Former Governor Howard Dean says Tea Party activists took a cue from his 2004 campaign playbook to score major victories for Republicans in the 2010 campaign. Dean made the comparison on VPR’s Vermont Edition with Ari Berman, author of the book Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics.
Dean said during the 2004 presidential campaign he connected with huge numbers of Democrats throughout the U.S. who felt the Democratic Party in Washington had ignored them, a feeling similar to that of some disaffected Republican voters in 2010. Dean said the highest compliment to his so-called "50-State Strategy" was that the Republicans used it effectively against the Democrats in 2010.
Click on ‘Listen’ to hear Jane’s interview with Dean and Ari Berman, author of the new book on Democratic strategy, "Herding Donkeys."