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email from Equality VA, a pro-homosexual group in VA: Exciting news! The Kaine administration has started the rulemaking process that could result in state employees being able to choose either to include either a spouse or an “otherwise qualified adult” on their state health insurance plan. Equality Virginia has been working to achieve this goal for the past year. These efforts finally have resulted in publication of aNotice of Intended Regulatory Action that is the first step in a long process that will not conclude until months after Governor-elect McDonnell takes office in January. To move this proposal from suggestion...

He calls them “the teabag party,” actually, which I guess is slightly better than “teabaggers.” His hosannas to comparative Democratic unity and imminent Republican civil war come on a day when PPP, a lefty polling firm, declares that the top eight most vulnerable Senate seats next year are all currently occupied by Democrats. Not 24 hours ago, Rasmussen reported that Blanche Lincoln — a.k.a. vote number 60 on ObamaCare — trails four different Republicans in hypothetical match-ups, and there’s no mystery why: Against all four Republicans, she leads by wide margins among those who favor the health care plan proposed...

RICHMOND | Civil rights organizations are asking Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to sign an executive order restoring the rights of nearly 300,000 felons before he leaves office in January. Virginia and Kentucky are the only two states that permanently strip felons of their civil rights, such as voting, serving on juries or holding public office. In Virginia, the power to restore those rights lies solely with the governor. Mr. Kaine has restored rights to more than 4,000, felons, a greater number than under any other Virginia governor. He and former Gov. Mark Warner, a fellow Democrat, restored more altogether than...

THE DEMOCRATIC National Committee won't officially elect its next chairman until Feb. 12, so Howard Dean doesn't have the job wrapped up just yet. But the Association of State Democratic Chairs endorsed him this week, and two of the five other candidates for the position have since dropped out. Clearly, the Democratic chairmanship is now Dean's to lose. And that should have reasonable Democrats worried, because their party's ills aren't going to get better with the medicine Dr. Dean is prescribing. As governor of Vermont, Dean was regarded as a budget-balancing, gun-owner-friendly centrist. As a candidate for president, he turned...

Timothy M. Kaine said he has been spending a day and a half of each workweek handling fundraising and policy matters for the Democratic National Committee, a departure from his pledge to conduct most of his national party work by phone and fax and restrict it largely to evenings and weekends while he is governor of Virginia. In an interview in his office on Capitol Square, Kaine said he typically spends one day a week traveling as his party's national chairman and half a day working at the party's headquarters in Washington. But Kaine said he remains in constant contact...

The bad news is that the Washington Post doesn't know where Virginia governor Tim Kaine is. The good news is they're pretty sure he's not in Appalachia or Argentina: But repeated attempts to review Kaine's schedule — in Richmond, around the state or across the country — before and after he became DNC chairman in late January have been unsuccessful. The Washington Post has requested Kaine's calendar through the governor's office, the DNC and his political action committee, Moving Virginia Forward. The requests have been denied or gone unanswered.

The bad news is that the Washington Post doesn't know where Virginia governor Tim Kaine is. The good news is they're pretty sure he's not in Appalachia or Argentina: But repeated attempts to review Kaine's schedule — in Richmond, around the state or across the country — before and after he became DNC chairman in late January have been unsuccessful. The Washington Post has requested Kaine's calendar through the governor's office, the DNC and his political action committee, Moving Virginia Forward. The requests have been denied or gone unanswered. Kaine's office cites security and privacy concerns, as well as state...

I am sitting in the Airport in Boston waiting on a flight to Richmond. I was seriously trying to figure out what smelled so bad, when the DNC Chairman set down about five feet from me. I don't know if that is the source of the smell, but it is a distinct possibility.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I want to start with this, Rasmussen Reports: "'Republicans See Their Party as Leaderless' -- Who is in charge here? Sixty-eight percent of Republican voters say that their party has no clear leader according to Rasmussen, another 17% are undecided, just 5% view either McCain or Michael Steele as the party's leader." I have already dealt with this. The Republican Party does not have a leader, and it will not have a leader until the next presidential nominee of the Republican Party is decided upon, and in that period of time, that will be four years, or...

Email from Michael Steele: "On the heels of President Obama's national press conference last evening, I had my first face off with DNC Chair Gov. Tim Kaine. The battle is joined. As you all know, the Republican Party is unified in our opposition to the Democrat spending spree that is being jammed through Congress today. We have 219 Republican congressmen and senators, and 216 of them voted against this Democrat plan." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=907aj9ZX0B4

A Republican source says newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has requested the resignations of the entire RNC staff and signaled a dramatic turnover at the party organization. Some aides may be retained, though Republicans are under the impression that Steele will lead a large-scale changeover in the institution, which has about 100 staffers. Obama's new team at the Democratic National Committee also requested mass resignations. Many, including communications staffers, have been told their last day is Feb. 15.

The House Democratic Caucus spent more than $500,000 in taxpayer money over the past five years for its annual retreats at resorts in Pennsylvania and Virginia. On Thursday, Democrats will head to the Kingsmill Resort and Spa in historic Williamsburg, Va., for the three-day planning powwow. The resort boasts multiple championship golf courses, a full-service spa and six restaurants.

The House Democratic Caucus spent more than $500,000 in taxpayer money over the past five years for its annual retreats at resorts in Pennsylvania and Virginia. On Thursday, Democrats will head to the Kingsmill Resort and Spa in historic Williamsburg, Va., for the three-day planning powwow. The resort boasts multiple championship golf courses, a full-service spa and six restaurants. Individual lawmakers pay for most of the expenses related to retreat lodging through their campaign committees, but the Democratic Caucus subsidizes some of the costs for what aides consider “official business” — to the tune of nearly $100,000 each year, according...

Steele has his work cut out for him. There are seven steps he might take to set the party on the road to recovery. First, Steele should offer to debate DNC Chairman Tim Kaine coast-to-coast on the Democrats’ stimulus plan and the economic crisis. This is the number one issue on voters’ minds, and for once the Republicans are making headway. The public is souring on the House Democrats’ spend-a-thon disguised as a stimulus bill. And Republicans have an attractive message: cut the pork, reduce taxes, and, if we must spend gobs of money, do it on worthwhile infrastructure and...

(AP) Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is set to become the next chairman of the Democratic Party. Two Democratic officials said Sunday that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen the governor to take over the Democratic National Committee. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on a condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been officially announced.

The war in Iraq will be a major issue during the Democratic National Convention in Denver, DNC chairman Howard Dean told several hundred people at the west entrance to the Pepsi Center this afternoon. "Every single one of the Republicans running for president thinks we ought to stay in Iraq, maybe for as long as 50 years," said Dean. "Every Democrat thinks we ought not to be there." The gathering was held to mark the one-year countdown to the 2008 convention.

On Sunday's This Week, George Stephanopoulos not once but twice, referred to Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as “Speaker,” a title she would presumably get if Democrats win back the House this fall. So, a Freudian slip by Stephanopoulos, a one-time staff member for the Democratic House leadership himself when they were in the majority? Before signing aboard the Clinton campaign in 1991, Stephanopoulos was a floor assistant to then-House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt. Interviewing Congressman Tom DeLay, the former House Majority Leader who suggested that if Democrats win control of the House they will pursue impeachment, Stephanopoulos countered:...

Peacenik moonbat DNC Chairman Howard Dean gleefully declares defeat for America.    (click here to see it reeeeeeeally large)  

Governor Dean wrote the following op-ed for national distribution:John Roberts is a decent family man and a bright, articulate, thoughtful judge. He has a quality absent in previous right wing candidates like Antonin Scalia and Robert Bork, namely a judicial temperament that makes litigants feel that they have been respectfully heard whether they are on the winning or losing side of a verdict.But John Roberts is the wrong man for the job. Despite the fact that the White House has withheld key documents either out of incompetence or a fear that those documents might prove embarrassing, we have learned enough...

Unrepentant after a week of controversy over his inflammatory remarks, Democratic Chairman Howard Dean told party leaders yesterday that casting traditionally liberal issues in moral terms is a key to breaking Republicans' eight-year hold on the White House. Dean acknowledged that he sees his party's national campaign apparatus as being "30 years behind" the one fielded in November by the Bush-Cheney campaign, and said the solution is for Democrats to be tough, describe themselves boldly and get organized in all 50 states. "People want us to fight, and we are here to fight," Dean said during a quarterly meeting of...

Man, Dr. Dean is exactly “what the doctor ordered” for the Republican party this year as the manic driven Democratic National Party Chair continues to rally the base of his party while losing the rest of the dems in his hate driven rhetoric aimed at you and me, hard working Americans. In a speech to rally the base of his party last week, Dean had the audacity to say that Republicans who had time to wait in line eight hours a day must not be honest hard working Americans contributing to society. Excuse me, has Dean lost his mind? He...

New figures reveal that Dean has done a woeful job of raising money for the party since he became party chief. After essentially matching the Republicans in fund-raising in 2004, the Democratic National Committee raised $14.1 million in the first quarter of 2005, while the Republicans raised $32.3 million, according to the Federal Election Commission. Dean attracted about 20,000 new donors, but the Republican National Committee picked up 68,200.

As conscientious followers of politics are doubtless aware, the better sort of American liberal is troubled by the unprecedented vituperation that has stolen into the public discourse. The Clintons refer to it as "The Politics of Personal Destruction" -- well said, Bill and Hillary. They, and concerned citizens like them, recognize that this inflammatory rhetoric comes, in the main, from the right -- or as they put it, "the extreme right." Dr. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, likewise is alarmed by the abusiveness from the right or more generally from Republicans whom he has recently identified as...

Democrat Tim Roemer won a Congressional seat in a Republican state, Indiana. As a member of the 9/11 Commission, he had strong credentials on fighting terrorism. Yet his bid for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee went nowhere, and for one reason: as a practicing Catholic, he opposes abortion in most cases. "It was a very difficult mountain to climb from the beginning, and people tried to hang a radioactive anvil around my neck on abortion," says Roemer. "They threw a couple of kitchen sinks and then some at us, with phone banks and mailings and efforts to derail...

Howard Dean, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, called on the head of New York's Republican Party to apologize or resign Wednesday over remarks linking the Democrats to a civil rights lawyer convicted of aiding terrorists.

Howard Dean won the chairmanship of the national Democratic Party over the weekend and quickly began looking for a home in Washington. "This is really goodbye to Vermont, for now. There's lots of work to do," Dean told supporters. Eyebrows were raised after it was revealed that Dean's wife, Judy, will not be joining her husband in his move. "She has a career as a doctor, her patients require her attention," said one Dean friend. The Deans will join the growing ranks of "commuter marriages," with both partners living in different locations. Developing...

WASHINGTON — Howard Dean won the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) yesterday, vowing to lead a crusade back to power by competing for values-minded voters in "red" Republican states while continuing blistering criticisms of President Bush that rank-and-file Democrats love. "Today will be the beginning of the re-emergence of the Democratic Party," the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate said to cheers and applause from party activists and leaders. "We are going to take this country back for the people who built it." The 447-member DNC elected Dean by acclamation, his triumph locked up in recent weeks as...

From C-Span.org - IN WASHINGTON Dean To Be DNC Chairman The final day of the DNC Winter Meeting takes place Saturday, first with remarks by outgoing chairman Terry McAuliffe, followed by the vote for the new chairman, expected to be former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. Afterwards, McAuliffe formally transfers the chairman's gavel to Dean.

Here's the dilemma Democrats faced as they staged the enormous and expensive "Tribute to Chairman Terry McAuliffe" at Washington's National Building Museum Thursday night: How do you pay tribute to a man whose main legacy was losing elections? And the answer was: awkwardly and painfully. After the standard gala-evening beginning — "God Bless America" sung by the Urban Nation Hip-Hop choir, an emotional tribute to McAuliffe from actress Ciceley Tyson, and a slide show of McAuliffe's tenure at the Democratic National Committee projected on huge screens around the room — the program got underway with a dream-sequence video of McAuliffe,...

Today your representatives elected new Party leadership. But more importantly they endorsed the idea that our Party must always be led by the people — because your participation makes the Democratic Party a powerful force for change. Our success depends on every single one of us taking responsibility for our Party's future. We have to commit to an active role in the political process. And we have to grow the Democratic Party in every single state so we can protect the values that bring our Party — and the vast majority of Americans — together. We have new leadership and...

Word around the newsroom here today is Terry has been asked to step aside and Howard Dean will be named new DNC Chairman.

At the very moment Democrats are claiming to distance themselves from abortion, they run back towards it by making Howard Dean -- a former doctor for Planned Parenthood -- their public face. Though the press almost never mentions it, Dean did an OB/GYN rotation for Planned Parenthood in the 1970s and later served as an executive board member of Planned Parenthood New England, meaning that he directly oversaw the largest abortion provider in the region. Were the Democrats sincerely moving to the middle on abortion, selecting a former overseer of abortion would have been the last thing to do. Now...

EDITORIAL BOARD Saturday, February 12, 2005 All in all, it's been a pretty good couple of sports seasons for New England teams. Boston wins the World Series, and the Patriots win another Super Bowl. New England pols, however, are about to go 1-1 when Vermont's governor becomes head of the Democratic National Committee this weekend. The loss was, of course, the one U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, racked up in the 2004 presidential race. Oh, well, you can't win 'em all. Republicans are rather gleeful about the prospect of Dean taking over the national Democratic apparatus. Some Democrats are as...

WASHINGTON - Democrats elected Howard Dean (news - web sites) chairman of their national party on Saturday, casting their lot with a skilled fund-raiser and organizer whose sometimes caustic, blunt comments can lead to controversy. The 447-member Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) chose Dean on a voice vote to replace outgoing party chief Terry McAuliffe. The former Vermont governor and presidential candidate had promised to rebuild the state parties, take the offensive against Republicans, and better explain party positions on issues. Democrats are eager to renew their campaign to regain political power, though some admit to a bit...

The message is loud and clear. Democrats have learned nothing from their free-fall from power. Hard-line liberals [anti-American closet socialists] line up to crown their new king and it looks like Howard Dean is their man, the likely new head of the Deaniac’s National Committee. Once again, we have proof that the “enlightened ones” may not be so “enlightened” after all… They understand their need to appear more centered, but they don’t understand their need to become more centered. As they whine about their image problems, they continue their march to the left. Is Dean more centered than say, Kennedy,...

In this world, those who can lead generally do, by default. Those who can’t lead usually follow, also by default. Those incapable of either become Democrats today… The operative words for all modern DNC initiatives are “dissent”, “disorder” and “obstruct”. That’s why their new party leader is the king of dissent Howard Dean. The more outrageous and obnoxious ones screams of dissent, the better their chances for a leadership roll in today’s DNC. The party has chosen to define itself by the 10% in America who don’t like anything about America, those who see America as the evil empire, capitalism...

Here's another reason why some Democrats are fretting over installing antiwar former presidential candidate Howard Dean as chair of the Democratic National Committee. He might cede national defense to the Republicans. That's the charge from associates of another former presidential candidate, former NATO boss Wes Clark. Seems the Clark and Dean teams have been warring over the future of the Democratic Party, and now that threatens to spill into the public if Dean, as expected, wins the chairmanship this Saturday. Here's the fight: Clark wants the Democrats deeply involved in foreign policy and the war, and Dean's team isn't as...

WASHINGTON - Howard Dean (news - web sites) promised cheering supporters Wednesday night he would harness their energy to lead the Democratic Party back to power in the halls of Congress and the White House by 2008. The virtually certain incoming chairman of the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) rallied hundreds of young supporters, and a few he called "young at heart," in a campaign-style appearance at a Washington nightspot within view of the Capitol. In his first public appearance since clinching the chairmanship, he gave a glimpse of the kind of uncompromising leadership he plans for the...

If you've seen "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," you'll know how I feel about the state of the current Democratic Party. The film, as you'll recall, depicted the bodies of decent, normal citizens being taken over while they slept by alien entities marching in conformist and destructive lockstep. In its original 1950s version, the film was meant to portray the McCarthyism of the time. But it strikes all too close to home for Democrats who once fought everything McCarthyism represented but who now are stuck in a reactionary groupthink of their own. The culminating act of this sad transformation will...

The Democrats have lost the White House, the Congress, most governorships and most state houses because of their liberal views, which are miles away from those of most Americans ("Top N.Y. Dem Keen on Dean," Feb. 3). Now, along comes Howard Dean as the new head of the Democratic National Committee. So long, Democratic Party. No supporter of the Republican Party could have dreamed up a better scenario. Jon Pally Staten Island ***** For whatever reason, the Democratic Party continues to shoot itself in the foot. It's bad enough that we have Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, Dennis Kucinich, John Kerry...

Ailing Democrats Put Their Faith in Dr. Dean Some Fear Choice Will Add to Red-State Blues By Dan Balz Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, February 11, 2005; Page A01 Two questions swirled around the Democrats as their national committee assembled yesterday to select a new party chairman: Can Howard Dean cure what ails the party, or is Howard Dean symptomatic of why those ailments may be so difficult to cure? The former Vermont governor is poised to claim the party chairmanship tomorrow. His victory represents a personal triumph one year after his presidential campaign was in ashes and symbolizes the...

The presumptive chairman of the Democrat National Committee, Howard Dean, today laid out his vision for America's future under Democrat leadership. Seeking to quell accusations that the DNC stands for little more than self-perpetuation and the denigration of President George Bush, Mr. Dean summarized his vision in one word: "protection." He released the following outline that details what he called "a majestic, sweeping vision touching almost every area of life and governance." "The DNC, under Howard Dean's leadership, envisions a future of... -- protecting misguided burglars from gun-toting homeowners. -- protecting the Social Security system by declaring an end to...

Democratic Party activists, recovering from a stinging November election loss and a fresh round of soul-searching, rallied around Howard Dean on Friday and promised a grass-roots drive to make the party competitive in the South, Midwest and Mountain states. With the election of the former Vermont governor as chairman set for Saturday, Democrats put aside lingering doubts about the party's future and opened a two-day party meeting with promises to keep the heat on President Bush. "The time for introspection and second-guessing is over," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a possible Democratic presidential contender in 2008. "It's game...

<p>According to sources working under deep cover, Democrats plan to vote for Howard Dean to head their war-torn party this Saturday, in a passionate show of support for doctor-assisted suicide. (Upon hearing this, Hillary fainted.) It's called the vote for DNC chair, or -- with Dean the certain winner -- the 'Meet your 72 Virgins' vote. Despite the heightened terror alert in Washington, authorities say there are no plans to ban traffic near the DNC during the balloting. Invoking the recent Iraq election, Democrats say the momentous vote for DNC chair represents the power of the ballot over the bombers -- they mean Bush and Cheney. Besides, when we start sealing off streets, the terrorists win. They mean Bush and Cheney.</p>

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As the Democratic National Committee opens its annual meeting, a new poll of DNC members suggests party leaders want to see some serious changes and believe former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean will do an excellent job as party chairman. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Thursday indicates the members who chose to reply to the survey also overwhelmingly believe the party should draw clear distinctions between itself and the GOP and should work to defeat the Republican agenda over the Bush administration's final four years.

WASHINGTON - Howard Dean (news - web sites) promised cheering supporters Wednesday night he would harness their energy to lead the Democratic Party back to power in the halls of Congress and the White House by 2008. The virtually certain incoming chairman of the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) rallied hundreds of young supporters, and a few he called "young at heart," in a campaign-style appearance at a Washington nightspot within view of the Capitol. In his first public appearance since clinching the chairmanship, he gave a glimpse of the kind of uncompromising leadership he plans for the...

Blasted by the pundits, the Democrats' new party chair can't be all bad Democratic pols are trying to get it up for Howard Dean, but they are very confused when the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate says he "admires" Newt Gingrich more than Bill Clinton, and that Christian-right big Ralph Reed "created a real success" with the right, and how "Clinton led the Dems into complacency and defeat." The pros are mostly cautious. Asked about her worries, soccer mom surrogate Nancy Pelosi said, "No more worries . . . I know he will work very well with Senator Reid...

Kerry Donates $1 Million to DNC to Aid Dean in Grassroots Efforts By Will Lester Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John Kerry is contributing $1 million to the Democratic National Committee to support efforts by the next chairman, Howard Dean, in building grassroots support for the party at the state level. "Join me with a contribution of your own to show the incoming DNC chair that you want to support organizing in your own community," Kerry wrote in an e-mail to about 3 million supporters on his e-mail list. "A new DNC chair will be elected at the...

Dear XXX, I want to talk to you today about the future of the Democratic Party and about a dramatic step that we can take to make our party stronger. In 2004 you did something amazing. You helped build the largest, most aggressive grassroots effort in history -- and that has fundamentally changed the face of Democratic politics. Thousands of you have written in about how to continue the fight. I believe the answer is to transform the movement you built into a permanent grassroots presence for the Democratic Party in every state across this nation. If we want to...

A few weeks ago, when former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean declared his intention to run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, news reports had the general tone of "Get this, that crazy scream guy is back, and he wants to run the party." Now, days before the vote, his victory is a "fait accompli." How did this happen? Are Democrats suicidally crazy? Wait. That's too easy. Let me rephrase the question. Why are Democrats suicidally crazy? The conventional rap against Dean as DNC chairman is essentially the same as the conventional rap against him as presidential candidate a year...