Happy Birthday, Howard!
LESS STATES ARE RED,
MORE STATES ARE BLUE,
IT’S BECAUSE OF YOUR WORK
AND YOUR BROTHER’S WORK, TOO!
Dean fires back at critics in his party
BY MATT GOURAS
Associated Press
TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. – Democratic chairman Howard Dean on Friday took a swipe at Washington critics who questioned his strategy of spending money in all 50 states, dismissing them as the “old Democratic Party.”
Basking in the afterglow of last week’s election victories, Dean told the state party chairmen who were among the biggest beneficiaries of his strategy that it was an approach marked by Democratic wins at all levels of government.
”It was a great win for what I call the new Democratic Party,” Dean said in a speech to the Association of State Democratic Chairs. “This is the new Democratic Party. The old Democratic Party is back there in Washington, sometimes they still complain a little bit.”
In recent days, political strategist James Carville, best known for his work on Bill Clinton’s campaign in 1992, has assailed Dean, saying he left too much money in the bank that could have been used to seize an even larger Democratic majority in Congress.
In one interview, Carville called Dean’s errors ”Rumsfeldian,” a reference to the secretary of defense. In the past, Rumsfeld has railed about ”Old Europe” and its reticence in the lead-up to the Iraq War.
”The people who complain always get the headlines,” Dean said, adding there are other high-profile Democrats who support his initiative. “But the fact is that this strategy not only works, it works in states Democrats have given up on for 30 years.
“We cannot give up on anybody.”
The Association of State Democratic Chairs, gathering at this ski resort getaway, adopted a resolution voicing strong support for Dean, who turned 58 on Friday.
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