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From Dan Conley who is not Dean's biggest fan:
The Clincher
I think yesterday's Medicare vote essentially ended the fight for the 2004 Democratic Party Presidential nomination -- Dean now has it won. The Congressional Wing of the Democratic Party has been so thoroughly humiliated by the White House that there's no saving it.
The Democratic base was angry before, they will be furious once they find out exactly what has passed. And just like the No Child Left Behind Act, it happened because Ted Kennedy got played. How well does that reflect on John Kerry?
Dean's nomination is, first and foremost, about changing the culture of the Democratic Party and slapping our Washington leaders in the face. Apparently the Iraq War and the Dean threat wasn't enough to wake them up. Now it's too late.
More comments: I have mixed feelings. I think Dean's internal Democratic message is absolutely right, the party's culture needs to be changed. I don't think he's the right person to do it. But he deserves credit for identifying the need to do this early.
The litany of failure of Washington Democrats in the Bush years is staggering. It includes:
* Bumbling the Florida recall * Allowing tax cut one to pass * Allowing "no child left behind" to pass * Getting snookered on the Homeland Security Department * Letting the GOP get away with no serious repercussions for Enron or WorldCom * Allowing Cheney to get away with his secret Energy dealings * Getting snookered on the Iraq War vote * Allowing tax cut two to pass * Allowing the administration to get away with shoveling Iraq reconstruction money to political cronies * Handing over the $87 billion without further spending accountability * Letting the GOP steal the prescription drugs issue
Nice going Tom Daschle. And really nice job, John Kerry, for not even voting on the Prescription Drugs bill. That was a true profile in courage.
-His argument is all the rest are insiders except for Clark who has not said a single thing about changing the party. Indeed Clark seems to not really BE a part of the Democratic party. If you ask me, he is more of an independent.
While some may think that is a good thing, the fact is that Republicans are beyond ruthless nowadays and if Clark is not going to motivate Dems to stand up and BE FOR SOMETHING it will be impossible to govern.
Dean and Trippi already have plans on how they are going to help fund key congressional races and add Deany manpower to take back the House. Yep it will be hard, but conceding never won anybody anything.
The Dean campaign is basically a huge effort to organize people, to motivate newbies into politics and to hopefully find some energetic smart and talented people to run for office as Democrats.
This is the only way for Dems to win back America and this is why Gerald McEntee of AFSCME was so blown away by the Dean campaign.
Dean is not content to merely win the Presidency, he is changing the rules of how politics is done. Indeed, Dean makes his own rules and that is what Clark has never shown me he can do. Clark had to ask his wife for permission to run. Dean says he doesn't intend to drag his wife into politics and that is ok with him.
Clark plays within the system. Dean goes outside the system. That is a big difference between the two.
Folks, if you want innovation and new ways of thinking, Dean is the way to go.
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