MINNEAPOLIS — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who was named chair of the Democratic National Committee in April, praised Howard Dean for his tenure leading the party and told progressives gathered here at Netroots Nation on Friday that she intends to turn to him for ideas.
Dean, who took over at the DNC after his failed 2004 presidential campaign, was known for his “50-state strategy,” which sent national Democratic resources to all corners of the country, instead of only the battleground states the party usually focuses on. The plan was controversial and rubbed some in the establishment — including President Obama’s first chief of staff — the wrong way in 2006, but it enthralled progressives and helped further cement Dean as a champion of the Netroots cause.
Wasserman Schultz said she’ll be meeting with Dean next week to talk organizing. And she gave his term at the head of the party a big shoutout in her progressive-friendly speech during Netroots Nation’s lunchtime session.
“Over the past few years, we’ve maintained a strong democratic organization staffed in all 50 states thanks to the 50-state strategy put in place by Howard Dean,” Wasserman Schultz said. “And I can tell you that I am looking forward to sitting down with Chairman Dean next week so I can pick his brains clean on what he thinks that we should be doing to continue the fight to make sure that we can elect progressives all across the country.”
