Report from Dean fundraiser, Minneapolis Feb 12, 2004

[truthspeaker]

I received an invitation to a reception for Howard Dean in the mail. It only cost $100 to get in so I thought, why not? I've already given his campaign $200 so why not throw in another $100 more, and this way I'll get to see him speak in person.

The reception was in one of the meeting rooms at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I wasn't sure what "reception" meant so I wore a sport coat, slacks, non-collared shirt, and "Free Tommy Chong" undershirt. I parked in what looked like the closest ramp to the Convention Center (event parking: $8) but ended up taking a long walk through the skyway to get there. Saw the signs for Dean pointing downstairs (isn't the Mezzanine level usually upstairs?), headed down there, and checked in. Saw one of the news guys from KSTP and that guy with the goofy scarf from TPT in the press area. The food was all gone by the time I got there, but the cash bar was still open (Heineken: $5).

The crowd was typically for Minnesota lefties. Middle-aged men with ponytails; 30-something upscale hipsters with nose-rings and too much makeup. Little old ladies. DFL party volunteers and a few labor union types. Assorted Gen-X hippies and near-hippies like myself, and some younger people. I also encountered two of the personality types that always annoy the crap out of me at political events:

The Oblivious. My first encounter with one of these was in the line for the bar. Ahead of me was a group of four people. Someone not in line recognized one of them and came over to say hello. They began a conversation. A reporter from the New York times came over and started interviewing one of them. The others in her party noticed that the line was moving and offered to get her drink for her. Very polite of them. But did she get out of line? No, she just stood where she was as the line curved around her.

The second Oblivious person exhibited her behavior after Dean started speaking. She was on the side, very close to the stage, with a big cardboard sign that said "We want the real Dean. No imitations!" which she held up as Mayor Rybak and Governor Dean entered the room. Cool. Then she kept holding it up. Eventually a staffer came and asked her to take it down. "Why?" she asked. Because she was blocking the view of the people behind her. She then looked totally shocked and embarassed, as if it were a complete surprise to her that there might be other people in the room who would want to see Howard Dean. I admire your dedication, lady, but the world does not revolve around you.

The Yeller. This was a woman in a pink sweater next to me. If she wasn't a cheerleader in high school she should have been. She was jumping up and down at everyting Dean said, which in itself isn't bad, except she felt the need to make a personal comment on every one of his statements. Loudly. I moved away from her towards the side of the stage. The view wasn't as good but it set me up to shake Dean's hand on his way out (and was also closer to the bar).

Enough jibber-jabber. Governor Dean's basic message was that he talks straight, rather than telling people what he thinks they want to hear. This is very important to me, because I think the reason many people don't vote is that politicians look fake and scripted, and you can never tell what they really stand for. I am convinced this is why Jesse Ventura won the governorship of Minnesota a few years ago. He said some looney things (and a few that made sense), but at least he was saying something. Both his opponents sounded like they'd run every sentence past a focus group and a PR consultant before saying it out loud. I don't know if Dean made that connection in his mind, but if so he was smart enough not to mention Jesse Ventura's name in front of Minnesota Democrats.

He also talked about the civil unions law in Vermont. When signed the civil unions law it was opposed by 60% of Vermont voters. But when he next ran for re-election he won by a bigger margin than the last time. The message: if the voter trust you and you really believe what you are doing is right, you can get things accomplished that are unpopular.

The reason I'm posting this is to encourage Dean-supporters like me not to give up! There are lots of delegates left and lots of voters who can be convinced. I'll tell you what I told him when I shook his hand: "Don't give up man."

Favorite line from Dean's speech: "A gaffe is when you tell the truth and someone in Washington thinks you shouldn't have."

[mzmolly]

1. Thanks for sharing. I wanted to go so badly but couldn't affort it.

Especially given the fact that me and my dh are Dean supporters. It would have been $200. Though we've contributed lots of $$ to Dean that *we couldnt afford*

*sigh*

I did get a chuckle reading your report. Sounds like a typical *Minnesota* event LOL. :)

*The hip, The tacky, The elderly, and everyone in between.*