Howard Dean is most famous for two things: His ill-fated run for president in 2004 (which some think was stymied by a bad microphone) and paving the way for Barack Obama’s 2008 victory by using the internet for fundraising. “As every alert citizen knows, Dean has used the Net to raise more money than any other Democratic candidate,” Gary Wolf of Wired magazine wrote in January of 2004. “He’s also used it to organize thousands of volunteers who go door-to-door, write personal letters to likely voters, host meetings, and distribute flyers.”

But these days, the former Vermont governor and head of the Democratic National Committee has a job besides campaigning for himself or holding office: He’s campaigning for his fellow Democrats. He’s campaigning in Illinois on behalf of Ilya Sheyman, who is running against Brad Schneider in the the March 20th primary for the 10th Congressional District.

It’s a tightly contested race. “This is really about whether Democrats are going to be Democrats,” Dean told Politico last week. “I don’t think there’s a future for the Democratic Party if Democrats don’t act like Democrats. Schneider’s basically a Blue Dog, a Republican.” 

Dean will talk with Eight Forty-Eight more Monday about campaigning and the state of campaign finance.