Reply #16: The Pary Chair RAISES MONEY

[Hippo_Tron]

That's it, that's what he does, he goes around and shakes hands. Hell I wouldn't mind Terry McCauliffe again, he left the party with a surplus. I don't agree with him on a lot of issues but that doesn't matter, he's not running for public office. Everybody glorifies this position and blamed McCauliffe for the 2002 and 2004 losses. It's not his fault, ITS THE CANDIDATES' fault. It's Max Cleland's fault that he lost, it's Carahan's fault that she lost, it's Mondale's fault that he lost and to a lesser extent it's Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt's fault that they lost for not having a clear message, in particular one that is distinctly different from the Republican message. It's not the party chair's job to define the agenda. It's the party chair's job to promote the agenda as decided by the elected officials and to raise money to help that agenda.

That being said, Dean is a talented guy and has proven to be able to organize grassroots support that proved vital to the Kerry campaign, which is why I like him better than any of the others. But those who think that his becoming DNC chair is a way for him to further the agenda that he campaigned on in the democratic primary are sadly mistaken. As DNC chair he is required to promote the agenda that's decided by the elected leaders of the party.