly what they think about it? And since when has it cost them any elections? We NEED controversy, because it means we're speaking from our hearts. Enough of the Lieberman appeasal bullshit.

[Califooyah Operative]

9. hes the only person i can think of that could bring control of the dnc to

the people.

[brentspeak]

11. Hard to imagine it making things any worse than they already are

This party is facing it's biggest crisis ever. Though it would be a grave mistake to become a "radical" party, radical change within the party is absolutely necessary at this point.

[BurtWorm]

13. You don't win if you don't risk.

Why care what the sourpuss Republocrats will think. They're the problem. Dean may be the solution. We won't know unless we try. Dean could make a pledge to the party. If he is hurting things more than helping them in two years, he'll step down. He can keep renewing his pledge. He can hold plebiscites on his leadership via Internet votes.

I want to see a DNC head who will communicate with us all the time, not just in the last six months of the presidential election year.