MyDD :: ASDC Endorses Howard Dean for DNC Chair

ASDC Endorses Howard Dean for DNC Chair

by Jerome Armstrong, Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 04:04:39 PM EST

You can read all about it on DFA. ASDC President Mark Brewer has fallen on his sword (as one member put it to me, ...the way Fowler prematurely ejaculated about the ASDC endorsement has ruffled feathers.) Yowza:

"The state parties believe that we need fundamental change and reform at the DNC, and we have concluded that the best, most qualified candidate to reform the DNC is Howard Dean," said ASDC President Mark Brewer. "This is a great field of candidates and we are grateful to all of them. We urge all members of the DNC to vote for Howard Dean on February 12th."

"I am honored that the ASDC has endorsed me. I want to thank the members from the various states and territories, the District of Columbia, and Democrats Abroad who participated in the vote. This is an important step for our campaign, but we will not stop working until the final vote is cast on February 12," said Dean.

It's clear that Dean is the choice of the majority of the Democratic Party activists, and the chances of their even being a vote are lessoning. Over the next week, we'll see the Party coalesce around Dean even more. Dean will be the next DNC Chair, and he's going to unify the Democratic Party.

Tags: Democrats (all tags)

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I really hope so...I believe Dean has the vision (none / 0)

and he knows what to do to reform. I hope he has the administrative and political skills to maneuver the party in Washington into a succesful opposition party. He will need all his skills to try to help Washington demcrats get it.

by tiberius on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 04:09:30 PM EST

Don't count the Chickens.... (none / 0)

before the final vote!

It's not over....yet.

by NvDem on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 04:13:50 PM EST

Way to go Donnie boy! (none / 0)

Reminds me of the cartoon where a reporter asks a Senator if he'd vote to ban the broadcast of election returns before all the polls nationwide have closed. When the Senator says "um, I guess not", the reporter wheels around to the camera and says "Dan, with one percent of the vote in....."

"We are building a political movement - not one that wields the power of lobbyists and corporate interests, but the power of millions... who seek change." -Dean

by Jim in Chicago on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 04:18:57 PM EST

premature ejaculation? (3.00 / 2)

"Dean will be the next DNC Chair, and he's going to unify the Democratic Party."

jerome, stop with that kind of talk, please!!! it's freaking me out.

after iowa, i don't believe in "inevitability" any more. yea, this is great news... it's all great news... but it was like that before iowa, too, and remember what happened?

i'm not trying to be a party pooper, folks. i'm just wary of all this "good news".... i guess i don't want to get crushed again.

Visit us at TexasKAOS, where we're taking Texas back!

by annatopia on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 04:28:13 PM EST

Re: premature ejaculation? (none / 0)

The endorsements will continue being rolled out.

by Jerome Armstrong on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 04:57:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

i understand that.... (3.00 / 1)

...but aren't you getting deja vu as well?

i'm sorry, again, i'm not trying to piss in anyone's cheerios. it's just... we've been down this road before... and we should know that NOTHING is inevitable.

let's greet these endorsements with glee, but can we please not act like everything's over and done with already? that's what's really bugging me.

believe me, i adore your optimism and share it to an extent. i'm just treating all these pre-vote endorsements with a grain of salt.

Visit us at TexasKAOS, where we're taking Texas back!

by annatopia on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 05:04:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: premature ejaculation? (none / 0)

Second this. I remember Iowa. I remember Kerry leading in the polls and thinking "Kerry? WTF".

I'll believe it when the vote is over. Keep working. This one backfired on Fowler.

I'd still hope there is a place for all the reformers. Dean is the only candidate that I see this happening.

The blogs are maturing and we're starting to have input. I've been writing about that for a while. It's nice to see people won't be able to say it's just navel gazing anymore.

Witty comment goes here...

by michael in chicago on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 05:11:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

michael (none / 0)

where were you during the storm? i met so many people there and am wondering if we crossed paths.

do me a favor. later today when you have time, check out the iowa galleries in my dean photo album. if you see yourself in any of those pictures, let me know (you can comment on the individual pics).

Visit us at TexasKAOS, where we're taking Texas back!

by annatopia on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 05:20:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: michael (none / 0)

Anna-
I was at home helping Adam with the website and other Dean stuff. I did the logo for the Storm and provided graphic support and creative direction for the Storm website. I did the "Bloggers in Iowa" shirts and helped HBP with the Storm Volunteer ID cards (her brilliant idea there). I also did a "how the Iowa caucus works" flyer for people to distribute.

I was doing a lot of graphics at the time for Dean, DeanSpace and other candidates so I thought I would be more useful in front of my Mac than knocking on doors. Plus it was my daughter's 2nd Christmas.

All good excuses. I'm actually a social introvert! I wish I was there in person.

Witty comment goes here...

by michael in chicago on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 06:44:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Didn't we chide the Kerry Campaign (3.00 / 1)

When we heard one the advisors leaned over on election night and Said, Congrats Mr President...

Don't jinx it...If Dean loses, we make Jerome our scapegoat ;-)

by yitbos96bb on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 04:32:43 PM EST

Only Dean (none / 0)

If Dean doesn't get the chair, many of us in Florida will stop supporting the Democratic Party. We barely voted for Kerry, vowing this would be the last time we'd support someone so lame.

Only Howard Dean can turn things around, and reform the Democratic Party. We need fundamental change. The old party members are scrambling like rats to save themselves.

by Fisherman on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 05:01:55 PM EST

Re: Only Dean (none / 0)

I feel the same way. I voted Republican (here in Alabama and in Tennessee) for 27 years. It was only through Howard Dean's campaign for the Democratic nomination that I began to believe that the Democratic Party stands for ideals that are close to my heart. It is ONLY through new leadership that the Democratic Party will attract and retain voters like myself ... people who love the ideals of America more than the reality of its accomplishments (and in spite of its failings).

If the Democratic Party votes for business-as-usual, and rejects the change Howard Dean offers, count me out. I'll go back to deciding on election day who I'm voting for, and I'll quit working for this Party ... I just don't have the time and energy to spend on "more of the same."

And you can bet the results in the '06 mid-terms and in '08 will disappoint unless something's done to fundamentally change the leadership of the Democratic Party.

I met Howard Dean, incidentally, last summer at Alabama A&M in Huntsville ... and for me, it took that to really know. He's not just another bought and paid for politician. The innate distrust of politicians here in the Deep South, incidentally, can work to the advantage of the Democratic Party.

by Charles in AL on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 05:26:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

and "they" say dean... (none / 0)

...doesn't resonate in the south! =)

well this southern girl adores howard. and ya know, every southernor i've met without exception appreciates dean for speaking truth to power.

welcome to the party, charles. i'm so glad you're with us.

Visit us at TexasKAOS, where we're taking Texas back!

by annatopia on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 05:33:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: and "they" say dean... (none / 0)

What's funny is that Kerry was offered as a "centrist alternative to the liberal Dean", but I've got a feeling Dean would have done better than Kerry in the deep South (and possibly better than Gore).

by Skaje on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 06:27:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: and "they" say dean... (none / 0)

Y'all are renewing my faith in Southerners! You're not all Bible-thumping right-wingers, as the Repubs and media would have us believe!

by DDenver on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 06:46:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Egg on the New York Times (none / 0)

They already have an article which states that Fowler won the ADSC endorsement. Nice to know that good reporting is still alive at the paper of record, right? ;-)

by unionmark on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 05:58:37 PM EST

With all this talk of Fowler... (none / 0)

It seems that it is FROST who is hurt, not Dean. If it ever came down to a Dean/Frost choice, there's a possibility the ABD forces could coalesce around Frost. But with all the others in the race, it was just "frontrunner Dean". With all this sudden attention on Fowler (whose campaign has essentially imploded now), Frost has lost any momentum he had against Dean.

by Skaje on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 06:29:53 PM EST

Re: With all this talk of Fowler... (none / 0)

A brilliant and thoughtful point.

If we Deaniacs were smart, we'd focus on the last potential roadblock (the labor endorsement) and do a big ramp-up.

(throat clearing)

What kinds of unions should be carrying the torch for progressive organizing, and how big a torch should they carry? (see Times magazine article on SEIU)
How small-'d' democratic are union endorsements, and what kind of spotlight can the netroots shine on them? (see McEntee/Stern deal to endorse Dean in '03)

You see where I'm going....

by CT Lex on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 06:54:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

the "dean unions"... (none / 0)

anyone know if AFSCME or SEIU has a say in this? if so, it might be a good idea to POLITELY contact them via their email or blogs (SEIU has one) and gently urge them to support dean. dean also had support from the CWA - how much of a part do they play in this decision?

also, frost has been focusing on the AFL-CIO. if he doesn't get their endorsement he's probably DOA.

anyone have the info on the union role in deciding the chairmanship?

Visit us at TexasKAOS, where we're taking Texas back!

by annatopia on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 09:11:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: the "dean unions"... (none / 0)

Dean had a rally here in NY yesterday which was held at the SEIU headquarters in Manhattan, the same place he has had several meetings in the past. This couldn't have happened unless Dean had the support of the union head, Dennis Rivera. I also know some higher up union members for SEIU are Dean Supporters.

I think SEIU is in Dean's corner; don't know about the other unions.

by sneemteam on Mon Jan 31, 2005 at 11:13:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Neither Nor (none / 0)

The vote has not happened. The problem is not that Jerome is being exuberant, or that it appears that Dean is set to win. It's that just like Iowa, this isn't exactly a transparent process. And even when it is, as in sports, you still get upsets.

So try as they might to find an ABD candidate that sticks, it looks like Howard will find himself the DNC Chair and God only knows if other members of the Party will try to undercut him or work with him.

by risenmessiah on Tue Feb 01, 2005 at 12:14:04 AM EST

Bulldonkey (none / 0)

Two weeks before the Iowa caucus, the Dean machine was saying exactly the same thing: "we gonna win, big." "The forces of democratic reform are coalescing around Dr. Dean," etc. etc. Well, he tanked, big time. Fact is, he came in a distance third.

Methinks that history will repeat itself here in the DNC contest. Dean is --despite himself -- a polarizing figure, who will drag progressive politics into a new era of irrelevance, sadly. This is not his fault, of course. It is simply the reality of the current political climate we live in. You can here Bush and Rove snickering in the Oval Office about the idea that Dean will become chair. Guffawing actually. Too bad Webb got out so quickly. He should understand that recent history is likely to repeat itself. Give me Rosenberg. Or -- gulp -- Frost over Dean any second of the day. We'll at least have a fighting chance that our party will remain relevant. If he wins, the party, just like the process that elects its leadership, will sink into the oblivion of recently defunct party appararatus like the Soviet Central Committee (which seems to be the model for the "modern" DNC chair election process!)

by jennielane on Tue Feb 01, 2005 at 01:39:35 AM EST

Re: Bulldonkey (none / 0)

The differences between this race and Iowa are almost too many to list.

Those of us on the inside of DFA staff knew about problems in Iowa (esp. with field outreach and voter databases) long before the cheery press releases changed tone. And Joe Trippi won't be a part of THIS DNC, let me tell you.

Another news flash: Dean won five straight elections as governor and balanced 11 straight budgets. He raised more money and recruited more volunteers than any primary campaign in Democratic history. He changed the debate about health care and Iraq.

If Dean's a failure, I don't want to be a success.

I'll look forward to your post on 2/12.

by CT Lex on Tue Feb 01, 2005 at 11:47:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]