Remember that Hillary Clinton positioned herself as more moderate than Barack Obama in 2008 and will be expected to do so again in 2016. But the far left, the likes of MoveOn.org and The New Party, have long since taken over the Democrat Party since they unanimously elected Howard Dean as their national chairman. The more “progressive” far left wing of the party, or the “Democratic wing of the Democratic Party” as Howard Dean used to say, remains firmly in control of the party.
There will be a large constituency, among Democrat Party primary voters, who will desire a more progressive candidate than Hillary Cinton, to support for president in 2016. Guess who spoke in Iowa today, speaking at a Federation of Labor event about electing more liberal Democrats to the state legislature there? Yes, Howard Dean, the very liberal former Democrat Governor of the People’s Republic of Vermont. Vermont is geographically one of the most beautiful states in the country, it’s a great place to visit, and they have some great skiing there, but their politics have moved far to the left in the last generation or so. They repeatedly elected Dean as their governor during the 1990s.
I know many will remember the infamous Howard Dean scream in Iowa in 2004, but remember also that we as voters will always give a candidate a second chance and maybe even a third chance. Howard Dean could easily emerge in 2016 as the far left alternative to Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.
Dean was the first candidate to step and challenge, very early in the process in 2003, President George W. Bush for the 2004 election. Dean later went on to serve as national chairman of the Democrat Party and implemented the 50 state strategy where the party would no longer write off competing in red states, and would seek to compete and promote their values and candidates in all 50 states. Clearly, one can objectively say, that Dean moved the party to the far left during his tenure but he also moved it to victory as well.
Based on his tenure of service to the party, he would be the candidate most likely to build a network of support around the country, and raise the much needed funds, to mount a credible challenge in the primaries and caucuses to Hillary Clinton. At this point, it looks like Howard Dean could be the most viable challenge to Hillary Clinton from the far left in 2016.
