Howard and Danny in National Journal

by Kevin Shaw [courtesy of Blog for America]

In an article titled Dr. Rorschach, National Journal's Alexis Simendinger examines the role Governor Dean has played in the Florida/Michigan debacle and the battle in the party over the 50-State-Strategy. The article is generally sympathetic to the situation Gov. Dean finds himself in and seems supportive of his decision to adhere to the rules regarding Florida and Michigan.

The carping from party veterans that Dean is to blame for the Florida and Michigan delegate disputes, or that he has been too passive or ineffectual to tease out a perfect compromise, exasperates aides and admirers who believe that Dean is being set up to be the fall guy, no matter what he does.

His defenders snipe that the same party insiders who tried three years ago to derail Dean's election as head of the party are the ones who now expect him to perform miracles to rescue the party from the negative consequences of the collective crackdown that failed to dissuade Florida and Michigan from holding primaries before February 5.

Later in the article, Simendinger looks at the DNC's fundraising prospects and mentions DFA, Jim Dean and new Commuinications Director Danny Medress:

After his defeat in 2004, Dean established the political action committee Democracy for America, which is run by his brother Jim. The group, which says it has 675,000 members, aims to "reform and reclaim the heart of the Democratic Party," said Communications Director Daniel Medress, but it has not sent a dime to the DNC or to state parties for reasons of both law and logic. "We can't be seen as an arm of the Democratic Party," Medress explained.

The group has raised $152,000 since the start of this year and uses its website as a portal to channel donations directly to candidates it endorses. In the four years since Dean founded the group, Medress said, the DFA has raised more than $3 million for candidates around the country.

Keep up the good work, Danny!