Today's the day for us to show coordinated solidarity with the man who is leading the charge to reform the Democratic Party.
Listen to what William Rivers Pitt has to say about Dean:
Every time Dean fires off one of his salvos, reporters flip open their notebooks. Headlines get made, discussion begins, and a whole lot of people start debating the facts and merits of his statements. Is the Republican leadership run by right-wing yahoos? Is DeLay going to jail? Controversy begets press. Dean can see, as well as anyone else, how effective the moderate, soft-touch, treading-lightly approach has been working lately for the Democrats.
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William Rivers Pitt (cont)
But how are we going to win those white Christian middle-America voters to our side by having Dean basically call them out? asks the ruffled Democratic leadership. The answer to this lies at the heart of what the Democratic party has been failing at for a while now. The voters who are supposedly going to be alienated by this kind of talk are the very same voters who look for guts, strength and straight talk from the leadership of this country. All too often, Democratic leaders come off sounding like they are saying seven things at once, leaving the impression that their spines are somewhat slippery. Boldness, on the other hand, begets confidence, even in disagreement.
Or read Dana Blankenhorn:
Harry Truman famously said, in response to calls that he "Give `em Hell," that "I just tell the truth and they think it's hell." It brought him victory in an election Truman had no business winning, in 1948, an election that really kept Democrats dominant for 20 years, despite the rise of suburbia, and made possible both the Warren Court and the Civil Rights movement.
No Democrat on Earth has Howard Dean's political brilliance. No one else has his instincts. He's not crazy, he's not angry, he's not mad. He's giving people the truth, and those who hear it are responding.
Or Thom Hartmann:
The simple truth is that corporate interests have hijacked our nation, theocrats want to take us back to the days of the Salem Witch Trials (with gays playing the part of witches), and the "stars" in the corporate "mainstream" media have been so terrified by Bush administration threats of loss of access (which could then lead to the loss of their own 6- and 7-figure income jobs) that they perpetuate administration lies and tremble at the thought of actually asking a tough follow-up question when Bush prevaricates.
Howard Dean points out these uncomfortable truths. And, like the little boy who said that the Emperor had no clothes, those entrenched in the status quo are trying to hush him up.
Or Rob Kall:
So... Howard is making some of the spine-challenged democrats uncomfortable. That's exactly why we wanted him, because the centrist democrats don't have the balls to say what needs to be said. We knew when Dean was given the job, he'd be pushing the envelope. Now he's doing it. The grousing from a handful of democrats is actually a positive sign. If he was not getting some complaints then he would be failing to meet our expectations for speaking out-- truth to power.
There are a lot of elected Democrats who failed to vote against the bankruptcy bill and who allowed the compromise that is putting three of the most offensive judges in history into positions of influence. The outrage and outcry should be about those gutless wonder Democrats, not Dean.
But you don't have to be an eloquent blogger or op-ed writer to speak up for Dean. I wrote the following letter to the editor of my local paper myself:
The Press Democrat recently published an article about large donors to the Democratic Party "concerned about Howard Dean" and withholding their checks. Yet Dr. Dean raised more money for the Democratic National Committee in a non-election year than any prior DNC chair.
How is he doing it without big donors? It appears that every time Dr. Dean makes one of his publicized "gaffes", Republicans act outraged, the press lambastes him, and working-class Democrats get inspired to send another $20 to the DNC in support.
Why? Because Dean is steadfastly defending core Democratic populist values: social security, health care, education, workers' rights, and election reform. He's the GOP's worst nightmare. Small wonder that they love to twist his words.
And Dr. Dean's plans for the DNC is threatening to large Democratic party donors and insiders. He intends to move the bulk of party operations away from Washington and focus on state and county organizations - where elections are won. Grassroots Democrats love the idea.
Howard Dean's reformed Democratic Party would appear to be targeted towards the interests of voters, rather than catering to the highest bidder.
Obviously, Howard Dean is scary. Unless you are one of the common people.
I know you guys can do better than me. Use this diary to share what you've written or said.
Here's what you can do:
- Enlist your friends. Let folks know about this and encourage them to participate.
- Give money to the DNC.
- Call Democratic Elected Officials in the House and Senate
- Sign the Dean Speaks for Me Petition
- Write Letters to the Editor