Dean's meetup signups have gone through the roof today (+220 just today). Something's ahappenin'...

Yep. He's gained something in the order of 700 people in the past 3 days on Meetup... a 37% increase in the past week. Probably it has to do with the Million Dollar Meetup Challenge and the fact that Dean himself was at the NYC meetup last week.

You're invited to see Governor Dean speak when he is in your city. On Tuesday, March 11th at 7 pm, Governor Dean will address the Young Democrats at Mesa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona (Social and Cultural Building Room 11E). On Saturday, March 15th at 9 am, Governor Dean will address the California Democratic Party Convention at the Sacramento Convention Center.

The California Democratic Party is holding their convention in Sacramento this weekend. Crowds of Dean supporters are needed at the Sacramento Convention Center (@ 1400 J Street) THIS SATURDAY, March 15th at 8:30am. Make sure you demonstrate your support - homemade signs, banners, etc. are terrific. And when you see Gov. Dean, definitely start up a big chant to let him - and the media - know that you're there to support him.

So again:

What: California Democratic Party Convention
When: Saturday, March 15th
Time: 8:30am (the Governor will be walking into the convention shortly after)
Where: Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J Street http://www.sacramenities.com/convctr/contact/map.html
(Gather either right outside the front entrance or, if possible, in the lobby)

The entrance of people like Kucinich & Moseley-Braun give him more credibility. Kucinich's novelty value may get anti-war people to take a closer look at other candidates as well. I doubt that Kucinich or Moseley-Braun will move the debate leftward; they lack money, Moseley-Braun lacks credibility, and Kucinich already seems to be losing his novelty value. If he can get some mainstream media exposure, Sharpton may help move things leftward to a greater degree than either of these two.

Plus, we aren't going to see big-name political players endorsing the likes of Kucinich and Moseley Braun. Dean, on the other hand, has been endorsed by Rob Reiner, and George Soros and Donna Brazile have also signaled major interest.

Folks really care this time. They always care, but '84 and especially '88 were economic good times, and at this time in '92, Bush I seemed unbeatable. Today, Democratic activists are recognizing 2004 for what it is--a watershed election, where, if we somehow lose, our courts, our key entitlements, our environment, our place in the international community, etc., will be screwed for somewhere between a generation and forever. Dean is creating fifty times the buzz of anyone else in the field, and a lot of people--big players and little--are going to do whatever they can to make his candidacy first viable, then successful.

Today, I gave my first ever donation to a presidential campaign--to Dean, of course. It felt great, and I have tremendous confidence that the Meetup challenge will be a success.

Just a thought: Isn't the entrance of more and more candidates mean that there's less exposure for everyone? In a 2 hour debate, for example, each person will have about 13 minutes (if divided fairly) while 5 candidates would get about 24 minutes each. How can the "unknowns" - the 80%+ unfamiliars get to BE known if they're given less time than it takes to get a GEICO auto insurance quote?

Dean better be good a sound bite campaigning, because with 9 candidates, there's not going to be any in-depth issue examining in the early going.

I like Kucinich. He is one of the few dems with enough guts to attack Bush. And he has been doing for some time, even when Bush's ratings were high. That said, I am right now supporting Dean. I am signed up for a meetup with him in California. I like what he has to say. We definitely need someone who will call Bush out!

I agree deminva about the stakes of 2004. This upcoming election will have major impact on so many areas of American life. Bush has already begun his assault on things I favor such as environmental protection, abortion rights, affirmative action, Social Security and Medicare, a balanced federal budget and paying down the national debt. And the lackluster economic and negative job growth of his term speaks for itself.

Democrats I fear are in danger of becoming more of a minority party in this country and to make sure that doesn't happen Democrat must take 2004 very seriously. Although I don't yet support any of the candidate, right now Dean looks best as far as having the message and style to challenge Bush.

Mesa Community College is in Mesa, AZ, not Phoenix which is a 30 minute drive (barring traffic) to the west.

Would people go for a series of smaller and less inclusive debates, with more time for each candidate? It might make sense to have incomplete debates with 4-6 people (Kerry-Gephardt-Sharpton-Edwards-Dean one day, Lieberman-Graham-Kucinich-CMB-someone else the next day; or maybe in consecutive time slots, although four hours of political debate is a lot to make anyone watch in one setting) in each. I think Mike the Analyst is right about the impracticality of having a meaningful, productive, or educational debate among ten people; it's damn near silly. You'd also probably want to have the participants rotate so it's not always the same people debating each other.