Now that the Democratic debacle of the 2006 election is behind us, it's time to take stock of our future as a party, look at what mistakes were made, identify those responsible, and hold them accountable in the most public and acrimonious way possible. And the first target of such sado-masochistic introspection is obvious: Howard Dean.
Were it not for Howard Dean's ruinous "50 State Strategy", whom among us can doubt that we would not right now hold a veto-proof 2/3rds majority in the House of Representatives? Not to mention a clear and incontrovertible majority in the Senate? Had not Howard Dean's DNC deprived the DCCC and DSCC of the essential funds that they needed, yesterday's outcome would have sent an unmistakable message to this White House, and to the world at large. As it is, what small gains we have in fact made can only serve to leave the bitter savor of ashes in our mouths.
For example, there's the case of Ned Lamont in Connecticut. I'm sure the DSCC would have loved to have brought some "star power" to the state in support of the winner of the Democratic primary: crowd pleasers like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. But because Howard Dean refused the DSCC the money it so desperately needed... DNC money that should have been the DSCC's (just like Iraqi oil
ought rightly to be ours) we didn't have sufficient funds for their airfare and lodging. The DSCC did what it could with scant resources by sending Sen. Kerry and Sen. Kennedy to Connecticut by Greyhound (they were, after all, next door in Massachusetts)... but otherwise our hands were tied. This just illustrates one highly visible instance in which we lost a pickup opportunity in the Senate. (Dean, to his credit, did himself campaign for Lamont in Connecticut... but he's known for traveling on the cheap.)
Yes, I know that some people will suggest that Dean is prescient... that his scheme to fight for seats in every district helped us with our meagre gains on 11/7. I'll concede that Howard Dean is often proven to be "right", insofar that his assertions are factually "true" and his predictions are invariably "borne out". However, when Howard Dean is right, it is for the wrong reasons. Just because those who oppose Dean are repeatedly shown to be incorrect, that doesn't mean they can be easily dismissed: being wrong for the right reasons is no sin. In fact, as so many journalists and commentators have demonstrated, in such cases being wrong is admirable and wise... and should be considered authoritative. Howard Dean should have learned from George W. Bush that one ought rather be President... than be right.
Howard Dean's presence as the DNC Chair is a continual slap in the faces of the steady and experienced hands that would have guided our party towards the massive and unprecedented conjectural victory that we would have enjoyed on election day... were it not for his meddling interference.
Howard Dean has the naive view that politics in America is like some Frank Capra movie - where a bunch of scrappy local amateurs can work together and run a successful campaign. The cold, harsh reality is this: we cannot compete with the Republicans' 72-hour GOTV operations. Their network of churches and corporate-backed grassroots organizers is invulnerable, like Batman. We can not oppose them by adopting similar tactics. As Democrats we can't possibly hope to win through some kind of fantastical "people power" movement. We can only win by using time-tested techniques, like massive ad buys and whistlestop tours. Howard Dean will never, ever, ever understand this.
I'm sure you can find specific examples of races that were won by Dean's misguided grassroots strategy. Like Jerry McNerney and Patrick Murphy. We can handily dismiss such outlying data points: they don't fit the curve... and are merely the exceptions that prove the rule. It would be impossible to build a national party that accommodates these aberrations, which are - in every case - individual and particular to the localities and personalities involved. There is no conceivable way in which we can, as a Party, possibly institutionally accommodate idiosyncratic regional dynamics.
No, the 50 State Strategy, and Howard Dean, have got to go.