Methinks that my beloved colleague Jay Homnick---make that The Great Homnick---has demonstrated himself too clever by half in his interpretation of the Dems' genius in terms of the elevation of the ineffable Howard Dean to the lofty position of Chairman of the DNC. Make that Chairperson or Chair or Chairwoman or something, whatever. From the viewpoint of the MoveOn.org leftists and their ilk---if only their message were made clear, they would be embraced by the common folk as a distant relative suddenly victorious in the lottery---the choice of Dean enhances their power in the Party like nothing else. After all, the Party Chairman exists to raise money, and only two big pots are available. Pot 1: The Clintons and their various buddies. Pot 2: The George Soros/internet/Michael Moore/dingbat crowd. In terms of this intra-Party competition, no one is better than Dean from the MoveOn.org viewpoint. And that is why all the talk about how Dean---purportedly a moderate when actually in office in Vermont---will prove a relative centrist as DNC Chairman is hogwash. In order to operate as a centrist, Dean must raise money from the centrists, and that requires cooperation and beta-female submission to Bill and Hillary. How can I put this gently? Dean will switch parties, genders, and underwear with random strangers before he will do that. And so Dean will not and cannot operate as a centrist DNC Chairman. He will raise money from the Left, he will mark territory like a Leftist, and his mating call will remain as it was in Iowa. Comrade Homnick's argument that Dean has been maneuvered into the Chairmanship/Chairship/ Chairpersonship/Chairwomanship as a means of getting him out of the way and making him more palatable even to churchgoing Dems is an argument---please, please forgive me, Jay---unworthy of the Homnick brand name. Dean is Chairman because he will serve the intraparty interests of the Democratic Left. And we'll have fun fun fun 'til Mommy Hillary takes the car keys away.
Doc Zycher paints a scenario that for one of my political propinquities and propensities is a consummation devoutly to be wished. I would love to see Dean explode and the Dems implode.
ReplyDeleteMy own analysis was a very valid one if one posits that the political players will respond in rational ways to the new realities in which they find themselves.
Doc believes, based on observation, that there are some looney-tune players here who are mostly catalyzed by their trademark eccentricity. Since Dean is a duck among the chess pawns, he will keep quacking no matter how cleverly he is moved by Big Blue.
So I think that although ordinarily I would stand behind my analysis, in deference to Doc Zycher I should retreat to the sidelines and suspend judgment.
I have to agree with Dr. Ben on this one.—STK
ReplyDeleteI'm with the Doc, too, though with hindsight (almost a year after original post). Dean is a nut in an echo chamber of fellow fools and he's not gonna change his ways. He needs to be shown the exit and run for President every 4 years a la Wendell Wilkie.
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