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| Home Front: Politix |
| A tale of two party chairmen |
| 2005-06-06 |
| Dean: GOP has 'dark, difficult and dishonest' vision (USA Today) Most of Howard Dean's speech at the "Take Back America" conference here was met with whoops, cheers and standing ovations as he attacked Republicans for "the culture of corruption and the abuse of power" in Washington, and accused the Bush administration of ignoring corporate "stealing" of pensions canceled during bankruptcy proceedings. Dean's remark was the latest in a string of provocative comments that Democratic strategists say fire up activists but complicate the job of expanding the party. "He's got a lot of pluses, and he fires off the occasional errant missile," consultant David Axelrod said. Republicans See Glimmer of Hope in California (Yahoo news) Every six weeks, Republican Party chairman Ken Mehlman has traveled to California, a large and solidly Democratic Party stronghold. With Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor and the state's most conservative areas growing rapidly, Republicans are sensing an opportunity. [W]hile population growth is slowing in left-leaning coastal areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco, it is accelerating in more conservative regions such as the Central Valley and the Inland Empire area east of Los Angeles. Mehlman has seized on those trends, traveling to California every six weeks this year for outreach work in Hispanic, black and Asian American areas. On a recent visit, he addressed a Hispanic community center south of Los Angeles and a black leadership forum in Sacramento, and held several fundraisers and meetings with GOP lawmakers. In his outreach to ethnic minorities, Mehlman said he stresses the party's commitment to economic self-reliance and traditional family values. These two articles just struck me in the different way the two party chairmen behave towards their audiences. Dean howling in front of the party faithful, Ken Mehlman respectfully courting voters not traditionally aligned with his party. All I can say is, keep it up! |
| Posted by:Seafarious |