Who would be Democrat of the Year?

[quaoar]

Forget about Bush as Time's Person of the Year. Hell, he deserves that award just for being able to get 59 million people to believe his bullshit lies. He may be the most accomplished liar of all time. That is certainly deserving of recognition.

But who should be the Democrat, or perhaps Progressive, of the Year?

Kerry? He lost.

Dean? Clark? Al Franken?

Who did the most to advance the cause of democracy and the principles upon which the Democratic Party has always stood?

[Obviousman]

1. Dean

He brought life back into the party. Kerry would have lost with a larger margin if it weren't for dean

[Osamasux]

2. Michael Moore

[tjdee]

3. Nobody, which is why Bush is the "pResident" right now.

I'd say Obama, just because he whipped butt in his race, but look who he was running against.

on edit: I change my vote to Michael Moore.

[autorank]

4. DEAN...he stoof up for Democrats; fought hard; was not a panzy.

[stray cat]

5. I think Dean and his campaign and supporters

He gave voice to our anger and helped us rally. He used the internet in a new way to campaign and raise funds.

[eleny]

Tough choice betweeen Dean and Moore

But perhaps Dean because he changed the way the party has to operate - no matter if it wants give him credit or not. He reached out on the net and the net re$sponded.

[hippiechick]

9. First thought - Dean, then - Moore ... I agree, it's a toss up.

:toast: Great minds think alike !! :toast:


:hippie:

[gmoney]

6. Obama...

He'll be Man of the Year one day

[DeepGreen]

7. Dean, although I would have voted Kucinich first. nt

[AntiCoup2K4]

8. Howard Dean!

No contest.

What life this party has left (though it's far too little at the moment), we owe to Dr. Dean. Fuck the media, the DLC , and the Iowa caucus - he was, and remains, the best man for the job.

[CatholicEdHead]

10. Kucinich

would get my first vote. Then Ed Schultz and Howard Dean.

[OneBlueSky]

11. it would have to be Howard Dean . . .

although I was a Kerry supporter from early on, his actions since the election have left me deeply disappointed and regretful that I did not support Dean throughout the campaign . . . Dean has his shortcomings as well, but at least he seems to be honest about where he stands . . . I don't think he would have beaten Bush (actually, no one could have beaten Bush given the way our voting system works), but we would have gone down four-square against the war . . . and established ouselves as the anti-war party . . .

[Cheswick2.0]

12. That's a hard one... I think a real good case could be made for Kerry

He was the candidate we all rallied around for better or worse.
But I can't make that case, others will have to.

Dean, as the person whose stump speech was pilfered and whose online organization was imitated by all candidates ultimately, could easily be the democrat of the year. Like it or not he was one of the few honest candidates willing to speak out on what really matters rather than pretend wars on terror and imaginary security. He got the attention of the media and still does to some extent. His grassroots organization is larger than ever.

If you asked about 2001 or 2002, I would say Robert Byrd or Al Gore. Gore would be a good choice for 2003 also, as would Dean. They three of them spoke about bush's lousy policies, what congress SHOULD be doing and what path we SHOULD be headed down. They were fearless and I will respect all three always, even when I disagree with them.

[noamnety]

13. Kerry

Just a reminder for the first post in this thread - Dean lost too, so you can't say Kerry lost, then suggest Dean as an alternative, you know? And it's all relative to the vote counters. Maybe Katherine Blackwell should have been person of the year, not Bush.

I think Kerry is the dem of the year, because his Vietnam years brought the Iraq war into focus for so many people. If Dean had won the nomination, I don't think the comparison between the two wars would have been as clear. I also think Kerry's background shifted the perception of who fights wars - the chickenhawk hypocrisy of republicans was magnified.

I hope Sibel is 2005's person of the year.

[Rowdyboy]

14. Barrack Obama

The face of the party's future...

[stray cat]

18. You're right. Barrack Obama a new messenger and message

Hopefully the start of more like him

[KyndCulture]

15. I've got a couple

John Conyers
The whole Air America team
Specialist Wilson - the guy who nailed rummy on the armor.. Don't know is party but he gets a nod on balls alone.

[mattclearing]

16. Gotta be Dean. MM isn't a Democrat.

eom

[ArthurDent]

17. Bill Clinton

TIME's award -- if you can call it that -- goes to the person who was most in the news, basically. That's why Clinton makes sense. His book, his surgery, and his end-of-campaign speeches were all very newsworthy, often to the point of overwhelming Kerry.

I'd also consider Michael Moore, Ralph Neas/George Soros (basically a placeholder for the 527s), and I guess Dean. Kerry wouldn't be anywhere near this list.

[Southsideirish]

19. Howard Dean - the first one who had the courage

to say the emperor had no clothes.

[Tom Rinaldo]

20. Howard Dean. And I'm a Clarkie

I would put Clark second and Moore third. Dean first because he woke up a punch drunk Party, stood firm against Bush when those around him wouldn't, mobilized a new generation of activists for the Party, showed that it is possible for the Democrats to match the Republicans fund raising without having to depend on fat cat Corporate money, and has shown a continuing commitment to revitalize the Party from the grass roots up.

Clark second because he threw the weight of his powerful military credentials full force behind the Democrats at a time when it was critical that someone do so, and because Clark relentlessly attacked Bush as "Commander in Chief" even when other Democrats were soft peddling it (he held Bush accountable for not being on the job prior to 9/11, openly warned about PNAC's plans, repeatedly stressed that the Buck (and blame) stopped with GWB, not lesser evil flunkies like Rumsfeld and Ashcroft, he never shut up about Iraq being a massive "strategic blunder" etc.) Also because Clark devastatingly went on offense against Republicans trying to dominate traditional American themes like flag god patriotism and values, while remaining faithfully progressive on the issues. A winning combination for our future.

Moore third because he dared to say openly what many only whisper about. Because he continually fights for working class Americans, because, as an ex Nader voter, he directly took on Nader this time and rallied the disaffected to the Democratic Party, and because he worked tirelessly to defeat Bush though he knew full well that the Democratic Party would never "reward him" in any way.

[quaoar]

21. My vote is for Dean

Although in coming years we may look back and see that Air America was the most significant development of 2004.

[zulchzulu]

22. I'd say "The Grassroots Campaigner"

It doesn't have to be a person. It should be about how people were mobilized to fight for a change and do it with grassroots efforts.

It shouldn't be about Kerry, Dean, Kucinich, AAR, rock stars who backed candidates...it should be about how those of us who fought hard, worked many hours for free and spent much money to keep our efforts afloat to work to de-Chimp the White House.

Before we go back and maintain our positions in the circular firing squad, we should take a minute and thank ourselves for trying.