The 50 State Strategy worked. It worked very, very well, too. It worked so well, in fact, that Democrtats now have the White House, The people’s House and near parity in the Senate.
To celebrate how well Howard Dean’s 50 State Strategy worked, the new DNC is not only killing the program, they’re giving Dean the shaft on his way out the door.
I don’t think that this is an Obama thing, and I’m pretty sure that it isn’t a Tim “cyber-brow” Kaine kind of thing, so … that leaves us one, clear suspect …
There was a famous incident where Rham Emmanuel mixed it up with Howard Dean in the DNC HQ because Rahm wanted more money for the DCCC. Not getting what he wanted, Rahm stormed out of the office, searing, shouting and firing bottle rockets all the way to the elevator.
Reid, Pelosi, Rahm, and whoever the hell was running the DSCC in 2006 were all against the 50 State Strategy. Paul Begalia even went so far as to accuse me of doing nothing more than picking my nose all day (never during office hours, you antediluvian shmuck).
But it worked. Nearly everywhere. Not so much here, for various reasons (more on that later) but, Utah for Obama filled the gap quite well.
Once again angling themselves to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, the new DNC is killing what was, quite possibly, the more sucessful grassroots program in the history of their history. AND, what’s worse, the silence about it’s demise is almost deafening.
I know that there are personal petitions and complaints behind the scenes, but, whether it’s a lack of action by State Party Chairs, or a disinterested press: little noise is being made about this seeming return to the politics of mediocrity and failure.
I fear that we’re headed back to the DCCC funding 12-15 out of 435 races, as per usual, without any support system in place for the candidates that don’t live on the East Coast.
Democracy for America sees the potential damage of losing the 50 State Strategy, and, as it so happens, has a petition on their website to add your voice and join in the effort to save the program. Click below to make some noise…
I think you’re misreading it. The Democrats have always, at least in my lifetime, chased the Republicans and their vast arsenal of very effective (if not somewhat despicable) tactics. And Democrats have always done a second rate job of it – including the 50 state strategy. Seriously. The 50 state strategy clearly worked, but it still pales in comparison to the effectiveness of the RNC. It’s a second rate knock off. What’s truly shocking is that, for the first time ever, Democrats did something together, nationally, and it worked. They copied the best parts of the Republican machine, and it worked. It actually worked. That it’s second rate simply pales in comparison to this incredible, unbelievable, Democratic accomplishment. They did it. They actually did it!
But, you see, being victorious is so foreign to them, they can’t understand it. They’re filled with strange emotions and confusing thoughts. These feelings are making them increasingly paranoid. That paranoia has festered in their hearts since November, and they have again become afraid the Republicans are about to blind side them with some new gay marriage initiative. They can’t let that happen now, not now that they’ve won! But they don’t actually know what to do now that they’re in front, in CHARGE… so they’re doing what they always do. They’re trying to copy the Republican party. It’s a force of habit really, but the Democrats are just copying the most recent Republican strategy of imploding to re-invent themselves.
It could work… it could…