Walz credits Dean's 50-state strategy
Democrats Face a Tough Job, Leader Says
By JEFF ZELENY
New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 — The Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean, warned party leaders on Saturday not to revel too long in the victories from last month’s midterm elections or treat their Congressional majorities as a permanent directive from voters.
“The other party made mistakes in the past claiming that elections are mandates,” Mr. Dean said. “Elections are not mandates. The voters of this country loaned the Democrats the power of the country for two years. Now it’s our job to earn it back again.”
In a speech to the party’s executive committee here, Mr. Dean said “governing is more difficult than campaigning,” and declared that Democrats must not squander opportunities to keep building the party. The modest gains winning over evangelical voters, he said, should be strengthened by asserting that “moral values are an important part of foreign policy.”
“If George Bush made any single huge mistake,” Mr. Dean said, “it’s that he thought he could be president by being president for half of America and by treating the rest of us with contempt. That is not a mistake I ever want Democrats to make.”
In the celebratory aftermath of the November elections, Democrats have rushed to seize credit for winning control of the House, the Senate and the majority of governor’s offices. But despite the jubilation, many longtime party leaders have criticized Mr. Dean’s 50-state strategy, saying Democrats could have won even more seats had he not dispatched money and personnel to states that typically favor Republicans.
“Everybody had a huge contribution to make — including some of the participants in all the feuding that was going on,” Mr. Dean told reporters. To make his point on Saturday, Mr. Dean invited two newly elected members of the House to address the gathering of a few dozen party officials. The representatives-elect, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Nancy Boyda of Kansas, said they defeated Republican incumbents with the help of Mr. Dean’s on-the-ground strategy to reorganize and rebuild the party.
(There's more, here.)
By JEFF ZELENY
New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 — The Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean, warned party leaders on Saturday not to revel too long in the victories from last month’s midterm elections or treat their Congressional majorities as a permanent directive from voters.
“The other party made mistakes in the past claiming that elections are mandates,” Mr. Dean said. “Elections are not mandates. The voters of this country loaned the Democrats the power of the country for two years. Now it’s our job to earn it back again.”
In a speech to the party’s executive committee here, Mr. Dean said “governing is more difficult than campaigning,” and declared that Democrats must not squander opportunities to keep building the party. The modest gains winning over evangelical voters, he said, should be strengthened by asserting that “moral values are an important part of foreign policy.”
“If George Bush made any single huge mistake,” Mr. Dean said, “it’s that he thought he could be president by being president for half of America and by treating the rest of us with contempt. That is not a mistake I ever want Democrats to make.”
In the celebratory aftermath of the November elections, Democrats have rushed to seize credit for winning control of the House, the Senate and the majority of governor’s offices. But despite the jubilation, many longtime party leaders have criticized Mr. Dean’s 50-state strategy, saying Democrats could have won even more seats had he not dispatched money and personnel to states that typically favor Republicans.
“Everybody had a huge contribution to make — including some of the participants in all the feuding that was going on,” Mr. Dean told reporters. To make his point on Saturday, Mr. Dean invited two newly elected members of the House to address the gathering of a few dozen party officials. The representatives-elect, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Nancy Boyda of Kansas, said they defeated Republican incumbents with the help of Mr. Dean’s on-the-ground strategy to reorganize and rebuild the party.
(There's more, here.)
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