Howard Dean: Democrats Need Young People To Run

>>> AFTER THE TALK OF THE 2016 ELECTION, A LOT OF DEMOCRATS
HAVE TURNED THEIR FOCUS TO 2018 AND 2 MIDTERMS.
IT'S THE 2018 GOVERNOR'S RACES THAT COULD BE THE FIRST SIGN OF
A POSSIBLE COMEBACK FOR DEMOCRATS.
WITH THE WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNOR SWITCHING PARTIES LAST WEEK,
REPUBLICANS NOW HOLD 34 OF THE 50 GOVERNORSHIPS.
OVER THE NEXT 15 MONTHS THERE WILL BE 22 GOVERNOR RACES.
THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE TO PREPARE FOR A POLITICAL CLIMATE
OF 2006 WHEN THE REPUBLICANS LOST THE HOUSE AND SURRENDERED
THEIR MAJORITY AMONG THE GOVERNORS.
WITH US NOW DAN VAULT WHO WROTE TO T STORY WE JUST REFERENCED.
ALSO FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE
HOWARD DEAN WHO HAD CHOICE FOR HIS OWN PARTY OVER THE WEEKEND.
DAN, LET'S START WITH YOU. IT WAS ALWAYS INTERESTING BACK,
YOU LOOK AT THE LAST TWO DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTS THAT HAVE
WON. IT'S -- YOU LOOK AT THE '93
RACES THAT REPUBLICANS SWEPT. IT SUGGESTED THAT THEY WERE
GOING TO DO WELL IN '94. AND THEN IN 2009, VIRGINIA WAS
SUPPOSED TO HAVE GONE BLUE, AND THEN BOB McDONALD WON IN 2009 BY
WINNING BY 21 POINTS. ARE DEMOCRATS LOOKING FOR
SIMILAR RESULTS IN 2017, 2018? >> WELL, JOE, THEY HAVE AN
ATTRACTIVE MAP IN ONE SENSE. OF THE 36 RACES THAT WILL BE
HELD IN 2018, 26 OF THOSE ARE NOW HELD BY THE REPUBLICANS.
THE DEMOCRATS HAVE A LOT OF TARGETS.
SOME OF THOSE ARE IN RED STATES THAT ARE GOING TO BE VERY J VERY
DIFFICULT. SOME ARE IN BLUE STATES WITH
POPULAR GOVERNORS, MASSACHUSETTS, MARYLAND, FOR
EXAMPLE. I THINK FOR THE DEMOCRATS, SO
MUCH IN OUR POLITICS COMES BACK TO THE MIDWEST.
AND THAT'S WHERE DONALD TRUMP WON THE PRESIDENCY LAST YEAR,
AND I THINK IT'S WHERE THE DEMOCRATS WILL NEED TO BEGIN TO
MAKE A COMEBACK, AND THE GOVERNOR'S RACES IN MICHIGAN AND
OHIO AND WISCONSIN, MINNESOTA, WHERE THEY HOLD A SEAT, BUT
THAT'S GOING TO BE A POTENTIALLY TOUGH RACE.
PENNSYLVANIA WHERE THEY HAVE TO HOLD IT AND A FEW BATTLE GROUND
LIKE FLORIDA AND NEVADA, THOSE ARE GOING TO BE INDICATORS OF
WHETHER THE DEMOCRATS CAN FIND ATTRACTIVE CANDIDATES AND
CANDIDATES THAT HAVE A MESSAGE THAT RESONATE WITH PEOPLE.
THEY NEED FRESH TALENT. GOVERNOR DEAN WOULD AGREE WITH
THAT. THERE IS A NEED FOR THE
DEMOCRATS TO PRODUCE NEW AND ATTRACTIVE CANDIDATES..
AND ALSO THIS IS GOING TO BE AN IMPORTANT ROUND OF GUBERNATORIAL
RACES. 2018 IS A BIG YEAR AND A
CHALLENGE FOR THE DEMOCRATS. >> GOVERNOR DEAN, WHEN YOU WERE
RUNNING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY YOU HAD A 50-STATE STRATEGY AND IT
SHOWED. EVERYBODY IS SO FOCUSSED,
HYPERFOCUSSED, THE DEMOCRATS ARE, ON DONALD TRUMP AND HILLARY
CLINTON THAT SO MANY OF THEM SEEM TO OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT
DEMOCRATS ARE AT THE LOW POINT OF HOLDING GOVERNORSHIPS.
LOWEST SINCE 1922. AND THEY JUST GOT POUNDED IN THE
SENATE RACES AND THE HOUSE RACES.
A LOT OF LOT OF RACES TOO. WHAT DO THEY DO TO TURN THAT
AROUND IN 2018? >> WELL, WE DO HAVE TO HAVE A
MESSAGE. I THINK SCHUMER AND PELOSI ARE
GETTING ONE TOGETHER THAT MAKES SENSE.
PEOPLE COMPLAIN. THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO INSIDE THE
BELTWAY. THE TRUTH IS IT'S HARD TO HAVE A
COHERENT MESSAGE -- YOU HAVE TO HAVE GREAT CANDIDATES.
I AGREE WITH DAN. THE GOVERNORSHIPS ARE CRUCIAL.
THE 2017 GOVERNORSHIPS ARE CRUCIAL.
VIRGINIA AND NEW JERSEY ARE CRITICAL.
THAT WAS REALLY THE TIP OFF WHEN I WAS RUNNING THE PARTY IN 2005
WHEN WE WON BOTH OF THOSE THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE SOME
PRETTY BIG THINGS HAPPENING TO US DOWN THE ROAD.
SECONDLY, WE'VE GOT TO HAVE REALLY STRONG CANDIDATES.
WE'VE GOT GREAT CANDIDATES FOR CONGRESS.
I THINK WE CAN TAKE THE HOUSE. I'M PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW
PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON WHO BELIEVES WE CAN TAKE THE SENATE
BACK IN 2018. THE GOVERNOR RACES ARE TOUGHER.
PEOPLE VOTE FOR GOVERNOR MUCH MORE ON WHO THEY LIKE RATHER
THAN THE PARTY. IT'S A LESS PARTISAN RACE.
BECAUSE PEOPLE REALLY CARE ABOUT WHO THE GOVERNOR IS.
THEY CARE PROBABLY A LITTLE LESS ABOUT THE SENATOR AND
CONGRESSMAN. >> LET'S GO TO NICK WITH "THE
TIMES." >> WHAT A ACCOUNTS FOR THE
SHELACKING OF DEMOCRATS? >> WELL, THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC
PARTY, AS YOU KNOW, IS DEFINED AS A BICOASTAL PARTY AND NOT
NATIONAL. IT'S STRONG ON THE COASTS AND
THE LEADERSHIP TENDS AND THE MESSAGE COMES FROM THE COASTS.
THAT DOESN'T PLAY AS WELL THROUGH MANY OF THE STATES UP
FOR GRABS IN 2017, 2018. 2018 IN PARTICULAR.
SO THERE'S THE ABSENCE OF A KIND OF A MESSAGE THAT
>> THERE HAVE BEEN TWO TERRIBLE ELECTIONS, AND MOST OF THE
GUBERNATORIAL RACES ARE IN THE MIDTERM YEARS.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK BACK EIGHT YEARS AGO, THE DEMOCRATS
ACTUALLY HAD A MAJORITY OF THE GOVERNORSHIPS, BUT UNDER
PRESIDENT OBAMA, THEY GOT WIPED OUT, AND THE ABSENCE OF A BENCH
MAKES IT ALL THE MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE RIGHT CANDIDATE THAT
CAN WIN IN THOSE STATES. >> STEVE, I WANT TO PUT UP THE
NUMBERS AGAIN. GUYS, CAN YOU PUT UP THE NUMBERS
OF 2010 AND 2014? THERE WERE TWO JUST MASSIVE
REPUBLICAN YEARS 76 HOUSE SEATS. 76 HOUSE SEATS LOST.
13 SENATE SEATS. AS WEAVE BEEN SAYING, STEVE
RADNER, ALSO, THE GOVERNORSHIPS ARE AT AN ALL-TIME LOW TIED WITH
1922. DAN IS EXACTLY RIGHT.
THEIR BENCH HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY DECIMATED.
>> YEAH. LOOK, I SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN
THE DEMOCRATIC CIRCLES, AND THERE IS A FAIR AMOUNT OF
SOMETHING BETWEEN HAND-RINGING AND DESPAIR OVER THE STATE OF
THE BENCH AND OUR PROSPECTS FOR TAKING BACK THE SENATE OR THE
HOUSE. HOWARD, WHAT I WANTED TO COME
BACK TO YOU ON THIS QUESTION OF THE BENCH AND THE LACK OF
CANDIDATES AND ALL OF THESE PLACES.
>> TO BUILD THE BENCH, TO BUILD THE APPARATUS, THE PARTY THE WAY
YOU DID EARLIER IN THE -- IN HIS TERM.
DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT OR NOT? >> WELL, LET ME SAY TWO THINGS
ABOUT THAT. FIRST OF ALL, I DISAGREE WITH
YOU AND DAN ABOUT THE BENCH. I THINK WE'VE GOT A GREAT BENCH.
A BENCH IS USUALLY DEFINED BY PEOPLE WHO WRITE FOR A LIVING AS
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THIS PERSON?
THERE'S TONS OF REALLY TALENTED AND CREDIBLE PEOPLE OUT THERE
THAT WE'VE NEVER HEARD OF WHO COULD RUN AND SHOULD RUN.
SECONDLY, IT IS TRUE OF EVERY INCUMBENT PRESIDENT THAT THEY
START WITH DNC. DNC BECOMES THEIR RE-ELECT
COMMITTEE. THEY AREN'T DOING THEIR WORK
WHERE THEY SHOULD BE IN THE STATES.
THIRDLY, THERE WAS A VERY, VERY EFFECTIVE REPUBLICAN EFFORT AND
LED BY AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY, THE COCH BROTHERS, TO ORGANIZE
THEMSELVES REALLY, REALLY WELL TO TAKE THIS BACK.
I'M OPTIMISTIC. I THINK WE HAVE GREAT
CANDIDATES. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING WE
CAN DO IS TURN THE PAGE ON MY GENERATION WE HAVE GOT TO GET
YOUNG PEOPLE TONGUE OUT AND RUN. THIS IS HAPPENING WITH INDIF
IZIBLE AND FLIPABLE AND RUN FOR SOMETHING AND SWING LEFT.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY FINDING YOUNG PEOPLE.
THERE'S A WOMAN THAT I SAW THE FIRST FEMALE F-18 PIL PILOT IS
RUNNING IN KENTUCKY FOR CONGRESS.
THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF WE'VE GOT TO DO IN ORDER TO WIN, AND
THEN PEOPLE ARE GOING TO STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE BENCH.
>> SO, HOWARD DEAN, WHO ARE THE WHINERS IN YOUR PARTY THAT YOU
WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT WITH OUR COLLEAGUE JOY REED.
NAME NAMES. >> WE'RE NOT GOING THERE.
>> I DON'T FOLLOWS IT ACLOSELY AS YOU DO, BUT WHAT CATEGORY OF
PEOPLE ARE THE WHINERS? PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA?
PEOPLE IN CONGRESS? >> NO, NO, NO.
WE'RE TALKING -- I'M TALKING ABOUT MEMBERS OF --
>> WHO IS WHINING? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
>> PEOPLE THAT COMPLAIN ALL THE TIME.
WELL, I'M NOT GOING TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
MEMBERS OF THE PARTY -- I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SMALL MINORITY
OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO HAVE EVERYTHING PERFECTLY, WHO HAVE
TO ATTACK SOMEBODY -- LIKE THE ONES THAT BURNED ME UP OVER THE
WEEKEND WHO PEOPLE WHO ATTACKED PAMELA HARRIS.
NO MATTER WHO WE HAVE, LEFT, RIGHT, OR CENTER IN THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE PERFECT, AND PEOPLE
ARE GOING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THEM.
STOP IT. WE CAN'T BEAT THE REPUBLICANS
WHO ARE INCREDIBLY WELL ORGANIZED UNLESS WE ALL HAPG
TOGETHER. WHAT I OBJECT TO IN MY PARTY IS
PEOPLE -- AS TED KENNEDY ONCE SAID AND OTHERS HAVE SAID IT TO
LET THE PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO NOMINATE A PERFECT CANDIDATE, WHETHER IT'S
BERNIE SANDERS OR PAMELA HARRIS, OR ANY -- CHRIS MURPHY OR ANY OF
THE HUNDREDS OF REALLY OR AT LEAST IT SEEMS LIKE HUNDREDS
THESE DAYS, BUT 20 GREAT PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN TALKED ABOUT.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO -- WHOEVER WE NOMINATE, WE HAVE TO GET BEHIND.
WE HAVE TO STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THEY MIGHT HAVE TAKEN A
CONTRIBUTION FROM WALL STREET, OR THEY WANT SOMETHING THAT'S
TOO FAR LEFT THAT'S IMPRACTICAL. STOP IT.
THERE'S A NOMINATION PROCESS. STOP COMPLAINING AND GET READY
TO PULL FOR WHOEVER THE NOMINEE IS.
>> DAN, FOLLOWING UP WITH WHAT HOWARD JUST SAID.
THERE'S A BATTLE ON THE DEMOCRATIC LEFT AND THE
DEMOCRATIC CENTER. ANY EVIDENCE OF ANY CANDIDATES
OUT THERE THAT SEEM TO HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH BOTH WINGS THAT
COULD BRING THEM TOGETHER LIKE BILL CLINTON DID IN 1992?
>> WELL, I THINK SOME PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT GOVERNOR BULLOCK IN
MONTANA AS SOMEBODY WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
WE'RE A LONG WAY FROM KNOWING THAT.
IT'S SO EASY TO BE AN ANTI-TRUMP PARTY.
EVERYONE REALIZES THAT, FIRST OF ALL, THAT'S GOT A LOT OF POT
ENSY, BUT, SECONDLY, IT'S INSUFFICIENT IN TERMS OF
BUILDING A NATIONAL PARTY OR REBUILDING A NATIONAL PARTY.
I THINK PART OF THE PROBLEM THE DEMOCRATS HAVE IS THERE'S THIS
PULL AND TUG BETWEEN ARE THEY GOING TO BE THE PARTY OF, IN A
SENSE, THE NEW AMERICA, THE RISING GENERATION, A MUCH MORE
DIVERSE AMERICA, OR ARE THEY GOING TO FIND A WAY TO RECONNECT
WITH WHITE WORKING CLASS VOTERS? NOT THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GET
ALL OF THEM BACK. I THINK A LOT OF THEM ARE LOST
FOR A LONG TIME. TO DO SOMEWHAT BETTER WITH THEM.
I THINK THEY'RE STRUGGLING SO FAR TO FIND A MESSAGE THAT WORKS
FOR ALL OF THOSE. THEY HAVEN'T YET PUT THAT PIECE
TOGETHER. >> IT'S STILL SEEMING LIKE IT'S
IN DEVELOPMENT. WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS MOVING
FORWARD.

Howard Dean: Democrats Need Young People To Run | Morning Joe

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