After reading
Jerome's diary and
kos' followup, I started thinking about how the grassroots/netroots saved the Democratic Party from themselves in 2003 and how we might do it again. The situation as I see it is we have 3 "stop Dean" candidates seeking the DNC chair with the following motives.
Tom Vilsack: keep the Iowa caucus and support Kerry 2008
Harold Ickes: support Hillary 2008
Roy Barnes: support Edwards 2008
As someone who sees the DNC as something that should be more than a tool for the next presidential candidate, I think there is no choice but Dean barring some other dark horse reform candidate emerging. As we saw in the primaries, these "party elders" care nothing of the grassroots or party building but rather want to work the machinations of the party to advance their own short-sighted ambitions.
More after the break.
For this reason, I propose we put some of our weight behind Dean in the DNC chair selection process. I know people have written letters to DNC delegates. This is great and I encourage that. But I am not sure this is enough. What really catches the attention of these insiders is money. No Washingtonite cared about the Dean campaign until it started out-fundraising John Kerry. All of the sudden, Time and Newsweek ran cover articles on Dean and reporters began covering him. The endorsements rolled in for the next few months.
I think the best way we can flex our muscle is to raise a large sum of money for the DNC on the condition that Dean be the chair with complete authority to reform the party organization. Those of us who agree with this cause can sign pledge cards promising a certain donation. The goal would be to raise at least $10-15 million, showing that the will of the party's donors and rank-and-file members is for Howard Dean to be DNC chair.
I can just imagine the reaction of some of the DNC members and the media: Only a few weeks after the election and he's already raised $10 million for the next cycle! There is no way Vilsack could compete with that.