The San Francisco Chronicle wrote an Editorial on Howard Dean as the next DNC chair. I read it three times and couldn't decipher where they stood. Here is my LTE in response:
Editor – your editorial on the new DNC chair “Can a left turn save the Democrats?” was a muddled composition of hair-splitting equivocations; I wonder if you were trying to show the Democrats, not by your words but by example, how NOT to behave.
You praise Dean’s “inspirational skills” and because of them deem him a "solid choice” as party chair. In the same paragraph, you judge that Dean’s “desperate enthusiasm” in Iowa and subsequent primary losses show he was not “the answer” to the party’s needs.
You caution Democrats that Dean’s “ideological fervor” will not propel the party back to power. Yet you cite conventional wisdom that “boldness and idealism” positions a party to become dominant.
You fret that Dean’s record shows no red-state appeal (oh come on, balanced budgets and an A rating from the NRA?). Then you conclude ”Democrats will know they are making progress when their candidates no longer fear the word 'liberal,' the way Ronald Reagan transformed 'conservative'”.
No more flip-flopping Editor, was Dean the right choice for party chair? Are Democrats moving in the direction to become a winning party? Making decisions can be tough. Trust me, I know.
Alison Fish
Democrat
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