WP implies Howard Dean and "liberals" could be blamed if health care reform fails. [View All]

[madfloridian]

The warning is stuck in the middle of a long article about whether Dean is still relevant. Kind of sly how the reporter did that. I wonder who the heck that "anonymous Democratic strategist" might be?

Outside the Beltway, Dean Manages to Stay in the Debate

Here's the warning:

At town halls, in keynote speeches and on cable talk shows, Dean has become a leading voice in the debate, warning that if Democratic leaders abandon a public option, they surrender their principles to political realities. But in his appearances, which are not coordinated with the administration, Dean is helping to fuel what could become a calamity for the White House.

"What Howard is doing is principled but destructive," said a Democratic strategist and former Dean adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the intra-party debate. "If health-care reform goes down because of the public option, it's going to be the liberals that bring it down, the Democrats doing it to themselves."

Stand up for something and you will get blamed if it fails, rest assured.

A little more from the article.

Dean, 60, has become a politician without an office. He is seven months removed from the DNC chairmanship and five years removed from his pioneering up-start presidential campaign, and the former family physician appears to enjoy the freedom to speak his piece. And on this day, bringing the tumultuous August fight on health care to the wooden picnic benches at Range Ponds State Park, he did not appear concerned about the potential consequences for Obama.

"This vote is not about Democrats versus Republicans and conservatives and liberals and all that stuff," Dean said, his voice growing louder and cadence faster. "This is about whether you're going to vote for the people who donated to your campaigns -- the health insurance industry -- or you're going to vote for the people who pay your salary. And we're going to be watching, because there are going to be 535 people casting that vote."

He talks about his wife's problems with insurance as a doctor.

Dean's wife, Judith Steinberg, whom he met in medical school, still has a medical practice near their Burlington, Vt., home. "The insurance companies are driving her crazy," Dean said in the interview. "I think her experience is very typical of most primary-care providers."

Dean did take a few shots at the Obama administration's handling of the current debate. "I think that there's a very mixed message coming out of the administration," he said. "What I'm selling is something that's really clear."

I don't expect to take the blame if Democrats in congress vote for those who gave them the money. They bear the blame for stalling on real health care reform.

We may not get another chance for decades.