Putting my money where Dean’s mouth is
I contributed money to the Dean for America campaign this morning. This is an important time for the Dean campaign, because his second quarter fundraising numbers—which are due in just a few days—will be scrutinized by the media. It is on the basis of how much money he raises now that will determine whether he picks up support or is written off as an also-ran.
Personally, I have nothing against John Kerry or John Edwards, both of whom would probably make decent (if not terribly exciting) candidates. But neither of them seems to have the drive to go after the Bush administration the way Dean does. Actually, I sometimes wonder if Kerry really wants the job. Edwards, I suspect, is probably running in 2004 to build name recognition for another run in 2008.
Dick Gephardt has a lot of support and probably has the best chance to securing the nomination, but I feel pretty certain that he would lose to Bush by a fairly wide margin. He’s simply too conciliatory to be president—especially with Bush hammering the security issue for all it’s worth (which is really unfair, because Bush doesn’t do anything to keep our country safe).
Joe Lieberman is the only candidate top-tier candidate I would have trouble supporting. If I had to choose between Bush and Lieberman, I might not vote at all.
Bob Graham has good credentials, but doesn’t seem to connect with people quite as well as some of the other candidates.
For the time being, Dean is the one candidate I will—and have!—put money on. Dean’s convictions, coupled with his accomplishments as governor of Vermont, speak volumes about what he could do as president. Of all the candidates, he is the one who has been making the best use of the Internet to reach out to people, to inspire grassroots activism, and to drive his campaign as far as it will go. For the first time in my adult life, I find myself saying, “Yeah, I support this guy.” I want Howard Dean to have a chance to do what he so clearly wants to do: To bring Bush down. That’s what I want; that’s what he wants.
If you agree (and you probably stopped reading several paragraphs ago if you don’t), here are some things you can do to help Dean win the Democratic nomination:
- Contribute money to his campaign!
- Register to vote in the MoveOn primary
- Sign up for a Dean 2004 meetup in your area
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The money primary
It’s no secret that Bush will have a huge financial advantage over any and all presidential contenders in 2004. That’s why it is important to start supporting his opponents now. After fending off eight other hopefuls during the primaries, the eventual nominee is going to walk into a full frontal attack by a well funded Bush campaign team. If we want our country back, we’re going to have to pay for it.
Internet Buzz
Some people might say that the MoveOn primary is biased in favor of Dean. So what?
Virtual Presidential Primary Complete With Traditional Vote-Rigging Allegations
Apparently, the political activist group MoveOn.org has decided to hold a “virtual Democratic primary” to help them decide whether or not the organization should come out directly supporting a particular candidate for President. The problem is that many candidates see the vote as being “rigged” for internet friendly candidate Howard Dean.
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For the other campaigns to complain about this just shows that they didn’t realize the importance of embracing the internet and its ability to let them connect directly with voters.
...overall, this doesn’t seem any different than if a candidate were complaining that one of his competitors was getting more votes in the state of California because he spent more time campaigning there. You get back the votes you campaign for. Dean campaigned online, and now he’s getting those votes.
Dean’s campaign has made a point of using the Internet as much as possible to get the message out. Dean has a right to capitalize on that.
Involvement, involvement, involvement
Dean’s campaign has gotten this far because he has done everything he can to help people help him. If he’s going to win against Bush (and let’s not kid ourselves, those are very long odds), he’s going to need all the help he can get. Get involved in the Dean campaign today. Take our country back!
A side note… Sens. Kerry, Edwards and Graham all voted for the first Patriot Act back in 2001, with Graham also being one of the Senate bill’s 25 cosponsors (link).
Yeah, I was rather disappointed to learn that Graham actually helped write some parts of the Patriot Act. As much as I detest the Patriot Act, though, I can certainly understand the enormous pressure legislators were under to rubber-stamp it. It was one of the more unfortunate moments in our nation’s history when that bill passed, but I would be willing to forgive any legislator who adamantly opposes extending it now (by blocking Patriot II) or in the future (by insisting that the original act expire as it is supposed to).
Just out of curiousity, what do you prefer about Dean over Kucinich? As far as I can tell so far Kucinich’s views are more in line with my own, which seem to be very close to yours.
I don’t care much for Kucinich for a number of reasons. \r
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First, I think his views are a bit impractical. Whereas Dean was opposed to invading Iraq on the grounds that it was unnecessary and unprovoked (a position I agree with), Kucinich seems to be against war under any circumstances (a position I do not agree with). Although I appreciate the idealism he embraces, I find his proposals unrealistic. (Free college education for everyone?!).\r
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Also, I strongly dislike candidates who switch positions on issues to get elected, which is why Kucinich now claims to be pro-choice when his record is clearly not.\r
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The biggest reason I cannot support Kucinich, though, is because I cannot imagine any scenario in which he could actually win the election. It’s really not his fault that he looks like a dork, but the American people are not about to elect someone who looks like a wimp--and talks like a wimp--when they could just as easily pick the guy they’ve seen in a flight suit. Bush would walk all over Kucinich in 2004. In this winner-takes-all game, supporting Kucinich’s idealism would be suicidal for Democrats.\r
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I don’t kid myself about Dean’s electability (I know he’s a long shot), but I think he fares better than Kucinich on many issues. For one thing, he has a record of political successes, where Kucinich does not. (Although no one seems to have held a lack of success against Bush, huh?)
Thanks for the clarification. You made some good points, and the dork one especially was the one I was hung up on. (As the abortion issue is the only one I really know of that he changed on, I can give him the benefit of the doubt that he really had a change of heart). Since it seem that Dean really is getting some momentum going, I will support him if it seems that he has even a slight chance. Otherwise I’ll probably vote for the dork looking guy.\r
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UltraBob
Dean seems to be getting quite a bit of momentum. If he is ultimately unsuccessful in securing the Democratic nomination, I’ll start sending money to whomever is nominated (though I’m more inclined to send money to Kerry or Edwards than Gephardt or Lieberman). \r
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At this stage, I don’t see any of the others getting the nomination. Graham, unfortunately, seems to have fallen in with the lower-tier candidates. I get the impression that he is actually campaigning for the VP’s job, anyway.
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