The race isn't over for Governor Howard Dean, and already the vultures are circling overhead, trying to curry Dean's support and his supporters' money.
(All quotes taken from this Washington Post article.)
[Last week], two top officials for the Democratic National Committee traveled to Burlington, Vt., to meet with Roy Neel, the Dean campaign's chief executive. Their agenda, diplomatically stated but unmistakable, was to find out whether and how Dean would harness his network of highly motivated grass-roots activists and small contributors on behalf of the national party and the eventual nominee, according to people familiar with the session. |
And Gov. Dean is working to figure out his own path as well, bringing back some old friends.
Among the ideas being discussed, Dean's aides say, is refashioning the campaign into a skeletal enterprise, aimed not so much at winning the remaining primaries but at keeping a platform for Dean to speak out. That could provide him leverage to ensure attention to his issues and a prominent place on the agenda at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July.
Implicit in such a decision would be that a dormant campaign could be reactivated if Kerry stumbles or some other opportunity arises. In addition, Dean's aides said, the candidate will consider creating a new entity, such as a political action committee, to help congressional candidates or an outside advocacy group.
In recent days, Dean has been talking with former campaign manager Joe Trippi, mastermind of Dean's Web-based fundraising operation, sources said. Trippi has been feeding Dean ideas for creating a new organization, based partly on fundraising and partly on voter mobilization, a Dean adviser said, and Trippi recently registered a new Web page called Change8for8america.com. |
And Dean's movement is also being portrayed as a tough sell for the presumptive frontrunner...
Ofer Inbar, 33, a former computer systems administrator from Boston, logged more than 5,000 miles on his Saturn SL2 this year traveling to primary states for Dean. He said, "Kerry would get my vote, but not my time."
Rebecca Bahr, 43, a homemaker from Scottsdale, Ariz., who has contributed to Dean's campaign, said she still supports the former governor -- "a once-in-a-lifetime candidate" -- and is not sure whether she would support Kerry.
"I would never have called you back for any other candidate except for Governor Dean because I don't talk to people -- I'm very shy," Bahr said in an interview. "I couldn't have the courage to do that for John Kerry. I won't send money to John Kerry. I won't knock on people's doors for John Kerry. Or make phone calls for John Kerry. Or write letters for John Kerry -- everything that I've done for Governor Dean, which is way outside my comfort zone." |
Perhaps the most intriguing tidbit comes from the front end of the article:
The former Vermont governor sought out rival John Edwards for a private meeting Sunday night in Milwaukee. After what Democratic sources described as a friendly but inconclusive conversation, Dean said the two men should talk again today. The implication was that there could be ways for Dean to help a candidate he has said he prefers over Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.). |
Lots of good information in this article, and here's how I see it:
1. Dean and Edwards
Dean's googly-eyes toward Edwards in one of the pre-Iowa debates apparently meant everything that the Kossacks thought they meant. I don't know if there's an Edwards-Dean ticket in the offing, but it's clear to me that Gov. Dean will have no problems in helping stall the Kerry campaign.
2. The Future of Dean For America
From Dean's Wisconsin speech tonight, combined with the behind-the-scenes planning already under way, I see a pretty powerful grassroots network taking shape. Trippi's re-integration into the Dean Team adds the right tone to the deliberations, even if he's not the top dog. (Anyone notice how much more "pro-Dean" Trippi was on MSNBC last night?) I'm envisioning a "Board of Directors" including Gov. Dean, Al Gore, SEIU's Andy Stern and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, among other superdelegate "true believers" who have hung in with Gov. Dean.
Organizationally, I'm guessing that we'll see a reincarnation of the "Support Congressman Leonard Boswell" effort. A Dean movement could combine its Write for Dean, Dialing for Dean, and Dean Commons functions with periodic intensive fundraising directed toward key Democratic candidates (Gov. Dean, Stephanie Herseth is on line 2!) as a terrific combination and would be a wonderful "rapid assistance group" to swing important races our way. Wanna be a power broker? Offer up that type of support to elected officials. I bet they'd love a 48 hour fundraising bat combined with a 1-week phone bank, 2,500 hand-written letters, and a call for volunteers to drive to Poughkeepsie for the weekend...
<snark>The critical factor is that Dean's group doesn't put up ads of its own a la MoveOn.org. As we know, Dean's ads stunk.</snark>
3. The grassroots/donor files
Gov. Dean's going to exercise his right and extract a little blood from the parties (or Party, depending on who you're talking about) who sunk his campaign and now want to pore over the entrails. Make 'em sweat, Guv! And I could not care less if you give my name to Kerry, Edwards, or McAuliffe. I know how to say "No" when I want to...
4. The grassroots members
We, the grassroots, will play hard to get as well. And well we should. We were out knocking on doors and making LIVE phone calls when other campaigns were robo-calling our supporters at 4AM.
In summary, here's hoping that Governor Dean gets some well-deserved rest over the next couple days as he sorts out his plans. I like the track that the article describes and look forward to continuing my association with Dean for America - or whatever the new organization may name itself.