In retrospect, Mr Dean's great contribution to the Democratic Party was that he succeeded in providing it with both a cheerleader and a safety valve.

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At Howard he touted the "Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, " which he recently introduced with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, the Democratic senator from Vermont.

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Reagan knew that this was an important safety valve that allowed dissenting viewpoints to reach him without being blocked by those with their own agendas.

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