One event ... many reasons why Dean will win

[hedda_foil]

I had to post this supporter's report from the official blog because it encompasses so many audiences and so many reasons.

Update on Philadelphia Fundraiser/Lunch:

I've been looking forward to today for a while. A few weeks back I got an invitation to a $1000/$500 a plate event for Gov. Dean at one of Philly's fancy Philly Law firms. I thought to myself- why would they even waste postage asking me for that kind of money, only fancy lawyers and rich people go to these things right?! Then I thought about it some more and said to myself- "I can get together $1000, just find some extra work to do and do it." So I RSVP'd and made the biggest political contribution of my life.
I went to the event having no idea what to expect, and when I got there I met some fat cat types- but I also met an accountant, a teacher, two other students, three people I recognized from other events as inner city minority activists, disabled persons, elderly people, and a couple of trade union members.
It started off as a meet and greet (think junior high dance, except people are try to do deals with each other instead of trying to do each other.) Gov. Dean arrived shortly after everyone sat down and ate and gave a short version of his stump speech (standing 3 feet away from me !!!! I just happened to sit in the back of the room- where the governor decided to speak from:-). The speech was very good and effective. It differed from the usual stump speech in that:
1. He cut out a lot of background and rhetorical flourishes. This was an educated crowd and he made good use of his time by skipping preliminaries. Getting strait to the point is his strong suit- I don't know if it could work with a crowd that is less informed about policy issues, but speaking with some of the fat cats afterwords I found out he'd made some new converts because as they said "I didn't get the feeling he would even bother trying to lie to me."
2. He addressed the issue of gun controll (diosclosure- while I support gun controll, I'm an avid hunter and have mixed feelings about federal gun controll, but its not a big issue to me either way) by pointing out that %20 of union members don't vote democratic on the basis of that issue alone. He argued pragmatism and coalition building unapolagetically and from the looks on the faces and in the eyes of some of the attendees who consider support for gun controll a major issue- he convinced them. "Lets deal with education and health care first.."(paraphrase)
3. Tax reform- repeal the entire Bush tax cut first (because a partial repeal would leave too much in play politically and would transfer the benefits of the tax cuts from the rich to the upper middle class- likely leading to no additional revenue to balance the budget and deal with health care) Only then deal with tax reform, he avoided specifics of the program as he is rolling it out in a few weeks. But I asked him what policy goals would shape his tax reform and he answered that tax reform should be target at relieving the burden on the poorest. "Bottom up" tax relief. It was great to see him make this statement. Most tax releief aimed at the poor is actually aimed at special interests or modifying the behavior of the poor, so it was nice not to hear the issue framed in those terms. Just a simple premise- you should payt less taxes on the first dollar you earn than the millionth.
4. An african american woman in the audience asked about appeal to minorities. The Governor's response was a HOME RUN. "Minorities don't need candidates to come and talk to them about race, they want candidates who talk to WHITE audiences about race." (paraphrase) He spoke about the south and how the GOP has talked about race in the south for thirty years and how the Dems have been afraid to do it. He said simply that he would ask white southerners (gave an example from an event in S.C.) what they've gotten for themselves and their children by thirty years of voting for GOP'ers who promise to protect them from minorities and tell them what they can get by working together with their human brothers and sisters.

He covered other isuues but they've slipped my mind.
Some suggestions based on my observations- the Gov. is a master of commanding conversation ("You WILL take your medicine!". He should always address himself to another person when speaking. In the Debates he might try the trick of addressing each answer/statement to one of the other candidates, not necessarily confrontationally, but to put his words into the second person where he is at his best.
Anyhow, I asked the Gov. to sign my tie but my sharpie was kinda out of ink so the autograph is a little pale- I don't care about that... I got a tie signed by the next president! But Gov. Dean actually spent a couple of minuites looking for a better felt tip pen to sign my tie with so it would look really good.
People never act phony in little details like that. He is one of the most genuine and decent people I have ever met. I came away from my lunch with Gov. Dean with so much respect for the man and a comittment to myself, my children, and my country to redouble my efforts to make sure that Gov. Dean is the next president of the United States.
Mark in Philly

Posted by Mark in PA at September 9, 2003 04:57 PM

[LeftCoast]

1. Thanks for that update

I'm jealous! I wish I'd gotten to meet the Dr! :)

[Doug Decker]

2. Thank you for this report...

since i will never get close to Dr. Dean, it's nice to have a first hand report.

I haven't picked a candidate yet, but I love this type of report to help make up my mind. I'm ABB, but after reading this story, I am leaning more and more toward the Doctor.

[Eloriel]

9. You'll find quite a few of this type of report

on the Official Blog. I love reading it. Of course, not that many people get to meet Dean and have personal reflections like this one, but it's fascinating reading nonetheless, that blog (the Comments section link under each entry).

I loved the line about "he wouldn't even try to lie to me."

Eloriel

[Woodstock]

3. Great story!

Thanks for sharing.

[Clete]

4. I enjoyed reading your story.

Thank you for confirming that I haven't made a mistake in favoring Dean above the other candidates. I also feel better about the fact that he isn't a Washington insider with ties to think tanks and other circles whom I believe have had too much say in how our country has been run up to now.

[hedda_foil]

6. Isn't it great? But it's not mine. I just wanted to share it.

I've been to one actual fundraiser that Jan Schakowski held where Dean was the guest, but it was only $250 and Jan's my congressperson. I still got to talk to the Gov!

hedda

[Cha]

5. Cute! "The felt pen" "genuine" test!

What a fantastic thing for Mark from Pa. to do!

Gotta Love the enthusiasm! :kick: :bounce:

[hedda_foil]

7. Ya know what else I've noticed?

When CSPAN has shown him signing autographs for crowds of people and he uses someone's pen for a few signatures he always makes sure the original owner gets it back. I find it absolutely amazing that he takes the time to do that in the total crush he always finds himself in. He just comes across as naturally and unthinkingly considerate of everyone he comes in contact with, which I love!

[Cha]

8. Dean is a thinking, considerate, person and I hope that comes

across in the forumn tonight!

[hedda_foil]

10. Shoot! Someone on the blog noticed the same thing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Mark in PA:
Your analogy made me LOL!

"It started off as a meet and greet (think junior high dance, except people are try to do deals with each other instead of trying to do each other.)"

You mentioned the Gov. looking for a better pen with which to sign your tie. Funny, I was watching the NYC-Bryant Park rally on CSPAN.org(which is still on the 'Most Watched' video list, I might add) today for the first time--I had the pleasure of volunteering for that and was backstage. Something that struck me at the end when he left the stage and moved across the front of crowd shaking hands and such involved a pen as well. He started signing a few things with a pen from someone in the crowd, and it was chaotic. He moved along and probably signed 10 things then he back-tracked and took the pen back to the person it belonged to.

A silly observation? To some, maybe, but for me it's something I find so appealing about him. I think it's more of a testament that he's not on auto-pilot, working the crowd. In all of the madness, the adrenaline from the rally, cameras, reporters, security, people yelling from the crowd, flyers, posters, magazines being shoved towards him, it registered with him who that person was, 10 people back down the line, that handed him the pen in the first place, and he took it back to them. He could've just as easily 1)forgotten completely that it belonged to someone in the crowd or 2)just passed it off to a staff member and said "this belongs to somebody down there" and been done with it.

I like that about him.

Posted by C Harrison at September 9, 2003 05:18 PM

[newsguyatl]

11. anyone

have an audio link for the debate tonight?

for those of us who either 1) don't have cable 2) refuse to pay fox's bills (or both)

[AP]

12. Two things (taxes and minorities)

- I don't think tax reform should be aimed only at the poorest. Yes, I totally believe in the social and economic benefits of the EIC. The thing is that it's not the poorest to whom the tax burden has been shifted. The tax code rips off the people who have money but not political power. That isn't the poor. It's the working class and the middle class. I'm stunned that Dean would frame his tax policy as he has. He was been a state governor for years. Surely he has some concept of how the tax burden has shifted to the middle class. What's his plan? Is he going to give the poor an even biger EIC? Why can't he just make the tax code more progressive, which would mean lower rates for the middle class, and new, higer brackets with marginally higher rates.

The other day I was listening to a Republican talk about how great Bush has been for child poverty. It struck me that they Republicans are going to try to keep the poor from slipping too far beneath the surface so they can sound compassionante. What they really want is for the middle class to not have opportunities and wealth and political power. I wanted this guy to address why a million middle class kids had to drop out of college since Bush became president, and why people's retirement funds have been cut in half. That's where the real pot of gold is in American society. Why won't Dean protect those people?

-as for the Democrats in the south not talking about race. Does this guy want to alienate people like Bill Clinton, and people who look favorably on democrats like LBJ who did talk about race. One of the most powerful speeches I've ever heard on race was JFK talking about Oxford, Miss., and JFK was hardly the Democrat farthest out on the edge of this issue.

However, I agree with his idea that the argument about race to make (and you don't just have to direct it at white folks) is that racism holds us all back, and that's almost a direct quote from Clinton, and he was making that argument to people in 92.