Takeover of The Heart

Lost in the Shuffle of THE CAPTURE was this interesting piece from Sunday's WaPo by Everett Erlich. I don't agree with all of it, but the basic premise is that the economy of cheap information via the internet is changing politics for good -- a fact that we know all too well. But get this:

For all Dean's talk about wanting to represent the truly "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," the paradox is that he is essentially a third-party candidate using modern technology to achieve a takeover of the Democratic Party. Other candidates -- John Kerry, John Edwards, Wesley Clark -- are competing to take control of the party's fundraising, organizational and media operations. But Dean is not interested in taking control of those depreciating assets.

Okay, here he is at best half right. Dean has been a Democrat forever, it's not as if he just joined! Perhaps he is running as a reformer from beyond the beltway, but most Governors that become nominees do just that -- typically, the only candidates that get the nod otherwise are Veeps, former Veeps or Presidents. Nor would it be the first time that a little-known reformer took over the structures of a political party. Teddy Roosevelt comes to mind, as does Jimmy Carter. Neither had cheap information economies, and both became President.

He is creating his own party, his own lists, his own money, his own organization. What he wants are the Democratic brand name and legacy, the party's last remaining assets of value, as part of his marketing strategy. Perhaps that's why former vice president Al Gore's endorsement of Dean last week felt so strange -- less like the traditional benediction of a fellow member of the party "club" than a senior executive welcoming the successful leveraged buyout specialist. And if Dean can do it this time around, so can others in future campaigns.

Now, this is a good read and all, but if that's true, why were two of the biggest events in the campaign getting SEIU and AFCSME and the Gore endorsement? Mind you, Dean's outsider status is what got us where we are -- but getting the big guns of the party are resources one can't toss aside as lightly as Erlich.

But here is where he is correct: many of the assets of the Democratic Party were rapidly depreciating, and Dean is bringing valuable organizationl assets of his own to the table. However, Dean is not doing a "takeover" of the Party, any more than he is he "leading it into the wilderness" or trying to "destroy" it. This is his party and he loves this party -- what he's attempting to do is save the party, and it seems to me that he's doing a damn good job. Read the rest of the article, though, as it has some interesting thoughts on other matters besides Dean.