Dean is doing what he said he would even though the DC people

Democratic Leaders Question Whether Dean's Right on the Money

By Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza
Sunday, March 5, 2006; Page A04

Democratic congressional leaders aren't happy with the way Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is spending money. At a private meeting last month, they let him know.
Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) challenged the former Vermont governor during a session in Pelosi's office, according to Democratic sources. The leaders complained about Dean's priorities -- funding organizers for state parties in strongly Republican states such as Mississippi -- rather than targeting states with crucial races this fall.


Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said he pledged to rebuild the state parities when he campaigned for his current position. (By J. Scott Applewhite -- Associated Press)

Neither side was willing to give ground, according to several accounts of the meeting. Dean argued that his strategy is designed to rebuild the party across the country, and that he had pledged to do so when he ran for party chairman. Reid and Pelosi countered that if Democrats squander their opportunities this year, longer-term organizing efforts will not matter much.

Democratic congressional leaders are particularly worried because the Republican National Committee holds a huge financial advantage over the DNC. One congressional Democrat complained that Dean has -- at an alarming rate -- burned through the money the DNC raised, and that Republicans may be able to swamp Democrats in close races with an infusion of RNC money.

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Dean has won friends among state party leaders for his efforts to underwrite the hiring of organizers in states where Republicans have been winning in presidential races. Dean campaigned for the DNC chairmanship by pledging to make Democrats competitive in all 50 states, not just in the 16 to 18 presidential battlegrounds. One congressional Democrat responded: "Nobody's suggesting they do 16 states, but not all states are equal."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030400998.html

"BLITZER: We're out of time, but a couple little political questions while I have you. Cash on hand for the Democratic Party as of January 1st, 2006: $5.5 million for the DNC; $34 million for the RNC. What happened to all that Democratic money?

DEAN: We're rebuilding the party. We've raised 20 percent more than we ever have before in an off year. We've got 200 operatives right now in every state in the country. And we've won four special elections in a row in Mississippi, seven out of eight in New Hampshire. First African-American mayor in Mobile, Alabama. We now have the mayorship in the largest county -- a million people -- in Utah. We're starting to win in states that used to be core Republican states.

If you want to build this party, you've got to invest the money to do it, and that's what I'm doing."