With Martin Frost out of the running for DNC Chairman, it looks more and more like Howard Dean, the biggest name among the three remaining contenders, will get the nod. Then again, we were all saying the same thing about Dean and the DNC nomination about this time last year.
While many Republicans cant wait for Dr. Dean to take his seat at the head of the opposition table, I am a little cautious. Nothing rational about my concerns: just experience.
I cant tell you the number of times Ive assured myself the Cardinals would win the World Series, the Blues the Stanley Cup, the Rams the Super Bowl because Team X upset Team Y in the other series. You should have seen the smile on my face when the New England Patriots snuck past the Oakland Raiders for the AFC Championship in 2002. Or the Red Sox beating the Yankees in the ALCS last season. Or the Blues drawing the Canucks in the first round of the playoffs two years ago.
Each time, I felt the pushover won. Each time, the pushover pushed over my team.
Dean might just destroy the DNC. But he might also revive it. By drawing together the various factions of the left, he could prove something of a Ronald Reagan to the Democrats. Remember, the only thing Reagan had to offer in 1976 and 1980 was the hard right as it was called. Goldwater Republicans. What the Democrats failed to realize when they licked their chops over Reagans candidacy was the fact that his base wasnt the straw that would break the elephants back, but the missing piece in the GOPs ascendancy to majority party status.
If Dean can corral the far left while maintaining the labor movement, the civil rights industry, and Hispanics, he could position the Democrat party for a major resurgence in 2008.
While Im sure Dr. Dean will give me plenty to blog about, Ill wait until 2006 off-year elections to decide if hes something to
cheer about.
My contribution to the Beltway Traffic Jam
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UPDATE: Steven Taylor tells us that another candidate has dropped, making Dean’s coronation more likely
Poliblogger had this to say about the Reuters story
And the procuders of talk show and bloggers all cheered.
Again, I may be a pessimist, but somehow this seems too easy–like when we marched into Baghdad and declared the end of major combat. Let’s hope Dean is as nutty a chairman as he is a candidate. If you forgot, click here for my Dean Blogs.
UPDATE: The other Dean (Esmay) has jumped in with this