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Howard Dean to Lead Democratic Voter Data Effort

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Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean “is set to return to prominence as head of a new operation that Democrats hope puts them back on par with Republicans in the never-ending race to use voter data to drive Americans to the polls,” the AP reports.

“Dean confirmed that he’s signed on to lead a planned data exchange hammered out by DNC officials, state party leaders and Democratic consultants. The agreement still requires the expected approval from state party leaders gathering Wednesday in Washington, but it would end more than 18 months of internal party wrangling that has dogged DNC Chairman Tom Perez amid fights over money and control.”

“The arrangement would allow the national party, state parties and independent political action groups on the left to share voter data in real time during campaigns.”

The First Viral Moment In Politics

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Mark Murray: “As another presidential election begins to take shape in this Internet Age, Saturday marks the 15th anniversary of Howard Dean’s famous ‘scream’ heard around the world, a moment that almost instantly became the butt of late-night jokes and the epitaph for his failed presidential campaign.”

“But it was also much more: the ‘scream’ was one of the very first viral moments in American politics and a forerunner of how politics is played today.”

“Coming just two weeks before Facebook was created, a year before there was a YouTube and two years before there was Twitter, it was arguably the first meme in politics, long before that term entered our vernacular.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

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“It’s a very tough race, and people aren’t nice about it. And I actually think that’s just fine. If you can’t get through it, then you shouldn’t do the job.”

— Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D), quoted by NPR, on the demands of a presidential campaign.

Quote of the Day

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“There has always been a section of the left, which I call the whiny party — the party that doesn’t really wanna win, they just wanna be pure, and if they go down swinging purely, then that’s fine.”

— Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean, quoted by The Hill.

Quote of the Day

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“Now we see overnight that there was a meeting between Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and a very — somebody close, very close to the FSB and Putin. So drip, drip, drip, drip. This is a criminal enterprise running this country right now.”

— Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean, quoted by The Hill.

Keith Ellison Offers to Quit Congress to Lead DNC

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New York Times: “As the gathering began, Howard Dean, a former committee chairman who had been Mr. Ellison’s most prominent rival, announced that he was withdrawing his bid. But before making that announcement via video recording, Mr. Dean argued that the committee must be “rebuilt from the ground up” and that only a full-time chairman could accomplish that task.”

“More than two hours later, as the forum came to a close, Mr. Ellison offered an unexpected response. He revealed that he was considering resigning his seat in Congress, in answer to those on the committee who want the next chairman to focus exclusively on remaking a party shut out of power in Washington and many state capitals.”

Howard Dean Will Run for DNC Chair

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Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) announced he will be run for Democratic National Committee chairman, Bloomberg reports.

Said Dean: “I don’t believe in going back, but the party’s in big trouble and I have the best record of any DNC holder I think in history.”

He said that the party “needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.”

Quote of the Day

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“People who stay up at 3 and 4 and 5 o’clock in the morning tweeting about sex tapes — these are not normal people. And there is something the matter with him and I don’t know what it is.”

— Former Gov. Howard Dean, quoted by The Hill, on Donald Trump’s middle-of-the night tweet storm.

Is Bernie Sanders Like Barack Obama, or Howard Dean?

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Los Angeles Times: “Targeting technologies pioneered by Obama’s campaign have made it possible for outsider candidates like Sanders to turn out Iowans who a decade ago might have showed up at a rally and then faded away before the caucuses. Now, computers can quickly link them up with a caucus coach who can walk them through the bewildering voting process and even make sure they have a ride on election night.”

“But ultimately, much of the work of sealing a commitment from voters happens through human contact. And to avoid the disappointment fellow Vermonter Howard Dean endured in the 2004 caucuses, when he failed to leverage similar insurgent momentum, the Sanders campaign has been rushing to build the infrastructure to capture enthusiasm and turn it into votes.”

Quote of the Day

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“People like Bernie are always attractive, as I was. They speak truth to power. The problem with candidates like that — and like me — is that as you get closer to election time, you’re more careful about how your vote’s going to be used. You’re going to tend to want to see somebody who you think looks presidential as the nominee of your party. That’s one of the things that sank me.”

— Howard Dean, in an interview with the Washington Post.

Dean Says Capitalism Is Failing

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Howard Dean “delivered a stinging critique of modern day capitalism, warning that the economic system is ‘going to fail’ unless substantial efforts are made to regulate the financial industry and reduce income inequality,” the New York Observer reports.

Said Dean: “Actually, capitalism works pretty well–until it doesn’t. Capitalism in this country is going to fail if there’s not a significant, substantial number of people who believe that capitalism works for them and people are beginning to doubt around the world and in this country whether capitalism works for them.”

Dean Gets Payback in Chicago

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Howard Dean endorsed Jesus “Chuy” Garcia over Rahm Emanuel for Chicago mayor, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

“Important back story: When Emanuel was the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he stuck it to Dean in 2006 – when Dean was the DNC chair. Emanuel wanted Dean to funnel millions of dollars to help House candidates. Emanuel taunted Dean’s ’50 State Strategy’ and a leaked story about how little Emanuel thought of Dean found its way into print.”

Howard Dean’s Advice for Candidates

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Howard Dean gave some good advice for this cycle’s presidential candidate recalling that his effort to evolve from populist insurgent to plausible president was “really hard,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Dean: “The hard part was that internally you get sucked into being adored by thousands of people who just hang on your every word and you’re trying to dial it back. I found myself reaching back for the fiery applause line that I knew I shouldn’t be doing because the crowd, it would just light ‘em up. That was fine in the room, but it wasn’t fine for the country, who wanted to vote for somebody who looked like a president.”

Dean noted that his inability “to maintain the control necessary to present himself as presidential material, along with a disorganized campaign and intramural squabbles, torpedoed his effort.”

Quote of the Day

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“No, I haven’t seen any discussion about the complete lack of message. I think they need to figure out what they stand for and then talk about it.”

— Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean, quoted by The Hill, on the Democratic losses in the 2014 midterm elections.

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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