GUEST, you don't know Howard. We're not shutting up because we're scared, we're just perplexed at your propenisty to grasp at straws. Howard's goal is to transform the party, not marginalize it. Howard's a very practical guy. His goal is to get things done, not make ideological statements. Think about it: you want to have an effect on the nation. Do you begin with a party that already has 44% of the Senate, or start from zero? Do you begin with the party that got 48% of the presidential vote, or start from zero?   

Howard is right now deciding whether to go for Terry McAuliffe's job with the DNC. I prsonally hope he won't, but the very fact that he is considering it suggests he's not jumping ship anytime soon.