It's Dean against his party
Opponents worry about Democrats' future if he's nominated
11:50 PM CST on Friday, January 9, 2004
DES MOINES, Iowa – President Bush and the Republicans aren't the only ones to blame for Iraq and tax cuts for the rich, according to Howard Dean. His fellow Democrats are complicit, says the front-runner for his party's presidential nomination, and he intends to put a stop to it.
Dr. Dean's disparagement of the Democratic establishment – the "Washington Democrats," as he scornfully calls them – is a big part of his appeal, supporters said, turning his pursuit of the presidency into an increasingly tense battle for control of the party.
"What has happened to so many Democrats in Congress is that they've been co-opted by the agenda of George Bush, who came into office with 500,000 fewer votes than Al Gore," said Dr. Dean, the former Vermont governor who has never lived or worked in Washington. "What we need is a Democrat who's going to stand up to George Bush."
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"I get frustrated when Governor Dean or others say, you know, those of us in Congress have been standing around not getting anything done for 25 years," said Rep. Dick Gephardt, the former House Democratic leader who is battling Dr. Dean in the Iowa caucuses. "I'm proud of what I've done."
Opponents acknowledge that a Dean presidential nomination would dramatically change the party. They just contend that it would mean oblivion, a return to the days when Democrats lost five of six presidential elections between 1968 and 1988. Back then, they were portrayed by Republicans as tax-raisers and weak on defense.
"It clearly shapes up as a battle for what direction the party is going to take," said Jano Cabrera, a spokesman for Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, generally considered the most conservative candidate in the Democratic race.
Dr. Dean's relationship with the party establishment is complex, though. He is backed by both of its major presidential contenders from 2000, Al Gore and Bill Bradley, and on Friday, he won an even more coveted endorsement: Sen. Tom Harkin, considered the godfather of the Iowa Democratic Party.
Dean aides said their dispute with congressional Democrats is not ideological. Instead, they are trying to expand the party by empowering people who haven't been involved in politics or couldn't tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
"It's a threat to the Washington establishment, to the candidates from Washington," said Dean adviser Steve McMahon. "They're trying to stop it and it's perfectly understandable. But they're not going to succeed."
'Experience counts'
The Dean-vs.-Democrats dispute is especially stark in Iowa, where the former Vermont governor is locked in a tight battle with Mr. Gephardt, the most experienced member of Congress running for president.
Mr. Gephardt, who first won his St. Louis district in 1976, says "experience counts," ranging from engagement in foreign policy to knowing how to move legislation through Congress.
Mr. Gephardt said he and other Democrats have blocked GOP attempts to relax environmental rules, approve private school voucher systems, and privatize Social Security.
"I'll have the most experience of any president since Lyndon Johnson, in being a leader in Congress and working with all the domestic and foreign issues that we have to deal with," he said.
Mr. Gephardt notes that Dr. Dean took the outsider mantra too far in comments four years ago that Iowa's kickoff caucuses were dominated by special interests. Dr. Dean said Thursday that he didn't understand the caucuses then and has grown to appreciate their importance.
The Dean forces like to call their movement a revolution, but it is not unprecedented. Presidential candidates often base their campaigns on trying to change the direction of their party.
Barry Goldwater pushed the Republican Party to the right in 1964; George McGovern moved the Democrats left in 1972. Both lost general elections in landslides.
The last two presidents have won by pushing their parties to the center. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton advocated balanced budgets, welfare reform and tougher law enforcement. Four years ago, George W. Bush campaigned as a compassionate conservative.
Some Iowans compare Dr. Dean to a previous little-known governor who built a national campaign: Jimmy Carter of Georgia, whose successful campaign in 1976 began with a win in the Iowa caucuses. Mr. Carter, Ronald Reagan, Mr. Clinton and George W. Bush – former governors all – ran against Washington-style politics to various degrees. Dean supporters seem to enjoy hearing that from their candidate.
"He's not part of the establishment," said Des Moines attorney Mary L. McGee. "He's not one of those, 'I've been in Congress so long, and blah, blah, blah ... ' "
Dr. Dean, meanwhile, says governors have had to make hard decisions about taxing and spending, giving them the executive experience necessary to be president.
"I balanced budgets," Dr. Dean said. "That's what governors do."
His anti-Washington stance hasn't succeeded with all voters, however, as some Democrats fear the direction Dr. Dean might take the party.
"I'm sorry that we knock people in government and Washington," said Eleanor Zimmerman, a retired bookkeeper from Des Moines who backs Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Others take offense
The other congressional candidates have taken similar offense to Dr. Dean's attacks.
Mr. Kerry, who has stressed his foreign policy experience, cited Dr. Dean's warning that his election would rock the Washington political establishment.
Given comments like that, Mr. Kerry questioned how Dr. Dean could "turn around and expect to lead in a responsible way."
Some critics see Dr. Dean walking away from the more moderate legacy of the Clinton administration. Mr. Lieberman, who may be Dr. Dean's harshest critic in this vein, flays him for saying Saddam Hussein's capture does not make the United States safer and that he would not "pre-judge" Osama bin Laden.Many of Mr. Lieberman's ideas echo those of the Democratic Leadership Council, the moderates who were early and outspoken critics of Dr. Dean.
The candidate recently called the council the party's "Republican wing." His aides mockingly say that DLC stands for the "Disappearing Lieberman Campaign."
Dr. Dean deflects credit – or blame – for transforming the party, saying that the new voters his campaign is drawing into politics are driving change."We want to add new people to the Democratic Party so that we can beat George Bush," Dr. Dean said. "It's the only way we can beat him."
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