Dean Supporters: Was It Love At First Sight, Or Did He Have To Woo You?

[THUNDER HANDS]

I'm curious as to how you came to support Dean. Was it something as simple as seeing him stand up on a stage and denounce the war and claim the mantle of the "democratic wing of the Democratic party" that swung you into his corner?

Did it happen that quickly? Was it love at first sight for you? Did you know that Dean was the one the first time you saw him?

Or has it taken you a while to come around to him? Has he had to earn your respect and your vote through his sheer will and the effort of his campaign?

I ask because it may help us define how the general election will go. If Dean's supporters, a majority of them at least, fell under Dean's spell (so to speak) rather quickly then maybe he's just someone who appeals to a rather wide section of a rather narrow populace - ie, educated, politically astute liberals.

However, if a majority of Dean supporters arrived late to his campaign, because they were won over by the organization, or by Dean himself and how he's acted the past few months, then maybe Dean really has a machine capable of defeating Bush - not just beating him, but shocking the world and destroying him in 2004.

Because that is what I believe will be the key to Dean's success or failure. How many hands he shakes, how many babies he kisses, how many pairs of shoes he goes through crisscrossing the country scouring up every last vote.

People are going to have to be won-over by Dean in order for him to step into the White House. I'm afraid love-at-first-sight isn't going to cut it once the primaries are over.

Thus, my original question.

How would you describe your conversion to the tent of Dean?

Instant or Gradual?

[demnan]

1. Gradual

Actually conversations on this board with VermontDem2004 and other DUers is what pursuaded me.

[readmylips]

2. Dean was saying what I say at home...

fook bush and those lazy pink tootoo democrats.

[eileen_d]

4. "Pink Tutus"

I'm so sick of seeing this phrase... do you hate women, or just femininity? ;)

[LuminousX]

7. I just hate pink

:puke:

[eileen_d]

18. LOL, I do too

But I hate the use of "pink tutus" to denigrate people. As I said in another post, a *real* ballerina in a pink tutu is probably in shape enough to kick my ass.

[readmylips]

19. I like pink tootoos instead of yellow...

ok, so the dems who helped little man bushie get us into this mess, wear yellow tootoos. Sorry if I offended anyone.

Last time I looked, it's a girl!

[Jack_Dawson]

3. It's not love at 400th sight yet

But if he gets the nom, I would vote for him over Bush.

[swittersnc]

5. instant attention grabber, gradual support winner

he caught my attention with his initial ads in texas while bush was vacationing.
started reading his stands and listening to his speeches. the overall vision he articulates combined with the huge numbers of supporters growing every day finally won me over.
that said, other candidates (kucinich in particular) articulate a vision that resonates deeply with me. they simply don't have the groundswell of support that dean has managed to acquire.

[LuminousX]

6. I had to be woo'd

He attracted my attention by being one of the few voices being raised against the Iraq was, even as we easily rolled through the country and it did seem to be a cakewalk. Then I got to analyze him, his style, and political methodology.

I saw in him someone I could respect. He is pragmatic, practical, and willing to take risks. I admire risk takers. He may be politically motivated, but in his time in Vermont, he has shown intense loyalty to the party. He respects the underpinnings of what makes the Democratic party fundamentally different than the Republican party.

And then there was a time when I felt he was too polarizing. I felt he generated too much hatred towards himself. That was dispelled when New Hampshire, a state that has gotten to see a lot of Dean, not only during this election but as a neighbor, has come in with a lot of support for him. I still had a niggling worry that he couldn't work well with Congress, sort of a Carter syndrome. That was dispelled with Sen. Paul Simon's endorsement of Dean. There are only a handful of people who have my intense respect, Simon being one of them. Add in Pat Quinn, the support Dean has gotten from Jesse Jackson Jr. and Cummings - all my general worries have fallen to the wayside.

It is only within the past week or so that I have considered myself fully in the Dean camp.

[helleborient]

9. Welcome back!

Onward to victory!!

[Eloriel]

13. Ands Paul Simon made a point of getting his endorsement in

before he went into the hospital and subsequently died. Simon knew; that makes his endorsement all the more special to me.

[helleborient]

17. Yes, his was the most meaningful endorsement for me (n/t)

[readmylips]

20. I loved Sen. Paul Simon....

what a great statesman.

[helleborient]

8. It was over time...

And the candidate responses in the MoveOn.org primary were the biggest push.

I agreed with my wife when we both read the responses...Howard Dean took his audience the most seriously and made strong policy statements. Dennis Kucinich was a strong second.

I thought the statements sent by the other candidates indicated they didn't take the MoveOn constituency seriously. They simply sent canned responses that were not addressed directly to the MoveOn people. I believe that in order to win the nomination and general election you can not dismiss ANY constituency. The expectation that everyone is in play across the political spectrum is what I've seen in the Dean campaign, and I like it.

I then saw Howard Dean speak in Chicago in August and it cemented my support. I, personally, needed to hear a national candidate say he was determined to bring back the flag as a symbol for the entire country, to say that we are at our best when black, brown, and white people vote together, and to take on Bush for using the race card in the U. of Michigan affirmative action case and elsewhere.

I haven't seen the combination of embracing the true positives of this country while strongly opposing the current leadership in the same way from any of the other candidates or congressional Democrats. It is inspiring to me.

Since making my determination, the wonderful stories I've heard and wonderful people I've met at monthly Meetups has kept me there. Having regular meetings for supporters across the country is absolutely brilliant for maintaining support. We nearly doubled our attendance last month, and early signs are significant growth for January as well. This is true grassroots and it's thrilling.

[LuminousX]

22. I forgot about MoveOn.org

That was another moment of 'this guy gets it.'

I think that is the bottom line for me regarding Dean: He gets it.

[Eloriel]

10. Strong infatuation at first sight

followed by quick evolution into full-blown love affair. The more I saw, the more impressed I was -- with the man, his character and integrity, his positions on the issues, his spunk, fighting spirit and backbone, and his vision.

[KaraokeKarlton]

11. He proved himself as my governor

And this was back when he was not a fire breathing presidential candidate. It was many years ago when his decisions and leadership made my life better when he won me over. Yes, Dean draws people in with his fiery style, but beneath all that there IS a great deal of substance, and that substance is what makes me a solid Dean supporter.

[Guaranteed]

12. When I heard he was AGAINST THE WAR,

BEFORE THE WAR, needless to say, he caught my interest.

But, oh, right, he wasn't REALLY against the war. Talk about revisionist history.

[mrgorth]

14. I heard his CA speech

and then did the research.

[Demobrat]

15. It was gradual.

In fact, I can't even remember when I first heard of Dean, although I'm sure it was on this board. But over time I noticed that every time somebody said something that made me jump and and yell YES, it was him. Then I read the text of his "What I wanna know" speech in Sacramento, and that was that. I joined the campaign sometime in the spring, and started sending contributions in June. Seems I wasn't alone.

[slinkerwink]

16. definitely gradual

[Walt Starr]

21. Poop

:hurts:

[Upfront]

25. Both In A Way

I heard Ann Richards say on Larry King that Dean was the only one of the candidates saying anything. I had never heard of him, period. So I did some research and liked what I found. Then I heard him speak at a rally. He called B*** on every lie in just the way I hoped some Democrat candidate would do, but had not to that point. With the possible exception of Dennis who I knew nothing about at the time. After that speach, which I recorded, and replayed, I was sold. I am not going anywhere, Dean all the way!

[Larkspur]

23. It took 4 months after Al Gore bowed out for Dean to win my support

Howard was probably always my 2nd choice after Al Gore, but after Gore bowed out I gave ALL the candidates at the time the chance to win my support, but only Howard Dean earned it.

How did Howard win my support? Two major acts he did pushed me to him: 1) his March 2003 Sacremento speech to the CA Dem State Convention when he opened with "Why are so many Dems supporting Pres Bush's unilateral war against Iraq..." That speech echoed my views almost perfectly. And 2) his op ed in Commondreams.org in which he reitereated his anti-Iraq war stance and quoted Al Gore's Sep 23, 2002 speech. Dean showed in that op ed that he was paying attention to the Dem base. His op ed was in response to a columnists critque of his anti-war stance. The fact that Dean responded quickly to the critique said that he cared how we felt about the war and wanted to clarify his position with us. Yes, Dean did want to court the Dem base and he was the only candidate at the time who did NOT take us for granted.

When I signed on to his campaign in mid-April, I didn't realize what a great campaigner he was. I've only gotten to be more amazed by Dean and his campaign since I signed up. Now I'm a Meetup Host in my town and a Congressional District coordinator.

[Logansquare]

24. Saw him at a Dem event in March

As another DUer said, he kept saying my thoughts out loud. I've been supporting him ever since.

[Pastiche423]

26. Initially

I sought out a radio interview of Dean's that was being touted by a pesky DUer. She was relentless, so I decided to listened to it, in hopes that I could discount him and she would go away. lol

It din't work out that way. In the interview he spoke about his strong healthcare plan and I wanted to hear more about him. This was long before meet ups and his web page was in its infancy.

Over a period of a few months, I tried to find anything I could about him. And each time I found something, I liked him more. When I learned of his anti Iraq war stance, it was the cherry on top. By then, his solution to problems MO and tireless energy had won me over. He gave me hope.

[JaneQPublic]

27. I was originally for Kerry after Gore bowed out

I didn't even seriously consider Dean until last summer, when I saw him on CSPAN, checked out his website, and consulted with my brother, a VT resident.