Dean: Hackett race proves 50-state strategy works

[UrbScotty]

From my email:

Your mandate to fight everywhere had its first test last night.

Marine Major Paul Hackett ran for Congress in a special election in the most Republican district in Ohio. Republicans vowed to "bury" him, pundits wrote him off, and the conventional wisdom asked why Democrats would even bother to put up a fight.

But then something happened. With the infrastructure of local organizers we're building in Ohio and every other state, the most Republican district in Ohio became the most competitive district in Ohio -- a district where Bush won in 2004 by a margin of two to one. We energized thousands of grassroots volunteers and small donors in Ohio and across the country. We made our stand and we fought.

No, Paul Hackett didn't get elected to Congress yesterday. But he received 48.2 percent of the vote in a district where the Democratic candidate received only half that in the last four elections.

The formula is simple. Paul Hackett didn't apologize for being a Democrat, didn't hold back from criticizing a president who has failed to lead in Iraq and at home, and took a strong Democratic message into the heart of a Republican stronghold.

This district used to be written off. Now we have a network of Democrats, independents, and sensible Republicans who are tired of the out-of-touch Republican leadership and its culture of corruption. It proves that we can compete everywhere -- if we show up and fight, and give people a real choice.

This unprecedented result shows that Americans are hungry for change. In the words of one political analyst, Hackett's performance in supposedly safe Republican district means that something is "very, very wrong" for Republicans in 2006.

That's absolutely true. It also means that something is very, very right with our democracy.

For too long, we have conceded huge pieces of this country to the Republicans. No more. When we roll up our sleeves and fight we can compete everywhere -- and we will.

We're just getting started. We have moved people and resources into 25 states so far, and we are on our way into the next 25. We're building a permanent infrastructure to organize and build the Democratic base in every single precinct in the country -- an operation that will not disappear after a single election.

This effort is unprecedented and will fundamentally change the way our party does business. But the only way to do this building the community of people who have Democracy Bonds. A Democracy Bond is a commitment to give a small amount every month to build and sustain the Democratic Party everywhere.

Thousands of people have made the commitment already and are using tools on Democrats.org to grow the community and track their progress. If you want to fight everywhere, now is the time to join the Democracy Bonds community:

http://www.democrats.org/democracybonds

Thank you for everything you do.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

[tridim]

1. Ahh, I like it!

Has the DLC issued a statement yet? Something like, "Hackett's loss tells us we need to avoid criticizing the president and move further toward the center".

[Eloriel]

9. Well, that's exactly what Craig Crawford said today on MSNBC

He was identified as a Democratic Strategist, so -- ?

He said Hackett might have won except for calling Bush an SOB and that other remark he made, and that's the lesson for Democrats. I could've slugged him. I don't know that he talked about moving to the center, but the other was bad enough, IMO.

[CTLawGuy]

12. I would have slugged him too

obviously he didn't comprehend the political demographics of the region.

[mtnester]

14. Craig Crawford....watching him for 5 seconds

makes me want to twist his head off.

Bumbling fool is what he is.

[LittleClarkie]

20. Yuh, 'cause the focus shouldn't be on fighting a winning 50 state strategy

as much as it should be on how much we just don't like the DLC.

Why, I think that we should find a way to make EVERY post about how much we don't like the DLC. Our big focus should be, morning, noon, and night, on just how much we don't like the DLC. Did I tell you we hate the DLC. Well we do. We just hate them so much it's all we can talk about. Hate, hate, HATE, hate, hate. Yep, it's two minutes later, and we still hate the DLC. Make no mistake.

Nevermind Bush, or focusing our energies on the grassroots and winning campaigns. WE HATE THE DLC! YEEHAW!!




Estrogen is a wondrous thing.

[bleever]

2. Beautiful.

Like music to my ears.


:)

[Imagevision]

3. So hackett won and they had to use the humidity to produce the

extra 4000 votes...so, they proved once again, paperless voting machines control the way the countrey is ruled! ..next!

[Fly by night]

4. Fly by night: Hackett race proves unsecured ballots trump everything else

It looks like we just got another taste of Turd Blossom's "invisible grassroots campaign" that continues to beat the shit out of everything we do with mere flesh-and-blood volunteers.

And yet Dean throws $500,000 for Brazile's whitewash on the 2004 Ohio election theft. Oooh, Howard, I'm sure that "move on, nothing to see here" report really put the fear of the Lord in the Repugs, didn't it?

Sure kept all the OH-2 votes from being tampered with (and perspired -- or pissed -- upon).

Humidity, my leaking bladder. You betcha.

[podnoi]

8. Actually, Dean was on Randi Rhodes tonight saying that election tampering

was quite possible. He is really swinging hard right now. Came right out and called the Republicans "Corrupt". And he agreed with Randi that verified voting machines were absolutely necessary. He even came out and said that Diebold machines were easily hacked and said it has "probably happened".

He called for the states that have voter initiatives to put it on the ballot.

He has a good point. Are Democrats in these states gathering signatures? Surely any such ballot measure would pass in a minute. And with half the country stirred up about this I would think the signatures would be easy to get?

[Fly by night]

13. Visit the DU 2004 ERD forum, where actions to push ...

... voter-verified paper ballots (VVPB) have been on the front burner for the last nine months. There you will learn of the many successes we have achieved (at least ten states have passed VVPB laws in the past few months) and you will also learn of the significant difficulties we face (e.g., HR550, Congressman Rush Holt's bill to require VVPB and mandatory random manual recounts (MRMR) in all federal elections, now has over 140 co-sponsors and still has not even received the courtesy of a committee hearing in the Republi-Nazi controlled Congress over the past three years.)

These issues are by no means new. Many of us are hard at work in our home states pushing for this. But the Brazile report did not help us very much, and Dean coming to this issue late is also not helpful. Don't misunderstand me -- I am glad he is speaking out. But the DNC has not helped any of the grassroots organizations pushing for VVPB and MRMR that I am aware of -- and that is precisely where funds are needed and should be directed. We are fighting $billion dollar corporations controlled by Rethugs and accustomed to bribing election officials with impunity.

We need all the help -- from top to bottom -- we can get.

[mattclearing]

17. Actually McAuliffe shelled out the $500,000.

Although it happened on the eve of Dean's election, likely after he asked for it.

[mzmolly]

5. It's all coming together folks!

:toast: To Paul and Howard!!!

[cloud75]

6. "something is right with our democracy" AWESOME n/t

[podnoi]

7. Hackett proves that centrist politics is not the answer

As a former independant I have been saying this on DU for a while.

People need strong leaders to hit hard. To win the "Heartland" we need to go at the Repubs hard with a progressive platform. The DLC is sooooo totally wrong.

I never took the "Kool Aid". But most of the people I know who are in the middle are just waiting for someone to convince them of something different.

[Can o Beans]

16. Well then, since you have the answers...

...why don't you name for me the last truly liberal president...

...go ahead...

Now, tell me why you had to go back almost a century.

[mattclearing]

18. Cause Bobby Kennedy got shot. n/t

[FogerRox]

23. JFK RFK MLK

right on Bobby got shot

[PittLib]

10. I love this but ....

Dean also came to PA and said that Casey is the man. Republican-lite, pro-life, non-progressive Casey. I'm a little miffed. I don't want my state and representative to be the exception.

[rucky]

11. who are the other choices? n/t

if we're celebrating a loss in OH, it sounds like we can't afford to be too picky.

[LittleClarkie]

21. The person in her sig, for one

But then Hackett wasn't a bigtime liberal either. He just talked the way folks here want to hear someone talk, so they overlooked his not so progressividity.

[Joanne98]

15. Democracy Bonds. Howard Dean is a genius.

[Demobrat]

19. Thanks goodness he's our genius.

Can you imagine if Howard was a Repub? We'd be screwed for eternity.

[proud patriot]

22. YEAH !

:bounce: