Word: Where the Democrats went wrong

This anonymous comment on another post summarizes one of the great mistakes the Democrats made:

[Howard] Dean is absolutely correct is his assessment, and it was heartening to see him advocate the fifty state strategy while he led the DNC. I remember the difficulties in attempting to persuade his staff in the 2004 presidential campaign that a progressive message could be highly resonant in the heartland and that it would be a dire mistake to succumb to the stereotypical condescension Easterners hold for the so-called fly over states. The MoveOn factions that invaded his campaign diluted his populist message and placed entirely too emphasis on email solicitations for cash---turned his into a conventional effort of which the results could be predicted. Had Iowans the opportunity to have heard the Howard Dean of the early months of May/June 2003 the outcome would have been quite different for the governor. The Democratic establishment set out to crucify him and in particular his message, which was not so very much different than that Sanders would present 12 years on.