Yes!

After all the statements from the DC Democrats stumbling over each other to distance themselves from Dean, and the extremely annoying spectacle of Buchannan and the right-wing punditocracy feigning upset at the Governor's "extreme" language, it is so refreshing to encounter a commentary from someone who gets it.

Thank you, thank you, Stan Merriman in the Houston Chronicle:

Concerning Howard Dean's rhetoric: His Democratic critics misunderstand Dean's strategy. Moderate Republicans and independents are not the target group Dean has in mind to rebuild and move our party to the winning column once again. Nor is that group the responsibility of an opposition party offering a better solution. In this period of renewal, our target is the 40 percent of the electorate who have opted out of the system because we Democrats are not speaking to and for them. And our target are the Reagan Democrats who left us because we were not addressing their economic needs and speaking to them in populist, bread-and-butter, dinner table language.

What his critics fail to understand is that Howard Dean is leading in a manner we progressive populists have elected him to do. We tried the capitulation strategy favored by Berg and others in the party for the better part of the last 15 years under Democratic Leadership Council-based party leadership. We progressives, at least many of us, endured and even support their attempt out of misguided party loyalty.

It failed, quite miserably. So, now it is our turn. Progressive populists are the dominant force in the party and we want to speak truth to power. We want Dean to say it like it really is: The Republican Party is 80 percent white and Christian; its agenda is dedicated to advancing the power of the wealthy and corporate America. In our view, Rep. Tom DeLay's conduct is criminal. Both are trying to lead us into a fundamentalist Christian theocratic state with a diminishment of our Bill of Rights. And Howard Dean is leading us in the grass-roots development of a populist party belief system with a progressive agenda of rights that some mistakenly consider entitlements. He is empowering us at the grass-roots of the party to craft a belief system around rights to which citizens who have built by the sweat of their brow are indeed entitled as members of the richest and most powerful society in world history:

• The right to vote in fair elections.
  
• The right to restrain our government from squandering our wealth, national reputation and young lives on an ill-conceived and immoral war.
  
• The right to require corporations and the wealthy to once again pay their fair share of taxes to provide what some call entitlements — such as, health care for all of us; excellent, free public education through college or technical school; the right to remedial services to help rebuild broken communities and lives in our inner cities; and the right to a living wage and fair collective bargaining for working Americans.

Republican denial of these rights evokes justified anger and aggressive rhetoric. Howard Dean understands what some of his Democratic critics apparently fail to comprehend: Republicans have declared cultural and economic war on our people.

They started this war to dismantle the American social compact. Soft rhetoric is appeasement and capitulation to their agenda. Frankly, we in the progressive populist movement do not buy the concept of turning the other cheek. When we do so, our opponents tear it off.

Howard Dean is leading a party of resistance and rebellion to restore the American Dream. In the Clinton years we tried the triangulation strategy and what did we get? His near impeachment and a declaration of war against us and all we hold dear.

Even Republicans agree that when war is declared on you, the survival response is not to lay down your arms. Recalling the famous line from the movie Network, we are madder than hell, and we aren't going to take it any more.

Many thanks to the Hoffmania blog for tipping me to this column.

I'm also now shamelessly stealing an idea from that blog, providing readers with a convenient means to provide feedback to the party. Clicking on the button below will take you to a page where you can contribute to the DNC each time Dean says something you like. That should help quiet the nonsense about the money he isn't raising.

After this post scrolls away, you'll still be able to find the button in the sidebar, in the 'Engine Room' section. What'dya think, $10-15 each time Dean speaks out? Go for it!