Philocrites

Sooz:

February 15, 2004 03:41 PM | Permalink for this comment

I just wanted to clarify that it's a Massachusetts for Dean office, independently organized by volunteers. It is not (as you wrote) an "official campaign headquarters." It wasn't financed by DFA. I've only been volunteering since September but whenever I've got involved there were certainly a lot of adults involved and not (as you wrote) "just out-of-college activity".

I'm really not sure why there is a "Dean for America Headquarters" sign on the front. It's not financed /organized by headquarters. That might contribute to some confusion!

From what I've read/been told, there are still efforts to get 15% for Dean at the MA primary so delegates can be sent to the convention.

Philocrites:

February 15, 2004 03:59 PM | Permalink for this comment

Thanks, Sooz. So the volunteers have rented the space? That really is amazing.

Jake Lambert:

February 15, 2004 04:17 PM | Permalink for this comment

You suggest, "Hopefully...the Deaniacs will help the rest of us knock Bush out of office."

A) I am not merely a "Deaniac." I regret the frequent use of this term, but please bear in mind that I am an active, participating American citizen.

B) Where you in the United States in 2002 during the midterm elections? We have been trying to get Bush out of office while "the rest of us" were rolling over and playing dead. Welcome back, I'm glad to see that you've finally decided to help US get Bush out of office - even if you choose to do so under the auspices of a different candidate.

C) If you ever want to persuade people to your point rather than merely throw read meat to those who already agree with you - you might try dropping the belittling attitude. This type of diction, "us," implies that you don't consider me to be part of "us." Maybe that's why people vote Green (I don't).

D) I'm sorry if you didn't intend this post to be belittling, though it came off as such. I can only guess at intonation when reading things on the Internet. Please feel free to respond and clarify your remark if appropriate.

~bc:

February 15, 2004 08:47 PM | Permalink for this comment

I'd call labeling the Volunteer Campaign HQ of a major candidate for President a "playhouse" "belittling." Pathetic. But its your weblog, do as you wish. It's just a real sorry viewpoint. And what's wrong with voting your conscience (ie, those who choose to vote Green)? Doing anything else would be un-democratic, and down right un-American, un-patriotic.

Philocrites:

February 16, 2004 09:49 AM | Permalink for this comment

Two thoughts: First, I'm jealous! My candidate (Wesley Clark) dropped out and endorsed John Kerry before I got a chance to vote for him. But I also saw the writing on the wall, and rather than join in the last week's frenzied phone calls to Tennessee voters (or the increasingly paranoid chatter on the Clark supporters' Web site), I decided that the best way forward for my issues — which all boil down to beating Bush in November — was for my own candidate to get out of the race so that a clearer two-man contest could emerge. A three-way race for second place just didn't make sense to me.

Second, because I didn't realize that the Massachusetts Dean supporters had simply set up their own independent headquarters, I drew the wrong conclusion about what Dean is doing with his supporters' money. If I had known that, I would have written this post quite differently. But the writing is still on the wall for Dean, too — his campaign chairman is jumping ship to the Kerry campaign on Wednesday, and the Globe reports that Dean is looking for ways to transform his campaign into a political movement aligned with the Democratic nominee (who won't be Dean). I think that's a great idea and could give his supporters something even more important to do than try to pick up 15% of the Massachusetts primary vote.

h. Holbrook:

February 17, 2004 09:27 PM | Permalink for this comment

I would vote for Howard Dean. I think he is the best of the worst. I wont even consider voting for Kerry -- even to get Bush out of office. If these are the worst of the complaints about him than he isnt so bad.

Cos:

February 26, 2004 02:29 PM | Permalink for this comment

When Dean talked about "taking back the Democratic party", Kerry is probably one of the people he meant we need to take it back from. Certainly I always interpreted it that way. We can all support Kerry in the general election, though many of us will have to hold our noses to do so, because we need to get rid of Bush. But these are the primaries, this is not the time to back the candidate we don't like. Kerry is a credible and viable candidate this year for exactly one reason: He learned what to say to voters, from Howard Dean. If we want the Democratic party to remain strong, to keep having a spine, and to continue to listen to the leader whose message the entire party is parroting, then increasing Dean's strength within the party is the most important thing we can do. To that end, trying to elect more Dean delegates can do us a lot of good, and it'll do Kerry a lot of good too (despite himself). Just as importantly, it's part of our continuing effort to take back the party for citizen participation and access, a project that will take years but is extremely important.