I just want to thank the Dean & Kucinich supporters on DU

[feistydem]

Although I've been a Kerry supporter since he announced, I have to credit the Dean and Kucinich supporters with sticking by their candidates and when Kerry won the Dem nomination coming together again to rally behind Kerry.

This is NOT what the Republicans were counting on. They wanted us to fracture.

We can thank "W' for uniting the Democrats and many Greens and Indys. He has been just crazy enough to unite so many to defeat him.

This Bush is about to be sheared.

[Cha]

1. Pruned to the nub!

:toast: to all former supporters of the Dem Candidates who came together for Kerry!

[Marnieworld]

2. You're welcome!

[newsguyatl]

3. Dean is the one EVERYONE should be thanking

because if it weren't for him and his successful campaign, Kerry wouldn't have opted out of public financing and would have been BURIED by bush ads that would have defined him.

Because of the Dean campaign, Kerry's been able to raise the money and fight back.

[Maat]

5. Thanks for the nice words.

I had faith from the beginning that we Dems would stick together...because of the sentiments expressed on this Board. So, I had faith.

[fishwax]

6. I agree wholeheartedly

Sixteen months ago there was a pretty deep malaise in the Democratic Party, and Howard Dean's campaign brought an incredible amount of energy into play for our side. That energy spread to the other candidates and supporters of other candidates, and kept spreading even when Dean's candidacy stalled. (Full disclosure: I was a Dean supporter at the outset.)

I've said for months that, should John Kerry win this election and put an end to this dark and frustrating period of our history, there are two people I would like to thank personally for making that happen, and Howard Dean is one of them. (Paul Krugman of the NY Times is the other, b/c for about two years he was the only mainstream media voice consistently saying that the emperor had no clothes.)

[sfecap]

4. You're welcome.

I fought hard for Dean.

I'm proud to support Kerry...and I'll be proud to have him as my President.

[evilqueen]

7. You're welcome... from a Kucinich supporter.

:)

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. What about the Lieberman supporters?

Just kidding. We all closed ranks and fought like hell. Those men, and their supporters, are at the top of the list.

[CAcyclist]

9. You're very welcome

I love Dean, but I do believe now that Kerry is the best man for the job and I have greater confidence in the ability of the people to make the right choice.

One thing, I think we didn't recognize the disrupters on our thread or other forums who were spreading misinformation about Kerry and Edwards.I think we were a little naive - or at least I was.

[ReverendDeuce]

10. You are welcome...

I had been a Kucinich supporter since June '03. The guy is great. I got to shake his hand at a campaign stop in Iowa. He seemed a little confused when I thanked him for running... but whatever. He had a lot of people riled up and delivered a hell of a talk. I knew he was too left for mainstream America... things like getting everybody in the US a college education for free is a bit too progressive for the greater American populous.

On a brighter note... Dennis needs a cabinet position. :)

[juajen]

11. Hey, didn't you leave out the Clarkies?

I was a Kucinichite, then a Clarkie; though initially, even before the primaries started, I was gungho(?) on Kerry and Edwards. Wow, was I fickle!! They were all so great. I want them all in the White House, honest. Well, almost all.

[feistydem]

15. Sorry... and the Clarkies, and the Mosely Braunites, and...

[JudyM]

12. SO True! A debt of gratitude for making it so honest for us

They contributed immeasureably to the heart behind the campaign. Major kudos to both those guys for stepping forward. And the other candidates, as well. I 'heard' Al Sharpton for the first time in the process. And Ms Braun had a lot of heart and made a lot of sense to me. I like the beauty in all this diversity -- it'd be dreamy if we could all work together, with the Greens, too. Like Truth rising up!!

[WI_DEM]

13. Don't forget the Clark supporters too

I was bigtime Dean and we had our squabbles but we Dems came home

[JI7]

14. give thanks to Clark supporters also

in my opinion clark supporters have been the best overall in terms of moving all the energy and excitement they had during the primary for clark to kerry once he became presumed nominee.

but they all deserve credit. during the primary there were very few kerry and edwards people . even combined kerry and edwards supporters was probably still far less than supporters of dean clark and kucinich.

but when you look at how things were during the primary many would not have believed how many of us came together after the primary. and the energy and excitement has not been any less either.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

16. You're so welcome!

And thank you for that! Hey Dean said whoever wins the nom, you get behind him! Now I'm not normally a taking orders kinda gal, but I was and am a huge Deaniac and I saw Dean putting his money where his mouth was in his very strong support of Kerry and dammit I did too.

I love Kerry!!!!!!!! Deaniacs for Kerry!!!!!!!!

(Dean for Secretary of Health and Human Services!)

[feistydem]

18. He is very gracious and would make an excellent HHS Secty

Or maybe Surgeon General?

Head of FDA?

[MuseRider]

17. Why thanks! We are all

Democrats after all and PROUD liberals. I always liked Kerry. Kucinich just hit a very powerful chord with me, still does. Kerry/Edwards are doing wonderful things and I am so encouraged. I will proudly cast my vote for them.

[flaminbats]

19. eh?

"All hail, Delusion! Were it not for thee
The world turned topsy-turvy we should see;
For Vice, respectable with cleanly fancies,
Would fly abandoned Virtue's gross advances."

[randr]

20. Lets not forget our collective responsibility

to keep after Kerry after he is in office. The issues that were brought to the Democratic table by Dean, Kucinich, Clark, Sharpton, Mosley-Brown(sic), and, yes, Gebhart are all a part of a real American vision . It is our duty to make sure Kerry considers that the Democratic Party is a very broad spectrum of political thought and he needs to consider each and every one of us.
I have a strong sense that a failure of the Clinton Administration was our neglect of this duty.

[Norquist Nemesis]

21. Dean was my guy in the primary

but once the decision was made that Kerry would be the one, I have to admit...at first, I was ready to hold my nose and vote Kerry. I've gotten past that. It's too important. I still like Dean, but I'm 110% behind Kerry! Got the bumper stickers and everything else! :D

[eridani]

22. Kucinich asked us all to get involve in local Dem organizations

I did, and I noticed that my legislative district organization doesn't have many fewer people at its meetings than the local Green state organization. Also, that just about everyone agreed with the Kucinich platform, but was hung up on 'electability.' I became a PCO and canvassed my neighborhood, which was something Nader had never asked anyone to do.

Kucinich (and Dean, too) are right-- if more people participate between elections, we can make the party go where we want it to go.