Article in the NYT tonight presents Dean's goals and fundraising fairly.

[madfloridian]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/us/politics/20donate.html

"There is greater disparity in the national party committees, which concentrate on get-out-the-vote operations and larger message campaigns, with the Republican National Committee’s $13 million versus the $5.6 million raised by the Democratic National Committee.

The disparity is in part caused because the Democratic chairman, Howard Dean, has taken a longer view of turning around the party by trying to rebuild state Democratic organizations across the country. The approach has been controversial inside the party.

Still, the Democratic National Committee reported a cash-on-hand balance of $8.2 million, which party officials say is twice as much as they had during the midterm race of 2002.

To close the gap, the Democratic National Committee is taking a loan of up to $10 million to finance turnout operations, half of which will be devoted to Senate races and half to increasing the turnout of minority voters.

Asked to comment on the fund-raising reports, Mr. Dean responded in a statement on Thursday evening that, “We’re pleased that we nearly doubled what the D.N.C. raised in the last midterm election, but we’re going to keep working hard to ensure that our candidates have the resources to win.”

Overall in the cycle, the DNC has raised 102,000 plus. Good record. The senate and house committees in the cycle raised in the 80,000 plus.

Pretty fair article.

Just FYI, the Donor Match fundraising is going very well at the DNC. First time it has been tried. Mail did not start going out until Tuesday and Wednesday. So good progress.

http://www.democrats.org/

6,292 new donors already. Helping to meet the goal of building the party on a small donor base.

[Straight Shooter]

1. In case anyone has missed the donor matching info:

"... several thousand donors who own a piece of the Democratic Party have promised to match the donation of someone who hasn't given yet this year. We've pledged a certain amount and written a note to the person whose donation we'll match.

Over 4,000 new donors have taken the leap in less than 24 hours, and we're climbing to 5,000 as I write this. That means over 8,000 people have experienced what it's like to bonded by a sense of mutual commitment to creating a political party owned not by special interests or lobbyists but by ordinary Americans.

Here's what will happen if you decide to be a part of this. If you're a first-time donor for this year, you'll choose your donation amount, and our online tool will match you with someone who's pledged that same amount. You'll see their name and town and a message from them, if they chose to write one. You'll be able to send your own message back and, if you chose, even start a longer conversation.

The response from both existing donors and those who haven't given has been explosive. You really have to give this a try:

http://www.democrats.org/match

===================

I donated and was delighted with the Personal Message from the person who had volunteered to match my donation. This is one of the best ideas that Howard Dean has ever had. It gives everyone a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves, and adds a definite personal touch.

[madfloridian]

2. Thanks.

I forgot to mention what I was talking about.

:hi:

[Straight Shooter]

3. You're more than welcome.

:hi: