Howard Dean on building political talent in the Democratic Party.

Governor Dean addressed Prof. Roy Neel's class at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee in March of 2005. Sally Jenkins was impressed by what he said, and she wrote about in the Return of the Angry Man in the Washington Post last July.

Has it been that long since that great article came out? It was in the magazine section with a cover picture of Dean, and the words "Can you hear me now?"

One of his main concerns about the way the Democrats were picking and choosing so few states to concentrate on every 4 years...is that we are not building our future leaders. He addressed that in this event shortly after he became chairman.

Return of the Angry Man

"One of his stops was at Vanderbilt University, where he faced a standing-room-only class. For the next 45 minutes, Dean lectured, bantered and spoke like a candidate. ("I do not believe that you can run enormous deficits year after year after year and not have consequences. I do not believe you can run a foreign policy based on petulance.") But Dean was almost as critical of Democrats. The class evolved into his first lengthy public explication of his view of the party, and his "idears" for fixing it, as he pronounces the word. "It is socially unacceptable in some parts of the country to be a Democrat," he observed. "The first thing we have to do is show up in 50 states and compete in 50 states. Second thing we're going to do is talk in a way that is not condescending."

"The number one thing you can do is run for office."

[Class giggles]

"I'm absolutely serious. I am not kidding."

The class grew quiet. Here was Dean as a Johnny Appleseed, sowing civics in the young. While Democrats have conceded parts of the country considered hostile, Republicans have left no office untested, he pointed out. The result is that Dems have no farm system, no ability to find young political talent in red states and groom it.

Run, he urged the students. Run for county road commissioner. Run for city council. "If you don't have people running for offices like county commissioner, who do you think is going to run for Congress a generation from now?"

Dean has often referred to this policy of his as building the farm team. I have really noticed it here in our area. We have no one to run because no one has run for years. There is a dearth of possible candidates because no one dared. We did have one that dared, we gathered petitions, worked for him...DFA and DEC together. But the old guard Democrats stepped in with a candidate who was just like the GOP incumbent, had no stances no issues...and he lost. We can't have our candidate run again, as he moved from the area. Now there is no farm team. So I know what he means about having no young political talent.

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