"There is enormous institutional resistance to change in this country."

[madfloridian]

On February 18, 2004, something happened. It was the start of the turning around of things in the party. The change was really about a mindset. We all knew what it meant when he said it. It was not about any one person or any one office.

It was about changing the mindset that got us into Iraq in the first place. It was about changing the ways of thinking that caused our Democrats to give Bush his every wish. It was the start of something bigger than a person.

On February 18, 2004, Howard Dean dropped out of the race for president. He started Democracy for America one month later. He then became party chairman. He did not whine about his problems, he became the catalyst, an agent for change.

Here is part of what he said to us in an email on that day.

A thank you email and a statement

We have led this party back to considering what its heart and soul is. Although there is a lot of work left to do, I am very proud of all of you and very grateful to all of you for your extraordinary hard work.

One of the things that I realized a long time ago is that change is very difficult. There is enormous institutional resistance to change in this country. You cannot expect people with great privileges taken at the expense of ordinary working people to surrender them lightly.

Change is hard work. Change does not happen simply because you go to a rally and simply because you make phone calls -- and I know how hard everybody has worked. But change is a process that you can never give up on.

Change is the state of America and change is the state of humankind. The history of humanity is that determined people overcome obstacles. It is natural for people to resist, but it is also inevitable that we will win.

So we will continue to fight. This is the end of phase one of this fight, but the fight will go on, and we will be in it together. We will continue to bring our message of hope and change to the American people

Thank you very much for everything that you have done.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

There will be change, but it will not be easy.

[Xenotime]

1. how about shit just changes back to the way it was...

How difficult can that be?!? We already fucking did it once!

[madfloridian]

2. "People see what the problems are, but are cynical about the system"

And a month later:

Dean's Seattle announcement of DFA

The right wingers in Washington are getting a little nervous, they think we might actually take back America!

I want to talk about how we're going to do that I'm going to talk about what we face. It is very clear to me that George W. Bush is a failed President. This…Under George Bush's leadership, we have lost 2.3 million jobs, more jobs than any President has lost since Herbert Hoover. Manufacturing jobs going overseas – there are solutions to this, but the solutions George Bush shuns – environmental, labor, and human rights standards around the world that would make global trade work. George Bush has opposed fair wage and overtime policies that would help our workers in difficult times. Today the minimum wage is 30% lower than it was under Richard Nixon. A single mother working full time for minimum wage earns less than $11,000 a year, $4,000 below the poverty line.

It's not right, and we can do better and we will do better.

George Bush is not interested in solutions, what he is interested in doing is making things easier for America's CEOs who earn 531 times what an ordinary worker makes even as they ship their jobs to Bermuda, and their jobs overseas, and their headquarters to tax exempt places like the Cayman Islands.

We can do better and we will do better.

George Bush has presided over a tax policy which has been an enormous transfer of taxpayers' money away from ordinary Americans, to the wealthiest people in America and the largest corporations in the world. He has single handedly turned record surpluses into the largest deficits in the history of America.

We can do better and we will do better.

The men who run the Bush Enron-style economy are not conservatives, they are reckless right wingers who know nothing about managing our taxpayers' money, and they don't care. And we will do better.

Change is not easy.

[DaveJ]

3. I made a similar comment the other day

Change happen much too slowly in the U.S., probably as a result of the way our constitution works. Citizens can elect representatives, but there is no direct mechanism to allow us to change anything ourselves.

For instance, we should be able to, but can't, instantly hold a vote to curtail insurance costs. On that point, while we are fighting for health insurance, few people seem to be talking about how car insurance companies are ripping us off too. What does it matter -- there's not much we can do about it in our system of non-government.

I do remember, though, when we had a President who responded to people's concerns. Having one again might make things slightly better at least.

[madfloridian]

4. As the primaries are becoming painful to watch......

I don't feel any kind of satisfaction. I know how hubby and I and our group here felt in 04 when our candidate left the race. I am glad he did not walk away but stayed to fight in other ways.

There is a sadness in seeing good Democrats hurt.