The GOP took up Dean's 50 state strategy. Look what happened last night.

[madfloridian]

Priebus to announce RNC reboot, implement 50-state strategy

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus is calling on the party to compete in every state across the country, as he unveils a major overhaul in response to November’s election.

"We must compete in every state and every region, building relationships with communities we haven’t before," Priebus plans to say in excerpts of a speech to be delivered Friday.

The RNC chairman will argue that for the party to survive, it must "stop looking at elections through the lens of 'battleground states.' "

“We have four years till the next presidential election, and being a 'blue state' is not a permanent diagnosis," he plans to say.

....In many ways, Priebus's model mirrors that pursued by Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after George W. Bush was reelected president in 2004. Dean directed the DNC then with the explicit goal of organizing within every voting precinct, using young candidates and new technology to extend the party's base. His strategy was partially credited with Democrats retaking the House and Senate in 2006.

Dean's reward for winning it all in 2008 was to be shut out by his party. The new chair was announced at the DNC without his knowledge while while he was in Samoa on the last trip to the territories...fulfilling his promise.

[Ykcutnek]

1. They're stealing everything from us.

And all we're borrowing from them is irrelevancy.

[NCarolinawoman]

2. I hear ya.

[madfloridian]

6. Dean said this way we would build a farm team, leaders we could use in the future...

already trained for the part. We can't seem to find good candidates lately, so maybe he was right.

[Recursion]

10. It's winter wheat

The people that got started in the mid 2000's are just breaking out of school boards and county councils now and going for state legislature positions. It will take another decade or so before we start seeing them at the national level.

[madfloridian]

3. A Daily Kos blog at the time also noted that they had failed to notify him.

Despite reinventing the whole Election organization of the Democratic Party, and leading it to in consecutive triumphant election cycles, Dean was completely passed over for the Cabinet position he coveted (Health and Human Services). He was also shutout from consideration for any other administration post. And there have been allegations that Dean was not even invited to attend the event with President-elect Barack Obama introducing Gov Tim Kaine at DNC headquarters to be his successor, which Dean indicated he would have attended (rescheduling a trip) had he received such an invitation. The shabby treatment of Howard Dean, by the Democratic Establishment is baffling.

Howard Dean saved the Party that ... still prefers Joe Lieberman?

[RobertEarl]

4. He made the establishment look bad

And he was inspiring a new round of leaders. That threatened the establishment.

I did not like Dean as much then as I do now. At the time I was in tight with some establishment types and saw how they reacted to Dean. Looking back now I see why I didn't like Dean - because the established didn't, and I was working my way in. They colored my vision.

Now I want to see Dean come back, but not with HC.

[madfloridian]

5. He shamed them about the Iraq invasion.

I remember so well how we were called fringe and radicals because we supported him. Local parties in effect shut us out.

He was a centrist at heart, but he knew you could not have so many local parties with actual chains on the doors and still win. He got many state groups out of bankruptcy.

[onenote]

7. A lot of revisionism about Dean's successes

Last edited Thu Nov 6, 2014, 06:56 AM - Edit history (1)

that aren't supported by the facts.
Comparing Dean's success in 2006 and 2008 with subsequent election cycles is comparing apples and oranges since in 2006 the Democrats were running against an unpopular president whose support even within his own party was dropping like a rock. In 2008, we had the headwinds of two more years of unpopular republican rule and a historic candidate.

More to the point, Dean's "picks" if that is what they were didn't have staying power. A significant majority of the class of 2006 is no longer in Congress. Instead of inspiring new leaders, it gave us folks like Heath Shuler. There were more Blue Dogs recruited by Dean than progressive candidates.

Now I for one don't have a huge problem with Blue Dogs since they were necessary to give us control of Congress. But it seems to me that some of the biggest Dean backers here are among the first to complain that the party hasn't been running progressive candidates, which is odd since Dean certainly didn't feel wedded against
running moderates/Blue Dogs.

[madfloridian]

12. He did not "recruit" candidates.

As DNC chair he provided resources. He did not pick anyone. I agree that was a catch in his strategy...having to run conservative Democrats.

That part bothered me, and it did take us more to the right.

But there is no denying that something really worked for the GOP last night.

[RobertEarl]

13. I fucking hate losing

Dean was a winner. His 50 state strategy was a winner.

Heath Shuler, replaced a republican and he represented his rednecks well. The buttwipe now in his seat, is a republican who voted to shut down the government. Shuler was far better than what we had, and what we have.

Dean played the game well and we won seats. What do you have against winning?

Is it all or nothing with you and the likes of DWS? Or are you just trying real hard to be divisive and contrary?

Do you hate that Obama has been reaching across the aisle to the reds? I do.

[jaysunb]

16. FYI

Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, was one of the original Deans Dozen. Every member of that group has been elected and served honorably.
Your assessment is completely off base.

[madfloridian]

19. Many still serving were part of that Dean Dozen.

Lordy we worked out butts off and donated to almost all of them. I even phone-banked, and I hate phone-banking.

[onenote]

24. I thought we were discussing the 2006 and 2008 elections, not the 2004 DFA campaign effort

I'm a supporter of Democracy for America because I think its best way for me to get my dollars to local/state candidates outside of the area where I live.

But let's not fantasize about the results of the "Dean Dozen(s)" in 2004. Most of them lost. The only two I can think of that won election to federal office were Obama and Allyson Schwartz. Even among the ones that won local office (there were a few), ten years later none have become national leaders, which was supposed to be the goal.

As for those posters who didn't understand my original comment: I believe that we have to support moderate and even somewhat conservative candidates in some districts/states if we want to have a chance of winning in those areas. Dean understood that. What I don't get is that so many here that love Dean, seem to hate that idea.

[BlueMTexpat]

23. While what you say - except about Dean's "picks" which is frankly nuts -

has a grain of truth, it is primarily your post that is revisionism about Dean. Whatever the circumstances, Dean's strategy got the best results EVER for Dem candidates. That is undeniable.

Dean's "picks" - who were candidates who had already announced themselves or been party selections - have been among the best Dems we have had. His "picks" were the best possible among what was available at the time which meant that some had to be Blue Dogs. Barack Obama and Martin O'Malley, both early Dean's Dozen "picks," for instance, have served the people well, as have so many others who have and will. No "staying power" - LOL. What planet are you on?

Dean's 50-state strategy was right on the mark. When Obama listened to Third-Way Rahm's DLC BS and quite dishonorably dumped Dean in 2009, it was, IMO, the worst thing for long-term Democratic Party grassroots organization that Obama could have done. No one since at the national level has had Dean's vision. That is also undeniable.

And the lack of Dean's vision has harmed us all.

[Hissyspit]

8. The Jim Crow voter suppression efforts are working:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025773462

[madfloridian]

15. Yes, I don't think our leaders are paying enough attention to it.

It needs to be blasted all over, condemned constantly. I only read about it on forums.

[Recursion]

9. Dean modeled the 50 state strategy on what the GOP did in the 1970s and 1980s

It goes back to Ralph Reed's claim that he would rather have a majority of school boards and city councils than the White House.

[madfloridian]

11. Yes, that is correct.

Yes, you are right. Dean felt that we needed to start at the local level. In DFA we sponsored school board and city commission candidates.

[fadedrose]

14. They did him dirty . . . wish he could get back his influence . . .

I used to send emails to the White House almost weekly asking the President to put Dean somewhere as a cabinet member or advisor. I just could never trust the Clinton people held over, tho some were very capable (but not loyal, unfortunately). They must have brainwashed Obama against Dean, tho Dean NEVER said a bad word about him, unlike those who were picked to run things...with a personal agenda...

[jaysunb]

17. +1 n/t

[cprise]

18. Sort of reminds me of.... this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017224941

[madfloridian]

20. I saw that. Did not realize her ties to Richard and the 2000 recount.

And look who was chairman before her...Karen Thurman with lobbyist ties to GOP lobbyists. No wonder we have problems here.

[cstanleytech]

21. No actually the GOP has been working towards this for decades.

And the only way we can fix this is to start focusing on the local elections like school boards and such and move from there to county and state offices.
Once we regain the state offices we can fix the gerrymandering the GOP has done as well as remove the voting laws the gop enacted to make it harder for the poor to vote.
After that its on to the federal level.
But it will take time and a best guess would be a minimum of atleast 25 years.

[madfloridian]

22. In Dean's book he said that is why we had to use the strategy.

The name of the plan was given by him, but he gave credit to the GOP for it. It was in his book You Have the Power from 2004 I think.

[geek tragedy]

25. Dean didn't win the 2008 elections, Obama did.

This whole business about giving Howard Dean 100% credit for every good thing that happened in 2006 and 2008 is a giant exercise in self-deception.

Why did Democrats win the 2006 elections? People were pissed at Bush. And the DCCC and DSCC fielded good candidates on the House and Senate levels.

Why did Democrats win the 2008 elections? Because people were still really pissed at Bush, the Democrats fielded good candidates on the House and Senate levels, and because of the Obama campaign's fundraising and GOTV operations.

The 50 state strategy is a slogan, not an actual strategy. Obviously, parties want to compete everywhere they can and want to fund viable party organizations everywhere.

But, the DNC did not contest every Senate race or every governor's race in 2006 and 2008.

Unless people are willing to give Reince Priebus credit for being a strategic genius, hard to see why Howard Dean gets so much credit for being in the right place at the right time.