Why did Obama dump Howard Dean from the DNC in 2009?

[Mr.Phips]

That is a question that I am surprised more people dont ask.  Howard Dean was responsible for the 50-state strategy that won Democrats elections all over the country in 2006 and 2008.  Obama then replaced him with party hack Tim Kaine who stopped making the DNC about winning elections all over the country and made the DNC simply about Obama. 

Why didnt national Democrats protest this move?

[Svensson]

I'm fairly certain Obama dumped him because Dean had the absolute gall to disagree with him on something. Granted, I heard it a long time ago - back when it happened, in fact - but that's the closest to an explanation I can think of.

[I'm JewCon in name only.]

As much as I don't agree w/ any of Howard Dean's politics, I've always respected him. It was really dumb for Obama to remove him as Chair.

[Beet]

Obama is the Apple Computer of the Democratic party. He has a small, small circle of very loyal followers, that must have a monopoly on everything. Things such as having 'two headquarters' don't sit well. Remember the 2008 campaign, when MoveOn.org and all these progressive 527 groups were ready to go all out war on Obama's behalf? And he basically sent the word out to the richies, 'don't give to those people, centralize everything within my campaign.' And so it was. Things like the '50 state strategy' don't strike me as something Obama would get behind. First of all, he doesn't own it. Second of all, it's too genuinely idealistic. Did you see Obama campaigning in 50 states in the GE? Do you see him visting Arkansas to give speeches? He only visits swing states, bros. The crazy thing is, Dean pulled out all the stops for Obama during his primary battle with HRC.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

[Oakvale]

Are Deaniacs the Paultards of the Democratic Party?

[The Mikado]

Rahm Emanuel hates Howard Dean.  Rahm Emanuel was the most powerful person in the Obama Administration.  Howard Dean got axed.  Not that complicated.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Howard Dean did great things for the Democratic party.

[Mr.Phips]

Obama is the Apple Computer of the Democratic party. He has a small, small circle of very loyal followers, that must have a monopoly on everything. Things such as having 'two headquarters' don't sit well. Remember the 2008 campaign, when MoveOn.org and all these progressive 527 groups were ready to go all out war on Obama's behalf? And he basically sent the word out to the richies, 'don't give to those people, centralize everything within my campaign.' And so it was. Things like the '50 state strategy' don't strike me as something Obama would get behind. First of all, he doesn't own it. Second of all, it's too genuinely idealistic. Did you see Obama campaigning in 50 states in the GE? Do you see him visting Arkansas to give speeches? He only visits swing states, bros. The crazy thing is, Dean pulled out all the stops for Obama during his primary battle with HRC.

And how did that work out for Democrats?  Since Obama's election, Democrats have lost RECORD amounts of seats and offices at every level. 

Does Obama not care about the Democratic party?

[Mechaman]

That is a question that I am surprised more people dont ask.  Howard Dean was responsible for the 50-state strategy that won Democrats elections all over the country in 2006 and 2008.  Obama then replaced him with party hack Tim Kaine who stopped making the DNC about winning elections all over the country and made the DNC simply about Obama.  

Why didnt national Democrats protest this move?

Because the Democratic Party is allergic to success.

I mean really what else can you say about what happened in November 2010?  The only positive the Democrats could say about that is "we lost less Senate seats than we thought we would" when just a year before everybody and their grandmother was assuming that the Democrats would enter New Deal Era 2.0.

[Vermin Supreme]

Are Deaniacs the Paultards of the Democratic Party?

No, that would be the Obamabots.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Because Rahm hates competition. Especially is the competition's ideas proved to be more successful than his own.

You can say what you want about Dean, but I doubt Obama would even become President without using his 50 states strategy.

[Mechaman]

Because Rahm hates competition. Especially is the competition's ideas proved to be more successful than his own.

You can say what you want about Dean, but I doubt Obama would even become President without using his 50 states strategy.

I totally agree.

Howard Dean, despite his reputation as a supposed left wing crazy fringe politician, was actually the greatest Democratic strategist in at least the past two decades.  I mean under his leadership the DNC changed the image of the Democratic Party from that of latte liberal American hating elitists to a sort of folk hero anti-establishment populist party.

And then someone else took over.
Results since then have been promising..........if you're a Republican.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Are Deaniacs the Paultards of the Democratic Party?

No, that would be the Obamabots.

No, Obama actually had a chance.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I believe DNC chairs are informally term-limited.

[anvi]

I too think Howard Dean did a fantastic job as DNC chair, and his 50-state strategy push was a necessary corrective to the boneheaded and arrogant "metro vs. retro" electoral strategy the Democrats had been using up to that point.  I supported him in the '04 nomination battle, so I'm a big enough fan of his.

But I'm a little puzzled about the suggestion that seems to be made here that dumping Dean somehow hurt the Obama campaign in '08, or even more dramatically, caused the Democratic meltdown on '10.  

As for the '08 race, I think Obama may have been concerned about how easy it would have been for his opposition to peg him as a far-lefty if he put organizations like Move-on in the driver's seat of the campaign.  Remember that the polls against McCain were very tight all the way through August and September, and Obama had to worry about carrying independents.  

As far as the 2010 losses are concerned, I tend to think the Dems would have taken that thumping no matter who was DNC chair.  The Democrats pushed a stimulus package, a financial regulation bill and a health care overhaul that were bound to be controversial, especially in the throes of a recession, and when the recovery stalled, those pieces of legislation, and the way the last one was finally passed, became easy political targets for the opposition.  Plus, the far-right mobilized with great effect to demonize Obama right out of the gate.  The Democrats did a poor job of defending their legislative accomplishments and Obama because....because they're Democrats, and eating their own young is a much more beloved hobby among them than beating the opposition.  The Move-on crowd, instead of defending the party's accomplishments in those two years, ran primary challenges against their own party's moderates who had ended up supporting the health care bill just because it lacked a public option.  This was wise?  This makes it Obama's and Emmanuel's fault that the midterms were a blowout?  Dean wouldn't have been able to salvage their chances in 2010; he couldn't even salvage his own presidential campaign after an innocent yelp to young supporters after losing Iowa.

[You kip if you want to...]

Without the 50-state strategy, NC and IN would've been off the table and VA and CO would've been a struggle. The GOP would've probably held the senate in 2006 as well.

Dean was a brilliant chair.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Howard Dean was (and is) an idiot who's importance, intelligence and impact is greatly overrated on this forum because most posters here share the same selection of vapid liberal clichés passing for political belief as him.

[Oakvale]

I might not go as far as Al did, but, yeah, I've never understood the adoration some people have for Howard Dean.

[tpfkaw]

I will say that Howard Dean's removal of gun control from the Democratic platform is one of the smarter political moves in a long time.

[Napoleon]

Howard Dean saved the Democratic Party. Show respect.

[Oakvale]

Howard Dean saved the Democratic Party. Show respect.

Post Deleted for Excessive Hyperbole with 10 (out of 10) infraction points

[Napoleon]

Obama put a right winger in charge and we ended up losing 63 House seats and 6 Senate seats.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Obama put a right winger in charge and we ended up losing 63 House seats and 6 Senate seats.

Oh come now. Howard Dean could hardly have averted the landslides of 2010.
At best we would have halved our losses.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Obama put a right winger in charge and we ended up losing 63 House seats and 6 Senate seats.

Oh come now. Howard Dean could hardly have averted the landslides of 2010.
At best we would have halved our losses.

Halving our losses in 2010 is the difference between Speaker Boehner and Speaker Pelosi.