Brian Schweitzer gets a telling mention in Boston Globe Howard Dean article
In today's (Sunday) edition of the Boston Globe, Charles Pierce has a very interesting article on Howard Dean and his attempt to grow the Democrats into a 50-state party. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer gets a brief but very telling mention:
For those who bleat that Schweitzer is too 'green' for the national scene--well, check his resume. I don't mean this to be personal but what has Hillary Clinton accomplished for Democrats? What has John Edwards accomplished for Democrats? What has Wes Clark accomplished for Democrats? Clinton won in an easy state. Edwards chose not to run again in North Carolina because he probably could not have won. Clark, although extremely intelligent and accomplished, was amateurish in 2004.
To read the entire article, go here.
"...If you want to see what (Barry) Rubin - and through him, Dean and the Democratic National Committee - are going for, move a few degrees north to Montana, where a Democrat named Brian Schweitzer pretty much did it all by himself. Coming in virtually over the transom, Schweitzer, a gun-toting, plain-spoken rancher, got himself elected governor and brought along with him Democratic majorities in both chambers of the Montana Legislature, despite the presence of yet an- other anti-gay-marriage initiative, and despite the fact that Bush carried the state so overwhelmingly that the president took away nearly 60 percent of Montana's Democratic voters. Howard Dean has visited with Schweitzer three times since February.For those Schweitzer doubters, please re-read the above. Brian Schweitzer turned Montana blue--not John Kerry, not Bill Clinton, not the DLC and certainly not the DNC. Brian Schweitzer did this despite zero support from his party, despite an anti-gay marriage amendment on the same ballot and despite being in a Republican majority state.
"I knew all along that Howard Dean had been a moderate governor, a centrist governor," Schweitzer says. "When he ran for president, all people heard about him was that he was the one that was against the war, which conjured up an image that he was a `60s hippie and a passionate liberal about everything else.
"Nobody tried to find me. I just showed up, and that's the challenge - to rebuild that network. Once you're able to take the mountain, you've got to be able to hold the mountain..."
For those who bleat that Schweitzer is too 'green' for the national scene--well, check his resume. I don't mean this to be personal but what has Hillary Clinton accomplished for Democrats? What has John Edwards accomplished for Democrats? What has Wes Clark accomplished for Democrats? Clinton won in an easy state. Edwards chose not to run again in North Carolina because he probably could not have won. Clark, although extremely intelligent and accomplished, was amateurish in 2004.
To read the entire article, go here.
posted by Kevin McCarthy at 3:59 PM
3 Comments:
Um. Shouldn't we wait until this guy has a record? Any record?
Do you like the guys who have records? I don't.
Anyway, look at some of the articles linked on the sidebar. Schweitzer actually has a significant record already, having gotten through his entire legislative agenda during the first six months of his term. Sounds like a record to me.
John Kerry had a record. Al Gore had a record. Whoop-te-do. It really helped them. Okay, my snarkiness aside, Brian Schweitzer will continue to develop his record as governor as time goes on. He has one legislative session under his belt, with some major accomplishments. He has a tremendous political record/accomplishment as the foremost figure who turned Montana blue. He is as well-versed regarding the problems of everyday folk in this country as any other of the candidates for president in 2008. He has a demonstrated ability to 'connect' with those who usually do not consider the Democrat Party once ensconced in a voting booth. My sense (and I could certainly be wrong) is that the American public will be looking for the person who 'connects' with them the most in 2008, be it Republican or Democrat, regardless of record. Schweitzer IS one of us. He comes across as tough and smart because he is. He fought back with Montana GOP-ers tried to 'swiftboat' him. He represents everyday folk and doesn't have the DC baggage of feasance to corporate lobbyists that stains so many of the other Democratic hopefuls.
By the way, George W. Bush did have a record but his family connections made it go away. His record included mug shots, front and side views. :)
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