So, James Carville says there's a move afoot by party bigs to oust Howard Dean as Chair. I'm sure he's right. Since Tuesday, boy, it's got to be grating on the insiders that Howard Dean's term as chair has been a rip-roaring success. Suddenly, the old fraternity of DC elite is losing its grip. That means a loss on their bottom line, as state parties get more money and hire more local consultants who understand the lay of the land in the real America , to run things in their parts.
But, either the Rajun one is smoking some of the finest crack DC has to offer, or he's trying to furiously stoke little metaphorical puffs of smoke to fool the chattering class in thinking there's a fire. Carville might be a little nutty, but I'm sure he's not suckin' on the glass pipe. So, I'll guess the latter is true. He's hoping if he keeps saying Dean is on his way out, maybe it will be a self fulfilling prophecy.
To quote Dana Carvey imitating George H.W. Bush, "Na Ga Happa!"
See, the party chair is voted on (or removed) by a vote of the 440 Members of the DNC. You can view a list of them here.
Who do you see very little of on this list? DC elites.
Most of the voting members are state officials. And guess what those state officials have seen a lot of since Howard Dean became chairman? That's right - bling bling and ching ching.
So, bet your gumbo that those officials aren't going to oust Howard Dean for the choice of the insiders, who would immediately cut the funding and staff that Dean's given them. Not in a million years. Howard Dean's strategy of funding state parties wasn't just smart politics, it created a firewall to protect him.
This is such a non-story, being fabricated by those who don't like an outsider getting credit. Shame on reputable outlets like the New Republic for even paying it a teenie bit of credence.