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Dean: Dems will defend gains via action
2006-12-02
Democrats have a tough job in protecting their recent election gains because "now it's what we do and not what we say," national chairman Howard Dean told party leaders Saturday. "It's what happens in Congress that will determine our message more than anything I say or what they say in Congress," Dean said. Democrats, who will run both the House and Senate come January, have outlined an agenda that includes overhauling ethics, raising the minimum wage and making college more affordable. Dean said Democrats must prove to people in conservative and swing districts that they can earn the voters' trust. "Elections are not mandates. Elections are power being loaned to politicians for a two-year period by the voters of this country," Dean said. "Now it's our job to earn it back again in '08." That approach is critical if Democrats are to build on their majority in Congress and retake the White House in 2008, said Dean, adding that Democrats did well in November because they appealed to all types of voters. "George Bush made a huge mistake by representing half of America, while treating the rest of us with contempt," Dean said. "We need to reach out to everybody whether they agree with us or not." Dean said he was pleased that Democrats drew more support than in the past from "faith voters." Democrats gained among religious voters, including those considered evangelical Christians, because they talked about their values and competed in all parts of the country, Dean said. Later Saturday, Democratic National Committee members planned to propose an incentive system to persuade states not to move their presidential nominating contents too early in the 2008 calendar. The idea is to discourage jamming the primary calendar after moving up Nevada and South Carolina in the first wave of contests to increase diversity in the early contests. Two Democrats who defeated Republican incumbents in House races said the party's commitment to candidates around the country was crucial. "We have to quit seeing these things as David and Goliath fights and start seeing them as opportunities," said Tim Walz, a high school geography teacher who beat GOP Rep. Gil Gutnecht in Minnesota. "We have the opportunity to extend this to policy and in two years we can extend our majority. There was no controversy to how this was done. It was a great use of resources." Nancy Boyda, who defeated GOP Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Kan., said, "The difference in organization and execution (between the two parties) was so marked, it was startling," she said. ___ On the Net: Democratic National Committee: http://www.dnc.org
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