07/31/2002 Archived Entry: "2004 President: DLC contenders, Dean and bloggers, news"
RollCall gives a good wrap on the view of 2004 from here, Potential Presidents Ready to Hit the Road to 2004. Dean and Gore were the ones who are running not included in, How Bush's challengers are positioning themselves for 2004. Speaking of Dean, here are a few bloggers speaking out on him: Greg Greene who is in transition from Kerry to Dean (I've been there), and Matthew Yglesias with some Dean & Guns commentary, and Jason Rylander on Dean's Political Courage.
MC and CA Pol Junkie posted some good Dean links for comments. Howard Dean: a gay-friendly president? gives you a sense of the strong national grassroots backing that Dean is having happen with the GLBT community. I admit, I don't even know what this full acronym stands for, except for a lot of votes and money. Dean astutely points out that his role with the GLBT is one of saving them money, through gained recognition.
We've seen the articles that compared Dean with Jimmy Carter and John McCain, here comes the one on my mind, Howard Dean: The Bruce Babbitt of Campaign 2004. Right, OK, I know Bruce Babbitt, Bruce Babbitt was a friend of mine, and Howard Dean, you are no Bruce Babbitt... I hope. Seriously, Dean's in the exact same position in terms of the polls as where Babbitt was in 1988. The line-up is a bit different this time around, and Dean's a better candidate and speaker than is Babbitt, but in terms of ideas rather than endorsements, organization, or money, CNN is right on the money.
Here's what Dean could do to transform his weakness into his strength. Exploit the internet. His current website is sparse, not updated, and not very interesting. What he needs to develop is a website that gravitates the online discussion of 2004 toward him. A practical, user-friendly site, that sticks content to the user and sparks online debate. What I have in mind is a professional-looking campaign news-weblog that posts all the Dean and related press headlines with the ability for users to comment, with moderators in place to keep the discussion from being freeped.
Jerry Brown was nearly able to upset Bill Clinton through using a 1-800 number for fundraising and setting up a national grassroots organization. The money and organization is right here on the net for Dean to get, it's just a matter of him putting a few things in place to set it rolling in that direction. McCain pulled in millions overnight from online contributions after his NH win, Dean could bring in even more than McCain. There is not another 2004 candidate that is more authentic and forthright than is Dean, which is what wins amongst internet pundits and commentators. It doesn't seem to be a question of if he has the right positions or says the right things, he does... it's the question of if he has the right stuff to win.
Replies: 5 comments
myDD, have you contacted Fund for a Healthy America and offered to set up a weblog for them? That's an excellent idea to get the jump on a cheap national organization.
I've also made the transition from Kerry to Dean, basically because Dean is different from the other candidates. I think the combination of socially liberal/libertarian and fiscally conservative (not to be confused with fiscal policy of "conservatives") is the wave of the future and promises to bring in a broad coalition. Further, he is a straight talker, media darling, and by all accounts an excellent speaker. I disagree with him on some issues, but I won't quibble over details if he can send Bush packing.
P.S. As a resident of the San Francisco media market, I can tell you that GLBT = Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender. ;-)
Posted by CA Pol Junkie @ 07/31/2002 03:44 PM PST
I am not HTML --or whatever-- savvy enough to pull it together. I did get a hold of someone who would be able to set it up making it happen, and I should follow-up on it.
The Dean team seems a bit in transition right now. I think there was a bit of scheduling turmoil going on. Gore might not have needed to be in that DLC showcase, but Dean did, and already had committed himself elsewhere.
It's probably not until January, when Dean's campaign team starts to run his show, instead of the public Gov's office, that it becomes more able to do something like what I've proposed.
Posted by myDD @ 07/31/2002 08:08 PM PST
I hate to tell you this mydd but Howie Dean ain't goin nowhere it was reported today here in Georgia that Roy Barnes our Governor will begin his own presidential campaign after he steamrolls to reelection this fall. The NRA LOVES Barnes as he is a MEMBER not just someone with good ratings. And he is Governor of Georgia which is just a tad bigger than Vermont. Barnes has raised 16 million dollars for his re-election fund but is spending very little this year gee I wonder why? If you don't believe me read below:
By the way, there is one other candidate Gore has linked himself to on Google: Roy Barnes, governor of Georgia. This is the strangest of the bunch, since according to The Scrum's sources, Barnes is very serious about running for president in 2004. He's maintained a low profile on the presidential speculation front because he's up for re-election this fall. Barnes's plan, our southern source says, is that after he wins a landslide in Georgia in November, he starts promoting himself as a 2004 contender. Since Gore likely knows all this, too, why would he be associating himself with him? Is he so confident about winning the nomination that he's already thinking about veeps?
posted by The Editor 1:50 PM
Monday, July 29, 2002
Posted by GaDem @ 08/01/2002 12:29 PM PST
It wouldn't surprise me if Barnes runs, but I don't know why you think he'd be a shoo-in. Sure, money, lots of it too, he would be a good contender, probably even further bolster the case for a brokered Democratic cenvention occurring.
Dean uses the Guns issue mostly as a way to deflect te Gays issue, neither of them are his basis for running. Healthcare is. In fact, it would probably do Dean a whole lot of good if there is a candidate to the right of him on Guns. I'm looking forward to hearing what Barnes has to say about CU's. Dean will be able to wrap that around all of the other candidates while they wiggle.
Posted by myDD @ 08/01/2002 03:56 PM PST
I am really glad that Roy Barnes might enter the contest but if he makes the fact that he is popular with the NRA a major campaign issue he will lose in the primary bad. If I was Barnes I would do like Dean and just say I think gun control should be a state whether than Federal issue.
Dean however did cause me to make sure not to vote for him in the Russert interview. He said that the Federal Government should have a limited role in education. I believe we need more involvement by the federal government in education.
Posted by Derrick @ 08/01/2002 07:28 PM PST
