By John R. Brennan

The election is long since over, and the results were not good. Republicans made considerable gains in both the House and Senate, and George W. Bush was reelected into the Oval Office with a majority of the popular vote for the first time since hs father was elected President in 1988. The Democrats are at a crossroads. Many believe that the end is near for the party. conservative commentator and former Presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan stated, ”Liberalism is dead.” He, like many others, said the party no longer has great minds and leaders of past k Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy. It is now up to every Democrat to work to prove that it is not so. The beginnings of the Democratic Renaissance are at hand, and the first step will be the election of a new chairman- Under Terry McAuliffe, the party made great His leadership and ability made it possible for the DNC to out fund raise the RNC in the 2004 election. One of his greatest contributions was the corporate connections that were made for the party. Without this, the Republicans may still have held a monopoly on corporate fund raising. The party now needs more than money, it needs a plan. The new chairman will play a vital role in the direction of the party. In February, a committee of 447 members of the Democratic National Committee vote to choose the new chairman. A simple majority is needed. The candidates for the position are nearly as numerous as they were for President. Similar to that campaign, the man to beat is former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. Also running are former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, former Congressmen Tim Roemer and Martin Frost, activist Simon Rosenberg, strategst Donnie Fowler, and former Ohio Democratic chairman David Leiand. Frost who hails from Texas has received the endorsement of former DNC chairman Bob Strauss, another Texan native. Frost’s main objective is to stick to the strong base and values, such as labor, women’s, and civil rights. Roemer, of Indiana, is the only pro-life candidate for the position, and his presence has raised a lot of questions within the party. Roemer explains, the way to go about ending abortions is the same of President Bill Clinton, under whom there were II percent fewer abortions. Clinton said abortions should be “sale, legal, and rare.” In order to combat Bush’s “moral hgh-groun#, Roemer makes the point that Democrats must make it clear that they are the party that helps the poor, perhaps the most Christian of ideas. Dean has stated many goals he has for the party. He mentioned grassroots organizations as the secret to winning elections. He also says the. reason why Democrats do not win in southern states is because they do not show up. He said the party must seek the advice of Democrats who have been winning in southern stated, as well as the individual state parties who know the voters best. Dean has mentioned how the Republicans simply pander, using the issues of God, guns, and gays. He offers an insight from his governorship. After making a decision, people were often angry, and Dean said he listened to those who were angry. Dean found that it was never that particular decision that angered the people and after talking he would get to what really mattered, such as security, economic stability and health care. A major issue on everyone’s mind regarding Dean is whether or not he will seek the Presidency in 2008. For now, he has said, “If I get the position, I’m not running for President in 2008.” There is a lot for Democrats to do. We have lost six consecutive house campaigns and are facing a period in which the Republican Party controls Congress, the white house, and could possibly take a strong hold of the Supreme Court. If Democrats are to regain lost ground in the next elections, the start will be with the election of the new chairman. Then the real work begins.

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