Interesting diary at Kos about the difference in campaigns.

[madfloridian]

http://susan.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/21/15564/896
No grassroots, fear of moles...caught my eye.

[a new day]

1. This reveals much to me

"He told her I had been a volunteer with the Dean campaign and that he trusted me based on our phone conversations, but that didn't prove anything to her. She couldn't imagine hiring someone who lived in California that she'd never met. Instead, she hired a former Emily's List staffer with experience sending direct mail to big donors, whom Mary Beth had worked with previously. "

Once Kerry got the nomination, my wife and I were watching for the campaign to contact us with volunteer opportunities, after about a month of nothing but appeals for funds, we contacted the Kerry office. Volunteers were referred to the "Co-ordinated Democratic Campain", a more midleading name couldn't have been chosen. "Peripatetic Democratic Campaign", since walking around handing out flyers and begging for money on the phone was the extent of what we did. It seemed that nobody knew anything about what was going on, even the location of the phone banks.

That's the third campaign I've been associtated with were the volunteer work was, mostly, make work.

At least what I did at the Senators office this year was target known donors and make sure we got in contact with them.

[belle]

3. My mother told me how frustrating it was trying to work for the DNC

volunteer, you know, for Kerry, during the last four months or so. in California. she said the communication network was just impossible; people never called her back, people didn't seem to know what was going on...

I said, well, it's a blue state, I guess they're not focusing there; but really, you know, that's no excuse. There were plenty of ways to target out-of-state voters. the organization apparently wasn't there. i mean, eventually she did do some phone banking, she said, which she found depressing. but: no signs, no flyers, no lists of people to send letters to, no *enthusiasm...*

[janx]

2. Fear of moles...hmmm...

That's such a drag that the Kerry campaign couldn't take off with the house parties. Those are so much fun--or were, when I participated in the primaries.