Dean in NH. Good news video about NH and primary, and his stance.

[madfloridian]

The video at the site tells the primary decision process that everyone has been talking about there. Good video. Shows the committee at work determining the primary process, and Dean makes it clear there is no comment in public.

Dean says Democrats will reach out to small donors

CONCORD, N.H. -- "The best kind of campaign finance reform is to do it yourself, Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean said Wednesday.

Dean shook hands and talked strategy at an afternoon gathering to raise money for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

"We do intend to refinance the Democratic Party ... by depending on ordinary working men and women in America who want something better for our country and who believe that the present adminstration is leading us in the wrong direction," he said.

Reaching out to smaller donors is needed to "buy back our government from the corporations that have paid George Bush to run it," he said.

Dean detailed his 50-state strategy to hire and finance from national coffers organizers in every state, including Republican strongholds. He said the party is on track to have organizers in every state by the end of the year."


Sporting a shirt calling for support to save the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, from being closed, Democratic National Committee Chairman and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean talks with New Hampshire Democrats during a fundraiser Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005, in Concord, N.H. The Pentagon has proposed shutting the shipyard. (AP Photo/Lee Marriner)

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Clark and Dean both in Maine recently. We must be important :^D

[madfloridian]

2. Ok, I give up. What the heck kind of tie is that?

Seriously, it does looks like some creatures on it. It is funny.

[Guaranteed]

3. I think I owe Dean some back-payments.

I've been slacking. The g/f's getting stingy. Gonna have to kick her in the butt.

[madfloridian]

4. We signed up for Democracy Bonds.

They are supposed to be going out this week. I like his idea of small donors.

[XemaSab]

5. What's Dean's schedule

going to be in the next couple of weeks?

Especially week after next. :-)

Is he going to be speaking anywhere in New England?

[madfloridian]

6. Not that I know of that week.

:hi:

You must be planning on being in that area. Will let you know if I hear.

[XemaSab]

7. thanks

:hi:

[MaineDem]

8. October 22 he'll be in Maine

I know that's not the week after next but I thought I'd throw it in there. :)

[Totally Committed]

9. Howard Dean is doing a GREAT job for the Democrats.

Shame on anyone who doesn't think so. Thanks for the update.

[welshTerrier2]

10. questions, questions and more questions ...

there are many aspects of Dean and what he is doing as Party Chair that i like very much ...

but the most important question still remains unanswered ...

I hope DU's wise old owls can set me straight on this ...

What is Dean doing to give the grassroots (which i define NOT as a left, right, center issue but as each and every Democrat) a greater voice in the direction the Party takes and the way our elected representatives vote ?????

the answer i keep hearing is that if all Democrats send in their pennies, nickels and dimes, we will REPLACE the dependency the Party has on "those evil corporate donors" ...

but is this true? what indication is there that those addicted to the drugs supplied by their corporate pushers will give up their old habits ???

is there evidence that if they don't, Dean and the Party will fund candidates to compete against these corporatists with funds raised from the grassroots ???

is there evidence that with grassroots funding, our poor dependent-on-corporations candidates will be more likely to vote in a manner that truly represents ALL Democrats ???

raising more money from smaller, grassroots sources is all well and good ... but without a change to our Party's processes, i don't see how additional grassroots money will lead to the kinds of reforms we need ... it's not that i disagree with this as a great starting point ... but if we see the collection of large sums of money from the grassroots as an end in itself instead of making the reforms needed to make the Party more democratic and representative, we are doing nothing but throwing more money at bad processes ...

as i said, i like many of the things Dean is doing; but ultimately, perhaps in due time, a rigorous process of reform must be implemented ... let's make sure we keep that as a central focus ...

[Larkspur]

11. Dean doens't just want our money. He wants us to join our local Democrati

committees and help reform the Party from the grassroots up.

I joined my local Dem committee in 2003 and am now the secretary of my town's Dem Committee.

By joining a Dem Committee you can put yourself in position to promote change. You may not be able to do it yourself, but if you are a member, you may find like-minded members to form a movement for change. The TN Progressive Dems in Western TN upset the favored chairperson by Harold Ford in a recent election. That's one way to initiate change. Become leaders within the Dem Party infrastructure.

Change may not happen immediately within the Party. We have some Old Guard Dems whose brains are fossilized and incapable of seeing that the Dem party must change to survive, but they are a growing minority within the Party.

In reards to Dean and money, Dean's theory is that if the Dem Party and candidates have a reliable supply of donations from small donors, the Party and the candidates will be more responsive to US. True, corporate money is still a corruptive power within the Dem Party -- see the DLC -- but Dean's championing of small donors along with McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill will help lessen corporate power.

[welshTerrier2]

12. just fyi ...

i have also joined my local Democratic Town Committee ... to say that I, and we, have been totally ineffective in building change would be an understatement ... still, i'm trying ...

the one concern i have with what i've seen from Dean thus far is that he has NOT pushed, as least to my knowledge, to change the process that determines whether the voices of ALL Democrats are truly heard ... i understand that changing the funding mechanism could potentially lead to better representation ... and i understand that getting involved could potentially create change ...

but, still, i strongly believe more needs to be done from the top ... the whole platform process is a disaster ... another thread even talked about the hand-picking of candidates and the elimination of primaries in some cases ... perhaps that's just a rumor ... without arguing about Casey's hideous views on abortion rights, didn't Dean and the Party essentially "annoint" Casey as the Party's candidate even though other Democrats are running against him??

what i hope we see from Dean and the Party is a more open party ... what i hope we see is a more democratic party ... what i hope to see is a platform that tells the American people the truth rather than a politically crafted platform ... what i hope we see is enhanced communication between elected Democrats and the rest of us "little people" ... and what i hope we see is a process that ensures our elected leaders better represent the views the majority of us hold ...

Dean seems to me to be a positive force for reform ... but there are certain reforms that are desperately needed as soon as possible ... things won't change overnight, but there is no reason Dean can't talk about the need to start achieving the kinds of reforms i've highlighted and how he plans to begin making those reforms happen ... grassroots funding is a great start; i'd still like to see him do much, much more ...

[madfloridian]

14. Those leaders often post at blogs.

There will be a battle. But many of the people in congress are posting at blogs like Kos, MyDD, and several others.

The battle will be for the primaries. Dean has said often that it will take decades to affect much change.

[Larkspur]

16. Dean did not annoint Casey. Gov. Rendell did.

As DNC Chair, Dean is not in a position to challenge Gov. Rendell in PA races.

Before I continue I want to say that I'm glad that you have joined your DTC. Have patience and promote ideas and action items that you can, even if they get defeated. By doing so, you can hopefully get a discussion going and that discussion may broaden some minds. Good luck with your efforts to change the Dem Party in your town. Maybe we should ask Skinner to create a forum for DU Dem committee members so that we can share our thoughts and ideas on improving the Dem Party in our areas.

While being DNC Chair gives Dean a public podium to speak from, it also does not give him absolute power over the Dem Party. There are committees, like the Exec Committee that he reports to. It was the DNC Exec committee that backed Dean when the Bidens et al slammed Dean over Dean's so called controversial remarks a few months ago. It is these DNC members who supported Dean's vision of rebuilding the Dem Party from the ground up and wanted to wrest control of the Dem Party infrastructure form Washington Beltway Dem dolts.

The DNC is made up of members from each state. How those members get those positions, I'm not sure and probably is deteremined by each state's Dem Party. Usually DNC members come from each of the state's Dem Party. I know that I didn't vote for CT's DNC members, but if I find out how they got their positions, I'll let you know.

Concerning your main concern about "changing the process that determines whether the voices of ALL Democrats are truly heard" can you be specific in what you mean and what plan you would want Dean to enact to achieve that goal? I don't know what you are aiming for.

I know that Dean is using the money we send the DNC to hire staff for each state to help that state's Dem Party formulate an election plan geared for that state instead of a cookie-cutter plan developed by Washington Beltway dolts. The staff is hired by the state's Dem party and is from the specific state but their salary is paid for by the DNC. Does this answer some of your concern about getting voices of all Dems heard? Dean is working to decentralize the Dem Party hierarchy so that each state has more control over its internal affairs. Hopefully, this will lead to better communications to those of us in local Dem Committees at the front lines.

[madfloridian]

13. I am going to put a post in a minute about the fight that is coming.

It deserves a separate post. The entrenched are not giving up power easily.

[welshTerrier2]

15. looking forward to it ...

thanks ...

[madfloridian]

17. Couple of questions while the video is still up.

1. What does Carl Levin have against NH, as it says in the video.

2. What is on that tie? It looks like a monster of some kind, seriously. I would love a screen capture to enlarge and see. I am not kidding, it is odd.