*Why Dean should take charge*

With his passion and populist appeal, Howard Dean is exactly the leader the Democratic Party needs right now.

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by Mark Hertsgaard Salon.com Jan. 24, 2005

Florida Democrats' decision to unanimously back Howard Dean as the new chairman of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) shows two things: first, there are still some Democrats out there -- including in the supposedly hopeless South -- who have brains and guts and aren't afraid to think for themselves; and second, Dean now has a real shot at winning the DNC job and launching a much-needed makeover of the Democratic Party.

Political and media elites in Washington are at once horrified and dismissive of Dean's quest. They insist that Democrats would be crazy to pick a raving liberal like Dean as their next party chairman.

CHARLES AULDS: Anyone who thinks Howard Dean is a "raving liberal" is a raving idiot. Howard Dean, as governor of Vermont, balanced his state's budget six times in a row, even though he inherited a state in financial difficulty. That is NOT a raving liberal. When it comes to fiscal policy, it is Bush who is a raving maniac. he took a surplus and turned it into deficits as far as the eye can see. I will say it again, Howard Dean is NOT a raving liberal; he is not a raving anything; the man is a doctor, for heaven's sake. He is a scientist; he is a clear and rational thinker -- and a very sensible man. More from Charles.]

But as is so often the case, this inside-the-Beltway conventional wisdom is based on dubious "facts" and assumptions about how ordinary Americans relate to politics. Dean is exactly the leader Democrats need to become relevant again.

The Florida Democratic chairman's statement to the New York Times reveals just how out of touch the Washington establishment is: "I'm a gun-owning pickup-truck driver and I have a bulldog named Lockjaw," said Scott Maddox. "I am a Southern chairman of a Southern state, and I am perfectly comfortable with Howard Dean as DNC chair."

And the reason Florida Democrats like Dean?

"What our party needs right now is energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to do things differently," Maddox added. "I think Howard Dean brings all three of those things to the party."

CONTACT the Democratic leaders in YOUR state and URGE them to support Howard Dean to be chairman of the Democratic Party.