Politics: Angry at Dean, some Democrats won't walk the walk on campaign finance
Howard Dean is weathering some blowback from members of the Democratic National Committee who question his decision this week to have the party file a court brief in support of Vermont's stringent campaign finance law.
The former Vermont governor and unsuccessful 2004 presidential candidate, who is about to mark his one-year anniversary as Democratic Party chair, filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court backing the law, which sets limits on both individual contributions and overall campaign spending.
It is being challenged by Vermont's Republicans in a case to be heard by the high court February 28. Sources say Dean, who as governor signed the measure into law in 1997, made the decision to have the DNC join the case largely on his own. Dean has been hammering Republicans for what he characterizes as their "culture of corruption" and told reporters in Vermont, where he made the announcement, that if you talk the talk of getting "dirty money out of politics," you have to walk the walk.