Gosh, I just don't think Dean's the man to help us win. At this point I can't think of anything but winning some feakin' elections and taking control of this runaway superpower... But I just don't think Dean's the man to do it.

Could be wrong, of course.

I don't think anyone who goes by "Donnie" should be under consideration.

Fuck the insiders. I'm ready to start building a real Democratic Party. Who's with me?

Gee, you mean those already in power don't want to give up their power........ the Dems are finally learning how to fight like the GOP........or becoming it. Somebody help us quick.

Who is it that exactly makes up the executive committee or state chairs....how many in number is that and who are they, how much power do they yeild? Plus we heard information in the past about Pelosi and Reid allegedly supporting Roemer for chair that turned out to be wrong. Let's hope it's another false rumor.
Anwyay here's a list of Dean DNC chair supporters...there are many state chairs on it, including the one from my state.

Emal, here is what I found on myDD. It is a 12 member committee. Looks like a tempest in a teacup to me.

The ASDC executive committee is the highest decision-making body with the association, developing policies and programs for the full organization and working directly with national Democratic leaders to advance priorities of state parties. Each region of the country sends three representatives to the executive committee: a regional vice president, a state chair and vice chair.

Palamedes had a good post up on Pacific Views about that DNC meeting. (Caution - lots of pictures, so it is a bit slow to load.)

I'm glad they've endorsed Donnie. Donnie is one of the guys running who gets it. He realizes that it's time to give state parties and state leadership a bigger role in making decision for the party. Dean may have some good ideas, but we need a good message as well as a good messenger. We have that in Donnie Fowler. Dean would not bring that and would give the party a worse image in Alabama. We're in the process of rebuilding, and we need a DNC chairman committed to helping us. That man is Donnie Fowler.

Dean is exactly who the Democratic party needs right now. I know from firsthand experience that the Beltway Consultant crowd has hated Dean from the get go -- and with far more passion than they had when it came to George W. Bush. Those losers will continue to lose until some people with some guts take the reins.

Go Howard! Kick those weasels' asses.

If they pull this crap on Dean, then I am done with the Democratic party. Period. Who is with me on forming the American Liberal Party?

roamer,
Ditto

"If they pull this crap on Dean, then I am done with the Democratic party. Period. Who is with me on forming the American Liberal Party?"

Ya me too... so what if Fowler does a great job in Alabama and makes the race 5% or even 10% closer... So now Dems lose by 20 points instead of 25-30 points... whoopie.

And meanwhile the Dems lose Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc... because liberals all decide to vote 'liberal' (green or socialist or some other third party or just go fishing)...

Dean is right when he says we have to make a play for states like Alabama... but not if we lose the current base... pandering to red states can't come at the expense of the blue state base...

You can count me in, roamer.

As a longtime resident of South Carolina I can tell you that only the three to five most 'moderate' Southern states are competitive. I'm speaking of, in order Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and maybe Arkansas and Tennesisee. Look at the 2000 and 2004 returns in the south and you will see that the rest of the South is HOPELESS.
(sorry Blake I'm just more realistic than you)

Think about growth and which Southern states have the most promising futures, both economically and politically, it is those those three to five. In the deep south it really is a thin veneer of local issues covering the all importiant RACE issue. A strong national Democrat has a chance in the three to five competitive southern states, but only there.

I'm not saying who would make the better DNC chairman, all I'm saying is that for the forseeable future(with the possible exception of Edwards at the TOP of the ticket) A Southern strategy is a losing straegy.

As far as the DNC chairmanship goes-Fowler or Dean could be either a smashing success or a stinking disaster. The problem is that we won't know until one of them does the job and either succeeds or fails.

Okay, but if y'all are going to start a new party, be sure to wear your Whigs.

I don't know about the southern states in play,but Louisiana has a democratic governor and one dem. senator (both women).

While I'm not convinced a split off party wouldn't simply dilute the anti-Republican party vote, I don't think people realize just how easy it would be for a fervant few million supporters to raise $500 million to support a third party campaign.

Meanwhile, Dean would energize this party. People afraid of that simply want to maintain the status quo, and we all know what that's gotten us.

I have asked this question several times on several blogs and never get an answer, but I will try again.

What do these ABD people think Howard Dean is going to do that makes them so ABD? What is it that makes Howard Dean so odious to them? What has he ever done to harm the Democratic Party or its candidates?

And ABD is a rather extreme statement against Dean. Anybody But Dean means just what it says, no? If you're ABD, you're not necessarily in favor of any of the other candidates. Your primary goal is that it not be Howard Dean. That means you'd prefer any of a widely disparate group, just so long as it wasn't Dean.

What has Howard Dean ever done to these people that they dislike him so much?

James,
I can't answer your question because I'm a Dean supporter, but I can speculate. I think the ABD people (excluding the power brokers in DC) pay too much attention to GOP propaganda. They are falling into the trap of letting Karl Rove pick our party leader by believing the "conventional wisdom" about him.

There is another conference call today at which the 106 members of the State Chairs will make their endorsement.

There are 477 or thereabouts total members though so the endorsement will not be decisive in itself.

It also irks me that Fowler seems to want to take credit for Kerry's win in MI. I was a volunteer in MI and it was not Fowler that won it for Kerry. It was the herds of new volunteers canvassing this state that took it for Kerry. Dean would recognize that fact, Fowler seems to be the usual "garden variety" party operative, trying to weasel in on a victory the people and Kerry volunteers won in MI.

Neocons for Dean. 'nuff said.

I don't get the ABD people, sure. But I also don't get the Nobody-But-Dean people, either. We should be hoping for leaders who "get it."

Dean is one of those leaders, so I'd be hoping for him. But it's certainly not the case that he's the only candidate who gets it. A Martin Frost pick, e.g., would be a clear sign that the Party has decided to become irrelevant; Rosenberg--or hey, maybe Fowler, what do I know--should get more of a chance to do and say the right things.

Brian: If there is a sixth southern state in play it likely would be LA. They just went so strongly for Bush and Vitter last year that I didn't feel comfortable adding them to the list.
As you are a resident who has shown knowledge of your state before I will happily add them to the list and hope that you are right. : )

Matt

I am not a NBD person at all. I would be happy with Rosenberg.

.