OK, maybe that's a bit misleading, but I got to hang around Howard for about three hours on Saturday night in Honolulu, after hearing him speak earlier in the day. It moved me to tears more than once. And, he had lots of interesting things to say about John Kerry, the bat, Stephanie Herseth, and Democracy for America. Here's my report, and some picture links.
Dean was in Honolulu to address the convention of the Hawaii Democratic Party. I was there Saturday morning as a delegate, and Neil Abercrombie introduced him. I couldn't believe that I was going to see this man who had so affected my life for the past year. He came out in an aloha shirt and leis.
Howard addressing the convention:
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL16/708485/4416883/55260230.jpg
It wasn't long before he had the crowd on its feet, yelling and whistling and clapping. Over and over again. Tears were streaming down my face.
And you know what? Dean was addressing a crowd that had voted for John Kerry and Dennis Kucinich more than him. He didn't care, he was there for the good of the party and the country. He used parts of his stump speech plus some new stuff, tying each point to voting for Kerry over Bush.
He told me later that he didn't like traveling as much as he was (six days a week), and was trying to get it down to four, but that he felt he had to do it to get George Bush out. What a guy. I have never respected anyone as much.
Anyway, I got invited to a fundraiser later at a house on Round Top, which overlooks Honolulu. The deal was you had to donate $150 to the local party, and $100 to DFA. There were only about 40 people there (it wasn't advertised too well), and I hung around Howard like a puppy dog, listening to everything he said, asking some questions. I told him how much we needed him to do exactly what he was doing. He was brilliant and direct, but also kind, going around and talking with everyone, even taking time to listen to two small girls play the piano so they wouldn't feel bad.
Howard at the party:
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL16/708485/4416883/55260266.jpg
Howard and a rainbow:
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL16/708485/4416883/55260244.jpg
OK, here's what he had to say. About John Kerry:
Dean said that he and Kerry disagreed about strategy for the general election. He said that Rove had figured out that the way you win is by firing up your base so that they come out in droves, and that's how they won the 2004 midterms. He thinks the Democrats should do the same thing, that Kerry is moving too far to the center to inspire the left and remove the Nader threat. He thinks the center strategy worked for Clinton only because he was such a talented politician.
Personally, I think Kerry is in the center because Bush is so far to the right, but I agree that he isn't going to inspire anybody by hanging out in the center. It's not as though the swing voters are going to get all fired up about Kerry. If he wins, it's going to be because the whole country ends up ABB.
About the bat:
Dean was disappointed when Kerry took down Dean's bat once they hit the $500,000 goal. Dean thought they had missed the whole point, that you let the bat run and see what people do with it. He is trying to get Kerry to blog.
On Stephanie Herseth:
Dean said that her campaign had called DFA to ask for funds. DFA told her sure, that they would put her on the Dean Dozen. Her campaign said ok, but later called back and said that they wanted the money, but not to be on the Dean Dozen. DFA said no Dean Dozen, no money. It was clear she didn't want to be associated with Dean's organization (probably because her constituency is so conservative).
On Democracy For America:
Dean talked about what they were trying to accomplish. He said all they were interested in was supporting good people who would work hard on their campaigns, who were willing to align themselves with DFA. No litmus tests. He said that they took recommendations from local Dean organizations about who to support (at any level), then vetted them only for character and willingness to work hard (not their positions), then promised them that if they didn't get enough support by being on the Dean Dozen list, DFA would donate the difference.
He said DFA didn't care at all if the ones they picked could win. Unlike the DNC, they want to run people in every race, to get the Democratic message out, to lay the groundwork for the future. He said, how can you get Utah and Missouri to vote for the Democrats if they haven't been hearing the Democratic message. He also said he wanted people in place in case there was a 'throw out the incumbents' mood developing.
Finally, one more picture, of me and Howard. Believe me, I hung on tight.
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL16/708485/4416883/55260207.jpg