With the election of former Vermont Governor Dr. Howard Dean to head the Democratic National Committee, the split within that party has become almost inevitable. The man who campaigned for the job on the platform, "I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for," now holds the future of the Democrats as a political entity in his hands. Although the ideology of hate might appeal to leftover "Deaniacs" and the left-wing Liberals who have controlled that party for years, it won't do much for your average Democratic voter.
Dean was elected on the basis of his fundraising skills. Many leading Democrats seem to harbor the hope that he can raise money for the party quietly, while remaining behind the scenes. Unfortunately for them, Dean would never be content to remain in the background, even if one could be a fundraiser without making public appearances. "I'll pretty much be living in red states in the South and West for quite a while," Dean has said. That doesn't sound like someone eager to stay out of the limelight.
Does anyone really think that Southerners will forget or forgive him this quickly? While campaigning for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2003, Dean told a Florida audience that Southerners have to quit basing their votes on "race, god, guns and gays." Later, after saying he wanted to be "the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks," Dean was attacked by his fellow Presidential hopefuls. They didn't rebuke him for making condescending and bigoted comments about Southerners, oddly enough, but for saying that he wanted to include them. He responded by saying, "people who fly the Confederate flag -- I think they are wrong, because I think the Confederate flag is a racist symbol." By electing Dean to lead them, the Democrats have kissed the South goodbye for years to come. Most people who have a Confederate flag in their pickup truck see it as a symbol of independence and defiance against the federal government. Others just think it looks cool.
Dean's Presidential aspirations ended before the famous "Dean scream," which occurred at a rally after he lost the Iowa Democratic primary. Iowa Democrats correctly pegged him as an unelectable anti-war Liberal who couldn't keep his mouth shut if he sutured it. So why was he chosen to lead the Democratic party's lurch to the left, while Hillary Clinton tiptoes to the right? Why did Clinton activist Harold Ickes endorse Dean, giving him 50 of the 215 votes he needed? After the Democrats lose even more ground in the 2006 election, Hillary plans to ride in on a white horse and unify them, saving the party from going the way of the Whigs. However, the Democrats are less a cohesive party than an association of fellow-travelers, each group with its own agenda. It's probable that the party will fracture so badly under Dean's leadership that no amount of orchestration and manipulation can put it together again.
It would be a shame to temporarily lose the competition that a powerful second party brings to politics. On the other hand, the increasingly anti-military, anti-capitalist, anti-religion attitude the Liberals who control the Democrats display will not be missed.
UPDATE: It looks as though ingrained Democratic racism will continue under Dean. While speaking to the Democratic Black Caucus about his election, Dean said, "You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room? Only if they had the hotel staff in here." Meanwhile, a Republican President has appointed more minorities to positions of serious power than any Democrat ever has, including Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, Attorney General, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Education, and Secretary of Commerce. When are minorities going to wake up and see what fools Democrats have made of them all these years?
