50 State in Your Face
17 November 2006 3:55 pm by Taylor Marsh
Paging the Eggman.
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.”(snip)
“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. The resolution said the state chairmen “honor and thank
Governor Dean for his tireless commitment to state Democratic Parties and
the '50-state strategy' … and for never retreating from what was right for
every Democrat in every state.”Not only did Democrats reclaim the House and Senate, they increased their
control of governorships and legislatures. In January, Democrats will have
28 statehouses to 22 for Republicans. The breakdown of state legislatures
are 24 with Democrats in full control, 16 Republican, nine split and one nonpartisan.Dean said the victory included Republican strongholds that Democratic strategists
wrote off. Even where they lost, he argued, Democrats made their best showing
in years because of the beefed up state organizations.“That is what the 50-state strategy is about,” Dean said. …
