The Fight Within

Rahm Emanuel and Howard Dean chair the DCCC and the DNC, respectively. Emanuel is in charge of winning in November. Dean is in charge of the national party as a whole.

They aren't speaking.






Last week, the Chicago Tribune's Jeff Zeleny reported,

More than a month after a strategy meeting between Emanuel and Dean ended in an explosive dispute, the two men have not spoken directly. And Emanuel said he is beginning to doubt whether the party's nuts-and-bolts operation will be ready to compete with Republicans in key districts. (snip)

At the party's new headquarters, the friction is so palpable that during a recent fire drill staffers worried that Dean and Emanuel might bump into each other on the curb.

Not good. Dean is a new-school grassroots organizer. Emanuel is a no-nonsense, old-school congressman. Both, I think, are very good at their jobs. Unfortunately, they are on vastly different missions. Emanuel has the best chance in years to deliver a majority. Dean is dedicated to reorganizing a party that's organizationally out-gunned everywhere by republicans. Its an interesting fight for the soul of the national party. Personally, I'm in Dean's corner on this, but Emanuel definitely has my sympathies. What do you think?

-Aaron