Back in 2004, the Democratic party was transfixed by a former governor of Vermont, Howard Dean. He generated a ton of excitement in the Presidential primaries. Here was a guy who was challenging Bush aggressively, particularly on the Iraq war. He was calling for healthcare reform, middle class tax cuts and fiscal responsibility. His speeches were rousing and he captured the support of the youth and the bloggers. In fact, he defined how to raise money through the internet. (sound familiar?) He was the clear favorite to win the nomination. But then, he went down in Iowa after a lot of negative attacks. And in his victory speech, he made that fateful scream. And that was all she wrote...Dean was now seen as a lunatic. In politics, if you have one bad soundbite, the curtain closes.
Here's what he did next. He put those bloggers to work and asked them to make him the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean had a simple idea. Why were Democrats not even trying to compete in red states? Why weren't they succeeding among the poor and middle-class voters who, in theory, would benefit more from a Democratic government? He planned a new offensive...called the 50 state strategy. The idea was simple...if Democrats wanted to rule the national government, they would have to be a national party, and not just the party of the east and west coast. They'd go into each and every state and fight for their candidates.
Well, it worked. 2006 saw the Dems take back Congress. They won seats in red areas like Montana, Missouri and Virginia. Now, in 2008, look at all of the red states that all of the sudden are looking pink, or in some cases, blue. Colorado. Georgia. North Carolina. Virginia. Ohio. Indiana. And the list goes on. I suggest to you that the Democratic gains this year are not just because of Bush-fatigue, but also because of Dean's strategy.
And look at the Democratic candidate. He's basically the happy, eloquent version of Howard Dean. Will Obama suffer the same fate as Dean? Will the youth actually show up to the polls on Tuesday? I think this may be the time. Either way, I think Dean can be seen as what all of us political junkies need to be reminded of. No matter your views, you have to get out there and fight for them.
What a difference four years can make in a political party.
1 comment:
yes, many people wrote howard dean off shortly after he revealed just how high his voice can go, including myself. this goes to show how broken modern politics is if politicians are shunned based on one mistake. politics should be more forgiving and less harsh; no, howard dean will never have another shot at the presidency but at least he is still able to have a major affect on his party's campaign.
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