This is starting to get
really interesting. State parties and congressional Dems are weighing in on their requirements for the new DNC chair -- the transformation of the DNC away from a president-centric organization, to one fixated on rebuilding congressional and state Democratic efforts.
In behind-the-scenes positioning, key congressional lawmakers are seeking to prevent the national party from lapsing into another four-year presidential gestation cycle, where the DNC serves as nothing more than an incubator for the party's ambitions to capture the White House, say leadership aides.
That congressional strategy to deemphasize the presidential race is being paralleled at the state level, where party chairmen are withholding their endorsements and plan to swing their 112 votes in one bloc for a single candidate.
Those party leaders will seek to extract concrete assurances from the eight potential candidates for DNC chairperson who have been invited to address the Association of State Democratic Chairmen (ASDC) on Dec. 11 in Orlando.
Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party and of the ASDC, said that his group, with its 112 members, "represents at least a fourth" of the 447 total votes, "or even a third, if some of the other committee members don't show."
"What we'd like to see is much more focus on the state and local parties in every state," Brewer said.
"I've asked the state party chairman state vice chairs to withhold endorsements, and then we will discuss the candidates and make a joint endorsement," Brewer said.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, New Democrat Network president Simon Rosenberg, strategist Donnie Fowler and telecom executive Leo Hindery have accepted Brewer's invitation to make opening remarks and then participate in a question-and-answer session in Orlando.
In addition, Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, former White House Chief of Staff Harold Ickes and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk have all been invited.
Also of interest is this line:
"All eyes are on Dean's next move right now. Everyone is waiting on what he is deciding what to do, and that will shape any decision by any candidate," a prominent Democratic strategist said.
Dean was burned during the primaries by becoming the front-runner too early in the process. This time, the good doctor will play it coy until the end, which should introduce some interesting uncertainties in the race.
(Via the Stakeholder, which also points to another Hill article about George Lakoff working with House Democrats.)