This afternoon I got the always uplifting chance to hear Howard Dean speak. He was the draw at a Democrats Abroad UK event held at the Imperial College campus in London.
One of the worst things about being an ex-pat is feeling removed from the on-the-ground action. (In spite of my unchangeable screen name, I have been in London for a couple years now.) We don't get the parade of primary candidates the hot states do, although surrogates occasionally visit for money. (Actually, more like California than I thought ;-)
So even if I wasn't an unreformed Deaniac, I have to give kudos to DAUK for making this happen and I went early to help with check-in at this low cost (£10) fundraiser. I think about 300 people registered, which is a really big crowd for DAUK, especially on this exceptionally pretty blue-sky Sunday in a city that used to be called the Big Smoke.
I used twitter to capture and share my notes on the event as it happened.
Howard is late. Plane trouble.
Finally. Howard is here. Whoo- hoo.
He looks fabulous. Tan and fired up.
Finally Howard is speaking. Semi standing ovation upon introduction.
Howard saying insightful and healing things about Hillary.
Right from the start of his speech I am reminded why I fell for Howard in the first place. Plain talk. Won't ignore the elephant in the room. Insight into why it is there. He talked clearly about having two candidates who were the first of their kind, but that unacceptable things were said mostly about Senator Clinton. And other Democrats did not protest. And need to. Still need to. He talked about the passion and emotion of identity politics. And how a personal slur against Hillary was felt as a personal slur by all the women that supported her.
While I voted for John Edwards in the primary — thanks to absentee ballots from the Somoma Registrar that come well in advance — I also felt personally affronted by some of the misogynist shit the media threw at Senator Clinton. Dr. Dean made it clear we can't win without the Clinton supporters and, as he knows from personal experience, they need a little healing time. And a lot of respect. Hear, hear.
More tweets:
Under 30s voting at same level, no difference between ethnic groups.
Copied everything from Repubs about winning elections exept the cheating. Heh.
All Americans families (almost) have an immigration story.
Dr. Dean took questions that had been written in advance on index cards and sorted by DAUK people. Many questions didn't get asked, of course, with so many people there, tho I think there was also a preference toward the more banal, "What can ex-pats do?" type question. Mine was, "What I want to know is, what are so many Democrats doing supporting Bush's illegal warrentless wiretapping and retroactive immunitive for corporations?" As it is really a question for Nancy Pelosi, I wasn't too bummed the Dems Abroad guy chose not to ask it.
You can tell that Dr. Dean has learned so much since he ran in the 2004 race about framing and not letting the talking points slide by. One question started with a statement repeating the Republican pretense that their brand stands for small government et al (ad naseum). Howard debunked that first, saying no way is that what they stand for, before he stated that the Democrat brand = inclusiveness, openess, competence. (As a marketing person in my day job, I wish my clients could be as clear about their brand values.)
Howard on Power
He talked about the risks of a party getting into power, as the politicians then become obsessed with staying in power. Dr. Dean spoke from the heart and promised if elected officials do what's right, then they don't ever have to worry about staying in office. To paraphrase: If we win the election, and the Democrats do what's right, then the American people will lend us their power for another four years.
Wow. If I hadn't gotten some of the nostalgia out of my system earlier here, I might have started the "You have the power" chant at this point.
Howard reminded us that our core values are equal rights for all Americans. And when faced with the false retoric from the right or the MSM (blah blah, gay marriage, blah blah, abortion, blah blah, immigration) we need to not fall into their trap, but raise the issue high up again to equal rights.
One of the best reasons to love Howard is how much he knows about everything going on. For example, he gave a shout out to Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20), an impressive but not widely known freshman who will face a tough race to stay in office.
The other big reason is how beautifully he puts the dots together to form new idears. Dr. Dean told us how, while musing on the under 35 vote, it struck him that unless they work in a military type system (army, police et al), younger people aren't used to the top down command and control organization favored by the Republicans. So not only do the Republicans not look like this generation, who identifies as multi-cultural, they can't think like them either.
Last tweets from a wonderful afternoon
Standing O for Howard Dean. He is still the only pol that is so homey real and so whip smart.
Note to self. Write a big check to Howard Dean when I get home. Still only guy I trust with my money.
@ Governor Dean - from a proud ex-pat American & former DFA Meetup host (in Sonoma) let me say w/ love, " Thank YOU for all you do."