re: Derailing the train
I haven't read Dean's book, but I know who he is, and I know who he was, and I've read some articles he wrote, and I know he's the darling of the Left right now. I'm not at all surprised that he began examining this issue in the mid-90s. I suspect it happened soon after the Democrats lost a lock on the Congress they had held for forty years.
I have also already explained what I think is going on, and that the Left has firmly wrapped its own delusions so tightly around itself that there's really no point to debate any more. The refusal to see which side is actually less tolerant of dissent in its own ranks is one example. The response to the results of the next election will be another.