I am greatly saddened that Gov. Howard Dean ended his campaign for the Presidency yesterday. Many of us worked hard walking precincts, making phone calls, and flying on our own to far-flung places like Iowa, New Hampshire, Arizona, and Wisconsin to campaign for Gov. Dean. So let's be clear on a few things regarding the Dean campaign and where we go from here.
George W. Bush is a threat to a just, civil, and compassionate society. He must be stopped and it is imperative that those who fought for Howard Dean, endeavor to stop the George W. Bush's right wing agenda now by supporting the eventual nominee with as much fervor as we supported the good Doctor. John Kerry and John Edwards are not the first choice of many of us, but they are infinitely better than George W. Bush. And, though co-opted, they now speak with Howard Dean's passionate voice.
But let me take you back to 2002. The leaders of our Party, cowed by the President's popularity, forgot that they were sent to Washington to represent Democratic ideals. Instead, our leaders in Congress rolled over again and again on tax cuts for the wealthy, on education and No Child Left Behind, on the Patriot Act, on Homeland Security, and, most troubling, on the decision to send our brave soldiers into harms way in an unnecessary war. Democratic voters were left without a voice, at the very time when we most needed one.
Then, a voice emerged from the most unlikely of places. A governor of a small, rural state that nobody had ever heard of before stood before our Party and demanded to know why so many Democrats were supporting the President's agenda. He spoke eloquently of the power of ordinary Americans to take back the Democratic Party so we could take our country back from the right wing.
Democrats around the nation had found a candidate that expressed their anger at their own Party for cooperating with the President's agenda and were drawn by his message of hope and community.
Hundreds of thousands were drawn to the Dean campaign by this message. Hundreds of thousands of small contributors made fundraising history and created the greatest grassroots Presidential campaign in American history. Gov. Dean rocketed to the front of nearly every state's polls. Americans were finally going to take their country back.
But, the shockwave created by Gov. Dean's campaign threatened the established interests that had controlled the party and its message for so long. They informally collaborated to "Stop Dean" in any way that they could.
To those interests I say this:
Dean's movement was merely one week away from winning Iowa and giving the Democratic Party back to ordinary Democrats. He created a movement that brought hundreds of thousands of new people to the process, energized the Democratic base and gave Democrats a reason to believe that we could beat George Bush. This movement revolutionized the way campaigns are funded and organized.
And you crushed it.
For now.
To those who think they've won:
Even though we will support the eventual nominee, we WILL take our Party back. And then we WILL take our country back. Our movement is stronger, more well organized, and better funded than any you can muster. Focusing on local races and electing "Dean Democrats" to party positions, and local elected posts, one by one, we will overturn your dominance and return our Party to the greatness it deserves.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. Because, if I may quote the frontrunner in this race:
We're coming, you're going. And don't let the door hit you on the way out.