Every once in awhile, I hit the nail on the head in such a profound way that it bears repeating. On February 1, 2005, I wrote the following.
Most of my Republican friends would undoubtedly love to see Howard Dean running the Democratic National Committee. The thinking behind that is that with Howard Dean running the show, the Democrats would almost be relegated to the farthest left annals of the political spectrum.
Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
I have a very left wing feminist friend. We discussed the elections a great deal and discussed every single debate every single morning afterward. It was the topic of discussion from somewhere around September all the way through the election, and for days afterward. One topic that kept coming up was the dire straits the party was in and how John Kerry was quite possibly the worst person to run the show.
At one point, I actually hit on something and it kinda surprised her coming from a right wing lunatic windbag:
“Dean would’ve been a better candidate. At least you know where he stands on the issues. He didn’t try to take every position on every issue and he stood for something; that’s where Kerry is lacking.”
Well you know what? I still think that.
Let’s think about what really turned the election. Was it John Kerry’s lack of leadership in the Senate? I doubt it. Most people outside of the inner informed circle probably don’t know anything abou that.
Was it about his time in Vietnam? Not really. While pundits brought it up again and again, the President took the high road on numerous occasions saying that he served honorably and that was the end of the discussion.
Was it about his attrocious and obnoxious wife? Honestly, who votes on the calibre of the first lady?
What turned the election was the brilliant way that the Republican National Committee managed to turn John Kerry from a Senator with 20+ years of experience and numerous war decorations into a cowardly flip flopping weeble wobble. Some of it was well-deserved, but there’s no doubt it was out there for all to see the entire election.
Kerry’s multiple positions on Iraq, abortion, gay marriage, the budget, taxes, and so on were his demise. Undecideds may have voted for Kerry, but the truth is that most of them (from the interviews I heard) had no idea what his positions were. I saw an interview on the web with numerous people. They read John Kerry quotes, and then attributed them to the President. The voters they questioned went on rants about how it was typical Bush and how it was the exact reason they weren’t voting for him.
Then they cited the quotes to who they really belonged to, and the voters seemed dumbfounded and couldn’t reconcile Kerry’s quotes with Kerry’s positions, and that was his problem.
Now put Dean in that position. The former Governor of Vermont was nothing if not consistent. He was anti war, pro socialized health care, pro civil union, pro abortion and so on. But none of those positions were flips and flops like we’ve come to expect from John Kerry. Dean had a vision for his candidacy, his party, and so on, and he stuck to it from minute one. Imagine how the election would have been different if Dean had run. No more “flip flop.” No more assault on the military records (deserved or not). None of it. The choice may have been a lot clearer because you don’t get a right winger, and a left winger who won’t commit to left wing issues.
I think the people who are praying for Dean to take over are extremely short-sighted. A strong vocal leader with definite points of view and a consistent group of positions is the last thing anyone on the right should want. Regardless of how far to the left Dean may be, he is a strong vocal leader with an easily understandable group of positions and he will unite the party in a way it hasn’t been since they started on their historic losing streak.
Terry McAuliffe isn’t that guy. He’s proven that.
John Kerry certainly isn’t that guy. Neither is John Kerry.
Howard Dean is, and the people wishing for him to take over just might wanna watch out because they just might get what they wish for, and it won’t be good news.
Shortly after that, the Democrats took the midterm election, retaking the House and the Senate. A mere two years later, after eight years of a Republican President, the Democrats retook the White House in pretty convincing fashion electorally.
All of this with a man at the helm of the DNC that the right was begging for.
Some of us, at least, were smart enough to see it coming.