Dean Is Back, and Not on the Fringe, Either

Former Presidential Candidate Studies the Right for Lessons On How to Better Organize the Left

By DAVID ROGERS, Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
June 7, 2004; Page A4

WASHINGTON -- Howard Dean has jumped back into this year's elections, urging support for his old nemesis, John Kerry, and promoting himself as a spokesman for the progressive wing in the Democratic Party.

The feisty former Vermont governor, determined not to be a fringe player, is boning up on the political right for guidance on how to better organize the left -- not just for November's elections but beyond. He is studying the tactics used by Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Ralph Reed, who helped make the Christian Coalition a political power. A decade after Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Reed, now a private consultant and adviser to President George W. Bush's campaign, helped usher in an era of Republican power, Mr. Dean hopes to begin to shift the balance back toward his progressive agenda.

"Those people were very organized, they were very methodical about what they did," he says. If history is amused by the ironies, Mr. Dean believes it soon will have to sit up and take notice. Click for the full story.