The doctor is in – in your face!

[killbotfactory]

Here's a great article about the Dean campaign and their strategy.

Howard Dean isn't afraid of the president, so why are Democrats afraid of Dean?

In Howard Dean's sprawling campaign headquarters, where the staff appears to come in two ages–young and younger–it is a 4-year-old who really stands out. Kasey, a West Highland white terrier and the official campaign dog, lives to do her official campaign trick. "Kasey?" Joe Trippi, Kasey's owner and Dean's campaign manager, asks. "Would you rather work for George Bush or be dead?" Kasey immediately flops onto her side and extends her front and hind legs in a reasonable imitation of rigor mortis. Kasey will get a dog biscuit for this and the staff always gets a laugh, but the trick is significant in one respect: Trippi used to ask Kasey if she would rather work for John Kerry, one of Dean's Democratic opponents, or be dead (Kasey's response was the same), but now the Dean campaign has moved way beyond John Kerry.

<...>

Trippi describes the next phase of the Dean campaign this way: "Over the next six months," he says, "we must be in George Bush's face."

And it intends to be there with more than doggie tricks. U.S. News has learned that the Dean campaign will spend between $100,000 and $200,000 to put up a new television commercial running this week in the unlikely (and probably unwinnable) state of Texas. In the ad, which Dean taped last Wednesday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, he wears a blue, open-necked work shirt, faces the camera, and says, "I want to change George Bush's reckless foreign policy, stand up for affordable healthcare, and create new jobs . . . . Has anybody really stood up against George Bush and his policies? Don't you think it's time somebody did?"

<...>

Near the end of June, Dean logged on to the site to see if the campaign was going to reach its goal of $4.5 million. He immediately called Trippi. "We've been hacked!" Dean said. "Someone put $6 million on the Web site!" Trippi told him they hadn't been hacked; they had actually raised that much and were raising even more.

[CWebster]

1. Oh look, a pro-Dean thread and no one is here yet to bash Dean!

B-)

[liberalnurse]

2. I want to thank those who

have exercised restraint. I mean it too.....:)

[CWebster]

3. Notice how there isn't a bash Kerry thread in sight

but the place is rife with the venom of Dean stalkers? Hmmmm :7

Who needs to worry about Republicans and their tricks when there are Dems...

[Cha]

4. Maybe they aren't just "dems"?

:kick:

[Cha]

5. I want to Thank you and everyone else who contributed to

Dean's Campaign to make this Possible!

[SGrande]

9. Hey look Dean supporters arn't slandering fellow DUers

Hrm ...

Is this a blue moon?

Deanites arn't following people from thread to thread, slandering every word and post a person makes? Making racial and mean spirited slurs?

HRM

this is a great day, the Deanites must be shaving their armpit hair for once!

woooooooooooooo

[killbotfactory]

12. WTF?

"the Deanites must be shaving their armpit hair for once!"

[dsc]

15. Kerry supporters I am sick of this BS

Police your people. You bitch and bitch and whine and whine about us but I have called Dean supporters on this shit more than once. Either publicly call this supporter on his shit or stop bitching about us.

[AmyStrange]

18. I agree...

personally, I don't think they are complaining about us so much as making stupid excuses to continue their own stupid behavior.

Also persoanlly, I think some of the stupider Deanie Bs are registering new user IDs so they can attack Deanies continuously with an army of stupid people. It's why the DU registered user number has climbed so quickly the last couple months...


Just my opinion,





Dave (AmyStrange.com)
http://www.SeattleActivist.org/MyLifeStory.html
DU (slang/ folklore) Glossary (Dictionary): http://DUG.SeattleActivist.org/
Index of WMD Articles: http://WMD.SeattleActivist.org/

Here are some excellent resources and timelines of quotes and interviews and newspaper article quotes documenting the different things Bush and Co did and said for the last two plus years concerning the war in Iraq and WMDs (and other fun things) from the Howard Dean Website---even if you're not a Dean Fan, these are still excellent resources:

The Bush Administration And WMDs: Then And Now:
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=bush_wmd_summary

Niger-Uranium Timeline:
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=niger_timeline

Bush and WMD: Assumptions vs. Reality:
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/DocServer/TikTok_-_Bush_-_Iraq_-_Side_by_Side.pdf?docID=781

The Bush Administration and WMD: What did they know and when did they know it?:
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/DocServer/TikTok_-_Administration_-_Iraq_Deception.pdf?docID=762

[whirlygigspin]

20. Oink, oink

...is this a case of the pig squealing like mad as he is
chased from the trough?

How tiresome,
Quack, quack.

[dsc]

30. Put up or shut up Pal

Find one, just one post where I say something about Kerry or any other candidate or any group of supporters of a candidate that is at all similar to the comment I responded to. Go ahead and happy hunting. I won't wait for an apology but one would be nice when you find nada.

[whirlygigspin]

19. thanks for the bash$$$

$1

[whirlygigspin]

28. $1 for luck!

.

[whirlygigspin]

29. $1 for luck!

.

[poskonig]

6. "It is great that Karl Rove wants us, because we want George Bush."

That Trippi quote is priceless.

[w13rd0]

7. Love it...

...Dean: "We've been hacked!"

Trippi: "No, we've actually raised that much..."

Changing the way politics works for YOU! I'm invested in the Dean campaign, and the Dean campaign has been responsive to concerns and questions I've raised via the many ways in which one may be interactive with the campaign. Right on!

[polpilot]

8. Dean rules the planet!!!!

[w4rma]

10. Trippi is the anti-Rove!

:bounce:

[dajabr]

11. Can't get enough of that Kasey!!

Seems like you can teach an old Party new tricks :-)

[Duder]

13. This article was so good...

I duped it by mistake.

There's no doubt that Dean has the best campaign.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

14. I love this "in your face" campaign strategy

Remains to be seen if it will work, but so far he's garnering plenty of attention and more supporters every day. Some very creative campaigning going on there in VT -- I love being part of the campaign, but it must be thrilling to be on the way inside while all of this great stuff is happening.

[Egnever]

16. I hear that!

I would have loved to have been there while they were discussing what to do with the top secret money.


Hmmm.. lets see how can we really stick it to bush......

Some of the ideas thrown out must have been awsome!

[whirlygigspin]

17. oops, I duped it too!

should I delete it?

[newsguyatl]

21. what a great piece killbotfactory!

nice find! thanks!

i'm bloggin' this sucker!

[DrFunkenstein]

22. What's The Sound Of One Candidate Clapping?

What a lovefest! This thread is totally hilarious! Without a Kerry supporter, you guys have nothing to talk about? Backpatting and talking about Dean's style? C'mon, you can do better than that!

Ok, I'll take the bait, just so you'll have something to talk about.

Honestly, I can't believe no one took up this part:

"Trippi used to ask Kasey if she would rather work for John Kerry, one of Dean's Democratic opponents, or be dead (Kasey's response was the same), but now the Dean campaign has moved way beyond John Kerry."

I mean, really. Way to keep your eyes on the prize. (What's even funnier is how you're all waiting around for someone to say something bad about Dean.)

<>

[RevolutionStartsNow]

23. Nah...

I can't speak for the others participating in this thread, but it was just nice to have a positive Dean thread, a nice change from the 6 or 7 negative threads started today in quick succession. (Not all terribly negative articles, but articles posted by a self-proclaimed "Dean Deprogrammer" for only one reason.)

And if you think this thread has no substance, check out the one about the Dean pet gallery. Whew. This section of the board has really turned into a mess, in my opinion. So much sniping, from all sides, and not much real discussion about the issues. I have to go to GD for that, and it's not a whole lot better.

(It only took about 9 posts for someone to jump in and make a negative comment, anyway.)

ps) Dr. Funk: I was in a surf shop today and saw a sticker/ad for a local chiropractor called "Dr. Funk" -- it was a cool sticker with a skeleton on a surfboard. I tried to get one for you, but it was the only one they had. :)

[DrFunkenstein]

24. Aw, That Would Have Been Awesome!

Thank you so much for thinking of me!:)

You're right, though. It seems like the forum is imploding from the zealot wing of the party. It seems like a handful of people on all sides have really taken the whole 2004 race down the toilet.

What sucks is that I love debating policy and political philosophy! But it is hard to talk with people who are so invested in their candidate that they are afraid they will "betray" their candidate by being honest.

Just to use myself as an example, on the most controversial topic around - Kerry's vote - I am willing to say that I understand his reasons, but I disagree in my heart. I wish more people would be less "loyal" and more open. I think ultimately it would be better for the candidate they support.

I have tried over and over to talk policy with the Dean people, but the only one who seems willing to do that is Nicholas_J, and he's not exactly the most unbiased voice for Dean. I hear alot about Dean's personality, but very little about his policies. Any time I question his policies, I am attacked as bashing.

I have researched Kerry's policies thoroughly. I don't need someone to tell me about them. But I would like to get some clarity about Dean's positions, but my questions are always rejected. And, of course, when I post info about Kerry's record and positions, I get silence.

I understand the need for positive threads, and even the occasional puff threads, but I have to agree with you that this forum has really fallen to pieces in the short time I've been here.:shrug:

[Prag_Idealist]

25. I just wanted to add my agreement

as well as a thanks. I'm a relatively political newbie. Though I consider myself relatively intelligent and well versed in some aspects of social justice and policy, I have much to learn. So I too find myself frustrated at DU in the lack of rational discussions.

I also wanted to assure you that your efforts do not go in vain, because though I tend to ignore or avoid threads titled by Nicholas J, I check out yours without hesitation. So thank you for your candid threads and responses.

Though I lack in expereince,in the future I will attempt to respond more to your policy appeals with the same attempts of being both honest and sincere.

[MercutioATC]

26. Dr. Funk...you can debate me any time...

I enjoy discussing the issues with somebody who doesn't resort to rhetoric and has real views to express. We've discussed this before, but I've read your posts and find the vast majority to be honest and fair. I support Dean, but I'll admit there are issues on which we're not 100%. If you want to have a healthy discussion, I'm always receptive...

[RevolutionStartsNow]

27. I agree about the loyalty issue

...but I have found myself getting defensive more often than not on this forum. It's bound to happen when people repeatedly suggest that because I choose to support Dean, I must either be brainwashed or 12 years old. Kerry supporters get a lot of the same crap, too, just a different flavor.

There are posters like yourself who post substantive questions about the candidates, but you are vastly outnumbered by the zealots.

And it's too bad about Nicholas, because he's clearly willing and able to dissect the issues; I just tune him out or poke fun at him because he's so over-the-top biased. Posting an article and adding commentary like "This proves Dean is worse than Bush!" just doesn't encourage mature or rational discussion. (However I will give him some credit for making me read up even more on Dean's Vermont record, even if it didn't have his intended effect of causing me to run screaming from the campaign.)

I have researched Dean's policies and record (and no, not just on DeanforAmerica), and Kerry's to a somewhat lesser extent, and I like both candidates. There are some areas where I don't agree with Dean, as there are also some things about Kerry that I don't like, but you can bet I'm thrilled that these 2 are the front runners.

I would like to know more about some of the other candidates, and I would like to see more discussion about the role of the DLC and the various campaign strategies. But I'm not sure that's possible on this board anymore, it's so flooded with diatribe.

And yet, I stay and keep reading, because sometimes a good discussion leaks through...