Well ok, I'm the one who called Howard Dean a "proven loser", but my predictions (and others') of his inefficacy at the head of the DNC are certainly coming true. What's surprising is that Mr. Dean isn't even raising money for the Democrats, which is the least they expected him to accomplish, even if he couldn't garner new Democratic voters. Robert Novak has a great piece about how Democratic politicians are scared of Mr. Dean's distemperment.
Dean's election by the DNC membership was a case of the inmates seizing control of the asylum. After the 2004 election, party leaders spent more than three months in a fruitless effort to find an alternative to Dean. Their fears of money drying up under Dean have largely been realized, but they have deluded themselves into thinking the former Vermont governor who screamed his way out of any hope for the 2004 presidential nomination was under firm restraint. ...He was not. He has described the Republican leadership, in various venues, as ''evil,'' ''corrupt'' and ''brain-dead.'' He has called Sen. Rick Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, a ''liar.'' ...
Dean's deficiencies as face and voice of the Democratic Party were supposed to be overcome by his legendary prowess, evident by his run for president, raising funds in small packages. That so far has proved a grievous disappointment. First-quarter figures show the DNC received only $13 million from individuals, compared with $32 million raised by the Republican National Committee. Overall figures were $34.2 million by the RNC, $16.7 million by the DNC.
Dean has not always kept himself faithful to the Democratic message. On Feb. 23 at Cornell University, he blurted out that Social Security benefits -- if the system is left unchanged -- 30 years from now will be 80 percent of what they are now. That was a shocking departure from the party line that nothing has to be done.
As they say, read the whole thing. So what does the populist left think of Mr. Dean's chairmanship? It seems that Kos likes him because he flies coach, but what about his job performance? I can't find much about Mr. Dean via Google from Josh Marshall either.
