Posted on 02/01/2005 9:43:32 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 - Howard Dean emerged Tuesday as the almost assured new leader of the Democratic National Committee, as one of his main rivals quit the race and Democrats streamed to announce their support of a man whose presidential campaign collapsed one year ago.
Dr. Dean's dominance was secured after Martin Frost, a former representative from Texas, whom many Democrats viewed as the institutional counterpart to Dr. Dean, dropped out after failing - in what had become an increasingly long-shot effort - to win support from national labor unions. The A.F.L.-C.I.O. announced instead that it would remain neutral, freeing its affiliate members to do what they wanted, which proved in many cases to be boarding the Dean train.
"It's a fait accompli, it's over: Dean's going to be it," said Gerald McEntee, head of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who runs the umbrella political organization for all the unions in the A.F.L.-C.I.O.
Actually, the final word rests with the 447 members of the Democratic National Committee, who will vote on Feb. 12 in Washington on a successor to Terry McAuliffe. And Dr. Dean faces a last obstacle, the candidacy of Donnie Fowler Jr., a Democratic operative from South Carolina.
Fowler aides said they hoped to benefit from the appearance of this as a two-man race with an opponent with a history of sometimes unorthodox political behavior. Still, they acknowledged that the possibility of a real competition was dimming.
There were few Democrats in Washington who doubted that Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, was on the verge of taking over the party, with the support of much, though certainly not all, of its establishment. Democrats marveled at how someone who had been viewed as a symbol of some of the excesses of the party - Mr. McEntee described Dr. Dean as "nuts" after he withdrew his endorsement of him in the middle of the presidential campaign - was now on the brink of becoming a face of the opposition to President Bush.
Democrats said Dr. Dean overcame the hurdles of his failed presidential candidacy by intensely courting Democratic leaders, assuring them that he was not the liberal and undisciplined caricature that many said they saw last year. He also freely made the kind of bread-and-butter promises that have always helped politicians win elections, promising to channel at least $11 million in national Democratic money to pay salaries at the state parties, Democratic officials said.
And Dr. Dean promised that he would bring to the Democratic National Committee the base of young and enthusiastic voters and the generous Internet contributors who helped power his high-flying, if short, campaign for president.
The overtures have been embraced by Democratic leaders, many still demoralized by the Republican election machine that managed to outdo what Democrats had viewed as Mr. McAuliffe's extraordinary success in building the party's organization and fund-raising.
Dr. Dean also benefited from a relatively weak field. Democrats uncomfortable with his candidacy have had trouble finding someone to rally around: Mr. Fowler, 37, is viewed as a youthful political operative who even his allies concede may not yet have the stature to lead the party.
As chairman, Dr. Dean would not only become one of the leading voices of the party, but would also be responsible for raising money and continuing Mr. McAuliffe's effort to build a party organization in preparation for the 2006 and 2008 elections. His prominence is likely to diminish as the party's presidential candidates for 2008 start to emerge.
Dr. Dean is moving to the forefront of Washington politics at a moment when the party, seen as lacking any obvious leaders in the wake of the November defeat of Tom Daschle, the Senate minority leader, has been struggling to define its case against Mr. Bush on the war in Iraq and on overhauling Social Security.
Dr. Dean has already shown that he may not be willing to be the traditional deferential party chairman, declaring, for example, that he would have opposed the nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales for attorney general and criticizing Senator Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader, for saying he would support Justice Antonin Scalia to be chief justice.
The two Democratic leaders in Congress did not back Dr. Dean and encouraged one of his rivals, Tim Roemer, a former congressman from Indiana, and there were signs that they were not rushing to cede the stage to him.
"I think that Governor Dean would take his lead from us," said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader.
And Mr. Reid said: "The Democratic chairman has a constituency of 447 people. Our constituency is much larger than that."
Republicans, who had already been portraying the Democrats as obstructionist and extreme, seemed somewhere between being delighted and amused to have Dr. Dean to kick around again, instantly invoking a defining moment in his career.
"After 10 years, you wonder if Democrats are running out of ways to say no," said Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader. "But then again, if they make Howard Dean the party chairman, I guess you could scream it."
Richard Bond, the former head of the Republican National Committee, said: "He's a very capable guy, he's got high energy, but he will reinforce all of their worst instincts. His style and message is one that will narrow his party's options rather than expand them."
"I think it's a scream," Mr. Bond said.
Mr. Frost was one of two Democrats to drop out from the race on Tuesday. David Leland, a former Ohio party chairman, who had drawn minimal support for his bid, also quit, and endorsed Dr. Dean.
Mr. Frost did not make a public endorsement, though he left little doubt of how he saw the race settling. "The challenge ahead for Governor Dean will be to unite the party, rebuild the D.N.C. and win elections in every region of the country," he said.
In addition to Mr. Fowler, the remaining candidates are Mr. Roemer and Simon Rosenberg, the head of the moderate New Democrat Network . Both Mr. Roemer and Mr. Rosenberg said they would stay in the race, though their prospects appeared remote.
Several Democrats said that only Mr. Fowler appeared to have any chance of raising an anti-Dean flag, and that his hopes for doing that were contingent on Mr. Roemer and Mr. Rosenberg stepping aside.
Dr. Dean announced the support of 53 new committee members, bringing his total vote count to 103 public commitments, his campaign said. He won the formal endorsement of the Service Employees International Union, said Anna Burger, its secretary-treasurer. Among the committee members supporting him are Edward J. McElroy, the president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Mr. McEntee of the public employees union said he would probably support Dr. Dean as well. He said Mr. Fowler and his father, Don Fowler, a former D.N.C. chairman, had telephoned him Tuesday to urge him not to view Dr. Dean's election as inevitable. Mr. McEntee said he advised Mr. Fowler to quit the race.
Although some union leaders had been wary of supporting Dr. Dean, they have come to view his stewardship of the party as inevitable. Even Guillermo Meneses, a spokesman for Mr. Rosenberg, reflected a similar attitude, although he said his candidate would stay in the race.
"We are assessing the situation, with a dose of realism," he said.
Carl Hulse contributed reporting for this article.
Dean could well be Hillary's Trojan horse.
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