Without question, Dean was beyond insulting, but who else would run it? I'm not saying it should be Dean, but since no one spoke out against the obvious, there's no one left in the Party who meets your criteria. Sad, but true.

and responses during and after the primary. But to say that he shouldn't go anywhere near any program that impacts women and their health is not only wrong, it completely ignores his record as a governor, his strongly stated support for reproductive rights, and a slew of preventative health care initiatives that benefitted women greatly.

That same wikipedia entry that Sarah quotes from also notes that child abuse and teen pregnancy were cut in half during his tenure. He expanded early childhood programs -- both health and education -- which, for obvious reasons, are utilized disproportionately by women.

He signed into law a program called "Success by Six" that required every new mother in VT be visited by a nurse or social worker within two weeks of the birth of her baby to identify any areas where the mother might need help, or any potential dangers for her or the baby. It was in large part responsible for the dramatic decrease in child abuse.

We were able to reduce teen pregnancies, we were always low, but they plunged at a rate much quicker than the in the rest of the nation, to the lowest in the nation. And we were able to reduce child sexual abuses, the worst kind, in 0 to 3, by 60 percent. I mean these were the results of that way of thinking. Because if you're abused, you're not going to make it in school. So that way of thinking and then engage in the local communities, that work is really what the excitement of those years was all about, and Howard Dean saw it, promoted it, pushed us, and really made it possible for a bureaucracy as big as the one I was running to be able to change in those kinds of directions.

He was on the board of the New England Planned Parenthood and his strong support for abortion rights has been stated and restated numerous times

Abortion is connected to civil rights, because the government is so impressed with itself in promoting individual freedom they can't wait to get into your bedroom and tell you how to behave. [applause]. And I don't think, as a physician--people ask me what's your position on abortion. It's very simple; it's a single sentence. The practice of medicine is none of the government's business and they ought to stay out of it. [cheers, applause]. This is a private relationship, this is a private relationship between the physician, the patient and whoever the patient chooses to involve in that position.

It's worth it to read the whole speech he gave to NARAL.

I was astonished when Dean said that he was unaware of the misogyny during the primary. But to extrapolate from that a disregard for women's health issues is just not based on the facts or his record. When I hear that Howard Dean might be named Secretary of Health and Human services or RFK, Jr. might be named to head up the EPA, I feel almost giddy at the prospect of competent people running agencies within their field of expertise.

He was not only instrumental in the complicity and he is being rewarded for it.

He not only ignored pleas and outcry but he also defended it. Another liar that will do anything to win.
Remember the Howard Dean and the "I am the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party". HA Another Corporatist.

That's Scalia talk.

Time moves on, as do circumstances. It's well and good and necessary to respond to those changes, to live in the present and to plan for the future.

But action defines character, as does inaction.

Why, in your book does Hillary's AUMF vote loom large (while Kerry's, Biden's and Edwards' presumably do not -- did Dean shun them over their votes?)?

And why are people demanded to "move on" about Dean's failure to ensure the primary process was clean and fair, and that the party didn't disgrace itself with behavior that drove many loyalists away?

I salute your attempt to paint the whole picture on Dean, but I don't think that should require people having to STFU their brains about his actions and inactions from this very year.

although I question the idea that Dean based his support on who did and did not vote for AUMF.

Dean is the party chair. He had a responsibility to respond to the misogyny and sexism. He did not, and when confronted about this he claimed he didn't know it was happening because he doesn't watch cable. Seriously?

I am starting to really question this idea that someone can be considered good on progressive issues when that person is silent or in denial about sexism. It strikes me as a bit of cognitive dissonance.

As I stated above, I believe that Dean's silence during the primary makes him a bad candidate for any position that has a major impact on womens' lives. We need to stop tolerating misogyny and sexism.

when it comes to AUMF.

-- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles... -- Possibilities For HHS Secretary, FDA Commissioner In Obama Administration Discussed

Dean won't get it.