First,in case you didn't read my diary on Wednesday, I am supporting Tom Vilsack for the Democratic nomination.
Second, despite (or because of?) my support, Tom STILL does not do well in straw polls here (although I was pleased by the number of people who said they would keep an open mind, although may be more in Tom's coming out in opposition to continued funding of the war in Iraq and his opposition to NCLB).
Tom has raised much less money than some other candidates. He still trails badly in national polls. Even in Iowa, he is running 3rd or 4th. All of this makes him a longshot. But this is not necessarily representative of where his "longshot" campaign is.
Remember, Iowa is a caucus state, attendees for which are notoriously hard to poll. Success depends very much on organization, and knowing how the caucuses work. Remember that most of the major polls showed Kerry running 4th in Iowa shortly before the caucuses, yet he won comfortably. That was in a field not as crowded as the current one.
I promised an update. Yesterday, as a contributor to the campaign, I received an email. It began like this
The caucuses are now less than a year away and everyone is paying lots of attention to Iowa. What does it really take to win the Iowa caucuses? And why were the experts so surprised in 2004?
Winning Iowa is about one thing -- organization. And Tom Vilsack has the best organization and is going to win Iowa.
Instead of over-spending donors' money on early polls, mailings, and Madison Avenue TV ads, we're busy meeting real caucus-goers in their living rooms, town halls and, yes, in our campaign offices.
The campaign's national headquarters is in Des Moines, a city Tom knows well, having served in the state senate before spending the last 4 years in the Governor's mansion. That office also coordinates the Iowa effort.
The campaign has already opened offices in three other Iowa cities: Ames (Iowas State)),Sioux City, and Waterloo. A statewide office has also opened in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire, to coordinate efforts there.
The campaign gave an opportunity to contribute directly to the field operations and to encourage people, offered a little information about the costs:
The cost of operating the field offices for voter contact in Ames, Sioux City, and Waterloo for the quarter is:
Ames Rent: $1,300
Sioux City Rent: $1,300
Waterloo Rent: $1,032
Phones Total: $985
Utilities Total: $215
That's $4,832 that needs to be raised today. Our campaign needs you now. Please pledge your support.
Now, my purpose in posting this information is not to solicit funds, although I am sure that should you be so inclined, any contribution would be very welcome. And of course those figures do not cover staff salaries nor travel expenses. But it gives you an idea of the focus of the campaign. Oh, and despite the tone of the request for funds noted above, the campaign raised over a million dollars between November 9 and December 31.
Tom of course is not just campaigning in Iowa. On February 13 he will give an address on energy policy at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. February 26 he will be in New Hampshire, where he will participate in a National Main Street Meeting via a conference call. The email also was seeking people to host local meetings. around the country for that conference call. This is something quite familiar to those of us involved with the Dean campaign, and I participated in the same phenomenon during the Webb campaign.
The campaign is moving forward without the glare of publicity to which some of the other campaigns are subject. As one campaign found out recently, it may not be the case that all publicity is good publicity, although I commend Senator Edwards on standing up for his bloggers.
This email is not about the other campaigns. I am probably the most visible supporter of Vilsack at dailykos. I promise not to annoy people. When I have some news to report, or a statement to make that I think might be of value to the readers here, I will post it.
I am interested in other campaigns and issues as well. I continue to do work for various Virginia legislative candidates. The few of you who read this diary yesterday know about my support of Irv Ackelsberg for Philadelphia City Council. I continue to work on the education panel for Yearlykos (and Marion Brady will have up a very interesting diary at about 8 am tomorrow) and with The Educator's Roundtable.
Tom Vilsack is a good man. He is thoughtful, caring, an experienced executive, who is unafraid of taking positions that may not seem politically advantageous. For more than six months I have been telling people not to underestimate him. He has never lost an election (even though he was never supposed to win), and in his first race for governor began more than 30 points behind his opponent.
So that's my brief update on the "longshot" Vilsack campaign. Feel free to explore more about Tom and his campaign at his campaign website.
Now I have to get dressed, go to school and prepare for TWO shows today of our musical, Little Shop of Horrors (and the first last night went very well - the kids did a great job).
Y'all have a great day. I plan to.