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Edited on Fri Jun-06-08 10:49 PM by Hippo_Tron
Tom Daschle was the closest thing we had to a de facto leader and he wasn't up to the task. We were in disarray and going in too many different directions.
Howard Dean really re-energized the party when he became Chairman. He may not have been universally respected as a leader (and he still isn't) but he really made the Democrats get our shit together and have some sort of cohesive message. Once we won the midterms it was pretty clear that Pelosi, Reid, and Dean were in charge and now Obama is going to take the mantle.
I think you are right that they are going to go through that phase for the next few years. DeLay was a powerful enough figure that he could have kept the party in line as Minority Leader in the House but Boehner and McConnell are pretty weak.
The 2010 midterms will also be critical in keeping the GOP in permanent disarray. Right now we have a majority in the house that will likely expand in 2008 and we're playing on a Republican drawn map because they had more Governors and state legislatures after the 2000 census. We won back a lot of Governors mansions and state legislatures in 2006 and if we retain them in 2012 we will get to re-draw the map to our favor.
In terms of the Bush family and the Cheney's power, again, it's all a question of money. If Bush and Cheney can raise money for Republicans you can bet that they will still wield power.
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