I like this philosophy. TV will trump ground for a while, I guess, until things get more organized. This sounds like another great session.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/14130205.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp"Jim Dean, brother of ex-presidential candidate and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, will deliver opening remarks today at a campaign activist training camp in Stockton, a site chosen because it's in one of a dozen congressional districts that Democrats hope to seize from Republicans this year.
"Absolutely, we're in Stockton for a reason and that's Richard Pombo," said program director and East Bay Democracy for America volunteer Kathy Klein, referring to the seven-term incumbent Republican congressman.
Nearly 200 people have signed up for the Democracy for America Training Academy, the only California stop scheduled this year. DFA is a grass-roots network formed by Howard Dean as part of his 2004 presidential run. Jim Dean took over after his brother left to head up the Democratic Party.
The two-day, $60 conference at the University of the Pacific will offer workshops on everything from setting up a phone bank and managing the media, to raising money. Participants will also learn the 27-9-3 rule: Deliver three key points in nine words in 27 seconds."Jim emphasized the ground game:
"But the focus of the seminar, said Dean during a telephone interview Friday, remains the importance of personal contact.
"I'm not saying that TV isn't important," Dean said, "but you have to have a ground game if you are going to win."