Governor Dean's Strategy Is Flourishing in the Democratic Party

Written by: Sheri Divers on Jul 17, 2007 4:00 PM EDT

The Washington Post is under the impression that Governor Dean's campaign failed:

Obama Faces the Test Dean Failed: Broadening Support

By Anne E. Kornblut and Perry Bacon Jr.

Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 17, 2007; Page A01

He raises tens of millions of dollars over a few months. His supporters are passionate, almost fanatical. And his grass-roots movement threatens a more established rival.

A description of Howard Dean in 2003 or Sen. Barack Obama today?

Obama campaign advisers -- many of them campaign veterans who watched Dean's slow rise and rapid descent at close range -- reject the comparison, arguing that their candidate and organization won't repeat the mistakes of the former Vermont governor.

But as Obama has shattered fundraising records over the past few months while continuing to trail Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) by double digits in polls, the challenge for the senator from Illinois has become clear: He must turn the intense devotion of his backers into a force that can win primaries, expanding his base of support beyond the narrow band of Democratic elites who backed Dean.

But what's left unsaid is the fact that the heart of Governor Dean's campaign -- which was to end the war in Iraq and the 50 State Strategy -- is now the core platform within the Democratic Party. Due primarily to the work of Deaniacs like us who have blogged, contributed money, knocked on doors, made phone calls and attended campaign trainings like the one in Orange County, California this weekend -- the Governor and Democracy for America have changed the face of American politics. And this is a progressive political movement we can all be proud of.

-Sheri Divers

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