Strategy Question for Dean Supporters

[kang]

I am curious as to any ideas on how the party would form a message that Congressional Dems could run on in 2004 IF Gov. Dean wins the nomination. I'm referring to those members that did vote for the Iraq resolution and the Patriot Act. Is it pretty much their problem? Or do you see this a problem no matter who the nominee is?

I don't have a problem with supporting Gov. Dean if he wins the nomination, but I am concerned with the fact that his campaign has been very critical in its rhetoric towards Washington Democrats (Congress I'm assuming) and for not standing up to Bush. If you're a House member running for reelection, how do you work with this?

I'm not looking for insider information or anything, but could you let me know how you think that would work and what the message would sound like? As a Clark supporter, I've been pitching my candidate as somebody who hasn't gone negative and can possibly unite the party while bringing in independents (and I still think he's the best candidate!). With the whole DLC-Leiberman-Kerry-Gephardt-whoever versus Dean (and he's done his share too) rhetoric that's been thrown around, I'm worried about the short amount of time to work with IF Dean is the eventual nominee. Since his organization is good and he looks like he'll be one of the last two standing by mid-February, I thought this was an appropriate question to ask.

Thanks in advance for replies!

[Padraig18]

1. "Stop the madness!"

I think this would be a good message, and it could be used as a blanket cover for so MANY good ideas our candidates have that are diametrically opposed to the * agenda.

[rucky]

2. Damn good question

we need to be thinking about congress.

As an overall strategy, any rep in any district should be running against Tom Delay, essentially. Most voters can't suffer even 5 minutes of C-Span, but if more people knew what's actually been going on in the House & Senate lately, they'd be sick.

Dean's been attacking voting records to distinguish himself from the other 7 candidates (apparently Kucinich doesn't count). A strategic shift is going to happen w/ Dean if he wins the general election - and that shift is more in line with helping congressional candidates keep their seats. We'll soon be turning our guns on the GOP, where they belong.

If Clark's above-the-fray strategy can get him the nomination, he'll have an easier time doing what you say, than Dean, Kerry, Lieberman, etc. would.

[no name no slogan]

3. Pick a representative or senator for Veep-- NOT another governor

If Dean does get the nod, he'd do well to pick somebody from congress as a VP candidate. Not somebody from the leadership (too much of that "Washington Insider" thing), but a solid Democrat who has shown that he's not afraid to stand for Democratic values.

It would not only help him heal some of the wounds between him and the beltway Dems who didn't support him in the primaries, but would give him a little more foreign policy experience on the ticket, to boot. Think about Clinton/Gore, although Dean could probably go a little more liberal in his Veep choice.

However, to keep with the "outsider" theme of his campaign, he should probably avoid somebody established in the party leadership, like Daschle. McGovern tried this in 1972 with Eagleton, who was nothing but a hack, and it backfired tremendously-- and not just the electroshock matter, either. Many of McG's strongest supporters saw the Eagleton pick as a sell-out to the party powers, and became disaffected with the campaign thereafter.

[burning bush]

4. Nice post, good question!

I like the "stop the madness" answer, but how about this:

If Dean wins the nomination, he'll be accepting in Boston, right?

( well...so would any other candidate, but that's
not the point, ok :) )

How about bringing in the Boston Tea Party/Revolutionary America theme? Call for a New American Declaration of Independence from King George, and invite all Democratic House and Senate members to join in, sign their name to the declaration, or take a copy of the Patriot Act and toss it into a huge bonfire!

The Boston Patriot Party!

What a photo op that would be, eh! A hundred or more Democrat leaders standing around a giant bonfire, in unity against the Bush regime, while scenes of the American Revolution played on huge screens in the background!

wow... :)

[rucky]

5. Texas Tea party...

For the new millenium. Wear 10-gallon hats instead of three-pointed ones... And let's dump OIL into Boston harbor!

okay, maybe I'm getting too excited about your idea.

[democratreformed]

7. I like it!

:)

[fricasseed_gourmet_rat]

10. But what about the codfish? And the cute little ducks?

:evilgrin:

"Texas Tea Party" is hysterical nonetheless.

[rogerashton]

6. I'm not (quite) a Dean supporter, but --

The fact that a dem. legislator voted with the republicans on the invasion of Iraq will only be a problem with voters who opposed the war, and, mostly, they are going to vote for him anyway. If it DOESN'T go that way -- it the democrat's constituents are angry enough about it to split the ticket -- then I doubt the presidential candidate (still less the veep) is going to make enough difference to bail that person out.

Nevertheless, if i were a legislator in that situation, here is what I would say.

"When the President of the United States asks for the trust of the Congress, each of us in the Congress must decide whether to extend that trust. I felt that the resolution would make it possible for the Executive Branch to bring more effective pressure to bear, to bring together a real coalition or to bring Saddam to the table. Frankly, Mr. Bush abused my trust. Nevertheless, I can't feel that I made the wrong decision in trusting the President of the United States to do the right thing with the authority we gave him. We need a president who is worthy of the trust of all Americans -- because, in a real crisis, if the president is a person who will abuse the trust of Congress, that's a real problem in itself. And it is clearer than ever that Mr. Bush is not a person worthy of trust."

[Larkspur]

8. Unlike Clark, Dean has already be thinking about taking back the Congress

He asked his supporters to donate to Iowa's lone Dem US Rep and we did. That was a pilot program test of what will happen after Dean wins the nomination. He plans on asking his supporters to help Dems running for Congress to take back the Congress from the Reichwing.

Dean understands very well that he needs to change Congress if he hopes to get his platform passed. His campaign organization is the only one that is strong enough to do that while also working to take back the White House.

[HFishbine]

9. Does Clark support the IWR and Patriot Act?

If not, we'll have the same challenges with him as the nominee.

[poskonig]

11. We'd focus on the few seats that are competitive.

Raising money is a biggie, and Dean can do this easily on his website. If he wins the nomination, imagine the bats, but on steroids.

We could do something message-wise like Newt's "Contract with America," but keeping local elections localized seems to be an appropriate approach this time around, in my view. Tony Knowles may want to run against regular Democrats, while someone like Reid may want to emphasize his congressional creds.

[SeattleRob]

12. I would say...

no matter who the nominee and or vp candidate is, I would focus how messed up and corrupt things are in Washington. Things are very bad there and it's obvious that the politicians are passing laws that give benefit to a few at the expense of the masses. There are good people fighting the fight for us in Washington - sadly they are a minority.

I believe Dean will be the nominee and as a supporter, I would hope that with a Boston convention the party will seize on the imagery of the US Revolution. The Boston Tea party, pictures of GW as King George, would be excellent imagery.

[sandnsea]

13. Dean won't repeal the Patriot Act

I don't even know why that's a reason to vote for Dean. He's for making the same kinds of changes everybody else is for. Kerry's already introduced legislation so at least he's been specific about some of the problems, which is more than Dean has done.

The problem with a Congress running with Dean is going to be tax hikes, security and trade. Along with his flip-flops.