Dean Promises to 'Take This Country Back.'
Promising to “take this country back for the people who built it,” Howard Dean took control of the Democratic Party Saturday, immediately drawing mixed reactions from the moderate and more liberal wings of the party.
“Today will be the beginning of the re-emergence of the Democratic Party,” said Dean, who was uncontested for the job after former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), party activist Donnie Fowler, former Ohio party Chairman David Leland, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and New Democratic Network President Simon Rosenberg dropped out of the race. Dean replaces Terry McCauliffe, whose four-year term ended last week.
The former governor of Vermont, Dean became a national figure when he joined the race for the presidency. Early on in the primary season, Dean became the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination but withdrew after critics lambasted him for what’s been deemed the “Dean Scream.” The media played repeatedly a video of an impassioned Dean at the Iowa caucuses, his sleeves rolled up and collar unbuttoned, pumping his fist in air and letting out an amplified yowl.
It wasn’t his first misstep. Earlier in the race, Dean had been blasted by fellow Democrat Al Sharpton for saying he wanted to attract the rebel-flag-waving segment of society to his party, and by other Democrats for dissing the centrist politics of Bill Clinton.
But despite Dean’s somewhat embarrassing exit from the presidential race, many believe he is the right man to lead the Democratic National Committee, while others say Dean is too liberal and abrasive, and question whether he has what it takes to lead and unify the party.
Still other Democrats argue that the only issue now is how to combat an ideologically driven Republican Party that now controls the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House.
“This administration … believe[s] there should be no roof of opportunities for the rich and powerful, no safety net or floor for the poor,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson. “So we do call on our new DNC Chairman to move our party to the center – the moral center. We call on Howard Dean to do what he does best – to tell the truth, to stand up and fight for the defenseless and the weak, to point out the corrupt and biased priorities by which this administration, this Congress, and this GOP are pushing. On the crises of our times, Howard Dean will fight for a Democratic Party that’s occupies the moral center.”
Stephen Minarik, chairman of the State Republican Party disagrees.
Speaking to The Buffalo News recently, Minarik said, "Howard Dean is the personification of today's national Democratic Party - elite, radical, out of control and sadly out of touch with ordinary Americans."
Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family, a conservative organization, told Cybercast News Service: "Dean can be a wild card. If you go by his track record, he does tend to pull to the left, but not on everything. He may remake himself to be more moderate, but I don't believe that's who he really is."
So let me get this straight. We should have a "roof" for the rich and powerful now? Okay, sorry Bill Gates, time to give back the billions. Screw the thousands of people working for you. Let's punish people for succeeding now. And what the hell is "the moral center" anyway? I am left with no other conclusion than Jesse Jackson, like many Jacksons these days, is clininically insane.
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About me: “'But I don’t want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked. 'Oh, you can’t help that,' said the Cat. 'We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.' 'How do you know I’m mad?' said Alice. 'You must be,” said the Cat, 'or you wouldn’t have come here.'” -Lewis Carroll