We owe a lot of our success, as a party and a movement, to Howard Dean. As chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Dean led the way (equipped with a 50 state strategy that he was the main architect of) and helped elect a Democratic majority in the House, Senate and also led to the election of President Barack Obama.
Of course, the discussion about health care is important. But the political aspect of this is huge. Getting Howard Dean's endorsement is something that will hold a lot of weight with a lot of people, including the likes of myself who already support Gillibrand. Dean endorsing Gillibrand is a huge endorsement for Gillibrand and while she has received many endorsements from Democratic Party leaders and elected officials, having the backing of Howard Dean will help rally more and more progressives in support of Gillibrand.
Here is the text of the endorsement:
Well I want to thank Kirsten for the time she gave to do the interview. I asked her to do the interview because I'm considering endorsements in the United States Senate race in New York. So I'll tell you one very quick story about Kirsten Gillibrand.
She was elected in 2006, and I spent four years in Washington - and a lot of people in Washington say a lot of things and usually don't do anything about it. She came in about two and a half year ago when she was a representative and told me when I was chairman of the DNC that she wanted to do something for women through the Women's Leadership Forum. And I thought to myself, this is really great, but I'll bet it'll never happen.
She's the only person in four years that came to me, made a promise, and then brought six of her women colleagues in the House then, to raise money for the Democratic National Committee so we could have this big majority in the House and this big majority in the Senate.
And today, she's satisfied me that she knows how to use that majority in order to get things done. So I'm pleased to endorse Kirsten Gillibrand for the United States Senate for her re-election.
The endorsement is big, but the discussion Dean and Gillibrand had about health care really shows just how progressive Gillibrand is on the issue. For all the criticisms that she has wavered on issues from the past to the present, her support of a public option is something that she had stood by during her time in the Senate. She hasn't backed down from that, which is admirable and, well, progressive.
This is a great night for Gillibrand. Getting Dean's backing could be the most important endorsement she has received to date. Dean is well respected among those in the Democratic Party, the progressive movement and the netroots/grassroots. This endorsement will hold weight among all of those groups.
