Excessive hand wringing has accompanied the two "controversial" statements made by Howard Dean this last week.
Let's review what those statements were:
- Dean asked himself a question about wo can afford to spend eight hours in line waiting to vote and then followed with "Well, Republicans, I guess, can do that because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."
- Yesterday, Dean declared that the Republicans are "pretty much a white, Christian party".
This is horrible, right? Wrong.
Dean accomplishes a few goals here:
- He knocks the Republicans off message by forcing them to react to his attacks. Better yet, these "attacks" are just slightly hyperbolized truths. Are the Republicans going to deny they're white and Christian. Let's get Denny Hastert on camera and have him deny he's white.
- Dean uses hyperbole to divorce Republican voters from the Republican Party. "Hey, I work for a living and I'm not a whacko. Maybe I'm not so well represented as part of a country club political party."
Those who are most offended by the remark are not people who would vote for a Democrat even if it were an election pairing Jesus (D-Galilee) vs. Satan (R-Crawford). Of course there are gay and black and Latino Republicans, and of course many who have voted Republican work for a living, but the hyperbole reinforces the notion that they just might be the chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.
- Dean gives red meat to the base. YEEEAARRRRRGH! (well, I like it). It's nice to see a leader with a spine. And it's nice for the public at large to see straight talker. If your base loses interest in your party because they've been taken for granted for so long you will start losing votes to apathy and fringe parties. Dean is calling progressives home with these seemingly inflammatory remarks.
- Dean's remarks give the Dems in right leaning areas someone to contrast themselves with. It's not exactly a Sister Souljah moment, but it will be useful.
- Dean's remarks get Dems in the press without the words filibuster, opposed, obstructionist, or any other Corporate Media favorites.
- Dean takes the heat off the leadership and lets Pelosi and Reid et al get some work done without being attacked constantly. A lighting rod not only attracts lighting, it protects your House (and Senate, in this case).
I guarantee you Dean knows what he's doing. Let Howard be Howard. He's pulling in record donations for the Dems and he's getting the word out while building a 50 state party again. You'll see the payoff in 2006 and 2008.