dean bid shows signs of ending

[tobius]

2/14/2004

DURAND, Wis. -- He has been going through the motions this week, but Howard Dean's presidential campaign increasingly looks like it won't go on beyond Tuesday.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/14/dean_bid_shows_signs_of_ending/

His calendar for next week is not booked beyond Wednesday, when he plans to return home to Burlington, Vt.

His staff, some of whom are already planning to leave his headquarters for good on Wednesday, has not sought a new contract with the main air charter company that has been flying him around the country, aides say.

While Dean has pinned his political hopes on Wisconsin, there was fresh evidence yesterday that he is not making much progress there after 14 consecutive losses.

At the same time, a sense of pessimism has begun to permeate the campaign. Aides who once bristled at jokes about Dean's downfall now take them in stride. There is open talk about vacation plans and the pros and cons of working on other campaigns. Only a skeletal staff remains in Burlington, and press inquiries come in at a trickle.

[elperromagico]

1. Hardly surprising.

While it is premature to crown John Kerry as the Democratic nominee, he certainly has the strongest foothold on the nomination. If Kerry keeps winning at the pace he's winning, with the big percentages he's winning, both Dean and Edwards will be in trouble.

But things could change. If you had asked me at Christmas who the Democratic nominee would be, I would have said Howard Dean. If you ask me now, I'll say John Kerry. Who knows what could happen in the next two months?

[JI7]

2. he will probably endorse John Edwards

would help edwards if dean asks his supporters to send money to edwards. and edwards can use it for super tuesday.

[Bombtrack]

47. I never thought I'd feel bad for Dean

I don't think I ever loved to hate him or anything like that. I'm glad he didn't get the nomination. But I dunno, now I hope he continues to be involved in politics somehow.

[DemBones DemBones]

3. I hope he will bow out with grace,

as Clark, Lieberman, and Gephardt all did.

Edit: And Mosely-Braun! It seems like a year since she left the race. . .

[murielm99]

5. He should bow out with grace.

And we should all take our hats off to him for putting the backbone back into our party.

We should all acknowledge that the media did him in, and work to see that something like that does not happen again.

I respect him enormously.

[Edwards4President]

7. We all owe Dean a lot . . .

but Dean also owes it to us to not blame the media for his difficulties. The media didn't "do him in." Dean served a very important purpose to the party and to this race, but he is not the right guy to be the standard-bearer. This, along with his own missteps, miscalculations and, in some instances, sheer hubris, are responsible for his failures in the primaries.

I hope that, if he does pull out of the race, he will do so with the same grace and dignity the other candidates have shown and that he refrains from pointing fingers or encouraging (either overtly or tacitly) his supporters to take a walk.

[liberalmike27]

19. You must be kidding

You want Dean to talk up the people who destroyed him!!

There is this almost unfathomable denial of media-investment toward Dean removal on this board. Clearly, the media destroyed Dean, he destroyed 40 million dollars, $50 of it mine, and another $70 or so in supplies, and stamps. But worst of all, he destroyed any flagging feelings of dedication to the democratic party.

I don't think you guys fully understand the damage you've done to the Democratic Party by going along with this media electability crap. I run a group here in Mobile, and many of our members feel the same way. We are a discontent bunch.

Democrats need to embrace these issues to have any chance in November.

Full public financing of public elections with the necessary, broad changes for a more fair and representative election process, replacing present charades;
A responsive political system to expand the civic energies of the American people by, among other ways, facilitating the banding together of workers, consumers, taxpayers, small investors, and communities.
A serious drive to abolish poverty using long-known policies;
Universal health insurance -- single payer embracing prevention, quality and cost controls;
A living wage for the tens of millions of workers making less than $10 an hour -- many full time workers at $5.15, $6, $7, $8, and long overdue labor rights reform;
An adequately funded crackdown on corporate crimes, fraud and abuse that have cheated trillions of dollars from taxpayers, investors, pension holders and consumers, plus specific corporate reforms;
A comprehensive and determined nurturing of the physical and educational needs of children;
Reform of the criminal injustice system and defense of the precious pillars of our democracy -- civil liberties, civil rights and civil remedies for wrongful injuries -- which are under relentless assault by corporate interests and the present government;
A multi-faceted foreign policy to wage multilateral peace and promote arms control, plus utilizing the many assets of our country's knowledge base to lift prospects for the impoverished people abroad;
A redirected federal budget for the crucial priorities of our country and away from the massive waste, fraud and redundancy of what President Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex," as well as the massive costs of corporate welfare;
The crisis of commercial food, water, and diet policies, in addition to agribusiness domination over dwindling, rural, small farm economies;
The need for renewable energy and energy efficiency, instead of costly oil, gas and nuclear boondoggles;
The housing problem for the millions of households who can't afford the rents or can't escape gentrification and sprawl;
The relief of highway congestion and the promotion of modern public transit;
The pull-down effect of corporate globalization on labor, the environment, consumers and our democratic processes.
The consequences of media concentration over our public airwaves
http://www.naderexplore04.org/issues.html
Otherwise, you are doomed to repeat the mistakes of previous Democratic contenders. Ignore your base, and you are baseless, without foundation, and you will keep denigrating yourselves.

[Comadreja]

32. Destroyed your donation?

The way I see it, all my time and money for the Dean campaign helped the Democrats this year, and I spent more than $50. It's the cost of democracy, there's no instant gratification in this process. I mailed out a pile of letters to undecided Dems, which I believe helped fuel the huge election turnout. If nothing else, it kept the media off Kerry and Edwards for a few months. If Dean bows out, I wonder if the high turnouts will continue?

[w4rma]

44. I am in full agreement, Axel (n/t)

[RichV]

17. And Bob Graham!

Don't forget about good ol' Senator Graham...

[lindashaw]

4. We owe a lot to Dean. I think his passion will live longer than this

election cycle.

[Darth_Kitten]

6. We should just thank him?

I don't know, he was the reason that the democratic party became relevant again (IMO) and we should just thank him, pat him on the head, and send him on his merry way? :shrug: Thanks, Dean, but let's let the establishment figures handle this. Sure, you told the truth, and spoke your mind, and put some backbone in this party, but let's let another who mimicked you and stole your thunder have the nomination. :( NO!!!! :(

[lindashaw]

8. I'm looking at this from my position as Precinct chair for Precinct 22

in Johnson County, Texas. We don't have a prayer of winning anything here, but what we have to do is continue working for our locals who are running on a Democratic ticket. We have a wonderful Dean group here in Johnson County, and we can't let that disintegrate and fade away. We have to plan to go to the State Convention, and if we have to go as Dean for Kerry supporters, we'll do it. We will do whatever we have to do to stay alive in this county. Dean and Kerry will fade into history in time, but this God-forsaken state will have to go on, and we're sick of this corrupt county. Sorry, but we have to survive. If it's Kerry, so be it.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. My Dad Told Me If You Don't Have Anything Good To Say Don't Say Anything

At All....


I'll say I'll just say Good Bye...

[tobius]

10. don't know the law- can he keep $$ and/or give to another candidate?n/t

[mikehiggins]

16. He can keep the money and use it for future races.

He can also donate money to other candidates' campaigns.

First, though, he'll have to pay off a lot of debts.

If he were filthy rich I'd say that was his problem. Considering how his campaign was financed, though, I'd suggest his supporters ought to break another bat to keep him from bankruptcy.

Sort of the right thing to do.

[Comadreja]

34. Donate it to MoveOn?

Although the Pluggedlikans are planning to take them to court over their 30 second ads.

[Hippo_Tron]

45. Take them to court... For what? Free Speech

The GOP is really nuts.

[Padraig18]

11. If he does bow out on Wednesday, then John Edwards has a new fan.

I'll join with the Edwards campaign, if Howard bows out. God bless you, Howard, and I trust you to do whatever you think is best, as I always have. :)

[NNN0LHI]

15. Edwards is a good man and I would be very happy to vote for him n/t

[spooky3]

43. I've liked Edwards, Dean & Clark all along.

[MaineDem]

12. He's brought energetic and enthusiastic people into the game

He deserves thanks for that and a role in the future of the Democratic Party.

[WiseMen]

13. From a little-known Guv to Dem Front-Runner, Dr. Dean Challenged the Field

Well run race Doc.

[polpilot]

33. ...until the pro-war DLC establishment pushed pro-war Kerry & stumbling

block Clark in the way of the 'take back our county crowd'. Now the pro-war DLC, the entrenched Washington Demo/Repub Club, and the lobbyists have 'their boy'

Dean '04...America's Patriot

[ShaneGR]

14. You know, I really wish he hadn't given that speech

I was never a Dean supporter, but he deserved better than what he got. Hopefully he'll stay in Democratic Politics. Perhaps a regular on television too?

[liberalmike27]

25. Hmmm

The media destruction came far before the speech. It really intensified just before Iowa, although the negatives were constantly flowing out before then. They started playing that piece from those films about Dean not approving of Caucuses, which I agree or the stupidest things ever, and couldn't be more effective at keeping even more people from voting that the already apathetic nature of things.

The scream, or something else, they would have found some other way to demogogue Dean out of the race. I don't think Dean should take this lying down, and really, I wish he'd endorse Kucinich, but Edwards would be tolerable.

By the way, I had already noticed they hadn't put another "bat" up, and people had stopped contributing.

This is a travesty, and Dean needs to thoughtfully put it into perspective. If he doesn't show the influence of the media in this campaign, then they will do it over and over again. People need to wake up, and realize it went on, even if you are a Kerry supporter. You saw it with Gore, you saw it with Dean, and a bit with Clark. You will see it with Kerry once he locks up the nomination.

[WilliamPitt]

18. There's a bittersweet story in the Times today

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/14/politics/campaign/14DEAN.html

We owe the Doctor more than we can probably account for. By 'we' I mean Democrats, and Americans.

On edit: This breaks my heart right here -

Asked about his upcoming schedule, he mocked his own raucous speech following his Jan. 19 third-place finish in Iowa, indicating how much his candidacy has changed both in tone and confidence since then. "We're going to California, and then we're going to Minnesota, and then we're going to go to New York," he said, chuckling and in a muted voice, as several listeners made a mock cheer of "Yeagghh."

[Padraig18]

20. Whether people supported him or not, I hope the lesson will take.

The media CAN 'take down' ANYONE, even a good and fundamentally decent man like Howard Dean. :grr:

[Edwards4President]

22. I don't get it . . .

Why is it that so many Dean supporters seem to believe that his vault from obscurity to frontrunner was "people-powered," but his decline was all the fault of the nebulous "media" boogeyman?

If Dean's "people-powered" movement was strong to generate the juggernaut he became, why wasn't it sufficient to inspire real voters to vote for him rather than other candidates? And if the media was so all-fired frightened of Dean, why did it allow him to rise in the first place? It would have made much more sense for them to quash him before he became more than a blip rather than wait until the last minute and then depend upon an exquisitely choreographed conspiracy that depended so much on Dean's participation to be successful.

Sorry, but I just don't buy the media conspiracy whine. At first look, Howard Dean was an attractive candidate, but did not withstand closer scrutiny that intelligent voters give to all candidates before actually casting their vote. Most of this was the result of his own record, platforms, statements and behavior.

The media didn't make Dean put together one of showiest yet shallowest ground operations seen in presidential politics, the media didn't make him lose in Iowa or to give that disastrous speech after he did, the media didn't force him to blow $40 million on two states or to forego matching funds, thereby guaranteeing he got no infusion of cash when he would need it most.

Howard Dean and his supporters seemed to have no problem with the media when they were sending him valentines. So, it sounds like pure sour grapes to blame the media when he didn't measure up to the hype.

[AP]

28. That's how I feel. Of course there were lots of people behind him, but

the media built him up always with the intention of bringing him down later. When it became clear that he wasn't going to win Iowa (perhaps three days before) the tore him down, got him out of the way, and went on to plan B. (But even NPR was talking as if he was still the inevitable candidate right up to the concession speech.)

Yes, they did destroy him based on his concession speech, but that was AFTER he lost IA. Keeping him around after that was just going create a long slog that he wasn't going to win anyway. If the media wanted to determine the outcome of the election, keeping Dean around after IA was just going to make it harder for them to control the tone.

[Name removed]

Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Edwards4President]

36. If I don't see it your way, then I am blind?

[dansolo]

31. The media followed his rise, and led his downfall

The media made a big deal about Howard Dean only *AFTER* he was having an impact with fundraising and in the polls. That was the people powered aspect. But then the media, and the other candidates started hammering him, and his support faultered. His lack of support was based on the perception that Dean would be incapable of defeating Bush. That was the issue that kept being played over and over again, until it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Padraig18]

41. That's the way to make Dean supporters become Edwards converts!

Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?
Thank you, sir! may I have another?

46. because the Iowa Caucuses would not have been a knockout punch if

the Scream had not been played the way it was in the media. Whether Dean's campaign would have lost its punch regardless of how that was played, the fact remains the way it was played was a bit of a hatchet job and had some impact on the New Hampshire primary.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

39. Dean orchestrated his own downfall

Poor management and naivete forced his hand. The worst thing about that scream playing 700 times is that it dwarfed his message that night and his message that night was one of being the underdog and behind after only losing one small race in one small state.

I am glad the buck stops at the media, the lemmings and the other candidates, but I don't really see where that is too awful empowering to Howard Dean.

People could just as easily take the WIN that he GOT grass rooters involved and then build on it rather than use it as a poundstone for antagonism, but that will largely depend on how Howard Dean frames it in the final analysis and what HE makes it mean.

Hopefully, he will pull a page from the Clark campaign and do it with grace and a sense of a bigger purpose.

I for one won't accuse him of copying anyone if he does.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

35. That 'breaks my heart' quote is not in this article Will

It's not in the Times article. You must have cut it out of another article.

[WilliamPitt]

37. It was in the article captioned in the thread opener above.

[retyred]

21. It's really time for an official two man race

any longer than Wednesday would be counter productive at this point.

Good luck in Vermont.




retyred in fla
“Good-Night Paul, Wherever You Are”
So I read this book

[indigo32]

23. two man race with who?

just curious.

[WilliamPitt]

24. Kerry and Kucinich

:)

[indigo32]

26. Then it's DK all the way

:)

[markus]

27. Dennis should stay into the end

Just as the candidacy of Jesse Jackson made a substantial difference in the future direction of the party, so can DK. So can Howard, for that matter, if he stays engaged and gives some leadership to his dispirited troops.

There is a lot of "new blood" in the Dean ranks, and it can't be allowed to evaporate when he pulls out. Candidates like Howard and Dennis only have a hope if we stay in the party, stay active, and not let the DNC or DLS continue to steer the party in the diretion of a safe, pro-corporatist direction.

Ya gotta be a spirit. Don't be no ghost.

[chyjo]

29. that is crazy talk

everything will turn around in Alaska and Hawaii. Everyone knows that the contiguous states dont really matter.

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[Lefta Dissenter]

38. When (if) the time comes,

I'll feel just as sad for his supporters as I do for us Clarkies. I know that after all of these months of supporting Clark, from before the draft movement started, it's going to take me a while to feel like I can jump onto someone else's bandwagon. When you truly believe in someone, it's difficult to let go of that hope that the rest of the country will realize what a treasure is being offered to them.

There's no way I'll have 'recovered' enough by Tuesday to vote for anyone but Clark. I would think that many of the Dean supporters might face some of the same feelings, particularly if their primaries follow closely on the heels of a withdrawal.

I DO know, however, that after I've given my heart a little while to heal, I will have to get working for whoever the nominee is. There is no way I can let my disillusionment stop me from doing whatever I can to get bush out of our White House.

edited for typo! oops

[Alinsky]

40. Dean was not even a liberal but he was to liberal

I only liked three democrats. Before Dean was the John Kerry of today Dean was my first choice. Then I decided that he was not a true liberal and had no desire to be one. Dean even in one of his speeches during the campaign when the media was making him into the next Elvis Presley said he was not a liberal.

Then I put my support into Wesley Clark, and he just walked out of the middle of the football game because of a Murdoch Rove anti Clark media blackout.

Now my support is for Kucinich, at first I thought he had no chance of getting the Democratic nomination, but then I seen what they did to Dean on the Scream ad, and how Kerry is just another manufactured leader getting allot of free advertising from the Rove Murdoch propaganda machine, just as they gave it to Dean.

Clark should not of dropped out with his tail between his legs going to the Republican Democrat Kerry.

[oasis]

42. "Republican Democrat Kerry"?? Is that a nickname or just an opinion?