I got in on the BlogPac conference call with Governor Dean about his candidacy for chairman. It was a very interesting conversation and I was impressed with his candor (he put everything on the record).
Anna of Annatopia has done an excellent job of liveblogging the conference call here. It would be redundant for me to give a complete run down of what was said since Anna has already done so; however, I will make a few comments on my thoughts and on some things Anna couldn't catch as she attempted to superhumanly get everything down.
On Bill Scher's question regarding how Howard hopes to build a "mandate for reform," the Governor was somewhat confused by exactly what Bill meant regarding "reforming the party." While he was not familiar with the terms the blogosphere uses (aka "Reform Democrat) when he detailed his program he clearly fit into the Reform Democrat mold. Throughout the interview he spoke about the need to coordinate the message of all people who speak for the party. He talked of slimming down the amount the party spends on consultants. He talked about being visible throughout the country and not just in DC. Lastly, he talked about rejeuvenating the state parties and trying to ease communication issues between the party at all levels and the grassroots. He said that details regarding his specific plans would be appearing on Blog for America in the near future.
My question was regarding how the party treats its young talent and went something like this (I didn't say it exactly as I wrote it out):
Governor, I'm a young person deeply involved in Democratic Party politics. I've noticed that talented young Democrats have to fight tooth and nail to get minimal attention and training. In contrast, I've seen how the conservative movement actively recruits, trains, and puts on the career fast-track talented young conservatives. With us it seems to be more about who you know than what you know and it can be very frustrating. What would you do about this?
Howard responded by saying (paraphrased:
You're exactly right. The Republicans have an excellent model in how they recruit and train young people. We need to set up an infrastructure that will do the same. I especially want to establish a Leadership Institute at the DNC for exactly this purpose. Young people like you got involved in the party this last cycle (whether for my campaign, Kerry, or groups like ACT) and you are not going away. Your generation has worked hard and the party needs to reach out to young activists to take full advanatage of their skills, talent, and potential.
On other interesting points the Governor encouraged his supporters to write only to the DNC members in their state and be polite (he said a phone call/personal meeting if you know them and a handwritten letter if you don't is particularly effective).
Howard also said that he's not going to change himself or hide his views if he's chairman. He said we need to voice our values more effectively, not change them (cited Lakoff). He said that had he been chairman in the run up to Iraq he still would have expressed his views. However, he felt that he shouldn't be the sole spokesman for the party and that a major part of his role will be to get all our major elected officals and spokespeople on the same page. This includes getting message discipline like the Republicans (BUT WITH OUR MESSAGE OF COURSE)because it is the way to win. He said the old Will Rogers quote about not being a member of an organized political party if you're a Democrat can't be followed if we want to win. He said that people in the party will start to come around when they see that this is the way to win.
Lastly, he also said that he's not vindictive and would certainly consider other candidates in the race (specifically Rosenberg and Fowler but only because those are the two Anna mentioned when she asked the question) working with them or even hiring them at the DNC. He said that he would fairly evaluate them on their talent, skills, and ideas just like anyone who he would interview for a job.
Overall, I had a good impression from the call and was impressed by Howard Dean's candor and honesty.
P.S. They asked us to put up a link to DFA from our stories. So here is a link to Democracy for America.
Update- Other participants reactions:
Rick Klau
Bob Brigham at Swing State Project