(Huffington Post) -- The Democrats desperately need a new national party leader, technically the chair of the Democratic National Committee. The current national committee, elected at the last Democratic convention based on the relative strengths of the Clinton and Sanders forces, is narrowly divided, and close to deadlock.
Rep Keith Ellison of Minnesota, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, an early favorite after Sanders endorsed him, now appears to be fading. Though Senator Chuck Schumer quickly jumped in and backed Ellison as part of Schumer’s repositioning as a progressive, there is pressure on Schumer and other early supporters to back off.
The biggest problem is that Ellison is a sitting Member of Congress, and national party chair ought to be a full time job. The best recent DNC chair, Howard Dean, who rebuilt a 50-state party in the mid-2000s, wanted the job back, but Sanders vetoed that because he felt Dean had been disrespectful to him. Dean has now dropped out.