The Stranger's Sandeep Kaushik: ''Dean's No Gingrich''

You need look no further than the top of this page to see that Kaushik is capable of tipping his hat to Dean, when he feels it's appropriate. But his article this week in The Stranger, "Dean of the Establishment," sounds an alarm over the the immediate future of the Democrats: "Pre-Gingrich, Republicans hewed to the Tip O'Neil dictum that "all politics is local." Gingrich turned that maxim on its head, nationalizing the party's message; his 1994 "Contract with America" gave conservative candidates around the country a unified set of themes to run on. And it worked. Dean, by contrast, offers the worst of both worlds: The incompetent old guard remains in command, but the troops in the field will have more independence to go off and fight their own battles. That means, inevitably, more confusion, more infighting, and a more muddled message." I'm not sure I agree, but once again, his words are worth reading and thinking about.