The Silent Revolution is going on in many states right now, as state Democrats vote for new DNC Member leadership. While I was in Orlando, I talked with DC DNC members about the overthrow there that's already happened-- the Dean reformers taking over control of the local Democratic Party. We all read about Dean supporter Jenny Greenleaf knocking off a DNC member Mary Botkin in Oregon. I just got the list of new DNC members from other states. In Maryland, Terry Lierman, National Finance Co-Chair for Governor Howard Dean's 2004 Presidential Campaign, has replaced Ike Leggett as State Party Chair. In Washington State,
Greg Rodriguez, who was backing Dean as far back as I was in the Spring of 2002, is running for the State Party Chair, challenging state party Chairman Paul Berendt; and in Connecticut, Dean-backer
Aldon Hynes is considering running for state Party Chair.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, according to the Albuquerque Journal, via Hotline:
NM Gov. Bill Richardson (D), incoming Senate Min Leader Harry Reid and House Min Leader Nancy Pelosi are "planning to endorse" a DNC chair candidate before the cmte votes 2/05. Richardson said the decision was made during a conf. call 12/21 that included the 3. He added that the chair "should not be a high-profile liberal or someone with strong ties" to DC. He "declined to handicap the field of contenders." Richardson: "We're going to stay loose for now and let the candidates show their stuff."
Pelosi and Reid, a week after saying they wouldn't back a candidate, and a month after getting behind Vilsacks failed bid, are again backing a candidate, to which Hotline had this astute comment to add:
The candidate du jour is 9/11 Commis./ex-Rep.
Tim Roemer. -- And while the Cong. Dem leadership has enough sway to get news outlets to report about a new candidate, they may not realize that to the DNC members, their opinion is a kiss of death. While DNC members are not in agreement about who the ideal candidate would be, there is a near unanimous contention that the next chair can't be a DC creation. So unless Reid/Pelosi are using some political jujitsu tactic to kill potential candidacies by endorsing them, they may need to realize that about the most influence they'll have on this process is veto-power (and even that has be used judiciously).
Richardson is playing all over the map on the DNC Chair. Multiple sources tell that he's backing Dean, and he's gone on the record as saying that the DGA will endorse (possibly 2 candidates) and now that he'll endorse along with Pelosi & Reid.
