Historians will note that the last straw for Dr. Dean broke at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2003, in Exeter, N.H. That’s when he referred to the moderate Democratic Leadership Council as "the Republican wing of the Democratic Party." He then turned patronizing and noted, "We’re going to need them, too, we really are."
One can have fun with Howard Dean’s portrayal of DLC leaders as crypto-Republicans — but only at Dean’s expense. It summons visions of Dick Gephardt and Joe Lieberman drawing the drapes at night, and pulling out cocktail napkins with elephants on them.
Dean’s breezy dismissal of party moderates — the only Democrats who win national office these days — turned bright lights on his bad judgment. Come primary day, New Hampshire voters fled.
Some say the media overplayed Dean’s "scream speech" in Iowa because they wanted to drag him down. That’s not quite the right explanation. The media saw his dismal showing as the signal that Dean didn’t matter anymore. That gave them license (in their minds) to take liberties with Dean they would not have dared before.
Who is the Democratic Leadership Council, and why do old-line liberals hate it so? The DLC is a political organization that seeks to modernize the party and bring suburban voters back into its fold. The political home of Bill Clinton, the DLC breaks with liberal orthodoxy on such issues as welfare reform. It believes in balanced budgets and thinks that national security, an issue virtually ignored by Dean, must be addressed.
As Vermont governor, Dean showed a fiscal restraint and social moderation that would have done the DLC proud. But as a candidate for president, he’s put on a halftime show that may have pleased the kids but obviously not the grownups who vote. The DLC remark dashed earlier hopes that the Dean campaign would mature.
Harder to answer is why the left wing of the Democratic Party can’t coexist with the council. Is an idea bad simply because Republicans agree with it? That’s primitive thinking, but guilt by political association is a notion that holds great appeal for radicals of both parties. (How many times have conservatives condemned President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act because Ted Kennedy supported it?)
Robert Reich, who briefly served as Clinton’s labor secretary, routinely bashes both his former boss and the DLC for deserting what Reich thinks are "traditional Democratic core values." Reich maintains that Clinton "had no broad-based political movement behind him." Apparently nobody liked Clinton, except for the voters.
Some may need reminding that Clinton raised taxes on the highest incomes. And while his national health proposal was flawed, at least he had one. Democrats who portray Clinton as a conservative in donkey’s clothing are totally off the wall.
What do old liberals give guys like Reich and the Dean disciples that the DLC does not? A Movement. Movements provide followers a social life and sense of membership. Surrounded by like thinkers, they are amazed when their candidate doesn’t win, because everyone they knew voted for him.
Guess what. Most Americans have a life. They also have mixed feelings on many issues. Moderates are open to ideas from all sides — which drives ideologues crazy. Centrists don’t scream a lot on the talk shows, but they show up at the polls, and in big numbers.
Dean’s campaign suffered from the "movement" mentality: all that angry marching in unison, with few real-world ideas. For example, it tried to use opposition to the war in Iraq as a substitute for a position on national security. If Dean knew of a better way to protect the country, he didn’t share it with the public.
The last straw broke with a thunderclap. Dean’s attack on party moderates confirmed the fears building up in many that he didn’t have the politics — and possibly the smarts — to get elected, much less serve as president. Howard Dean is still in the race, but few hesitate to talk about him in the past tense.
Froma Harrop is a Providence Journal columnist. Contact her by writing to
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