Well put.
If you listen to the talking points from mainstream Democrats like Ted Kennedy, nothing has really changed since at least Vietnam era, and some things do go back to the 1930s.
By all means, elect Dean to head the party. Plenty of people on the Left think the solution to reaching the average American is to release the Democratic Party's inner socialist. Obviously, the reason Democrats aren't winning elections is that they aren't far enough to the left. The alternative doesn't really bear thinking about, does it?
Good luck.
Remember how Clinton won the elections. It wasn't by adopting Dean's views.