Dr. Strange Dean

Dr. Strange Dean

Or: How I learned to love the scream

While reading Newsflush (week) on the Timmy I noted yet another article
about Mr. Screamin Howie Dean live on WDNC. The article told me two things;
it made a comparison to DNC fundraising in 01 vs. the GOP to DNC fundraising
today vs. the GOP. The comparison didn't seem to match the figures I've
seen, but in the world of politics one always needs to pay attention to the
-revised- numbers which are the actual numbers vs. the estimates which are
their way to look good. Comparing it to say DNC numbers in 88 vs. the GOP
might have been more instructive. We also have a GOP, which doesn't have an
heir to the throne and allot of legislative revolt against his lame-duckness
in chief.

The other number did however stick with me. It is a representation of
something that had always been a DNC flaw in the fundraising game to
republicans. It's never been the Grass roots that have kept the lights on
for the Democrats; it's been trust fund hippies and limousine liberals. Now
this strategy means the democrats will have a much more competitive presence
in the world of politics, however it took the GOP a decade to build this
kind of donor structure (from the Fall of Goldwater to the cusp of Reagan)
and this project was largely done from the outside coming in. Can it work in
reverse? it is possible. Can it work faster? With the new communications
technology I would say it most likely can. Can it be done in time for the 06
elections? No I don't see this transitioning in a 2-year period. How about
the 08 elections? Maybe, but I doubt it.

If the Dean plan to steal the Conservative movement's business model will
work, we won't see it till 2010 most likely. But what that means is a rather
unpleasant pill is coming.

We think the Democrats are the party of Michael Moore and George Soros now;
potentially this could make it worse. However I don't think that both
parties can start pulling on the electorate in two different extremes
without the two party system snapping. I think one party can pull America in
a direction, and with both the New Deal and Conservatism we have seen that
happen.

I'm also not sure the democrats get the nuance of Morality in Media. People
call for it because they feel they don't have a power to protect their
family. I think pushing beyond that edge would break the system down and
backfire on the democrats. I think for them to go after values voters they
would have to try entering into things like gay marriage, abortion, and
faith based programs more openly then they can to keep their more
traditional base tied in.

And, when the Reagan-Goldwater Conservatives went to work on transforming
the Republican Party, we really didn't have any other option. For the
Progressivistic minded democrats, who are attempting to reinvent the wheel
their are allot of options to bolt to. While to some extent that is the case
with conservatives today (if the party goes to left or to right) many people
are stuck in now over brand loyalty because frankly, it's our brand.

So for Dean to get a cut of the Kossak/Duh/Moron.org/Michael More crowd his
only real option is "Republicans are white christians", "republicans haven't
worked an honest day in their lives."," I hate republicans", etc... But he
can only feed them candy for so long before they go into insulin shock. And
he can't do that and form the broad based coalition that the conservatives
did in the GOP.

So, If what News(flush)week says is right, then the Democratic Party elders
have a idea about how to beat Republicans in elections. Stealing back the
system we stole from you first. But I don't see this as a task that they can
apply to the party structure of today.