Dean Allies: Obama Snubbed Him

The conspicuous absence of Howard Dean from Thursday's press conference announcing Tim Kaine's appointment as Democratic National Committee chair was no accident, according to Dean loyalists.

Rather, they say, it was a reflection of the lack of respect accorded to the outgoing party chairman by the Obama team.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[tbone99]

Despite leading the party in consecutive triumphant election cycles — as well as through off-year races such as when Kaine was elected Virginia governor in 2005 — Dean has become all but invisible since Election Day, passed over for the Cabinet position he coveted and apparently not in line for another administration post.

Indeed, when President-elect Barack Obama introduced Kaine at party headquarters Thursday afternoon, Dean was 7,023 miles and seven time zones away, closer to French Polynesia than to Washington, doing party grunt work in American Samoa.

“If he had been asked to go to that event, he would have been there,” Jim Dean, the chairman’s brother, noted twice in an interview.

Dean’s reward for the party recapturing the White House, House and Senate, as well as taking control of seven governor’s mansions and eight state legislatures on his watch?

Nothing.

This is SHAMEFUL. If Joe Lieberman who campaigned against Obama and Hilary can be shown respect and allowed plum positions . WHY NOT DEAN?

[NewDayDawn]

No idea why Obama would ignore Dean since he is POTUS because of Dean. It was Dean who scrw.ed Fla and Mich ... took away their votes to make sure HRC would NOT win ( which she would have) IF the votes would have been counted.

[blackjack]

I just have one thing to say to OBAMA and his BEST BUD EMMANUEL in Four(4)years DO NOT come asking FOR the DEAN people HELP. You have made your CHOICE.

[mmgbizgirl]

Yeah, that's how we'll fix America.

dribbling, pouting grown men having tantrums.

Pull your panties up and man up already!

Women all over are getting tired of whining men! Put your egos in check and FIX THIS COUNTRY!!!

DO IT!

[SharonWantsToTalk]

Kaine isn't half the man Dean is. Do you remember his wimpy reply to Bushes 2006 state of the union speech? I came away thinking this is NOT someone I want representing me. Kaine is fake. Dean is real. I'll take real with all its flaws over fake wimpy BS. Kaine has some big shoes to fill.

[disgusted48]

Dean in the cabinet would have been a nice change from all of the other retreads picked recently. Happy Obama won over McCain/Palin but how about some new people with new/different ideas on how to change this gov't for the better. Dean would have been a breath of fresh air. Daschle....not so much.

[lizr]

Agreed. Was hoping to stay high on Obama at least through the Inaug, but now it seems that is not possible, between Gaza, Warren, Dean and God knows what else.

Rahm is a real sticking point.

[yesivoteddem]

seems huffpost is trying to hide this story at the very bottom of its list.

wonder why...

[lizr]

dont know. it's on US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT today,

yesterday UPI- which I am told is now a moonie operation.

[Carolab]

USN&WR is owned by Mort Zuckerman who also owns the New York Daily News.

In their 2006 paper The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, John Mearsheimer, political science professor at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, academic dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, named Zuckerman as a member of the media wing of the "Israeli lobby" in the United States.Zuckerman replied: "I would just say this: The allegations of this disproportionate influence of the Jewish community reminds me of the 92-year-old man sued in a paternity suit. He said he was so proud, he pleaded guilty.

Read the Mearsheimer and Walt piece if you haven't already.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html

[Carolab]

US News is owned by Mort Zuckerman. Google him and read the Wiki entry. Also read

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html

[PKSSK]

THe following link was forwarded to me recently and explains so much of what is going on right now. It is a lenghty read, but worth the education it provides.

http://www.lbr.co.uk/v28/no6/mear01_.html

[PKSSK]

Try to post link again:

http://www­/lbr.co.uk­/v28/n06/m­ear01_.htm­l

[killmenow]

I would have appreciated a good explanation, but your links do not work.

[yesivoteddem]

The other interesting thing here is that Plouffe is staying out of both the White House and the DNC, so that he can continue and grow Obama's own political operation. What does that mean? Is this the development of a whole separate party machinery? And what does that say about the role of the DNC? Who gets the resources, when it comes right down to it?.

[lizr]

Good- maybe if O has separate money he can somehow be independent.

[yesivoteddem]

from who?

us?

[yesivoteddem]

_
Dean wanted to piggyback his 50 State Strategy on Obama's grassroots organization, and fell out of favor because he wanted to continue to empower state and local party organizations, while Obama wants to centralize power in his hands and use the Democratic Party for his own personal benefit and self-aggra­ndizement. Dean found out too late that Obama's organizational efforts were designed to advance only one thing -- Barack Obama's personal power.
_
So instead of genuine grass-roots organizing, and listening to what Democrats across the country have to say, we now have the astroturf of Change.gov, in which Obama sets the agenda for the grassroots, ignores their concerns when they conflict with his personal empowerment agenda, and co-opts grassroots concerns when they can be folded into the overall strategy of Obama self-aggra­ndizement.

[Brian Ross - Huffpost Blogger]

What a crock of...

Okay Deanies... You didn't get your moment in the sun. Boo hoo.

Do you think, as careful and inclusive as the Obama team has been, that if Howard Dean didn't have some stink of liability all over him, that he would not be included in this team? If you even look at the petty rantings of his brother, you see shades of Billy Carter all over the comments, and we've all seen what Dean can do when he's turned loose. The 50 state strategy was not his unique brainchild, but did show good leadership skills. Give him kudos for that. He could run Vermont, but he's about two screws shy of working a day job in the cabinet, or he would already be there.

[jeanruss]

What an ungrateful jerk you are. Howard Dean is an intelligent man with integrity. It is very upsetting to me that there is NO place in the Obama administration for an honest man. The appointments made so far are very scary. However I am not surprised that he will not support the people like me that Howard Dean has inspired. Howard Dean is the real deal, a true patriot, which any idiot could see. Obama won because he was the lesser of two evils. It's going to take alot to make him do the right thing. Dean would have been invaluable to supply the integrity that will be needed to pull off this miracle and save the country. Don't lecture those of us who were right about so many things, including what a disaster Bush would be and how the Iraq War was illegal. Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture makes me gag! He is Mr. Monsanto. Another corporate shill. Thanks Obama! Inspired choice there!

[yesivoteddem]

I dont think Obama cares one bit about the Party - its all about HIS success...

Yes, Dean may have drawbacks to be HHS Sec - but are they greater than the
gro-tesque personal story of who he chose?

Daschle after LOSING his senate seat became a corporate wh-ore - a lawyer / lob byist of the worst sort (you know the kind of animal the Obama camp PRETENDED to be all against) His wife is the ultimate in slea-ze - a influ ence peddling lob byist congressional spouse. Remember the first congressional act after 911? It was a multi billion buck giveaway to the airline industry...guess what ? She was the lobb-yist for the industry on that deal.

When he was majority leader - she was one of the highest paid lobb-yists in town.

Daschle is Obamas alter ego. Remember, his entire senate staff became Obamas senate staff. Hes the one who convinced Obama to run now - not later and promised to get him the big corp orate and wall street dough.

He being at HHS has nothing to do with Dean's "two scr-ews" - it has to do with Obama being two faced. The "change" guy he pretended to be in order to get the lib-progs to believe hed be better abd different than Hillary and the get along -corporate deal maker that he really, really is. (I suggest you look at what Harkin said yesterday about being "trickled on" by Obamas tax cuts for the weal-thy)

[ArchAngel]

Hey thanks for graciously making things so crystal clear.

Good luck with having successfully pushed your most powerful supporters out of the Democrat Party!

[lizr]

You are so off the wall I dont even know where to start.

You are disrespecting one of the best leaders our party has ever had.

CLearly you were not paying attention when Dean brought the Dem party out of the wilderness and consolidated the anti war movement, without which Bush adn the neocons would still be riding high.

It's amazing that someone who knows so little is in fact a blogger for h u f f p o.

Did you get a coupon out of a cereal box?

[Carolab]

Just because you are an "official Huffpost Blogger" does not give you any more credibility on this subject, you know.

Especially since your columns include remarks like the following:

"It is a shame that Jerry Springer is a Democrat. He would be perfect for a show that I want to pitch to Fox News."

I am a Deaniac from way back and you are full of it.

[joeinvt]

While I am a big fan of Howard Dean, I don't think he was entitled in any way way to a position in the Obama administration. I am disappointed that he will not be a part of the administration because I think he would offer a lot to Obama and to the country in a Cabinet level position AND he would represent the views of the Democratic wing of the Democratic party which has been missing so far in Obama's appointments. I do believe that Dean does deserve gratitude and respect for his role in rebuilding the party in spite of the efforts of Rahm Emanuel, James Carville, Robert Gibbs, and others to diminish his efforts and marginalize him as DNC head. He certainly does not deserve to be disrespected and publicly humiliated, which the failure to include him in Thursday's press conference exemplifies. It is hard to understand why his treatment has been so shabby.

On a related issue, Tom Daschle may a better pick than Dean to head up HHS, in spite of Daschle's less than stellar record as minority leader and his failure to get reelected to the Senate. But the argument that he is a better pick because of his years of experience in the Senate is absurd. By that standard, he should be President and Obama should be at HHS.

[greenjeans]

Everyone get their email from Obama introducing his DLC pal Tim Kaine as our new DNC Chair?

Obama invited us to ask Kaine our questions.

I asked Kaine that as Chair of the Southern Governors Association, a group a group that raises money from tobacco, oil, energy and pharmaceutical companies in exchange for access to governors and other state officials, would he be representing the Corporate Wing of the Democratic Party?

I can't believe in this change.

[Carolab]

Too bad you aren't capable of "big picture thinking" or you would see this is more about Dean and any "entitlements" he may or may not have.

[Carolab]

Correction: more THAN

[FearlessFreep]

Entitlement is only for people like Hillary Clinton.

[McChimp]

Wow 1000+ comments and this isn't even a Hillary or Blago thread...

[luvangelHussein330]

Judging by the comments once agiain prograsseives prove to be their own worst enemy. until his "brother" or some other "allie" comes out in public and makes a tament about this it is much like all the other basless rumors that were being floated round during the election season that turned out to be garbage.
So what your angry dean didn't get the position you wanted. i guess you only heard wht you wantd to hear becuase very early on Howard Dean made it quite clear that he did not want to have any role in Obama's admin to focus on the private sector, take it easy for a while. Hence the reason he has also steppeddown as DNC Chair. How soon we forget. Dean most recently out f his own mouth said the same thing on hardball. I guess Howard Dean saying for the longest time (since before Obama made a VP choice), over and over that he wants to take break from public life means Obama snubbed him....people will beilive what ever that want...see what ever they want...so go ahead with your pettitions and endless complaints...

[Cybersquirt]

"angry Dean".

Funny.

[McChimp]

Finally another sane voice in this thead full of leftwing l oons.

"What I want to do is get past the habit that sometimes occurs in Washington," he said, "[where what matters is] whose idea is it, what ideological corner does it come from. Just show me."

Instead of complaining how Obama is excluding progressives, these so called progressives should be sending the president elect their suggestions instead of complaining how "he's appeasing the right too much and snubbing us." I keep on saying how Obama didn't run to be President of the progressive movement and he ran to be President of the United States which is more than just progressives, but some just won't get it, it's like knocking my head against a brick wall with some of these folks. Eventually these progressives will end up marginalizing themselves just like the far right because they complain too much.

I'm so glad that both the far right and far left are complaining, it just shows how Obama isn't going to be beholden to either side and will be the centrist he ran as. I voted for a President who won't be a puppet of the far left or far right, so far looks like I'm getting it. These progressives need to take a chill pill and relax, we are all on the same side because we all voted for Obama and want the best for this country, and I am sure Dr. Howard Dean feels the same way.

[yesivoteddem]

this guy is a je rk

he taunted someone here yesterday in the most race baiting sexist language possible,,,

his kind of Obamamania is of the worse sort -

he also demands that there be no dissent in a very Bushie type way

people like him should be shunned

[lizr]

arent you the buy who kept telling everyone to shut up yesterday?

[Carolab]

From the person who can't accept that the electorate is "Center-Left" and that the country is decidedly progressive.

[yesivoteddem]

Li-es

Are you pretending that Dean didnt want HHS and would have said no if offered the position?

Puleeze... again look at Deans quote: Asked by CNN"s John King whether his becoming Sec of HHS is possible, the former governor of Vermont, who"s a physician, demurred, saying that choice:

" was UP TO PRESIDENT ELECT Barack OBAMA."

Well, yes it is...and it seems hes chosen corporate lawyer - lobbyist Daschle instead of Dean....and thats plain awful. Get it?

[lizr]

it is not that he DESERVED HHS- although we would have liked to see him have a role.

Its that he was so conspicuously DISSED by Obama and Rahm.

This does not bode well for any kind of Change I can Believe in.

[schatsie]

Well, I have a problem with Rahm. too cocky... and Dean can come on board at a later time, when Obama realizes he needs him to keep the left wing under control or supporting him...I do hope this is not personal between them because I think they are both wonderful intelligent and expert politicians. that is Obama and Dean...I am so proud of them both!

[yesivoteddem]

Obamas contempt for Dean predates Rahm

Remember that Obamas Communications Director and named WH press secretary Robert Gibbs goes way back with Dean

------

New Democratic Group Finances a Republican-like Attack on Dean

New York Times December 16, 2003

The spot opens with a Time magazine cover featuring O sama bin
-Laden as synthesizer music seemingly out of a post-apocalyptic science fiction movie is heard.

As the camera focuses on Mr. bin Laden's eyes. the following words flash on the screen:

''Dangerous World,'' ''Destroy Us,'' ''Dangers Ahead'' and ''No Experience.'' ''Americans want a president who can face the dangers ahead,'' an announcer intones.

''But Howard Dean has no military or foreign policy experience. And Howard Dean just cannot compete with George Bush on foreign policy. It's time for Democrats to think about that -- and think about it now.''

The advertisement amounts to a ''stop Dean'' campaign sponsored by the new Democratic group, Americans for Jobs, Health Care and Progressive Values....

Its spokesman, Robert Gibbs, recently resigned as the press secretary for Senator John Kerry. Mr. Gibbs emphasized in an interview that he left the Kerry campaign several weeks ago, after a staff shake-up. (which of course, he went directly to after de stroying Dean)

''Whoever is behind this should crawl out from underneath their rock and have the courage to say who they are,'' said Tricia Enright, spokeswoman for Dr. Dean

. ---

Obama hired Gibbs to be his comm dir when he came to DC.

[FearlessFreep]

Rahm Emmanuel reminds me a bit of Don Draper.

[keepacoolhead]

As it is impossible for us, the ordinary citizens to know what is going on, Obama deliberately snubbing Dean sounds unlike him.

But I, as an American am proud of Howard Dean's accomplishments and I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart for all the things he has done and will accomplish in the future. All the best to Howard Dean!!!

[lizr]

we love HD- that is why we supported O.

Given a choice bet the two...

that 's a choice I dont watn to have to make.

[Carolab]

Given a choice my choice is and always was Dean. But Dean always told us to support whoever the Democratic nominee would be, remember? Until Dean says otherwise or does something to move outside the party we are stuck here.

[lisa12345]

I second that. Dean did a great job for all of us.

[yesivoteddem]

Dean as gov passed health care reform and made it center to his Presidential run. He "interviewed " for HHS Sec and Obama instead gave it to a ex Senator insider corporate lawyer / lobbyist with a influence peddling millionaire corporate lobbyist wife.... and offered to Dean some words at a function he wasnt even invited to. Is that "change you can believe in"

[MissT]

You express my sentiments exactly. I do hope that O will find a place for HD in the future if he wants it. The FDA is in trouble. That would be as good as HHS.

[FearlessFreep]

"Obama deliberately snubbing Dean sounds unlike him." Maybe we're finally seeing his true face.

[Antifascist-08]

More garbage from POLITICO

[yesivoteddem]

sounding very Bush like - dont blame us - blame the media. I assumne it was Politico that didnt invite Dean? They kept him from HHS too - huh?

[mcole]

oh shat ap. is obama supposed to be giving people cabinet positions based on rewarding them for doing their jobs? or for supporting him?