The importance of the campaign of Howard Dean.

[kodi]

I have always appreciated what Howard Dean was attempting to convey when he said that the election is about us, not him.

As a long-time Al Gore supporter I look with pleasure to his announcement supporting Howard Dean. In the last year Dean has done what Gore was beginning to do at the end of the 2000 campaign, viz., appeal to the strong populist streak in America. This is what the Democratic Party leadership rejected in 2001-2, with attacks on Gore by, amongst others, Senators Lieberman, Max Baucus, and John Breaux. (sp?) These three men and clearly many more party regulars looked at what Gore could kindle by continuing his grass roots approach to building an effective campaign. So they undermined Gore and he chose not to run.

The DLC types were happy that they had effectively headed off a grass roots movement in the party, one which could sweep them from their well-heeled positions of party power.

But, the campaign of Howard Dean was not then on the horizon, and Dean did what these party leaders feared from Gore, kindle that massive populist, grass roots movement which could bypass the power structure of the party.

Howard Dean is Al Gore’s revenge on the party structure, a structure, that except for the Black Congressional Caucus, lit out for the hills during the recount in 2000.

Today at the Daily Kos, an article appeared which dovetails with this assessment.

http://www.dailykos.com/

Important in this article are the following statements:

“…presidential primaries are never a truly democratic process. The people of Iowa, NH, and the restof the February states have had a disproportionate level of influence. Illinois' legions of good Democrats have zero say in the election of our nominee. Neither do those in Minnessota. Or Massachussets.

“Dean built his support not on the back of the "establishment", but despite it. That they are all lining up behind him now is testament to what Dean has built -- a massive army of supporters hailing from the entire nation, from Alaska to Atlanta. Those supporters have driven the campaign, providing it not only with money, but with committed evangelizers, spreading the word about Dean in a way that could never be replicated in a 30-second spot -- personally. Face to face, or via an email from a friend, at the family dinner table, or around the watercooler. They have canvassed. Set up tables at farmers markets and college campuses. Marched in parades. Done whatever it took to spread the word and build support for their guy. A mere four years ago, an Alabama Democrat would've had no say whatsoever in our party's nominee. But today, Democrats in Alabama have helped spread the word about Dean, donated to his campaign, attended meetups, wrote letters to Iowans, Granite staters, and Al Gore. So it's true, no votes have been cast. But that doesn't mean we haven't seen democracy in action the past year. 2003 was a clinic in how technology could be used to build a movement, how bytes on a screen could be transformed into off-line activities in pursuit of a cause.

“We have been seeing true participatory democracy. Some campaigns got it. Others did not. And yet others simply got in the game too late. Movements aren't built overnight. I reject the notion that democracy isn't being served. At the end of the day, we'll still have elections to select delegates. Each candidate still has to get his (or her) supporters to the polls. Dean's nomination isn't a done deal. But he sure is in the best position to receive it. Dean is where he is because of hundreds of thousands of supporters. That is the essence of democracy. The system didn't give most of them a meaningful vote, and yet it didn't matter. They voted (and continue to vote) with their money and hard work. Nothing precluded the other candidates from following this same path. That they didn't isn't a failing of democracy, it's a failing in their inability to harness the power of the people. Gore simply recognized the power of Dean's movement. Any of the other candidates would've killed for the endorsement, but they didn't earn it. Dean worked hardest for it, and that he got it isn't commentary on our political system."

And this is an important reason why Al Gore now supports Howard Dean.

[kodi]

1. lock this moderators and go to the thread linked

the discussion on what i was saying is going on here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=855599

[mmonk]

2. you're entitled to your opinion.

(nothing against Dean).