Howard Dean

[Texsox]

Friend --

Four years ago, I became chairman with a mandate for bottom-up reform

-- grow the Democratic Party in your neighborhood and every other

community in America.

We promised to compete in every state, for every level of office. And

we demanded a party that would stand up for itself and fight for an

agenda that reflects our values.

When the 447 members of the Democratic National Committee elected me,

it wasn't because they thought I could accomplish these things.

 

They elected me because I knew that only you could.

I believed then -- and I believe now -- that every single one of us

must take responsibility for building our party. It's not enough to

simply vote for Democrats -- in order to win, every one of us must

deliver our message and values into our own communities. We must

organize.

Four years later, we have more Democratic state legislators and

governors. We expanded the electoral map, regained a majority in both

houses of Congress, and put a Democratic president in the White House.

We did it by rebuilding the party infrastructure from the ground up,

creating a truly national voter database, and developing 21st century

campaign tools that merged traditional organizing with new technology.

I said on my first day on the job that this wouldn't be my chairmanship

-- it would be ours together. And you reshaped the political landscape

over these four years.

 

Next week, I will step down after four years as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

I'd like to congratulate Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, who will take

my place as Chairman on January 21st. He will be an excellent leader in

the years ahead.

I know a lot of people are wondering what to expect as we move forward.

I can assure you that Governor Kaine will continue the grassroots

approach that has made our party and Barack Obama's campaign so

successful.

Governor Kaine knows first-hand what a commitment to fighting

everywhere means -- Virginia is a prime example of what can happen when

we refuse to concede any part of this country and build our

organization everywhere.

In that spirit of grassroots engagement, Governor Kaine has offered to

answer your questions personally in a video on Democrats.org.

 

Submit your question for incoming DNC Chairman Tim Kaine.

Democrats have made great gains over the past four years, but we still

have a lot of work to do to get this country back on course.

Governor Kaine knows that the strength of our party comes from the

bottom up, and he will need your support as we take the next steps to

grow our party and elect Democrats everywhere.

You've done a lot over the last six months, and over the last four

years. You've donated money, talked to friends, knocked on doors.

You've invested yourself in the political process. And it's tempting to

take it easy after a big victory.

But these are not short-term investments. We will only create lasting

change if that sense of obligation to one another and responsibility

for the common good becomes a permanent part of our lives.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

 

We cannot be silent. We cannot leave it to others to see this through.

 

Thank you for everything you did for our cause in this election and over the last four years.

But we are not stopping here. And even though my term as chairman is

ending, I will be with you -- and with our new chairman -- every step

of the way.

 

Thank you again,

 

Howard Dean

[lostfan]

He rebuild the party's image and direction from the shambles it was in a few years ago, I'd say he was pretty successful.

[Balta1701]

Biggest House and Senate majorities in decades, vastly bigger than the 1994 Republican majority, the White House, and a complete 4 year change in which party is viewed to be in disarray.

 

He had some help (W), but give the man his due.

[DukeNukeEm]

Like Balta said W helped, but Dean saved the Democratic party.

[Cknolls]

You guys seem to be forgetting the biggest reason, and that is the man himself, the President -Elect.

[Balta1701]

You guys seem to be forgetting the biggest reason, and that is the man himself, the President -Elect.

BO had very little to do with the retaking of both houses of Congress in 2006. He likely had an impact in 2008, but at the same time...he wasn't the one out there setting up or running local campaigns, training and recruiting candidates in unexpected places pre-08, getting set up with all the local things beforehand...etc.

 

The Obama campaign was smart in that they really took advantage in a lot of areas of the work Dean's DNC did in the previous 3 years. Building up voter lists, having people actually in place who were trained and who were familiar with local districts, etc.

[lostfan]

You guys seem to be forgetting the biggest reason, and that is the man himself, the President -Elect.

That's true, he was a lot of wind behind the sails, but the sails themselves were Dean, and he is the one who got it moving. The GOP could really use a new ship right now, that's their immediate order of business.

Edited January 14, 2009 by lostfan

[StrangeSox]

Dean is the one who promoted operations in every state, right? Letting go of the idea of "Republican strongholds" that weren't worth contesting was a major part of their success.

[lostfan]

Dean is the one who promoted operations in every state, right? Letting go of the idea of "Republican strongholds" that weren't worth contesting was a major part of their success.

Obama's ungodly sums of money helped though.

[DukeNukeEm]

Dean is the one who promoted operations in every state, right? Letting go of the idea of "Republican strongholds" that weren't worth contesting was a major part of their success.

Yeah the 50 states strategy.

 

Democrats actually would've contested Alaska if it werent for she who will not be named. Even states like Utah and Idaho are getting attention. There's a reason the Dakotas and Montana were so close this year.

Edited January 14, 2009 by DukeNukeEm

[mr_genius]

Truth is the market crash, GOP scandals, and GW Bush played a much larger role than Howard Dean. If things go badly during the Obama admin the GOP will likely make up ground, it's just how things work.

[Texsox]

Truth is the market crash, GOP scandals, and GW Bush played a much larger role than Howard Dean. If things go badly during the Obama admin the GOP will likely make up ground, it's just how things work.

 

All true, but as Dems remember, Bush was very vulnerable after his first term, and they did not win. Same as the GOP squandered a chance after Clinton's first term.

[StrangeSox]

Truth is the market crash, GOP scandals, and GW Bush played a much larger role than Howard Dean. If things go badly during the Obama admin the GOP will likely make up ground, it's just how things work.

 

It definitely helped, but Dean had already put the strategy and operations in place to take advantage of the situation.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Where's the poll option for "Yeeeaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

[lostfan]

Where's the poll option for "Yeeeaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

It's actually "Pyeeaaahhhhh!!!!"

[Chet Lemon]

Where's the poll option for "Yeeeaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

 

The mainstream media never really covered that due to their liberal bias, so most people forgot it happened.

[DukeNukeEm]

Truth is the market crash, GOP scandals, and GW Bush played a much larger role than Howard Dean. If things go badly during the Obama admin the GOP will likely make up ground, it's just how things work.

That doesn't explain why Montana, Georgia and the Dakotas were so close. Barack Obama even won one of the electors from Nebraska.