The Kill Dean Machine.

I would have loved to have Howard Dean as the democratic nomination over John Kerry. I would have even loved to lose with him, to go down with the ship, fighting gloriously anyway. But he was sabotaged and this is my theory on why:

The Clintons.

With Dean as the nominee the Clintons and their centrist democratic friends, the Carvilles and the Begalas and the Mcauliffes, would have been sunk. Their ambitions for control of the democratic party would have been sunk. Hillary's chances, Bill's legacy, the 'Cagin's famous tenacity: sunk sunk sunk.

The new bearers of power would have been the people, the millions of people, who's fire's were stroked by Dean and who had begun to take back the Democratic party from the centrists (the Clintonites) and the corporate lobbyists. When Dean proclaimed he was from the "democratic wing of the democratic party" it was not just a call to arms for loyal democrats but a slap in the face to the Clintonites and their 'New Democrats' movement started by Billy in the mid 80's. John Kerry was a member of the New Democrats and his Presidency would have segued nicely into a Hillary Vice-Presidency with Edwards as her running mate. A Dean Presidency would have left the Clintons pushed aside, brushed off as a fluke, a hiccup in the Democratic Party, the people's party, and Bill's legacy would have crumbled.

There is still a power struggle occuring inside the Democratic Party ad it is crucial that the centrists do not win because there are mid term elections coming in 2006 and if the republicans get to 60 members of the senate they can stop a fillibuster and that is huge, HUGE trouble.

A 60/40 split in the Senate would mean that for two years Bush could nominate any judge he wants and the democrats would be powerless to stop it. Bush could stack the Supreme Court and that would be the end of Roe v Wade. Colorblind college admissions (baaaaaaad news) could be judged legal, the death penalty expanded, corporations given even more person status (really really bad news), and thats just the start. I for one am terrified.

And all that because the Clintonites want a lady president and a legacy. Politics at its dirtiest.