I watched some of the C-Span stuff, I just enjoyed Gov. Dean's comment about unknown source for a quote.. No Comment.

I wish people would quit saying that Congregationalist Dean is "secular".

Some of us are old enough to remember Martin Luther King Jr.'s voice saying the words from the 40th chapter of Isaiah "Every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low." That was the Scriptural selection in church this morning. All the talk about integrating religious values into politics made me think that verse is a good place to start. What better way to describe Howard Dean becoming DNC chair. As he said last night, no one would have believed that possible a year ago. Now that Dean has gone through difficult valleys and attained the exalted position of DNC chair, it is time to make low some mountains and hills--specifically legislative caucuses who act as if we're just voters and they are separate from the party heirarchy and off in their own little fiefdoms. I recently came across 2 very interesting articles. The first is about how Dean should not scare people. The second is about the DSCC once again apparently deciding voters can't be trusted with nominations and the caucuses really ought to have that job. WRONG! How do you think Gordon Smith became our Senator. That was the year the DSCC thought gentlemen with ideas were not qualified to be nominated to the US Senate because what we really needed was a millionaire businessman. That drove many into voting 3rd party. What went on this past year with Oregon House Democrats and FuturePac wasn't much better. Seems to me the time has come to have a vigorous debate on whether Democratic caucus offices are part of the organized Democratic party or off in their own little world. Here is the information about those 2 articles--first from New York magazine, second from Washington Post. THE NATIONAL INTEREST Dean Without Screams By John Heilemann Why even center Democrats should stop worrying and learn to love Dean. http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/politics/columns/nationalinterest/11019/ “ “The Democrats are rooted now inside the Senate—ugh,” says Robert Reich. “The argument for Dean is that he’ll help to change that.”

Democrats Wrestle With Choice and Choices By Charles BabingtonSunday, February 13, 2005; Page A05 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19843-2005Feb12.html

Jenny is a great new addition to Oregon's delegation to the DNC. Her blog from the national meeting got a lot of attention (as well as an off-hand quip of mine that was attributed as a serious remark ... oh well). Chairman Dean's invigoration of our party will use internet savvy like blogging effectively to build our community. Jenny's right there on the forefront and we are lucky to have her as our national committee woman. Not all the insider types are pleased, and some will try to portray us as out of touch. Advice for the naysayers: Take a deep breath, sit back, and enjoy the ride. At long last, the national party is coming home!