Harry Reid

Reid: GOP Is Bringing U.S. To The Brink Of Default Disaster

Susan Crabtree | July 5, 2011, 4:13PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

After canceling the usual Senate July 4th recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) warned the country that Republicans are forcing the country to the brink of a default disaster by walking away from the negotiating table in deficit-ceiling talks.

Fresh from celebrating the nation's 235th birthday, Reid reminded citizens of the country's the major accomplishments over the years -- landing on the moon, medical advancements, fighting for democracy and freedom around the world. And he urged Congress not to make history of a different kind in the next few weeks by failing to raise the debt ceiling by a deadline of Aug. 2.

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DNC

New DNC Chair Showers Howard Dean With Praise, Says She'll Ask Him For Ideas

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 17, 2011, 12:54PM

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)

MINNEAPOLIS -- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who was named chair of the Democratic National Committee in April, praised Howard Dean for his tenure leading the party and told progressives gathered here at Netroots Nation on Friday that she intends to turn to him for ideas.

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Howard Dean

Howard Dean's Koch Brothers 'Freudian Slip' (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 17, 2011, 9:41AM

MINNEAPOLIS -- Howard Dean gave a classic Netroots Nation keynote here last night, hitting all the buttons with the crowd of progressive activists and bloggers gathered here for their annual conference.

One of the most Netroots-friendly buttons he hit accidentally. Or so he told the crowd. While launching into an attack on the right and the conservative funders/progressive bogeymen known as the Koch Brothers, Dean first pronounced their name more like a famous part of ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner's anatomy than the classic cola.

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Netroots Nation

Howard Dean: I'd Get A Congressional Authorization On Libya War

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 16, 2011, 5:26PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean

MINNEAPOLIS -- Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential candidate who helped spark the Netroots Nation conference being held here, told TPM that he would not continue the war in Libya without congressional authorization the way President Obama has.

But he declined to criticize Obama over his choice to continue the fighting without asking Congress to weigh in.

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Government Shutdown

Howard Dean: 'Quietly Rooting' For Gov't Shutdown (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 29, 2011, 2:19PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Howard Dean says he'd be "quietly rooting for" a government shutdown if he still had his old job as leader of the Democratic Party.

"If I was head of DNC, I would be quietly rooting for it," Dean told an audience hosted by National Journal in Washington this morning. "I know who's going to get blamed - we've been down this road before."

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Gingrich: Jon Huntsman Is Running, And He's Gonna Be The Real Deal

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 2, 2011, 10:20AM

Jon Huntsman

Newt Gingrich was coy about his own presidential intentions at a debate with Howard Dean on the campus of George Washington University last night. But he was quick to weigh in on the intentions of a potential rival in the fields of Iowa and hills of New Hampshire. Ambassador Jon Huntsman is "probably" running for president, Gingrich told TPM after the debate. And he's going to be a "very formidable" opponent to anyone who's trying to take on Obama next year.

"He'd certainly be a great addition for the Republican Party," Gingrich said. "He's very intelligent."

But the former House Speaker declined to weigh in on whether or not Hunstman's moderate past as governor of Utah and position in the Obama administration would cost him with a Republican primary electorate.

"He's a very smart man, we'll have to wait and see," Gingrich said. "That's what campaigns are for."

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Howard Dean

Newt Gingrich: We Are Losing The War On Terror

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 2, 2011, 9:20AM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential challenger to President Obama in 2012, took some decidedly outside-the-GOP-mainstream positions during a often scrappy debate with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean Tuesday night. The architect of the 1994 Contract With America voiced his support for a pathway to legal status for some illegal immigrants, praised the way things are done in a Western European democracy -- and said that, after 10 long years, the United States is losing the War on Terror.

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Progressives

Howard Dean: The 'State Of The Progressive Movement' Is Strong

Evan McMorris-Santoro | January 20, 2011, 5:25PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

Republicans may be enjoying their ascendancy and critics may be suggesting the President Obama is tilting to the right along with them, but former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean says the "the State of the Progressive Movement is strong."

In a long letter sent to members of Democracy For America -- the progressive group that operates out of Dean's 2004 presidential headquarters in Vermont -- Dean opines on the state of the left after a year that saw many setbacks for progressives, from the death of the public option to the Republicans' November electoral sweep.

"The next few years aren't going to be easy either," Dean writes. "It's going to be a fight to stop right-wing Republicans from rolling back progress and forcing gridlock in Congress."

Despite the progressive critics of Obama, Dean makes it clear that he's fully behind Obama -- and that Obama's cause is a progressive one.

"We'll need to work harder than ever to accomplish real change and reelect President Obama in 2012," Dean writes. "But we've never been afraid of hard work."

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Howard Dean

Howard Dean Says Bill Daley Would Be 'Huge Plus' For Obama, Criticizes Outgoing Staff

Jillian Rayfield | January 5, 2011, 11:30AM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Howard Dean weighed in today on the rumors that President Obama is considering former Commerce Secretary William Daley to be his new chief of staff, saying Daley's appointment would be a "huge plus" for Obama, since he is someone "who knows Washington, but he also is not of Washington."

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2012 elections

Poll: Obama Way Ahead In Hypothetical 2012 NH Primary Matchups

Jon Terbush | December 17, 2010, 10:08AM

President Barack Obama

Despite the recent chatter that Obama could face a primary challenge in 2012, a new poll of New Hampshire Democrats finds that those concerns are probably overblown.

The poll, conducted by Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies, matched Obama against three Democrats - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) None of the races were even close.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they would vote for Obama if Clinton were to challenge him, while just 28% said they'd support Clinton. Against Dean, Obama held a staggering 68% lead, with 78% of respondents supporting him in that scenario versus 10% who supported Dean. With Sanders as a challenger, the gap was even larger, with Obama on top 79% to 8%.

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Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | December 10, 2010, 5:29PM

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Israeli Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, former DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA).

• Fox News Sunday: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

• NBC, Meet The Press: New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I).

Howard Dean

Olbermann Pushes Dean On Cordoba House Stance (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 20, 2010, 10:54AM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean appeared last night on Countdown, to defend his remarks that the Muslim community center project near Ground Zero in New York should be moved to a different location. During the interview, Dean called for a dialogue between 9/11 families and the center's organizers -- and insisted that he was not associating himself in any way with the outspoken opponents on the right such as Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.

Keith Olbermann mentioned during his introduction of Dean that Arshad Hasan, the head of the Dean-founded liberal political group Democracy For America, has criticized Democrats -- without directly mentioning Dean -- who have sought to compromise with an "implacable opposition." And Olbermann put tough questions to Dean, such as asking what compromise he can imagine people like Gingrich and Palin would accept.

"Yes, I don't think the Sarah Palins and Newt Gingriches have any interest. They're clearly exploiting this for whatever political gain they think they can get out of it," said Dean. "But I think there are some people of good will, perhaps, including some of the families of the victims that we might actually sit down around a table with. This is a tough issue I think some of my own folks on my end of the spectrum of the party are demonizing some fairly decent people who are opposed to this. And, again, in no way am I defending, you know, the right wing of the Republican Party.

"But there are 65 percent of the people in this country are not right-wing bigots. Some of them really have deep emotional feelings about this. And I think we at least ought to respectfully hear them and sit down with Muslim-Americans and with some of the people that object to this, and have a thoughtful, reasonable dialogue and see what comes out of it. And in order for it to be a fair, thoughtful and reasonable dialogue, you have to be willing to move."

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Howard Dean

Howard Dean Says Cordoba House Should Be Built Somewhere Else (AUDIO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 18, 2010, 6:36PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Another very prominent Democrat now says the planned Cordoba House Muslim community center in New York City should be moved away from the vicinity of Ground Zero: Former Democratic National Committee chairman and ex-presidential candidate Howard Dean.

"I've gotta believe there has to be a compromise here," Dean said during a radio interview. "This isn't about the right of Muslims to have a worship center, or Jews or Christians or anybody else to have a place to worship, or any place around Ground Zero. This is something we ought to be able to work out with people of good faith. And we have to understand that it is a real affront to people who've lost their lives -- including Muslims. That site doesn't belong to any particular religion, it belongs to all Americans and all faiths. So I think a good, reasonable compromise could be worked out, without violating the principle that people ought to be able to worship as they see fit."

Dean said that after having met so many objections, the center should be moved somewhere else, but that this should be done with the cooperation of its organizers. He also said: "I think it's great to have mosques in American cities. There's a growing number of American Muslims. I think most of those Muslims are moderate. I hope that they'll have an influence on Islam throughout the world, because Islam is really back in the 12th century in some of these countries like Iran and Afghanistan where they're stoning people to death. And that can be fixed. And the way it's fixed is not by pushing Muslims away, it's by embracing them and have them become just like every other American -- Americans who happen to be Muslims."

Perhaps Dean is right, and the Muslim center could be moved to South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arizona, North Dakota, or New Mexico. Or it could go to California or Texas, or somewhere else in New York. Or perhaps it could go to South Dakota, or Oregon, or Washington or Michigan -- or even to Washington, D.C. Yeah.

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2010 elections

Howard Dean Tells TPMDC: 'Big Night' For Progressives

Christina Bellantoni | May 19, 2010, 2:30AM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said in an interview that Tuesday's elections look like a "pretty big sweep" for progressives. "They are having a big night," he said.

"My belief is that progressive Dems are a lot more appealing to mainstream voters than tea party advocates," Dean told me in an interview just after Rep. Joe Sestak was declared the winner over Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.

"This is a big night for people who really want Washington to be a change agent," Dean said, adding the results show a "backlash" against both parties in official Washington. Dean, also former governor of Vermont and a 2004 presidential candidate, said he views Jack Conway as the progressive choice in Kentucky and said Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's forcing of a runoff in Arkansas proves that candidates on the left can prevail.

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FL-SEN

Howard Dean Fundraising Letter: I Support Meek, Not Crist

Eric Kleefeld | April 30, 2010, 12:41PM

DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL)

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean is putting the kibosh on speculation that he might be supporting Republican-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist in the Florida Senate race. In a new fundraising letter sent out by Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek's Senate campaign, Dean makes it clear who he is for.

"You may have heard a ridiculous - and completely false - rumor that I'm backing Charlie Crist," Dean writes. "No way, no how. I am supporting just one candidate in the Florida Senate race: Kendrick Meek. The announcement yesterday that Crist is abandoning the Republican Party to run as an independent is a game-changer. Crist and Marco Rubio will now fight over the same pool of Republican voters, giving us a real path to victory."

This rumor briefly spread two days ago. National Review linked to a local paid-subscriber site in Florida, which reported that Dean said he would send Crist a check. A Dean aide quickly e-mailed National Review, alleging that this report originated from somebody overhearing Dean making a joke to Joe Scarborough in a private conversation.

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2010 elections

Howard Dean Pens Fundraising E-mail For Alan Grayson

Eric Kleefeld | March 25, 2010, 12:09PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), who is known for his fiery and comedic attacks on the Republicans, is getting some help in his re-election from former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who has written a fundraising letter for the self-proclaimed "Congressman with guts."

"Congressman Alan Grayson is a healthcare hero," Dean says, going on to explain that Grayson focused the health debate by "going on offense" against the GOP.

"He exposed the Republican healthcare plan as Don't Get Sick, and if you do, Die Quickly. Grayson changed the debate and put the Republicans on the defensive right before the first House vote in November. He's never been afraid to call Republicans out on their obstructionism and he isn't going to start now," Dean writes. "Alan Grayson is standing up for us. Now, we need to stand up for him."

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Health Care

Dean Softens On Senate Health Care Bill: If The GOP Hates It, It Can't Be So Bad

Brian Beutler | December 23, 2009, 12:52PM

Governor Howard Dean raised the ire of the White House and Democratic leaders last week when he publicly denounced the Senate health care bill, and urged liberal members to kill it. Dean's influence with progressive reformers goes without saying, so members weren't shy about dismissing his proclamation.

But he seems to have changed his tune.

Here he is on the Rachel Maddow show last night.

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Health Care

VIDEO: Howard Dean Says 'This Is Not Real Reform'

Christina Bellantoni | December 16, 2009, 9:20AM

Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean sounds off on the health care bill on MSNBC's Keith Olbermann show last night.

"They're not thinking about what they are doing here," Dean says, calling the negotiations a "real disappointment."

He said "to make Joe the issue" is a mistake, though he told TPMDC last month that Sen. Joe Lieberman and others have a "moral obligation" to vote with the caucus on procedural issues.

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Health Care

Who Likes The Public Option Deal, Who Doesn't, And Will It Win 60 Votes For Health Care

Brian Beutler | December 9, 2009, 1:45PM

Democratic Senators Harry Reid, Chris Dodd and Tom Harkin

The Senate was remarkably quiet this morning, less than a day after Democratic leaders and health care negotiators announced a tentative deal to swap out the public option in health care legislation for a menu of other measures. But slowly, members have begun making their positions known.

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Health Care

Dean: Lieberman, Others Have 'Moral Obligation' To Block Filibuster

Christina Bellantoni | November 3, 2009, 11:59AM

Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean told TPMDC he supports groups like MoveOn targeting his fellow Democrats on health care because they have a "moral obligation" to stand with Senate leadership on procedural votes.

"There is no moral obligation to support the leadership on an issue," Dean told TPMDC in a wide-ranging interview this morning.

"But you have a moral obligation to help the leader run the senate the way he thinks it needs to be run. What these liberal groups are doing is fine," he said.

Dean called out Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and said caucusing with a party and benefiting from committee assignments as a member of the party is dependent on supporting the party leadership.

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Health Care

Clash Of Titans: Rove, Dean Debate Health Care At Penn State

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 28, 2009, 11:28AM

Frmr, Sr. Advisor/Deputy Chief of Staff to Pres. George W. Bush Karl Rove and DNC Chairman Howard Dean (D-VT)

It may not have been held in an octagon, but a debate last night at Penn State between Karl Rove and Howard Dean was still a rhetorical brawl, according to reports. The pair clashed over the basic battle lines of the reform debate, with Dean arguing that a public option is "imperative" for reform's success, and Rove claiming the entire Democratic reform model is sure to drag the country in to debt, despair and destruction.

Overall it was a "cerebral" affair, according to the AP. But the crowd wanted fireworks, and they made sure they got their wish.

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Health Care

Conservative And Liberal Democrats Warm To Public Option Compromise

Brian Beutler | October 8, 2009, 3:25PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Both conservative and liberal Democrats seem to be open to a new public option proposal floated by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Carper (D-DE) to allow states not to participate in the plan if they decide they don't want to.

A Baucus aide tells me "Senator Baucus will look closely at this proposal, as well as other proposals, and could consider supporting them as part of an overall package as long as it achieved his health care reform goals while getting 60 votes."

Along the same lines, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told Politico that he likes the idea of leaving the decision up to the states.

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Health Care

Howard Dean, DFA, Launch Campaign Encouraging 51-Vote Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 7:50PM

Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean

Howard Dean and Democracy for America have launched a new campaign called America Can't Wait, to bring grassroots pressure to bear on elected officials to pass health care reform with a public option through via the filibuster proof budget reconciliation process.

In a letter to supporters, obtained by TPM, America Can't Wait founder Howard Dean to supporters writes that pursuing the 51-vote should be the priority over the regular legislative order because it will be more likely to produce a public option.

"At least 218 House and 51 Senate Democrats have said they would vote for the final healthcare bill if it included the choice of a public option rather than vote against the bill and kill reform," Dean writes.

Some have said it takes 60 votes to pass any bill in the U.S. Senate. It's a myth.

It's a myth because while any Senator can attempt to block most Senate bills with a procedural tactic called the filibuster, there are exceptions. Senate rules don't allow filibusters of certain bills that affect the budget. That's right; the healthcare reform plan including the choice of a public option can be passed in a budget bill by a majority vote in the U.S. Senate.

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Ted Kennedy

Dean: Kennedy Won Over Americans with His Charm and Grace

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2009, 12:00PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean was scheduled to contribute to a health care book club over at TPMCafe today. Instead, he sends over a reminiscence.

"My mother, who was a solid Upper East Side Republican until 2004, once happened to sit next to him at a wedding of a mutual friend," Dean writes. "She had never met him before. I'm sure the exchange was lively, and being a Dean, I doubt my mother gave him much quarter. A week later, a beautiful, kind, and very personal handwritten letter arrived from Ted Kennedy. My mother, like so many other Americans, was hooked by the Kennedy charm and grace."

You can read his entire remembrance below the fold, or at this link.

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Health Care

Dean: Reconciliation Threat 'A Reminder That We're Getting Health Care This Year'

Brian Beutler | August 21, 2009, 2:33PM

Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean

Former DNC chair Howard Dean is pleased as punch with the message coming out of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office.

In response to the news that Reid might carve up health care reform legislation and pass pieces through the budget reconciliation process, Dean tells TPMDC "I obviously think reconciliation is a great idea."

"I don't believe in obstructionism, which is what the Republicans are doing," he says.

On the point of obstructionism Dean isn't deaf to the political problems reconciliation might cause. He acknowledges that "the GOP might be so incensed by the use of reconciliation" that they'd tie up the Senate with procedural issues. Of course, the Republicans didn't have any problem with jamming controversial measures through the reconciliation process when they controlled things under President Bush.

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