Howard Dean.
And while Ellison seems like a good Congressman, he'd be a terrible DNC Chair for many reasons.
Why would he be so terrible?
A few reasons:
1) He's a member of Congress and a party chair shouldn't be a congressman, it never works (see Wasserman-Schultz for one of the best examples of why this is a bad idea). It's a full-time job, Ellison will have his own agenda and interests seperate from those of the party and when they conflict, he'll look out for himself just like most of these guys would. Oh and it's pretty clear he is at least partly running to raise his own profile which only heightens these concerns (at least in my mind).
2) Dean was one of the best DNC chairs in recent American political history; experience matters. Dean has a proven track record of success in this position. Ellison is simply one of many ambitious congressman who is frustrated with the lack of House leadership openings for younger Dem congressmen; there is literally no reason whatsoever to think that he would be any better than McAuliffe, Kaine, or even DWS. What makes a good congressman is not what necessarily makes for a good party chair.
3) Sanders endorsing Ellison is a huge red flag. Dean has rock-solid progressive credentials, but also understands that the party needs to start by rebuilding the state parties not holding a bunch of ultimately useless protests. Sanders is great in many ways, but he clearly doesn't know the first thing about building an organization's internal infrastructure. Sanders' endorsement makes me suspect Ellison is just gonna sit around spewing Bold Progressive buzzwords about small donors and big banks. There's a place for that, but the DNC chairmanship sure as sh!t ain't it. Just like we don't want a McAullifesque corporate shill, we shouldn't want a Sanders-type or worse yet, a whacktivist (not calling Ellison one, just saying). I'd prefer Ellison remain a strong progressive voice in the House, at least until he's actually proven himself, once he has...well...maybe that'll be a different conversation, but he really hasn't thus far AFAIK.
4) Is there any evidence that Ellison is a particularly strong fundraiser? Because whatever Sanders and friends want to pretend, that's a really important part of the job.
Howard Dean.
And while Ellison seems like a good Congressman, he'd be a terrible DNC Chair for many reasons.
Why would he be so terrible?
Centrist Dem/Concern Troll R:
Because he is scary and brown and He is the deliverer of His subjects from the scary and brown. Which would mean nothing but of His subjects, 10% of them were our supporters.
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