Dean tells Tavis that Democrats became detached, out of touch.

[madfloridian]

He says it is because they were concentrating just on a few states and forgetting the rest of the country. It was a very good interview on the Tavis Smiley show Monday night. The David Kuo interview was also excellent.

Tavis Smiley interview with Howard Dean

There is also an audio provided.

Tavis asked him if the Foley case would be the overwhelming factor if the Democrats won. Dean expanded it to include the war and Katrina.

DEAN: I don't believe that. I think that the Foley factor is a problem for the Republicans because it demonstrates the Republican’s willingness to put their party above what’s good for the country. Instead of choosing to defend a child, they chose to circle the wagons and hope to get by, and hope nobody would notice what was going on. They did that with Katrina when they made a mess of that. They were dishonest about the Iraq war. They haven’t managed the budget well. So it’s part of a greater pattern that reminds us of the incompetence of the Republicans.

Tavis then asked if it were a foregone conclusion that if a party stayed in office too long they would become corrupt.

DEAN: I think that’s sort of the history of America. I think our problem in the Democrats was not so much that we became corrupt, it wasn’t anything close to the amount of corruption that we have now among the Republicans. But we did become detached, and that’s a problem. And one of the things I'm doing in the Democratic National Committee is we’re fighting in all 50 states. I don't care if the state doesn’t vote for the Democratic candidate in 2008. I wanna be in the field, talking to people about why Democrats are good for America, in every state.

The interview then turns to the 50 State Strategy. Tavis asks him about why so many would object to it in his own party.

DEAN: Well, there’s always folks that wanna do things the old way, but we’ve been doing things the old way for 30 years, and we haven’t been winning a lot of elections, especially at the House and the Senate level for the last 12 years. In some ways, the Republicans have a problem now because after 12 years, they’ve become arrogant and corrupt and out of touch. We didn’t become corrupt or arrogant, but we were out of touch. If you're not asking for people’s votes in places like Mississippi and Alabama and Utah and Colorado, then you're not even on the radar screen. I think it’s discourteous, and it sends a bad message to voters if you don't care enough to at least ask for their votes. So we’re now engaged in asking for everybody’s votes.

And there is a rather cute exchange about Obama being on the cover of Time. Tavis brings it up. It was done with a touch of humor.

TAVIS:In case you haven’t seen Barack Obama on the cover of “Time” magazine this week with a cover story about why he could be the next president of the United States, let me ask you, what do you make on the fact that on the cover of “Time” magazine and everywhere else, there’s a conversation about a guy who, quite frankly, is still wet behind his ears. Has not established a track record, is just learning his way to the bathroom in the Senate, as the cover of major publications as the best hope for Democrats with all these seasoned folk who are standing on the sidelines? Some of whom are dropping out, saying they're not gonna run, like Mark Warner?

DEAN: Well, I'm somewhat sympathetic, because I was one of those folks about two years ago. (Laugh) That nobody ever heard of, and all of a sudden, they're in the “Time” magazine. I’ll tell you, it burns up all the people, all the seasoned folks. But it all works out.

The Kuo interview follows at the link. I am reading his book now. Easy reading, not far along to make many comments. His sincerity is obvious,though.

[Ravy]

1. I am a big fan of Howard Dean's strategy.

Think of how different things would have been with a Democratic Secretary of State in Ohio in 2004 or Florida in 2000.

Rebuilding the party from the ground up is the only way to go. There is still a lot of work to be done, but Howard is leading us in the right direction.

[shrdlu]

2. Charlie Cook is coming around on Dean strategy...

On C-Span this afternoon he acknowledged being an early doubter of the 50-state scheme. Said it looks a lot smarter now.

[madfloridian]

4. Cook wrote this earlier...I think he got on board with it about then.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/10/15241/7822

"In January, while giving a speech at Mississippi State University, I happened to meet a DNC staffer, a former executive director of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, who was assigned full-time to party-building in Mississippi. In the 33 years that I have been involved in politics, I have never heard of the national Democratic Party assigning a full-time staff member to organizational efforts in Mississippi.

Although organizing in Mississippi might not seem important to Pelosi and Reid -- after all, the state won't have competitive House or Senate races this year -- at some point, conservative Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor will retire, and then the House Democratic leadership may see the wisdom of their party already having a presence in southern Mississippi. When Republican Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott retire, the Senate Democratic leadership just might have a similar revelation. Keep in mind that if Lott had opted to retire at the end of this year, as many had expected, Democrats would have had a pretty fair shot at winning that seat by running former state Attorney General Mike Moore.

The Democratic congressional leaders' shortsighted, penny-wise/pound-foolish complaints show why their party has become bicoastal. Congressional Democrats have trouble winning in many interior states, in part because leaders like Reid and Pelosi have failed to appreciate the importance of maintaining a strong national party apparatus. The Democrats' inability to consistently win elections in places where gun shops outnumber Starbucks is a big reason the party controls neither the House nor the Senate.

Right now, one of the biggest obstacles to Democrats' taking the House back is their failure to recruit strong candidates in many Republican-held districts that ought to be in play. Party building means lining up a solid team -- organizing and winning lower-level offices that give the party a talented bench from which to draw for higher contests.

Dean's view -- that Pelosi, Reid, and their party committees have their jobs and he has his -- is the one that he ought to stick to. He should also resist pressure from interest groups, such as the Congressional Black Caucus, whose members raise very little money for the DCCC even though a Democratic takeover of the House would elevate many black lawmakers to chairmanships.

Howard, stick to your guns."

[texpatriot2004]

3. Howard Dean speaks for me. Thank you Dr. Dean. nm

[loyalsister]

5. I am very happy about that strategy!

I was talking to a friend the other day who is from the deep southern part of MO.
She said that Democratic politicians have been either talking down to or ignoring southerners for too long. Many of the Democratic statewide candidates seem to either be from the cities or polished so that they seem to be. Then they don't relate to the out-state voters.
Politics here isn't Dem vs. Repub. it is urban vs. rural.
Dems have been choosing the urban side for fundraising purposes. The way to reach out-state voters is with the values talk. That doesn't mean capitulating. I really believe there is a way to reclaim it and capture the hearts of those voters. Particularly after the drastic Medicaid cuts that came down from Blunt.

[MonteSano]

6. This is regrettably true. Thank God that Dean is trying to change that!

[elperromagico]

7. It does make sense to set up camp in all 50 states,

not just in the short term but also in the long term. I wouldn't expect Utah to vote for a Democratic presidential nominee any time soon but that doesn't make it impossible; it certainly doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.

This is a flaw of the winner-take-all system of presidential elections. We don't try to improve our vote in red states because, even if we lose by one vote, we lose the whole enchilada.

If you can get people to even listen to your ideas, your chances of changing their minds have already vastly improved.

[blm]

9. Imagine a strong party infrastructure in Florida in 2000, and Ohio in 2004

It's within that state and county infrastructure where the votes get counted or purged or stolen.

Why the DNC chose to let red state party infrastructures collapse since 1997, is just a mystery. It never made sense that the DNC let it happen in 2000, let alone in 2002 and 2004.

Dean has ALOT of catching up to do. 8 years of structural neglect by the previous DNC chairs. Tough road for all of us, but we can do it.

[madfloridian]

12. The hardest part in Florida will come later...

To convince the leaders that we the people are entitled to a place at the table. A few are in control, we make one step forward and two backwards in trying to make change at the precinct and county levels.

Rough month here, smoke-filled room stuff.

[JNelson6563]

8. K&R!!!

Still speeaking for me Governor! :toast:

[Bandit]

10. Democratic National Committee is we’re fighting in all 50 states.

If only that were true. In my state the Democratic candidate running for Congress against Don Young who is implicated in the Abramoff Scandal is getting zero aid from the DNC. Zero. She has no funds and is still considered a threat in a super Red State. If only she had some help...sigh...http://bensonforcongress.com/

[MH1]

11. K & R

I heard Kuo on NPR. He sounded compelling. But, I won't forget he's still a conservative evangelical. He put up with * for what, 2 years? It took that long for his conscience to wake up? But, he may be able to help a lot of other conservative evangelicals come to their senses. I sure hope so.