We here at Kos have this annoying habit of bunching together the DNC with the DLC, I hate to tell you folks but they are two toatally different things. The DNC are the cheerleaders for the whole Democratic party, and they are not allowed to take sides in the Primary race, so when you Dean folks call for Terry Mac to stand up and say something he really can't say much other then play nice.
The DLC is the moderate pro business wing of the Democratic party, they believe that a moderate candidate, and a moderate message are the way to win elections. They believe in cooperation with Republicans and they were responsible for a lot of the soft money that flowed into the Democratic party during the 90's.
Speaking of the 90's, that was when the Democratic establishment fell apart. This article from the Washington Monthly gives a nice history of the Dem establishment, and how it fell apart. It also talks about how Howard Dean filled a vacum in the Dem party, that vacum was a lack of a strong voice attacking the Republican army. It turns out folks that the Dems are just a sorry disorganized party that can't shoot straight, but there is hope, the 527s, the center for american progress, the liberal talk radio, and Gore tv are all going to help the Dems get focused and have a cohesive message, I hope.
Increasingly, Washington Democrats have begun to understand what Dean's candidacy can offer them. For the last two decades, the establishment has tried to organize voters indirectly, through pollsters, pundits, and consultants rather than directly, through "people who connected with voters, who could control different power structures across the country," says one labor strategist. Unlike the old machines, Dean's burgeoning organization is fundamentally decentralized and democratic. (One popular Deaniac slogan: "Dean is the messenger. We are the message.") But by collaborating with a far-flung network of pro-Dean blogs and Web sites, while using such tools as Meetup.com to bring activists together on local college campuses and in neighborhood bars, Dean's campaign involves his supporters at the granular level, rather as Daley's aldermen and ward heelers did. "We didn't keep building the infrastructure of the party," notes Coelho, who many in the party still hold responsible for the Democrats flat-footedness leading up to the 1994 elections. "It's time to permit the system to move on. [Dean's people] are creating a new group that will take over at some point, and I think that when they do, our party will be stronger than in the past."
Even if Dean fails to win a state he will have helped reorganize the Democratic party and his staff should be hired by the DNC to help them get their shit together. Also, we need a series of Dem rallies across the country this spring, the new liberal talk radio network should launch their station with a sleepless spring tour with al Franken, and all the other hosts, they should also include the most popular Dems from whatever state they are visiting. we need some unity right now, and some leadership, I need a freaking job organizing this stuff, I have way too many ideas and not the monied powerful ears to listen to me, oh well, tell me what you think of my ramblings.