Who wants the DNC?
Way back in the Summer and Fall of 2003, when we were flying high with Dean and the Netroots, there was one guy in DC that figured out what was going on, and took a lot of shit for trying to parlay that understanding to the DC Democratic Party establishment. That was Simon. I have an easier solution. Why don't we just call the NDN the new DNC?Gadflyer.com has an email from ex-Gore speechwriter Kenneth Baer that reads, "I worked for [DNC chair] Terry McAuliffe in 2001-2002, and while the man has its shortcomings, I was never one of those who called for his head every time the Donkey staggered and stumbled. ... But the DNC needs a different kind of leader for the next four years. I know dailykos and others in the progressive blogosphere think otherwise, but there is still plenty that's useful in the party apparatus. Nevertheless, the party as institution must change. It must become more entrepreneurial. It must adopt, embrace and devise new tools. It must recognize the power of the Dean/netroots phenomenon while understanding its limitations. I see one individual who is both vested in the Democratic Party and who understands the ways in which it has atrophied. Simon Rosenberg of the New Democrat Network has the strong establishment credentials still required to run the party. But he also recognizes that more than a little fine-tuning is needed. He understands the imperative of building a new message infrastructure to rival the Murdoch/Scaife/Drudge axis of evil on the right." Baer continues: "Rosenberg also gets the importance of the Latino vote. He has been willing to challenge his New Democrat brethren at the DLC, whose jihad against Howard Dean was not only nasty and counterproductive, but also suggested their own flirtation with irrelevance." More: "I do not know Simon, though I do -- full disclosure -- have friends in his employ (who, it should be noted, have not pitched this idea to me). Simon Rosenberg strikes me as the one person who can toss out the bathwater while saving the baby. More than saving the baby, he can help nurture it to vigorous adulthood" (NJ Hotline).
