When Democratic Party Chairman and former Vermont governor Howard Dean spoke at last week’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, the only screams came from the energized audience.
The fiery Dean was interrupted by applause and cheering numerous times during his speech at the annual fundraiser last week, which raised money for the Arlington County Democratic Party.
Despite Dean’s reputation for hyper-partisanship, the chairman struck a conciliatory tone.
"People are tired of one-way politics," he said to an audience of several hundred. "People are tired of nasty television spots."
Dean said that Democrats should not try to avoid the issues that have bedeviled them in the past but should instead confront them.
"We need not to run away from the values debate," he said. "We need to run towards the values debate."
The chairman said that the Democratic Party shouldn’t write off Evangelicals as a solidly Republican voting bloc.
"Young Evangelicals share our agenda," Dean said. "They’re tired of going to church on Sunday and hearing that they’re going to hell if they know someone who’s gay."
He also addressed the growing discontent among Democratic circles with the new Congress’ failure to end the Iraq War.
"We are going to continue to work hard to end the war in Iraq but we know that we need to work harder," Dean said.
DEAN’S SPEECH ECHOED the tenets of his 50-state strategy in which the national Democratic Party chairman has sought to pump volunteers and resources into parts of the country that are historically hostile towards Democrats.
"Grassroots politics is how you win elections," he said. "We have to talk to everybody."
While some within the Democratic Party’s Washington establishment have been reported to loathe the 50-state strategy and view it as a waste of resources, local Democrats embraced it with open arms.
"The 50-state strategy was an inspiration to us," Arlington County Democratic Committee chairman Peter Rousselot said.
"What [Dean] did is very consistent with what Arlington does," said U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8), who was introduced to a standing ovation. "In Arlington we never give up on a precinct."
He said "[Dean’s] strategy worked [in the 2006 election]. In places we never thought we could win, we won."
As one would expect at a Democratic Party fundraiser, there was a fair amount of Bush-bashing as well.
"It’s hard to believe that we elected the worst, most incompetent president in history," Moran said.
"When the Republican Party talks toughness, they don’t mean it," Dean said. "Where is Osama Bin Laden, Mr. President?"
Dean also told the crowd of Democratic loyalists that, as party chairman, he won’t stand for unfair attacks against Democratic candidates like the ones that tormented U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) presidential campaign in 2004.
"The minute the Swift Boat people rear their heads in 2008, they’re going to forget they had heads," he said to thunderous applause.
THE MAIN FOCUS OF the evening was the Democratic Party’s attempt to gain a majority in the Virginia General Assembly in the 2007 elections.
State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-31) and Del. Brian Moran (D-46) spoke at the dinner and, noting a dearth of competitive races in Arlington, encouraged the party activists to donate their time and money elsewhere in Northern Virginia.
"We have lots of great candidates across Virginia," Moran said. "We can and we will pick up seats."
Dean also exhorted the audience to work hard in this year’s election. He said that one of his aides told him that Virginia might be in play this year and he responded "Virginia is definitely in play!"
The Jefferson-Jackson Dinner is an annual event for Arlington Democrats.
Last year's dinner raised over $50,000 for the local Democratic Party.
Eric Sildon, one of the events organizers, said that was more than 25 percent of the Arlington Democratic Committee's 2006 operating budget.
The final dollar amount of this year's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner has not been tabulated yet but Rousselot predicted that it would be lower than last year's due to the lack of federal races on the ballot.