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Demokrat
the Dean
By DUNCAN MOENCH
Photos courtesy of Howard Dean
It was more than a year ago now, but I remember it like it happened last week. It's one of those odd experiences where, when you think about it in retrospect, you can't believe that you were actually there. You keep going over and over it in your mind. "What if I had decided to sit home that night? Man, that was a good decision." It's still weird to think that night was the climax. The next morning's endorsement by the former Vice President signaled the end.
Last time Howard Dean was on the verge, Gore's endorsement was the wake up call for the establishment to take him seriously, rally the troops inside Iowa and the Beltway to destroy his image in the media and on the ground in Iowa – effectively, stopping the insurgency before it reached the interior. When I cheered for Kerry's resounding defeat and frequently mentioned my hope that Kerry would have a close encounter with hepatitis infected chimpanzee everybody said I was crazy. They told me a Kerry loss would mean the end of the world. "Bush will start World War III, he'll bankrupt the government, and we'll be screwed for generations." My response usually included various challenges to romshambo and descriptions of the evening when I saw Dean speak in late December at New York City's Roseland ballroom.
That night my hands shook and I could barely keep my video camera steady as Dean gave a speech worthy of the most successful grassroots Cinderella campaign in American history. Something historic was happening and I could feel it, I had to bite my tongue to contain the 'Hell Yeah!' and 'Right on!' which would have ruined my footage. Only one "You tell 'em D-Man!" escaped during the 50 minute speech. Pretty good restraint for me, I'd have to say.
Dean offered real leadership, instead of opinion-poll wavering. Honest courage of convictions, not corporate capitulating couched in neo-liberal blather. This is what I saw that mid-December night. I was so excited to see more of it, I even called up my Canadian friends and said, "See. We're not retarded, we might actually figure it out." And then. . .
Swift Boats Veterans became part of the American lexicon . . .and I began familiarizing myself with the "Anarchist Cook Book."
In early February, the Association of State Democratic Chairs endorsed Dean – nearly two weeks before any binding votes were taken in the race for leader of the Democratic National Committee. For me, the moment was too eerily reminiscent of the original Dean campaign's attempt at trumping out endorsement after endorsement in January.
On the other hand, I was pleased because everything I'd predicted was becoming true more rapidly than even I anticipated. Kerry's pussyfoot campaign had to go down in order for the establishment neo-liberals to lose their grip on the controls of the party machinery.
But on hearing about the State Chair's endorsement, I sat there saying to myself, "No votes have been counted. There is plenty of time for Billary and company to derail the Dean machine again." Establishment Democrats are an invertebrate lot, but they are also are insatiable.
The members of the national leadership of the DP are no different than 99 percent of the politicians inside Washington. They cherish their power far more than any ideological commitments they may have. It was far too predictable and ironic when the Democratic leadership proved so viciously adept at defending their position from Dean last year. There was no reason to think they wouldn't be able to do it again. Especially, when there were plenty of news reports that Billary was trying to convince somebody – ANYBODY – to take up the race against Dean. They approached Terry Mcauliffe to stay on. I bet they even made a call to Michael Dukakis, I swear to god. I wish Vegas would take bets on this kind of thing. . .
I got so worried and pissed off at the deja vu of Dean supporters trying to build up his "inevitable victory" again that I signed up for weekly classes to perfect my German language skills. I just couldn't take it if the same scenario replayed itself. If the Democrats were so backward that they were willfully going to run into a brick wall over and over again while expecting different results then "Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber-Alles" here I come.
Last year, Dean proved that a 3P movement (Pragmatic-Progressive-Patriotic) is not only possible, but already in motion. This year, two days before the state chairs would officially vote for the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, I saw Donna Brazile on CNN talking up Dean's attributes. Surreal. After that, I knew that given a second chance the inevitability strategy had worked. But then I started having different concerns: Dean was going to win and the establishment party pariahs were going to do everything possible to stick their dirty fingernails into his back and pull out the will to fight.
Inevitable, yes – Dean has taken control, but what now? "Maybe it'd be better if Dean lost. Democrats suck, maybe Dean should just start his own political party. The DP has a stigma that even Dean's 'I'll-kick-you-in-the-nuts-if-you-mess-with-me-attitude' may not be able to change. Too much wussiness, ridiculous ambivalence, and Hollywood hypocrisy for Americans without specific ideological commitments to see past. Stereotypes linger for a long time in politics, image is everything. And the Democratic party is still of the party of Dukakis' trying to look tough in the tank. And who likes that? No one. Maybe Glenn Close, but no one else." This is what started going through my head.
"Wie Heissen Sie?"
Sitting in my first German language class, it came to me what Dean should do now: change the party name. Ah hah, yes, this will work. Only a slight alteration is necessary.
The Demokratic party.
Use the German spelling of the word. There are 56 million German-Americans in the United States, America's largest ethnic group. Most of these people reside in the Middle American West – the supposed "blue states." Dean could show them that things are different now. "We are still democratic, but in a different way. In other words, 'we ain't takin' no guff – not from nobody. Not no how.'" Then, when Nancy Pelosi and Hillary say, 'I like the 'C' it matches all my pearl necklaces. And I'd have to change all the drapes in my office!' – Dean could tell them to stop being "disruptive" and "stay in the back and be quiet - Amerika has spoken." |
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