Associated Press
Going into the 2006 midterms, then-chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean, pushed an ambitious plan that the party establishment strongly disliked. It was called the "50-state strategy."
The party believed limited DNC resources needed to be invested in key districts and swing states, but Dean envisioned a bottom-up party infrastructure literally everywhere in the country. The idea that the party would spend money on a ground game in non-competitive "red" states was seen as the height of madness, and the 50-state strategy led to some notorious shouting matches between Dean and then-DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel.
In the end, Dean executed his plan, and that year, Democrats won back the House and Senate. Barack Obama largely emulated the 50-state model two years later, en route to the White House.
And six years later, the right is starting to think Dean's model is worth emulating.
Karl Rove offered some advice to his fellow Republicans about what the party needs to do to prevent last Tuesday's election from happening again on Sean Hannity's radio show Monday. On the list: when it comes to engaging voters, be more like former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.
"I hate to say it, but we need to copy what Howard Dean did," he told Hannity. "And that is make our ground game in all 50 states." [...]
Rove told Hannity that the lack of GOP ground game made a big difference in other states. "We didn't have a ground game in a lot of these states with Senate races and so we lost North Dakota by 3,300 votes," he said. He added the lack of ground game also cost the GOP a chance at winning the Senate seat in Montana. "We need to have a better ground game in all 50 states," Rove said.
Of course, Rove's ability to think strategically has come into doubt recently -- his spectacular 2012 failures have raised widespread doubts about his basic political competence -- so Republicans may pause before acting too quickly on Rove's advice.
But it's nevertheless striking to see Howard Dean's vision become the bipartisan standard six years after a whole lot of folks thought he was foolish for even proposing the 50-state strategy.
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"The problem," Rove added, "is a Constitutional one. We didn't realize that EVERYBODY was allowed to vote, not just our
lunaticsfriends on the Right."At the time, I thought Howard Dean was a hero for taking on Rahm. Rahm wanted to continue the strategy that lost in 2000 and 2004. Close losses in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 proved the strategy did not really work. Because of Dean's 50 state strategy, the Democrats won a victory that paved the way for Obama in 2008 and the amazing results that Obama and Congress achieved from 2008 to 2010.
One reason that Obama knew that the ground game, social media and in-person campaigning were his only avenues to winning is overwhelming power of the media monopoly. Fox censors and distorts everything he says and does. The anti-Obama messengers, e. g. Limbaugh and Hannity, are heard across the radio dial. So to get his message out, he had to go directly to the people.
We need to address voting law reform and outlaw voter suppression measures and actions of all kinds, yes, and at the same time, we need to break up the right wing monopoly of the media. Somehow, we need to restore fairness and balance to the media and make FoxNews take down its "Fair and Balanced" slogan.
At least we don't have to worry about them "spreading" in California. We've finally gotten rid of the noxious weeds here.
When will the right ever learn...IT'S THE ISSUES STUPID. If you sober up a drunken horse thief in the morning you still have a horse thief. If you spread the republican ideology across all 50 states with tea party candidates and extremist republicans...after the election you still have a democratic majority winning.
By being so outrageous the right has made voters paranoid enough to learn what they need to do to protect themselves out of a need for survival so they took a good look all around them and saw GOP liars with failed policies and no workable solutions. We have never been a center right nation and on the issues most Americans side with a liberal ideology.
Republicans need to start moving left and quit forcing their beliefs down voters throats with their unwillingness to compromise or work with others. Solutions are not right or left they are what works and solves problems...which self serving republicans refuse to accept.
Coming from Karl Rove, that means the same political pollusion, but drilled down into the very weeds of this nation until our informational foundation is constructed on the slime of disinformation and Republican spin.
Perhaps putting forth creditable leadership, developing authentic plans to better this nation, and getting rid of Karl Rove would be a far better Republican plan? Naaaaaa, too much work.
As I remember somebody said something like "there aren't red states or blue states, there is only the United States." At the time a whole lot of us thought the Rahm Emanual grand vision of two regional parties was the height of madness. We need to be working to turn red states blue.
It is not too early for the DNC to reach out to the 94 million eligible voters who took the election off. The DNC may have to hit them over their heads with the idea that down ballot races are nearly as important as the federal races. Women were the most visible target in the 2010 races but public education funding versus the giveaway to charter schools is also a major loss. Many of these gerrymandered races can be overcome with increased turnout. Who would be better than women running in these races to protect women's health and children's education.
Democrats need to start working the 2014 midterm right now. That means we can't take our current structure apart and have to spread it to the states that don't now have a ground game. Done right I can see us picking up some of the states Republicans take for granted.
Agreed! The Democrats gained a lot of Senate seats in 2008, and they need to work hard to avoid the GOP flipping the Senate in 2014, and the Democrats also need to try to win more House seats. Gerrymandering due to legislatures and Governors who won in 2010 will make flipping the latter to Blue hard.
I need to do some more research, but I wonder about the conventional wisdom that gerrymandering will continue to make the House hard. It seems to me that with gerrymandering, you can either get yourself more seats, or you can get yourself safer seats, but you can't do both. That makes me suspect that the Republican majority is more fragile than it appears. It'll be tough to do in a midterm, but not impossible, and possibly an advantage in 2016.
Dean was systematically removed by republicans as they saw him as a strong Democratic candidate
Absolutely agree with Ron Byers #5. Dems made a huge mistake in not amping up the energy level in 2010, and got shellacked - will they learn from this in 2014, when vulnerable incumbents will include of the swing-district House members who won this year, and the Senators who benefited from Obama in 2008 (Hagan of NC, Begich of AK, two Udalls, Johnson in SD)?
OFA had a conference call with volunteers last night to kick of what we're doing "going forward," so I think the lesson may have been learned.
The ground game is very important in the state houses. There are purplish states out there that the Dems can take at the state level, and that will affect redistricting as well as many other issues.
Yes, there should be a 50-state strategy. That strategy does not mean spending equally per state or per capita, but to look hard at every state and every race to increase the margin of victory.
Agreed. The Dems need to step it up on the state level but not just in purple states. They need to go after Arizona and Texas in the local and 2014 elections. Watching Rove pull out whatever little is left of his hair would be worth the money. And it would put Republicans on the defensive for the next 4 years trying to protect the two states. Dems could easily force Republicans to spend a lot of money on two states they felt were safe. That means less money for other states races. It also paves the way for Dems to recruit the best people when they have a majority of votes.
Sorry GOTP, it's not your ground game - it's your policy positions that Americans turned away from, it's the fact that you all live in fantasy island and refuse to accept reality, it's the war against women/immigrants/muslims/hindu's/LGBT/"other", it's the dog whistles to racism, it's the nonsense of the culture war, its fighting for the rich, et.al! See, don't blame it on the "ground game" you people have given Americans a collective chill up their spine with your behavior......Try changing that!
It is their ground game, too. However, Rove's conception of the "50 State Strategy" probably only extends as far as spending money in a lot of states. To really do it, you need an army of volunteers, and other than the Religious Right, Republicans activists have never been asked to volunteer. It's not something you can build overnight.
Thank you Steve! I worked on Dean's campaign and embraced his 50 state strategy...THEN I worked for Obama for America twice and kept reminding folks that this was actually a 'take off' of Howard Deans vision...some Dems did not want to 'credit' Dean as the 'scream' might rub off...glad to see he's finally getting some credit!
I never saw why that scream was a big deal anyway... what was the hullaballoo about?
Me either, jj, never understood it. Love Dean!
Gov. Dean is a leader who either should be the new head of the DNC or Secretary of Health and Human Services, both of which he is highly qualified to administer. He needs to be IN this administration and speaking out for the policies the President wants to embed in the mainstream of political thought and action. (I always thought the beltway media were behind his negative coverage following the Iowa win.)
Dean would have beaten the pants off Bush.
Uh,when your platform alienates half the country and you try to suppress the vote then your "ground game" may be built on quicksand! Get rid of the loons, lose your arrogance, wake up to reality and then worry about the ground game.
Dean was criminalized for a Yee Hah by the Pubs. The Pubs still don't get it though. It's not the messenger. IT"S THE MESSAGE!! Why is a Party in Politics claiming to be all that is claims and then has it's leaders slowly chipping away at it by not living it. Romney had great qualifications as a clean married father. He just didn't have an ounce of compassion in his blood unless there was payback. And that's not the type person We The People need Telling us to give and how much. a man breaks things down to split profits instead of trying to save it as our fathers and grandfathers did they've lost sight of the American Dream. They have become selfish. non compassionate pigs who deserve what they got this time. Knocked on their butts. Karl Rove needs no more chances. He doesn't need to climb back into the driver's seat after crashing the other car. His tools won't fix it. Send the maniac on his way. Let him sell his books if anyone will buy them. When all is said and done the Miracle man will be labeled as a scab that he really is. An infected, leaky, dirty, brainy man who used his intellect for the devil's work. He needs to find another type job to build self esteem.
Good piece. I'm glad to see Howard Dean getting some well-deserved credit. Just one stylistic note, when using lesser known acronyms, try and use the entire phrase in the first instance, and then resort to the acronym following that. You did so correctly for the DNC, but not the DCCC. I had to look it up.
The Republicans will never be able to come close to replicating what President Obama built on in 08 and 12 - it involves people willing to get to know each other - and follow each other - and swallow their pride and ideology and work toward a common goal. The Republican response to their fellow citizens, that we are moochers, that we are "maggots", that we elected a foreign born terrorist sympathizer (twice) will not be forgotten anytime soon. Republicans have yet to realize that they embraced the 47% comment when they lost. They didn't limit their attacks to their political opponent - they attacked their fellow American voters.
Americans rejected their ideas, their ideology and their candidates - and in return we were told we're ill informed, moocher maggots - once again - they show that their conservative bubble in unbreakable. THEY don't need new ideas, THEY don't need new ideology, THEY don't need new candidates - it's us, the darn American voters - who ruined their moment.
...Barack Obama largely emulated the 50-state model two years later...
....And the main reason he was able to do so so successfully is that when he mobilized his ground game, his people found established field offices in every state, many of which were not there a few short years before.
I actually wondered how much of the 2010 debacle was traceable to not keeping Howard Dean as party chairman, including all of what happened at the State level. If I'm right, it was Obama's biggest political mistake, and the Democrats can't afford to make a mistake like that again.
If only the Dems had had an opponent for Rep. Broun in Georgia this time around.
The 50 state strategy made huge inroads into "safe" GOP territory. Having paid organizers in every state helped foster volunteer infrastructure that we're still using.
The next step for us it to recognize the diminishing returns in pouring money only into races that everyone perceives as winnable-- the kind that outside money routinely floods. The DNC and DCCC need to get better at recruiting and supporting candidates in places that some early money can garner the buzz needed for them to draw donors and outside support. The way they work now by waiting for candidates to prove themselves viable, they end up in cash-on-cash slugfests that drain valuable funds into quickly saturated media markets. While it's not a good idea to go to the mat for every "some dude" that pops up, focusing on recruiting good people and getting staff and organizers even in the boonies has a ripple effect statewide and- through social media- nationwide.
On the other side of the equation, we need to get better at being organized in friendly territory. The DCCC and the DNC can't do this, but activists need to work to make sure that officials elected from solid blue districts don't suck. The way it is now, it's a matter of connections and not democracy in urban districts that have their nominating fights in committees and boardrooms instead of on the ballot.
I swear...if I might not know better...this Steve Benen guy extolls as if he? was a Republican operator!!!
Everyone thinks that they will alter history, but it rarely happens. Since 1932 (80 years and counting) the Democrats control the White House for 8 years and then the Republicans control the White House for 8 years. Back-and-forth, and this seems to be what the people want. A lot of money spent at Ohio TV stations for ads gets wasted in the meantime.
There are only 2 exceptions to the rule. We had to wait until "King" FDR died to change the Constitution and limit presidential terms. Carter was an extreme failure and so his extra 4 years were absorbed on the back end by Republican H.W. Bush, after Reagan finished his 2 terms.
And once a Republican gets it wrong!
FDR - 1932/36/40/44, HST - 1948, DDE - 1952/56 JFK - 1960 LBJ - 1964,RMN - 1968/72(and Ford), Carter - 1976, Saint Ronnie - 1980/84, GHWB - 1988, WJC - 1992/96, GWB - 2000(?)/04, BHO - 2008/12. Democrats - 48 years/Republicans - 32 years. And, no, you don't get to add any of President Carter's four years onto St. Ronnie's terms. Eight years were quite obviously too many when they occurred and we don't need Republican revisionism making it any worse!
Shall we go into the make-up of the House and Senate during these Presidencies? I'm willing.
By the way, the only reason the 22nd Amendment was passed was out of Republican spite and that worked out soooo well for them, didn't it? The Amendment went into effect in 1952, the year Eisenhower was elected and, had it not been for the limitation, he could have run in 1960.
Considering how close the election between JFK and Nixon was, had Eisenhower been able to run there's no doubt he would have won.
Once again a Republican tantrum backfires! Love it!
C'mon, Doug! How convenient to include FDR (before our first "king" died and the rules changed). Nice job trying to move the statistics your way. Let's try this again starting with 1948.
1948...Dem, 1952...Rep, 1956...Rep, 1960...Dem, 1964...Dem, 1968...Rep, 1972...Rep, 1976...Dem, 1980...Rep, 1984...Rep, 1988...Rep, 1992...Dem, 1996...Dem, 2000...Rep, 2004...Rep, 2008...Dem, 2012...Dem
Looks to me like Republicans win the rematch, but just barely....9 to 8. Fact is, Doug, the people almost always give a party 2 terms as president, then, abruptly shift, giving the other party 2 terms. Carter was an exception to the rule. I'm not surprised that Obama won a 2nd term. But watch out in 2016, as the Republicans will almost surely regain the White House, simply based on statistics.
Howard Dean....who takes him seriously? Is it even possible for anyone that tuned-in over the past decade to not associate this guy with his crazy, screaming rant? Sorry, but history can be a quick and painful judge.....he was toast after that, regardless of the consolation prize the Democratic party gave him later.
Notice the link. The Democratic objections to a 50 State strategy were financial. It was questionable whether the DNC had the resources to execute the model - but they managed to make it work.
What Rove is having to do is find a way to continue moving large sums of money through his Super PAC and deflect criticism. This 'new' approach means Rove can blame the general Republican strategy for electoral losses (avoiding blame himself) and make the case for people giving him even more money to support a wider and more intense campaign in coming elections.
This isn't innovation. It's self-interest.