Howard Dean is Running for Head of Dem Party

Thanks Aminah for bringing this to my attention!

From : Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.
Sent : Tuesday, January 11, 2005 1:08 PM
To : Aminah Yaquin
Subject : I'm Running

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Dear Aminah Yaquin,

As I have traveled across our country, I have talked to thousands of
people who are working for change in their own communities about the
power of politics to make a difference in their own lives and in the
lives of others. Every group I have spoken to, I encouraged them to
stand up for what they believe and to get involved in the electoral
process -- because the only sure way to make difference is to step
up and run for office yourself.

Today, I'm announcing my candidacy for the Chairmanship of the
Democratic National Committee.

The Democratic Party needs a vibrant, forward-thinking, long-term
presence in every single state and we must be willing to contest
every race at every level. We will only win when we show up and
fight for the issues important to all of us.

Another integral part of our strategy must be cultivating the
party's grassroots. Our long term success depends on all of us
taking an active role in our party and in the political process, by
volunteering, going door to door and taking the Democratic message
into every community, and by organizing at the local level. After
all, new ideas and new leaders don't come from consultants; they
come from communities.

As important as organization is, it alone can no longer win us
elections. Offering a new choice means making Democrats the party of
reform -- reforming America's financial situation, reforming our
electoral process, reforming health care, reforming education and
putting morality back in our foreign policy. The Democratic Party
will not win elections or build a lasting majority solely by
changing its rhetoric, nor will we win by adopting the other side's
positions. We must say what we mean -- and mean real change when we
say it.

But most of all, together, we have to rebuild the American
community. We will never succeed by treating our nation as a
collection of separate regions or separate groups. There are no red
states or blues states, only American states. And we must talk to
the people in all of these states as members of one community.

That word -- 'values' -- has lately become a codeword for
appeasement of the right-wing fringe. But when political
calculations make us soften our opposition to bigotry, or sign on to
policies that add to the burden of ordinary Americans, we have
abandoned our true values.

We cannot let that happen. And we cannot just mouth the words. Our
party must speak plainly and our agenda must clearly reflect the
socially progressive, fiscally responsible values that bring our
party -- and the vast majority of Americans -- together.

All of this will require both national perspective and local
experience. I know what it's like to lead hands-on at the state
level and I know what it's like to run for national office.

With your help, this past election season, Democracy for America,
already started creating the kind of organization the Democratic
Party can be. This past election cycle, we endorsed over 100
candidates at all levels of government -- from school board to U.S.
Senate. We contributed almost a million dollars to nearly 750
candidates around the country and raised millions of dollars for
many more candidates.

Together, we helped elect a Democratic governor in Montana, a
Democratic mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah and an African American
woman to the bench in Alabama. Fifteen of the candidates we endorsed
had never run for office before -- and won.

I also have experience building and managing a local party
organization. My career started as Democratic Party chair in
Chittenden County, Vermont. I then ran successful campaigns: for
state legislature, lieutenant governor and then governor. In my 11-
year tenure as governor, I balanced the state's budget every year.

I served as chair of both the National Governors' Association and
the Democratic Governors' Association (DGA). And as chair of the
DGA, I helped recruit nearly 20 governors that won -- even in states
like Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and
Mississippi.

All of these experiences have only reaffirmed what I know to be
true. There is only one party that speaks to the hopes and dreams of
all Americans. It is the party you have already given so much to. It
is the Democratic Party.

We can win elections only by standing up for what we believe.

Thank you and I look forward to listening to your concerns in the
weeks ahead.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.