Howard Dean, Republican Fundraiser
It has been said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that Republicans supported the election of Howard Dean as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee as much as the actual Democrats who elected them. That's usually said half-jokingly, but the half that isn't joking comes from anecdotes like this one:
Evan Lehmann - May 10th, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Breaking party lines, former Gov. Howard Dean said Monday he supports Rep. Bernard Sanders' bid for the U.S. Senate, saying the Independent makes a "strong candidate."
"A victory for Bernie Sanders is a win for Democrats," Dean said in a telephone interview Monday.
Sounds reasonable, until you consider that Sanders is a self-proclaimed "democratic socialist." Logically, Dean's right, but politicially, this strikes me as potentially foolish.
Aside from winning elections, the Chairman of each party's success is best measured in terms of fundraising. And not just in terms of dollars, but dollars relative to the fundraising of the opposition. And comments like this just fuel the fundraising fire for the Republican party, by giving Republicans what many will see as justification of their fears that Democrats are really closet socialists (a fear which I don't share).
The only logic that I can imagine could be behind this is that the Democrats desperately need a couple of Senate seats, and Dean thinks Sanders is their best hope at getting someone who, while not a Democrat, will often side with them on the most pressing issues of the day.
Jayson at PoliPundit has a slightly more scathing take on the whole thing.
» May 10th, 2005
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