Volume 3 Issue 12
February 19, 2004
Howard's End
What legacy does Dean leave, leaving more children behind, and what Ike, Ailens and AU have in common
So to no one's surprise, Dean bowed out (well, mostly) of the Democratic contest yesterday. While this has been almost certain for some weeks now, the question still remains of what happens to Dean and his movement now that the campaign is done? And will he have any lasting effect on the political process?
The easiest place to see Dean's influence is in the rejection of "Bush-lite" by the Democratic candidates. While eventually they would have staked out similar positions to the ones they have now, Dean went first and made it safer for them to speak out against the President and his policies. Many speeches that Edwards and Kerry give now are echoes of Dean speeches from 6 months ago. Dean eventually lost his focus though, and Kerry found his, a combination that spelled success for one and the end for the other.
So what happens to the hundreds of thousands of "Deaniacs" that now go candidate shopping? Many of these people had not been involved in politics before, and keeping them involved is of vital importance to the Democratic Party. If they end up not voting in November, or worse, voting for Ralph Nader, that could seal a Bush victory. I'm not really sure what the answer is, there are problems with both of the remaining candidates, but the eventual nominee will be well served if he uses Dean to keep riling up the masses and talking about how important it is to beat Bush.
After the election though, will Dean still be a player? Very few grass-roots movements have lasting power in American politics (see Perot, Ross and Reform Party), but perhaps the easy communication of the Internet could change that. Perhaps Dean's loss is also like Reagan's loss in 1976, the last gasp of the old establishment before a new one comes in.
Also, while Dean may be out, his computer seems to not think so, as it sent a typical fundraising request out this afternoon to the e-mail list. It will be interesting to see if Dean has a lot of debt from this campaign, or some money left over to donate to the nominee or use for a grass-roots organization.
Overall, Dean was good for the party and the nomination process, but now he faces the challenge of staying in the party without selling out his supporters or being too associated with the eventual nominee...while doing enough to ensure a role in the party. Regardless...it's the end to one wild ride.
The Doctor is Out: Dean withdrew from the race yesterday, though he will leave his name on the ballot -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52814-2004Feb18?language=printer
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/19/politics/campaign/19DEAN.h tml?pagewanted=all&position=
While most of Dean's supporters will just now back another candidate, many political insiders who backed the insurgent will face retribution from Kerry and the rest of the establishment -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52753-2004Feb18?language=printer
Tim Noah says Dean was running too much like a populist, and not enough like the former fiscally responsible governor he was -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2095715/
The New Insurgent - Edwards: Edwards has got quite a lead to overcome if he's to unseat Kerry...and 2nd place will no longer be good enough -
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/19/politics/campaign/19EDWA.h tml?hp=&pagewanted=all&position=
Follow the Money: The FEC will allow 527's to raise unlimited money, and then run issue ads this fall. The decision mostly helps the Democrats, who are at a big hard-money disadvantage -
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/19/politics/campaign/19DONA.h tml?hp=&pagewanted=all&position=
Good Old Ralph: With Dean gone, the big Democratic fear is that Dean loyalists will defect to Ralph Nader, who apparently is planning another Green Party run for the Presidency. Given the debate over whether or not Nader cost Gore the 2000 election, this is something to watch. Of course, most folks don't want Nader to run...only 33 people signed an online petition on his website asking him to, the campaign HQ location is a secret, and Public Citizen, the organization he founded 30 years ago, may go under if he runs again -
http://www.ctnow.com/news/elections/hc-nader0219.artfeb19,1,54219.story?coll=hc-electionsstorytop-fea
Bad John Edwards Photo of the Day:
If you don't vote for me, I'm going to stab you with this sharpie!
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan: Yes, remember Afghanistan? That country who's rebuilding we've been ignoring? Tom Brokaw writes that some sacrifice on American's parts could make things easier there. Unfortunately, the Bush administration is the first to ever wage war without asking for sacrifice from Americans...unless you consider screwing working people to be part of that sacrifice -
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/19/opinion/19BROK.html?hp
Leaving All Children Behind: The states continue to revolt against the NCLB law, some over the infringing of state's rights, some over unfunded mandates, but members of both parties are part of the revolt -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52720-2004Feb18.html
Missing - American Infrastructure: As the US continues to ignore it's infrastructure needs, traffic bottlenecks have increased 40% -
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/02/19/bottleneck.study/index. html
Aliens Like Ike: Did President Eisenhower meet with space aliens in California in 1954? That's the claim of an American University professor. It's times like these I'm really proud of my alma matter -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A53203-2004Feb18?language=printer
This Was Not in the Media Plan: As Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion prepares to open next week, his father has given an anti-Semitic interview in which he claims the Jews are trying to take over the world and that the Holocaust never happened -
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/165923p-145217c.html
