Dean deserves DNC chair position

Author: Michael Yedinak

Earlier this week, former Vermont Governor and Presidential candidate Howard Dean declared his candidacy for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean is the clear choice to lead the Democratic Party back to the prominent position, which it held for decades before falling to centrist politics during the mid-1990s.

In a statement sent out to over half a million supporters, Governor Dean shared his ideas for the future of the party. "The Democratic Party," he said, "needs a vibrant, forward-thinking, long-term presence in every single state and we must be willing to contest every race at every level. We will only win when we show up and fight for the issues important to all of us." While the Democratic Party ran many excellent campaigns in the 20 or so states it decided to target during the last election cycle, it has yet to show a firm dedication to winning in all 50 states.

Having lost the Democratic nomination for President in the primaries after being the clear front-runner for much of the early campaign season, it would have been understandable for Governor Dean to step back from electoral politics for a while. He did not. Instead he started Democracy For America, a political 527 organization dedicated to helping socially progressive, fiscally responsible candidates run for office at every level of government. Their elected candidates range from precinct constables to governors and United States senators.

In the race for DNC chairman, Governor Dean will face several other qualified candidate as well as former Congressman Tim Roemer (D-IN), who opposes key party principles such as a woman's right to choose. Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb leads the rest of the pack, followed closely by former Texas Congressman Martin Frost, Democratic Strategist Donnie Fowler and New Democratic Network head Simon Rosenberg. Each offers his own credentials, but it is unlikely that any could be as successful in the position as Governor Dean.

In choosing Howard Dean to head the Democratic Party on February 12, the 447 members of the DNC can send a message to the Democratic base that we are not afraid to stand up for true American values. As the Governor said earlier this week, "that word - 'values' - has lately become a codeword for appeasement of the right-wing fringe. But when political calculations make us soften our opposition to bigotry, or sign on to policies that add to the burden of ordinary Americans, we have abandoned our true values."

The next four years will witness an assault on key American civil liberties. As President Bush nominates Supreme Court justices who will try to eradicate a woman's right to choose, erodes the benefits our grandparents get while protecting HMO's (17 percent increase in Medicare premiums this year!), appointed an attorney general who has advocated the use of torture, and attacks the rights of gay Americans to live their own lives, it is of key importance that the Democratic Party stand for their issues.

If you believe in fiscal responsibility, equal rights for all Americans and the politics of inclusion, then write your state DNC members and urge them to elect Howard Dean as DNC chair in 2005.