Howard Dean Saved America

[scheming daemons]

I was going to post this Wednesday, but it deserves mention tonight and it would just get lost in all the "woohoo!" threads that day.

• Back in 2003, when nobody was thinking about tapping into the fear and angst of America's youth - Howard Dean saw something brewing.
  
  
• Back in 2003, when nobody in politics imagined the power of small donations over the internet - Howard Dean saw an opportunity.
  
  
• Back in 2003, when nobody on the left even thought about asking folks in red states for their vote - Howard Dean saw Americans who had the same needs and desires that blue-staters had.
  
  
• Back in 2006, when "establishment" Democrats and DLC-ers said that all of our money should be spent on trying to make sure we won just the 10 or 12 seats we needed for a majority, Howard Dean decided to think bigger and try for seats that Republicans thought were safe for them.
  

Howard Dean was the trailblazer. When Barack Obama gave his famous "we're not an America of red states and blue states, but of ALL states" speech - it was borne from Howard Dean's campaign.



He had the right message, but he wasn't the right messenger.

Howard Dean was version 1.0.


The right messenger was Barack Obama. And the blueprint created by Dr. Dean, but unable to be implemented by him.... was adopted by Obama and put into action.

• Obama brought in over $600 million is donations that averaged $86, perfecting the fund-raising model created by Howard Dean.
  
  
• Obama made sure that young people everywhere felt like they could make a difference again, tapping into the activism that Howard Dean had awakened.
  
  
• Obama made sure to work as hard for the votes from citizens of red states as he did for the votes from citizens of blue and purple states.
  

Barack Obama is Howard Dean 2.0.


In 48 hours, Barack Obama will be getting ready to give one of the greatest victory speeches any of us will ever hear. It will ring in our ears for decades.

In 79 days, Barack Obama will take the oath of office in front of Chief Justice Roberts and a throng of a million or more.


But there will be one man who won't be on the minds of the pundits or most of America. But he'll be on my mind.

He's "the one" who made it all possible.


Howard Dean saved America (and maybe the world, in the process).

It's up to us to make sure history doesn't forget about him.

[liberalmuse]

1. I could not agree more.

I see Dean in this. He was the pioneeer and Obama learned well from him.

I would be delighted to see him as Secretary of Health and Human Services in Obama's cabinet.

[Mr Hedley Bowes]

137. Well said! But the race is still yet to be won.

I've been seeing Howard Dean's invisible hand in this for at least a year. Thank you for putting words to it. We still have much work to do.

[raging_moderate]

139. I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!!!!!

I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!!!!!

[momdogz]

153. A Vermonter for Dean - thank you !!!!!

Vermont is the state Bush and Cheney love to hate.

[muntrv]

2. Obama's implementing Dean's 50 state strategy.

[Claire Beth]

120. you are correct!!! n/t

[blm]

123. No - the 50 state strategy is a FOUR YEAR JOB by the Dem PARTY. Dean implemented it.

Obama has been able to TAP INTO it. Gore and Kerry were STUCK with the pisspoor infrastructures left by YEARS of inattention of previous chairs who actually oversaw the COLLAPSE of party infrastructures state by state.

[DinahMoeHum]

135. Disagree slightly - 50-state strategy was meant to be far more long-term

than just 4 years. The gains made in 2006 were just the low-hanging fruit and the first baby steps toward taking our country back.

There is still work to be done in those states long neglected by the Democrats even after this election.

:kick::kick:

[blm]

136. Yes - but still can only be done 4yrs at a time by commmitted PARTY CHAIRS. It is certain that the

next party chair will be working for all of us and that Obama will choose someone who wil CARRY ON the 50 state startegy, unless Dean wants to stay, which would be great.

My post is directed at those who think a 50 state strategy CAN be implemented by the nominee in the months before the election. It's the Dem PARTY'S job to implement and OVERSEE that job EVERY DAY for four years - and long before the presidential nominee is even known.

[pnwmom]

176. It wouldn't have worked if Obama hadn't made the difficult decision to

forgo Federal funding.

He knew he'd have no problem raising the money, but he also knew he'd get a lot of flack for bucking the system. Good for him for deciding to risk getting criticized, even by many Democrats.

[polichick]

3. Proud to recommend! I worked for Howard Dean's campaign and...

1.0 and 2.0 is EXACTLY how I see it!

[debannbull]

171. Ditto!

First $$ I ever gave, first time I hosted a meeting or hosted a volunteer. I LOVE H.D.

[Mira]

4. I was a Deaniac - I think this is a well argued post and I agree K&R

[caledesi]

5. I agree! nt

[progressiveforever]

19. Same here--Dean was the first candidate I ever donated money to

[Nipper1959]

36. Howard

Fucking Rocks!

[Jansen]

170. Same here also..

I was and still am a deaniac. I love Howard Dean!

[BEZERKO]

183. Me too!

Now I give all my money to local candidates, sort of my version of fundraising 2.0

I think his goal was to be where he is now.

[Lugnut]

35. I'm still a Deaniac.

Howard Dean is the real uniter.

[BEZERKO]

184. Me too!

I met my wife at a Dean MeetUp. We're from Ga. and we named our son Carter Dean. Apologies to anyone who's heard this already.

[salonghorn70]

6. Please Don't Tell Texans This

Obama will drop by 10 points.

[scheming daemons]

7. I don't get it.

Why?

[salonghorn70]

9. Dean Is Not Too Popular In Texas

Except among the Deaniacs. :hi:

[Lisa0825]

11. Baloney.

There is a split between old school (Boyd Richie) and Dean's way, but it's a pretty big split, and I would not say that most of the politically active and aware Texans have a problem with Dean. Boyd won reelection because he was an incumbent without a strong campaign against him.

edited to add: I know dozens of Texas Deaniacs who are still active just in my area alone. At my county convention, an old school office holder/speaker actually commended us for that and said we have changed the party, as much as she initially resisted us.

[salonghorn70]

15. Not Talking About Political Activists

I'm talking more about the average voter. But let's not really get into a Dean discussion. Let's just be happy that Obama is going to win and I am convinced that Texas might be in play in 1012. :hi:

[Justitia]

102. COMPLETELY WRONG. This Texan LOVES Dean, as do all the Dems I know.

Howard was the first true blue Dem to freakin' show up here & put in real effort since LBJ fer cryin'out loud.

None of the Dems I know have anything but sincere admiration and GRATITUDE for his work in reviving our Party in TX.

The Guv will ALWAYS be tops in my book.

Love ya Howard Dean!

[tclambert]

143. Are you from the Austin area?

That's Hightower country. The San Francisco of the South.

[Justitia]

146. Nope, Houston, 4th largest city in the US. But, I love Austin, spent lots of time there.

You are right - a blue oasis!

[fudge stripe cookays]

156. Bullshit.

This Texan says people either love him or have no idea who he is.

[jamesatemple]

185. That may be so among some "new" Texans.

But, I think you might still find some old "hands" in the State whose Grandpas would apply a leather strop to their asses for just sayin' the word "Republican" out loud, particularly in front of women and children. It struck the handful of us as mighty peculiar when the media portrayed a good ol' "yaaahooo" as a sign of insanity. Then again, it may be. Anybody workin' a bunch of cows might just be certifiable. Still, it was a might fine "yaaahooo"!

Yessir. Dean will always be thought well of by some Texans...or "Texicans" as the oldtimers called themselves.

[Lisa0825]

8. WTF?

This Texan has no idea what you mean. :wtf:

[madfloridian]

18. She's talking about the primaries.

There are still hard feelings there in some minds over the caucus turnout. Wasn't supposed to be that way.

Those feelings from the primary exist strongly still in FL, because the people have been told it was all Dean's fault.

It wasn't, that was a lie.

But the hard feelings are there because no one will take responsibility for what they did.

[salonghorn70]

20. Not Sure Whose Post You Are Referring To

I was talking about Dean's popularity with the average voter including the average Democratic voter in Texas. Not political activists and not Florida.

[Lisa0825]

30. Most "average voters" I know bafrely know who Dean is.

Lets face it... "average voters" don't know the DNC chair by name, and don't pay much attention to primaries. The activist voters I know in Texas don't have a problem with Dean.

[Peregrine Took]

106. They are, actually, "below" average in that case. n/t

[Name removed]

45. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

109. Meh.

Many Texans might say they dislike Dean, but then forget to show up when it counts.

[Lifelong Protester]

10. I STILL see Dean People

I think his wholistic approach was marvelous. I was a Deaniac also, and think the Dems made a great choice in him to lead this charge.

Thanks for your post.

[InvisibleTouch]

12. I won't be forgetting Dr. Dean either. Good post! n/t

[Guaranteed]

13. Yes- Dean stood tall with the proper positions to counter the Republicans. nt

[Gidney N Cloyd]

14. Whoever all had the vision to make Dean chair of the DNC should take a bow,too.

[Duke Newcombe]

16. True...true. Howard is The Man (tm)

His 50-state strategy and foresight may pave the way for another Democratic 40 year dynasty if we don't overreach. Well done.

[mzmolly]

17. Indeed. Dean laid the foundation ... And much credit to John Kerry for bringing Obama to speak

to the nation at the 2004 DNC.

Let us "HOPE" we Democrats see a win in roughly 48 hours. :)

[politicasista]

56. Yes We Can!

Excellent post. :hi:

[mzmolly]

60. Thanks.

:hi:

"Hell Yes, We Can!" ;)

[politicasista]

61. ...

And yes we will (ok. still cautiously optimistic), but we are going to win! :hi: :patriot:

[lyonn]

115. What an interesting thought, Kerry brought Obama into the

political arena big time with his bringing an unknown Obama into his convention!

I was a big Dean fan back then and believed in his 50 State theory, among other great ideas. He was on a roll and I still believe that the powers that be in the Dem party at that time didn't feel like Dean was capable of bringing in the votes and sabotaged his efforts. Ok, just a little tin foil is needed here....

[BlooInBloo]

21. Saving is a *process*. He might have the greatest claim to *starting* that process.

[bigwillq]

22. Dean is freaking awesome!

:bounce:

[Laelth]

23. k&r for the Good Doctor.

He certainly saved the Democratic Party, if not our republic, as well.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[mascarax]

24. Seems like the inventors rarely get the credit they deserve

And Howard is one of them. Howard comes up often with us volunteers. I like what he's done with the DNC, but he'd be great for Health & Human Services or whatever he's interested in.

[fadedrose]

47. Dean is sort of more like Moses :) nt

[kmkleff]

86. While we're at it

I think a big slice of the credit should go also to Joe Trippi

[tclambert]

147. Did someone say, "Who is Joe Trippi?"

From Wikipedia:

"The Dean campaign, and Trippi specifically, became widely acclaimed for the innovative use of the Internet, especially for fundraising. In particular, Trippi was largely responsible for the creation of an official campaign blog, and the use of Meetup and other social networking technologies to connect supporters. Both techniques are widely utilized today by other social and political campaigns.

"Trippi was a key voice in the Dean campaign's decision to forgo the use of federal matching funds for the Democratic presidential nomination, a move intended to help escape the fundraising limits the matching funds brought. The decision prompted eventual nomination winner John Kerry to follow suit and allow his campaign to remain financially competitive with Bush in the months leading up to the convention."

[thoughtcrime1984]

25. K&R. Dr. Dean is a great Dem!

[Joe the Liberal]

26. Not just America but the democratic party as well. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

27. Howard Dean saved America, and the Democratic party

and on a more personal level, my participation in this party, which was all but dead after the great congressional CHIMP ASS KISSING of 2001-2002.

Sadly, the last two years have proven that some in Congresss continued to kiss Chimp ass, but at least the party itself is well on the road to recovery, and Howard Dean deserves much of the credit for that.

YEEEEEAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH, Doctor!! :toast:

[fadedrose]

28. I have a different take on it...

Howard Dean was so so loved by so many of us...but I think other people (guess who) wanted to run in 4 years and really didn't want him to win. The DLC seemed to knock him out of the running in Iowa, letting Kerry win, and then not helping Kerry claim the presidency by not encouraging him to fight the Ohio results.

This year the DLC candidate (guess who) was so stunned that Obama won, and it truly was Howard Dean's doing; I'd swear to that. Dean knew all the pitfalls and was in touch with Dems throughout the country and profited from his campaign's mistakes. He spent money where no Dem ever did and we got some Dems elected in 2006 beating some unbeatable Reps.

The DLC fought his taking charge of the DNC but he got enough votes to take it.

This is more of a victory for Dean, and he has helped us all and at the same time, got his revenge.

Love ya Howard....

[DFW]

179. I know Howard, and can tell you he took GREAT pains to remain neutral

It wasn't easy, given the pressures from both sides, but he never took sides
in the primaries, and went out of his way to let nature take its course. Obama's
win in the primaries was done by him and his staff. Howard kicked in big time once
the nomination was decided.

[musicblind]

29. Dean did not save America. Sorry. Obama saved America.

I like Dean. I voted for him in the primaries in 2004... HOWEVER. Dean did not get Obama where he is at. OBAMA got himself where he is at with hard, hard, hard work. BUT, the one thing I will credit Dean with is making positives changes to the DNC and taking the risk to focus on a national campaign strategy.

That being said, I am still angry with Dean over what he did to Florida and Michigan. I personally think it is never right to try and deny someone a vote for any reason. I don't even think it is right to deny felons a vote.

[fadedrose]

33. Sorry

I live in Michigan and feel that Dean did the right thing.

Our governor and senators tried to rig a primary that would go to Clinton. The ballot was the stupidist paper ever printed and never should have been approved because the main candidates were not on it.

The State legislature declared the election illegal for one reason or another and don't blame Dean for the mistakes of:

Sen. Levin
Sen. Stabinow
the Dingle's
Gov. Granholm
the Clintons? for fighting to get the votes.

Obama is very poplular in MI and he was BEFORE. I think that's why they didn't want a fair primary, so that he didn't win over Clinton. That's why McCain gave up and left Michigan.

I know that we're not supposed to bring up the preconvention rivalry, but I won't have Dean blamed for the mistakes of others.

Florida - madfloridian posted a lot about the FL primary and he didn't blame Dean either....

[blue_onyx]

54. It wasn't rigged for Clinton

There were threats to move up long before Clinton was running. In 2004, Michigan wanted to move up but didn't because there was an agreement to fix the primary. People have been fighting to change Iowa's and New Hampshire's unfair influence for years...not just for Clinton.

Of course, MI should have stuck with the original agreement. But Dean isn't blameless. Iowa was suppose to go on January 14 and New Hampshire was suppose to on January 22...they didn't. I think it was wrong of Dean and the DNC to approve these moves (and in violation of the rules).

[fadedrose]

65. The blame goes to the people who approved a ballot

That ballot did not carry the names of Biden, Edwards and Obama.

It had Clinton, Kucinich and Dodd and Other.

We all went in my family to vote "Other" just to make sure that our votes did not go to the candidate who was the only major one on the ballot.

The ballot was the problem....besides the dates, etc., New Hampshire and Iowa had nothing to do with our stupid ballot.

When our officials saw that the other candidates asked to be left off the ballot because the election was illegal, they should have dropped the stupid idea and went with Super Tuesday like a whole bunch of other states whose citizens had a choice.

Michigan had no primary and it wasn't Iowa or NH's fault.

[blue_onyx]

66. I didn't say it was NH and Iowa's fault we didn't have a primary

I was just pointing out that the agreement which Michigan and Florida were punished for not following was altered by Dean's and the DNC. I don't think it was right for Dean/DNC to change the original schedule that was agreed to by all states for NH and Iowa.

I agree about dropping the idea after the names were removed. Once the names were removed, we should have just gone on our original day or picked another later day. I supported Obama because of his stance on the war and it would have been nice to have been able to go vote.

[madfloridian]

40. Dean obeyed the rules...FL and MI broke them and LIED about it.

In Fl especially his reputation was damaged severely by the Clinton campaign and its surrogates like Wasserman Schultz, Bill Nelson, and State senator Steve Geller.

I will never forgive any of them unless they own to their lies about it.

It ripped our democrats apart here.

[KaryninMiami]

50. Correct and well stated. I am still pissed off at Debbie-

who I just voted for by the way- begrudgingly. Her lack of support for the Democratic congressional candidates is pathetic as well. She's doing an ok job when called upon for the media now but I'm still fuming at her actions during the primary period. Nelson as well although I don't have high expectations for him anyway. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a huge disappointment.

[madfloridian]

51. Thanks. There are many in my state that need to make amends...

before we can work with them again. Hubby and I are not the only ones who feel that way. The others are just silent about it.

[jonnyblitz]

43. kind of early to be proclaiming that about Obama. nt

[guruoo]

133. At best, Obama's job is going to be something akin to...

turning around an aircraft carrier.

[tclambert]

148. Wow! That is a great photo!

I had no idea a carrier could lean into a turn that much. "This is the captain speaking. Grab ahold o' somethin' and hold on tight."

[ecstatic]

64. I agree. I think Obama would have gone with the 50 state strategy

with or without Dean. And I didn't like the way the voters fared in MI and FL. But I was a true Deaniac from 03-mid 07.

[Larkspur]

108. Axelrod, one of Obama's chief campaign advisors, gave credit to Joe Trippi

Axelrod was teaching a political science class before Obama asked him to join his campaign. Axelrod made Trippi's book about using the Internet in political campaigns required reading, so Dean's campaign did pave the way for Obama. It made Obama's job, especially fundraising, a lot easier.

[LSK]

127. Dean didnt do jack shit, the CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE VOTED TO DO IT

[guruoo]

132. IMO, your anger is misplaced. Florida and Michigan party leaders bear sole responsibility

for their state's exclusion from the primary process.
They knew what the rules were but still chose
to violate them.

[fudge stripe cookays]

157. Dean put the mechanism in place...

that helped Obama make progress in previously red states. If Michigan and Florida had followed the rules, they wouldn't have had this problem.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

31. here here

To Howie!

[kevin881]

32. do not forget that he came up with the 50 state strategy, and was the RIGHT choice for DNC chair.

[chieftain]

34. Exactly

[Anwen]

37. I agree completely!

Dean will always be a hero of mine!!

[crispini]

38. I heart Howard!

:loveya: K&R

[BumRushDaShow]

39. K&R

:kick:

[shellgame26]

41. I've been saying this all along

and Dean was the first campaign I donated to as well.

[MelissaB]

42. Dean is the man!

:loveya:

[ProSense]

44. Dean is great. I'm glad Carville's attempt to remove him from the DNC failed.

Terry McAuliffe was awful. It's telling though that the primary fundraising records that Obama broke belonged to Kerry.

Kerry recognizes Dean's value, which is why he defended Dean against Carvilles attack.

[fadedrose]

46. But the DLC has to make nice now

in an effort to get money for the bills of the Clinton campaign...

Dean is a real thorn in the arse of the DLC - I think because of people like us who love and respect him more than anyone in politics and who stand up and fight anytime he's criticized.

That includes Obama - we have highest hopes, but we need to see him in action making REAL decisions and then we can assess his abilities. He sure won't have it easy, but with friends like Howard Dean, he'll do okay. Any friend of Howard's is a friend of mine :)

[lyonn]

116. Ahhhh, those were bad memories for me

The old crowd vs the new crowd (Howard Dean). Terry was way to full of himself and not the party as far as I could tell.

[FlyingSquirrel]

48. Yearrrrrgh!!! (Sorry! Just wanted to make Rec #50 special)

:evilgrin:

[mopinko]

49. my wallpaper is a pic of me and howard.

3 pics, actually, from a photo op where i was lucky enough to be in a room with only about a dozen other people. it didn't last long, but i will never forget. i love opening up this laptop and seeing those pics.
there is a very active branch of dfa here in chicago. if dan seals is elected on tuesday, he will have howard to thank, as will a few state level folks.

[Chasing Dreams]

52. Obama's embrace of the 50-state strategy, instead of the Clinton-Kerry-Gore FL/OH/PA strategy, was

the primary reason why I chose to support him over Hillary. My goal was to win. As Barack says, "what's risky is following the same old policies and somehow thinking the outcome will be different." Precisely. And you are right about Howard Dean leading the charge. We wouldn't be where we are today without him.
:toast:

[politicasista]

55. That was McAuliffe's strategy. Dean has done great with the 50 state strategy

Obama has done an excellent job and ran an outstanding campaign. Kudos to Dean!

The Best DNC Chairman yet. :patriot:

[wyldwolf]

104. yeah... he created it back in 1888 when it was first used... lol

[blm]

125. You're confused. Gore and Kerry were STUCK with the party infrastructure collapsed years earlier

by pisspoor party chairs like McAuliffe. Obama was able to tap into party infrastructures that had been rebuilt and strengthened for four years state by state and THAT is the 50 state strategy. The nominee only can tap into the party infrastructure that EXISTS when they become the nominee in the few months before election day. Infrastructure that is overseen by the NATIONAL PARTY CHAIR whose job it is to SET the strategy and stage for a successful election.

See November 2006.

[immoderate]

53. Abso-fuckin-lutely!

--IMM

[opihimoimoi]

57. DEAN HAD THE Plan...Obama played it out on the Feild

ALTOGETHER....ALL of US, early and late Comers to the Dream...we all see the same Vision of Peace, of Sanity, of Reason.....and of COMMON GOOD....

Come, we drink to our efforts

:toast:

[lyonn]

118. "and of COMMON GOOD...."

Man, I gotta lay off the drinks for our efforts. Switched to a bottle of Mocha Frappachino. My anxiety level is over the top. I am totally excited one minute and scared to death the next.

Dean was a big player in what is going on in the Party now!

[blue_onyx]

58. Dean has done a great job

I think realizing that we can't just give up on conservative areas, like the south, was very important. We can't expect to agree with every Democrat on every issue. He was smart for realizing this and changing strategy.

Sometimes I wonder how he would've done if he had won the nomination in 2004. He was my preference back then and think he would've done well in the general election.

[Breeze54]

59. Howard Dean is the man and was my pick in 2003 but Anne Richards gave the "Not Red or Blue" in '88

"we're not an America of red states and blue states, but of ALL states" speech - it was borne from Howard Dean's campaign.

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

Transcript of the Keynote Address by Ann Richards, the Texas Treasurer

Published: July 19, 1988

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/19/us/text-richards.html?pagewanted=2

snip-->

"....This Republican Administration treats us as if we were pieces of a puzzle that can't fit together. They've tried to put us into compartments and separate us from each other. Their political theory is "divide and conquer."

snip-->

One Group Against the Other

We've been told — we've been told that the interests of the South and Southwest are not the same interests as the North and the Northeast. They pit one group against the other. They've divided this country. And in our isolation we think government isn't going to help us, and we're alone in our feelings — we feel forgotten.

Well the fact is, we're not an isolated piece of their puzzle. We are one nation, we are the United States of America!

Now we Democrats believe that America is still the country of fair play, that we can come out of a small town or a poor neighborhood and have the same chance as anyone else, and it doesn't matter whether we are black or Hispanic, or disabled or women.

We believe that America is a country where small-business owners must succeed because they are the bedrock, backbone, of our economy.

We believe that our kids deserve good day care and public schools. We believe our kids deserve public schools where students can learn and teachers can teach.

And we want to believe that our parents will have a good retirement — and that we will too.

We Democrats believe that Social Security is a pact that cannot be broken. We want to believe that we can live out our lives without the terrible fear that an illness is going to bankrupt us and our children.

We Democrats believe that America can overcome any problem, including the dreaded disease called AIDS. We believe that America is still a country where there is more to life than just a constant struggle for money. And we believe that America must have leaders who show us that our struggles amount to something and contribute to something larger, leaders who want us to be all that we can be.

More.....

---------

:kick: & Recommended

[Hippo_Tron]

62. I would disagree that Howard Dean single handedly saved America

But you are very correct that his ideas greatly contributed to Obama's victory.

[AsahinaKimi]

63. I love Dean..

I worked for his campaign..(I still have his buttons and bumper stickers) and thought he could be a great President, but I am glad he ended up where he did. He gave us all great
energy!

[eridani]

67. Dean pioneered the Internet part, but he lost Iowa to Kerry's ground game

US News & World Report had a very good analysis of the guy Kerry hired to organize for the Iowa caucuses, who worked intensively to cultivate local ground contacts. (It's in their paid archives somewhere, unfortunately). The endlessly looped Scream didn't cost him Iowa; it just made it impossible for him to recover.

What Obama did this time was to seamlessly fuse online organizing with ground organizing. I prefer the analogy of beta test going to v. 1.0. V. 2.0 is when we learn how to do it without the huge wad of corporate cash that Obama used to kickstart the process, which is fortunately self-sustaining by now.

Does anyone know who encouraged Dean to run for DNC chair? Probably someone who was involved in the shift of Dean for America to Democracy for America. Locally, some of the Dean campaigners approached people who were involved in the Kucinich campaign and some of the Kerry delegates who were disappointed with the 2004 campaign, and passed out contact info for the WA State DNC members. That's the first time I remember anyone caring who represented us in the DNC, or caring who was chair.

Dean, besides pushing the 50 state strategy, invested heavliy in the VoteBuilder database that we are now using to good effect to track swing and sporadic voters and not trip all over each others' feet while doing so. Following a typical lefty path from Kucinich and then to Edwards this year, my choice between Obama and Clinton was not based on any policy differences between them but on the fact that Obama's people used VoteBuilder and added their data back into it and Clinton refused to use it, instead paying that slimeball Mark Penn to create an entirely separate one from scratch.

[Larkspur]

110. Kerry also got a special mortgage for his half of his Beacon Hills Mansion

By end of December 2003, Kerry has less than a million dollars on hand for his campaign. Kerry got a $6.4 million mortgage on that mansion. What was interesting was that the annual payment for that mortgage was more than his Senate salary. His wife also arranged bankers she knew to get her husband that loan.

This mortgage was why I refused to donate money and time to the 2004 Kerry-Edwards campaign. Considering that Kerry had $12 million left over, I'm glad that I did not give him any money that year. I did vote for that ticket but did so reluctantly. I did know that Kerry's loss in 2004 against Bush would be good for the Democratic Party in the long run and I was right about that.

[eridani]

150. Not so sure that is the case. I think we could have elected Dean DNC chair anyway n/t

[Mme. Defarge]

68. Absolument!

[DeepModem Mom]

69. K&R

[dascientist]

70. There's going to be at least 2 to 5 million people there

........

[Hekate]

71. I'm so proud I worked for Howard Dean. I completely agree with you.

:woohoo:

When this is all over, we should be sending a ton of thank you cards to Dr. Dean, a true fighting Dem.

Hekate

[silverweb]

72. Well said!

Another grateful Deaniac here!

[lojasmo]

73. Deanball: Dean pitched....

Obama knocked it out of the park.

Thank you Governor Dean, for your 50 state strategy. I remember just last spring at the MN DFL convention, Howard said this would probably take ten or fifteen years. We are there NOW! WE ARE HERE NOW! Yeaaargh!

[JamesA1102]

74. Don't diminish Obama's achievement by giving undue

credit to Dean. If the Dean campaign really knew what it was doing 4 years ago, Dean would have been the nominee and maybe the President.

Obama built a campaign infrastructure state by state that is nothing like Dean's campaign. The Obama campaign knew that to win you have to do it on the ground not just over the internet.

And despite the myth, Obama is not implementing Dean's 50 state strategy. If he were he would be spending in all states including some very hard red ones down south. While Obama is expanding the map he is doing so where there is opportunity and not wasting money like Dean did in 2006.

[JAbuchan08]

97. I agree with you partially

Obama has spent his money intelligently, but Deans work opening Democratic offices back up in red states where they had been closed for a long time helped to build the party on a local level. If the Dems hadn't been newly vital in the states that Obama is swinging would he be swinging them?

I prefer to think it of as a symbiotic relationship. Two great men, both of whom know what is necessary to change America are building on one another's success, and neither one has to begrudge the other their success (and neither do we) because we are ALL WORKING FOR THE SAME THING!!

[fudge stripe cookays]

158. If you were at the ballroom in Iowa, you'd know that is incorrect.

He was TORPEDOED by the media. Those of us who were there and saw it happen were stunned.

[DFW]

180. If you ever meet Howard, just ask him, and he'll tell you straight out:

"We didn't know what the hell we were doing."

If he had gotten some of the mainstream Democrats on board
at the time, he might be president now, but they were terrified of him.

[bbgrunt]

75. HOWIE!!!!

[Upfront]

76. Thank you

I still have a Dean bumper sticker on my car. He is a great American and a true trail blazer. God bless Howard Dean.

[peace frog]

77. Howard Dean is an unsung hero

and a major factor in what I pray will be the historic election of Barack Obama as the 44th POTUS.
God bless you, Howard.

[RobertDevereaux]

78. K&R!

[cjsmom44]

79. Well Done

Well Done Howard Dean!

[Mad_Dem_X]

80. Very true! n/t

[Auggie]

81. Would have been a great POTUS

[Iwillnevergiveup]

82. Rec #97

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Howard Dean, and I'm gonna tell him so in a hand-written letter. Talk about patriotism! :patriot:

[bertman]

83. Great Post. Howard Dean is THE MAN. Without him Barack Obama would not be our

Next President.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

84. 100th rec. Oh yeah he did - He's the man! Thank you Mr. Dean

[acmavm]

85. Yes, he most certainly did. It's funny, when we needed a man

with a plan the man ended up to be the poor guy run out of the presidential race because of an exhuberant, excited 'scream'.

Well, he found his niche and we are all indebted to Dr. Dean.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

90. I think this may be a case of "Pay back's a bitch" & boy did Dr. Dean pay it back big time.

[Phred42]

87. Dean was Corerect - the DLC was wrong.

and the Blue dogs suck

[bushisanidiot]

88. Dr. Dean is brilliant. He was my pick in 2004 cuz he just made good sense.

I'm so glad that Barack and Dean's messages have aligned so well. They're a good team. I hope Dr. Dean is around a long time to continue finding good ways to get the democratic message out to the people.

[Beacool]

89. Saved America?

A little over the top, don't you think?

I have no warm and fuzzy feelings for Dean but yes, his 50 state strategy is proving to be effective. I'll grant him that much.

[workinclasszero]

91. Howard Dean is my dem HERO! The man is a genius!

The 50 state strategy is going to deliver to the democrats their biggest victory in decades!

President Obama will be standing on the shoulders of Howard Dean!:applause:

The reich wing thought they had silenced him with the scream meme but Dean came ROARING back and will now install the democratic party back into power for a good eight years, and hopefully more!

Man I LOVE Howard Dean!!!

[codjh9]

92. Thank you! YES, Howard Dean deserves a hell of a round of applause!!! n/t

[barack the house]

93. *salutes Howard Dean* He's been a fine general in a long battle.

[Historic NY]

94. Dr. Dean prescribed the medicine this country needed "Change"!!!

[rockymountaindem]

95. Yes. I was skeptical of him at first, but he has been a great DNC chair

I'm glad we've had him at the helm for the past years. Too bad he can't stay on.

[FamousMortimer]

96. Dean is a good guy but

I like to think of saving America as a group project.

[man4allcats]

98. Proud to K&R!

Barack and Howard - the Dynamic Duo!

[snappyturtle]

99. Kudos to Howard Dean! K&R

[NanceGreggs]

100. Excellent analysis!!!

:kick: & REC'D!!!

[last1standing]

101. Absolutely K&R!!!

Great post, SD!

[Justitia]

103. Also, Guv Dean picked Obama to be in his VERY FIRST 'Dean's Dozen'

Giving Obama a great national spotlight - that is where I first heard of him, and donated to Obama in his senate campaign.

Howard saw something special in Obama, I'm so proud to say I supported Obama from the beginning, when Gov Dean introduced him to me.

[Vidar]

105. Yes, he did!

[AlCzervik]

107. i have 2 howard Dean posters in my garage so everyday when i leave the house or come

home i see them, they're beautiful too and excellent quality, i should have had them framed.

[RiverStone]

111. K & R!

[WhiteTara]

112. let's send Howard flowers

on November 5th. He should be covered in them.

[wryter2000]

113. Amen!

Fifty state strategy, baby!

[Dem_4_Life]

114. K&R.. I agree. Thank you Howard!!! You are our saviour!!!

:applause:

[mnhtnbb]

117. Howard Dean is the man.

[Demobrat]

119. Dean should have been VP.

I like Biden but it should have been Dean, for all the reasons mentioned in the OP.

[cybildisobedience]

121. here! here!

I agree with every word -- Dean was the first one to burst the bubble of "Bush infallibility," and it cascaded down from there.
Everyone else was so terrified that the blindly repeated the "popular war-time president" crap.
Dean cut right through it -- he is a true American hero, and even though he doesn't seem to need it, I hope he gets the credit he deserves.

[knixphan]

122. Yes!

Without a doubt. (Proud Deaniac)

[Maineman]

124. Dean was right, and he stood his ground. Bravo!

[keekers]

126. Dr Howard (SoulDoctor) Dean!! Modesty, Courage, Responsibility, Efficiency,

Faced with disappointment, unfairness and a wall of opposition bigger than imaginable, if you include the attack machine,
Howard Dean picked himself up and set about helping his vision come true.
It is not me, it is you citizens out there. He is one politician who meant it.

Whatever is honorable that works, no matter how embarrassing, how troublesome, how difficult. Attention to small details and asking for what you need from people with no blaming, name-calling, lying.

I wonder how his model would work for us faced with our national problems?????
No matter who is president, we can follow Dr. Dean's blazing path. :patriot:

[Beregond2]

128. Thank you for pointing this out.

It has been on my mind a lot lately.

[Arugula Latte]

129. Abso-freakin-lutely!

:toast:

[myrna minx]

130. Spreading the love and the respect for Dr. Dean. K&R n/t

[Kokonoe]

131. From a red state with a democratic governor, SHhhh.

Red states are a myth started in the 70's.
The democratic governor of a red state was sent to jail.

I Say, let Howard Dean fix it, as attorney general.

[Generator]

134. May I point out, it's not saved yet

And I'm assuming Obama WILL win. The work will just be beginning. And then we will see what he is made of and what he can do to undo all the horror that has allowed to fester in Washington.

As far as Dean goes-YES. He is the one that spoke truth to power. He was the uppity one before any of them-before Kerry certainly. He was willing to take on Bush and the war long ago. He was willing to take on the Democratic establishment. I hope Obama understands that MUST continue. Victory and capitulation-the the Mark Penn school of leadership will bring another horrible reactionary Republican win AFTER Obama if that is all we can come up with. The future must be different.

[ooglymoogly]

138. kr and for good reason...nt

[sonias]

140. Dean made me believe I had the power

We all did. And he was right to believe in the American people in all 50 states.

I love you Howard. By the way his birthday is November 17th. Let's keep that in mind and make sure he knows how much we appreciate him this year.

:loveya: Howard!


Sonia

[georgecolombo]

141. Absolutely Correct

Especially the part about the 50 state strategy. Mad props to Dr. Dean.

[Captain Hilts]

142. Was Jim Farley responsible for FDR's win in '32? No. Hoover was. nt

[Va Lefty]

144. The good Doctor deserves a lot of credit for his vision

All the Democrats who criticized Howard Dean for his 50 State Strategy should be forced to go on National TV and apologize!

[calimary]

145. Okay, Skinner - can we suspend the rules so I can recommend this ONE MILLION TIMES?

Many multiples of that number is how many times we should be thanking Howard Dean. HE was the one to shepherd "The 50-State Strategy" to increasing success, as of early 2005 when he took over as DNC Chair.

THANK YOU, GOOD DOCTOR DEAN!!!!!

Howard Dean DID save America. He's team captain. And he found himself an outstanding quarterback in Barack Obama.

[valerief]

149. Howard ain't no coward either!

[dogpatch]

151. Go Ho Ho!

Spoken as a half Vermonter-half Californian who LOVES Texas!

[fadedrose]

152. K

[Kurovski]

154. K&R.

Nice. I always keep a picture of Dean here with me as a reminder.

[kmdemqueen]

155. he is such a smart man

[jemsan]

159. K and R

[ColbertWatcher]

160. so very, very true. k+r, n/t

[harmonicon]

161. Howard Dean is the reason that I'm a Democrat

'nuff said.

[Stinky The Clown]

162. You're right

[mmm413]

163. I watched "Recount" on HBO this weekend.

About the 2004 primaries. Dean was right (that bogus "Dean scream" did him in). Shows how smart the Democratic Party is by having him lead it. He's been right about every single thing. The "establishment" Democrats may not care for him but the rest of the Democrats sure as hell do.

[David Zephyr]

164. As a Deaniac from 2004, I thank you for your thread.

Howard is an unsung hero and we need him for 2010.

[XemaSab]

165. Proud to give this the 200th rec!

:patriot:

[mapatriot]

166. My friend!!

Howard was my Governor and is my friend and I am very, very proud of him.
Steve Waltien
Shelburne, Vermont

[satya]

167. Thank you Dr, Dean for spending our DNC donations wisely and well. nt

[Raster]

168. Error: You've already recommended that thread

Thank You, Howard Dean!:kick:Yes We Can!

[GetTheRightVote]

169. Thank you Howard Dean

:bounce:

[justgamma]

172. Don't forget, we the people!

If I remember right, the powers that be did not want Dean. Didn't we call and organize and practically force them to elect him as chair?

We knew that he had long term goals that would be good for our party.

He started it and Obama ran with it.

[2Design]

173. he helped barack get funding with his plan n/t

[scytherius]

174. That he did. A toast to you Mr. Dean!!!!!! n/t

n/t

[WinstonSmith4740]

175. Damn right he did!

I was a "Deaniac" in 2004, and still think he got jobbed by the press. The DLC will never bring themselves to admit it, but it was his "50 state" policy that made this all happen. When that kind of forward thinking met up with Obama's presence, intelligence, etc., and the whole thing was combined with Obama's "community organizing" (got it now, Rudy?) it really created the perfect storm. I honestly don't think Hillary would have gone along with him. She was too entrenched in the old Democratic Party thinking, limiting themselves to a couple of battleground states and blowing off the rest of the "red" states. In other words, running a campaign by Karl Rove's rules.

The Democrats owe Dean big time. I hope he gets tapped for Surgeon General.:yourock:

[Why Syzygy]

177. AbsoLUTEly. Howard is the Man.

He calmed my terror. Brought us out of our closets of fears and tears to step up to the plate.

Excellent OP. I'm so glad you posted it. I imagine Obama understands how he got here.

[democrank]

178. Deaniac reporting in....

~PEACE~

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

181. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

[DFW]

182. After a meeting with Howard in December 2002, he was on the phone with my best friend in Dallas

My friend told Howard he should really do more with the internet, as it was
a potential tool as yet untapped by any major candidate. Howard replied, "yeah,
you're right, I really have to get on to that." That was in early 2003. By December
of that year Howard was on the covers of Time and Newsweek.