WASHINGTON – New national Democratic Chairman Howard Dean promised Saturday to rebuild the party in the most conservative regions of the country, help develop state and local organizations and let congressional Democrats set the tone on policy.
Electing Dean on a voice vote during their winter meeting, Democrats put the party’s leadership in the hands of the skilled fund-raiser and organizer whose sometimes caustic, blunt comments can lead to controversy. The physician now must contend with a state-by-state political map in which Republican red overwhelms Democratic blue.
“I’ll pretty much be living in red states in the South and West for quite a while,” Dean told reporters. “The way to get people not to be skeptical about you is to show up and say what you think.”