Dean says he's only just begun to build the Democrats' power base. Vermont meeting today.

[madfloridian]

There was a DNC Executive Committee meeting in Burlington today, which included the ASDC. It was apparently not covered by C-Span, and someone in Vermont said very little local coverage. I did find a couple of articles.

DNC meeting

..."And Dean says he's only just begun to build the Democrats' power base.

Dean hosted a meeting of the national party's executive committee. It was a chance to show off his home state and to tout one of his main creations, the party's State Partnership Program, or SPP. The national party program provides money as well as political expertise to Democrats on the state level. It's a welcome development among Democrats looking to boost support locally. The help in Vermont includes a communicaitons expert credited by local Democrats with building grass roots support -- and financial donations -- through the Internet.

Vermont Democratic Party Chairman Ian Caroleton told the group, "The State Partnership Program, not only just through fund raising but through its ability to have us do our own fund raising more powerfully by reaching out in a grass roots way, has completely revolutionized the party."

.."From the national level, Dean says the Democrats will use their state-level expertise to analyze every voting district in the country, to stop what he charges have been Republican vote fraud schemes. "They use vote caging, vote purging, voter intimidation, funny business about where they assign voting machines -- and even the voting machines themselves are under suspicion," Dean said.

...""My favorite proverb in the world is, Chance Favors the Prepared Mind," Dean told reporters. "And the fact of the matter is, we haven't been prepared in all fifty states, and now we are. And it certainly paid off in the last election. I think it will pay off in this one as well," referring to the 2008 elections in the national, state and local levels.

A little from another article about the meeting.

Dean talks more about voter protection

"We're going to spot trouble before it happens this time, instead of wait
for trouble and then respond when it happens," said Dean, a former Vermont
governor...."

..""The voter protection situation is good because it's pro-active and not
reactive," said Ceasar. "It's looking at the systems themselves ... I think
it's a great idea."


.."When a committee member thanked him for tolerating numerous flight delays as
his party chairman's job had taken him around the country this summer, Dean
blamed air travelers' woes on the Bush administration.

"The reason the airline situation is so bad today ... is because the Bush
administration is completely unwilling to put any kind of reasonable,
thoughtful regulation on their (airlines') behavior. ... So again, for those
air travelers who are upset, you better vote Democratic," he said to
laughter and applause.

[rockymountaindem]

1. Can he be elected for a second term?

It would be great to give him eight years to see these projects through. I'll be honest: at first I was only glad he won because I didn't want the Deaniacs' entheusiasm to leave the party, but I'm quite impressed with the way he's built the party infrastructure.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. To the best of my knowledge, there are no term limits for party chair.

[madfloridian]

4. I have seen varying thoughts.

Officially the party candidate gets to decide, but technically the voting is done by the DNC members. I have seen a couple of bloggers say that there may be a desire to avoid a confrontation....but most likely the nominee will do what they want. I can not imagine anyone wanting a 2nd thankless term, though.

From the bylaws from 2005:

Article Five
National Chairperson

Section 1. The National Chairperson of the Democratic Party shall carry out the programs and policies of the National Convention and the Democratic National Committee.

Section 2 The National Chairperson, the five Vice Chairpersons, the National Finance Chair, the Treasurer and the Secretary shall be elected:

a. at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee held after the succeeding Presidential election and prior to March 1, next.

b. whenever a vacancy occurs. The National Chairperson shall be elected and may be removed by a majority vote of the Democratic National Committee and each term shall expire upon the election for the following term.

Will find the link.

link pdf
http://a9.g.akamai.net/7/9/8082/v001/democratic1.download.akamai.com/8082/pdfs/20060119_charter.pdf

[Hippo_Tron]

22. Only if we lose the '08 election, he's not going to be party chair under a Dem President

Party Chair when your party is in power is a ceremonial post that takes marching orders from the White House. Dean has no interest in doing that job.

[DaveinMD]

2. Dean

is doing a great job as Chairman. That anti-voter intimidation program is a great idea.

[bahrbearian]

5. My Man,,, YEEEHAAW!

[calimary]

29. I know whatcha mean. I love Dr. Dean!

And I'm glad this isn't getting much coverage. Better to fly under the radar while the republi-CONS are mostly preoccupied with their straw(man) polls. By the time most of their rank-n-file gets wind of it, it'll be WAY ahead.

[AtomicKitten]

6. I look forward to watching Dean's work.

I didn't vote for him in the primary in 2004 - hey, sue me - but I have grown to really, really respect him. I think he's doing a great job as DNC chair.

He's shoring up the infrastructure. Election "mishaps" :mad: seem to be getting some air time. California's SOS really made my day recently.

Thanks for posting this and informing us of what a great job Dean is doing.

[MasonJar]

7. The best thing to happen for the dems since the disastrous Supremes

in 2000 is Howard Dean as the DNC chairman. Thank you, Howard, for all you have done.

[JNelson6563]

8. Woooo-hoooo! K&R!!

Great stuff! :toast:

Julie

[madfloridian]

9. Amen, Julie

:hi:

[travelingtypist]

10. And what are Rahm and Chuck talking about?

It was Rahm and Chuck who help the Democrats win last
November after all.

:sarcasm:

[Downtown Hound]

11. No, it was Carville!

:rofl:

[madfloridian]

12. Good write-up of a PA interview.....Dean's biggest challenge will be policy of nominee.

Not so much what he does, but the strategy of the nominee. Good point.

Howard Dean came to the DNC not to play but to win. His biggest challenge will be the electoral strategy of the Democrats' eventual presidential nominee.

Very good point. If the nominee doesn't play to win...not too much he can do about that.

Dean's down-home strategy

Most elections are decided by 5 percentage points or less. So if a political party can affect voter turnout, then it can affect outcome. Just ask any Republican who lost his or her seat by fewer than 5,000 votes in the 2006 midterm elections. Twenty years ago the GOP made a long-term commitment to build its organization in places where it had no business running candidates. That commitment became the template for Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean's "50-State Strategy," which coordinated organizers for each state party. It broke the red-color line by funding and manning organizations that hadn't seen a healthy Democrat candidate in decades, if ever.

..."Admits one veteran Republican operative who is working on a current GOP presidential campaign: "You have to give Dean credit ... his 50-state strategy has leveled the playing field with the Republicans in terms of party organization."

..."Every nominee of recent years competed in only 18 to 20 states, writing off the rest of the country. If the next candidate approaches his or her campaign in the same, predictable way, then you will see all of Dean's efforts go on a head-to-head collision course. But the Obama campaign's Alaska-to-Alabama grassroots focus is one that does fit well with Dean's view that you can't write off any part of the country.

In Pittsburgh, Dean said he feels confident about his party's fortunes in 2008: "This country is not a Republican country -- it voted Republican for a while but that was because the Democrats fell asleep at the switch."

[madfloridian]

13. Actually it will be people at DU saying don't donate to the DNC

because of what Congress does who will really hurt all of us.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1569064

[shance]

14. What is Governor Dean willing to address and confront re: the Blackwater mercenaries?

I think the growing paramilitarization of our own military is probably the most important issue facing our country, other than the election fraud which the Democratic party has essentially failed to address in the past six years.

[madfloridian]

15. I was expecting you.

And probably others who want to distract from the fact that he has one job to do right now.

He has spoken out before on them, he is very concerned about the use of mercenaries.

That said...you really have turned on him. Why?

[shance]

16. Oh god Floridian. Please don't tell me that. How sad that someone who has been one of.

Deans strongest supporters which dares to criticize, is now being cast as perhaps a scapegoat, as there are many who desire to speak their minds, and yet instead choose to keep their mouths shut.

If Governor Dean is indeed who he says he is, then of course he would be open to hearing what is the overall pulse is of the nation.

He will be more than willing to hear the reality of what Americans are facing and of the consistent betrayals and backstabbing inflicted by none other than those within this Democratic party.

I believe he has the stamina to face such necessary scrutiny.

Please don't waste your breath in finding me or anyone else who dares to confront Dean or anyone else in this party as unfair or unreasonable.

We are inches away from an independent paramilitary group called Blackwater and perhaps others, attempting to take over and police us in the name of "terrorism".

If you don't believe that, then you are not paying attention.

Are Democrats going to give the green light?

They sure have given the green light on everything else.

Don't we atleast deserve the truth if they are going to betray us as well, or atleast aid us in ways to protect ourselves?

These questions are valid.

If he is truly an elite Washingtonian, then by all means, please pay us the respect by admitting such.

Otherwise, my hope is he will tell the truth.

We as Americans have been through much too much to accept otherwise.

[shance]

17. And you may or may not forgive me, that's fine. I'm a bit angry these days.

Being that I've invested as much as anyone else has in this party.

[madfloridian]

20. Your contempt is not deserved.

Your contempt toward me, your accusal that Dean somehow lying.

Not deserved.

I wish he would speak out, but if he does he is not going to survive as chair.

I hate it when you screw up my threads that are not hurting anyone, and I hate it when all the perfect people who detest Dean because he did not go 3rd party and now think two someones on the PDA board are going to save them from the big bad Democrats.

You go your way, I'll just go the other way. Your disgust is not deserved.

[shance]

24. Nor are your accusations that I screw up your threads.

There are other individuals who dare to share their opinions too.

There is much to be concerned about and we have absolutely no leadership.

Period.

[madfloridian]

21. You think I am choosing to keep my mouth shut?

You don't think I speak out about what the party does wrong?

That shows me you have not been paying attention to what I am saying at all. That you have a mindset that doesn't change, no matter what I or anyone else say.

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

19. Jobber

When will car mechanics address the spread of AIDs in Africa? When?!

The head of the DNC (and the RNC) is to, in conjunction with the state parties and candidates, build infrastructure, plot strategy, and raise money. Period.

[shance]

23. Oh I see so when the house is burning down, theyre working on their Excel spread sheet?

Got it.

[madfloridian]

25. Why are you so hateful now toward anything Dean speaks about?

Or anything he does to build the party? When did you get this way?

That you can see nothing good that happens?

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

31. Succinct.

EITHER HOWARD DEAN BOWS TO MY EVERY DEMAND OR THE REPUBLIC IS DOOMED!

[Kurovski]

18. K&R. (nt)

[madfloridian]

26. Thanks to Governor Dean for setting a goal for our party.

And taking the flak from both sides for doing it.

I feel like if he reads DU very often, he must get very discouraged.

I know I do.

You can't change the corporate nature of the party...and it does have a corporate nature....without guess what ...money..moolah.

That's the difference between us and them. The Republicans fund their party, and they fund all areas of it. You know The Villages here in Florida? I see this year that they gave 300,000 to the RNC...aside from their other donations to candidates.

That is amazing, and it is why they win.

We have a lot working for us in the DNC...and I have seen two posts today urging not funding him.

Such is life.

[Cameron27]

27. He's doing a great job with the DNC

K&R

[madfloridian]

28. Video clip up at WCAX from Vermont.

http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=6919226

Good coverage from there, but sparse coverage overall.

[madfloridian]

30. Another video clip from VT tv...some interesting comments.

http://www.wptz.com/news/13874403/detail.html?rss=pla&psp=news

Note where he remarks about the presidential race and more local and state offices.