Steve Grossman jumped on the Howard Dean bandwagon before there was a bandwagon.
In the fall of 2002, when Dean had virtually no staff, no website, no money, and no name recognition, Grossman signed up as chairman of Dean for America. It was a pretty gutsy move for Grossman — as a Boston-based Dem who served as chairman of John Kerry’s 1996 Senate campaign, it would have been easy for Grossman to avoid the unknown anti-establishment candidate and stick with his home-state’s guy whom he knew well. He took the risk.
If Grossman had a flaw within the campaign, it was that he wanted to see Bush lose far more than he wanted to see Dean win. And everyone knew it.
Yesterday, in the middle of the day, the AP started reporting that Dean was “prepared to abandon the race,” based on Grossman’s conclusions.
“I have no doubt he’ll support the nominee in any way he can, no matter who the nominee is and obviously that nominee looks to be John Kerry,” Grossman said of Dean. “He may say that Tuesday night. He may wait until Wednesday or Thursday to say that.”
Quickly thereafter, the campaign started challenging Grossman’s comments, saying that Dean would pursue the nomination with or without a victory in Wisconsin.
“We’re not dropping out after Tuesday, period,” Dean said in a television interview yesterday.
Grossman, almost certainly aware of the consequences, then told the New York Times that he would leave the Dean campaign and move into Kerry’s camp if Dean lost in Wisconsin.
“If Howard Dean does not win the Wisconsin primary, I will reach out to John Kerry unless he reaches out to me first,” Grossman said. “I will make it clear that I will do anything and everything I can to help him become the next president, and I will do anything and everything I can to build bridges with the Dean organization.”
None too pleased, the Dean campaign decided to make Grossman’s transition a little easier by announcing that he has, in effect, been fired. How exactly? The campaign issued a press release thanking Grossman for his service. It was written entirely in past tense.
“Steven Grossman meant a lot to this campaign,” Dean’s statement read. “With his help we have accomplished a lot and without his leadership we would not be where we are. We’ll miss him and we wish him well.”
The Dean campaign has reached an awkward level, to put it mildly. In the last three weeks, Dean’s lost his campaign manager (Trippi), his campaign chairman (Grossman), his director of Internet operations (Gross), his biggest union (AFSCME), and every primary and caucus that’s been held.
I understand Dean’s drive to go on, but with no money, staff, high-level support, or advertising, he runs the risk of damaging his reputation permanently if he stays in the race without any prospects.