Rockefeller Democrat

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, currently the favorite of the media among Democrats hoping to challenge President Bush, is a refreshing – if flinty – voice in politics. His appeal to disenfranchised voters combined with his mix of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism is the most energizing thing the Democratic Party has seen this year.

Considered an outsider in these early days of the presidential campaign, the medical doctor gained attention last month when he raised more money during the previous quarter than any of his rivals. More important perhaps than the dollar amount – $7.6 million – is that Dr. Dean got the money from 59,000 people. That means his average contribution was about $129, far less than what President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are collecting at their lavish fund-raisers.

Dr. Dean, who visited Bangor last week, has used that not-so-new phenomenon, the Internet, to spread his message far and wide. He wisely signed on with Meetup.com, the site that links like-minded people ranging from pug aficionados to disenfranchised Demo-crats. The results have surprised even him. Just last week, a national poll for the first time showed him tied for first place in the crowded Democratic field. Asked in Bangor how it felt to be among the front-runners, Dr. Dean replied with a smile: “Different.”

Different is a word that many have used to describe the sometimes-acerbic doctor, but in fact his form of Democratic thinking is not so new. People in New England have long expected (though haven’t always gotten) fiscal conservatism from their elected officials. Gov. Dean cut government spending and balanced the budget (in the absence of a requirement to do so) so that Vermont was one of the few states that did not face a huge budget deficit when the economy soured. They are also socially tolerant – what people do in their own bedrooms is their business – so his signing a law legalizing civil union in Vermont is not as big a liability as some make it out to be.

In this tradition, you could call Dr. Dean a Rockefeller Democrat. In other parts of the country, labels are harder to shake and he will have a harder time explaining why his message of opposing the war in Iraq, revamping health care to make it more affordable and making environmental regulations more stringent does not make him too liberal.

What is different about Dr. Dean is that his message, for now, is resonating with a group of people who have felt betrayed by the political process. Half of American don’t vote and the half that do now question the process in the wake of the 2000 ballot debacle. The Dean campaign, which also made a stop in Camden last week, declares that much of their support comes from nonvoters.

If, with a new way to deliver an old message, Dr. Dean can bring people back to the electoral process, no matter what candidate they vote for, he will have accomplished a lot.