The DailyKos Community includes a wealth of information and analytical abilities. Could some of this community be focused on a group project to lay a foundation for understanding the recent history of the Dean campaign? It will be months before the regular media or researchers will be able to begin to compile such information in any comprehensive way.
What recently happened to the Dean campaign is going to be discussed well beyond this election. We need to begin organized documentation of some of the activities affecting the Dean campaign to assist the understanding of people today and historians of tomorrow.
If anyone else knows of other sites with structured information on these topics, please reference them in the comments. Suggestions for better organization of the categories and other articles relevant to them are also welcome.
This effort would be for those who feel the Dean campaign endured an uncommon combination of assaults from some elements in the Democratic Party and the media. It would be appreciated if those who felt otherwise limited their participation in this thread to on-topic contributions.
I recommend limiting this effort to documenting activities outside of the direct control of the Dean campaign. Every campaign can be criticized, especially after losing ground. The combination of attacks from those outside of the campaign certainly distinguished the December 2003 - January 2004 phase of this year's caucus/primaries. No other campaign could have withstood all the attacks referenced in this document.
Here is the current overall structure of this information -
Background Perspective -
Disarray of the Democratic Party -
Influence of the Media over the electorate -
External Attacks -
Shadow groups attacks -
DLC attacks -
Underhanded attacks by the other candidates -
Media coverage -
Informed speculation/analysis -
Background Perspective -
Disarray of the Democratic Party -
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0401.confessore.html
The Myth of the Democratic Establishment By Nicholas Confessore
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/29/opinion/29REIC.html?ex=1075957200&en=daf16801d1b90d87&ei=5
062&partner=GOOGLE
The Dead Center by ROBERT B. REICH
Influence of the Media over the electorate -
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/28/214816/878
Democrats are Dittoheads
by Chris Bowers Thu Jan 29th, 2004
External Attacks -
Shadow groups attacks -
http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:aOrK7UHEiscJ:msnbc.msn.com/id/3733815/+%22Bin+Laden+Image%22+de
an&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Anti-Dean ad is criticized - Independent group uses bin Laden image
By Howard Kurtz - Washington Post
http://www.esoterically.net/log/archives/001251.html
Is Secrecy a Progressive Value? - Washington Post Editorial
http://www.calpundit.com/archives/002848.html
Further Discussion of the Shadow Group attacks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33324-2003Dec26.html
Standing Up for Howard Dean - THEODORE C. SORENSEN
Although I am committed to the electoral ouster of the Bush administration for its indifference to international law, civil liberties, the environment and the plight of the jobless and hungry, I cannot support any candidate for the Democratic nomination who proves to be behind the latest smear against Howard Dean ["Anti-Dean Ad Is Criticized; Independent Group Uses Bin Laden Image in Commercial,"].
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/7515786.htm
Group's Anti-Dean Ads Coming Off the Air
LIZ SIDOTI Associated Press
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2003/12/13/235418/54
The Truth About the Person Behind the Osama Attack Ad
by Night Owl Sat Dec 13th, 2003
http://bill-rehm.dailykos.com/story/2004/2/2/213859/3912
Can anbody find more details about this 527?
by Bill Rehm Mon Feb 2nd, 2004
DLC attacks -
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=127&subid=171&contentid=252288
Ideas Still Matter By Bruce Reed
Underhanded attacks by the other candidates -
http://us.gq.com/plus/content/?040127plco_trippi
JOE TRIPPI'S WILD RIDE
Jan 18th - His cell phone rings. It's his pollster, Paul Maslin, who not only has bleak news out of Iowa--but bleak news out of New Hampshire. Trippi hangs up and stares out the window.
His phone rings again. "WHAT? Aw, fuck. I hate this business. This fucking sucks. Okay, thanks." He hangs up. "They're robocalling our ones," he moans. Their "ones" are the Iowans they've identified as absolutely, positively Dean voters (though it would turn out that they were absolutely, positively wrong on the number). He has just gotten a report from the field that Dean "ones" are getting bombarded with computer-generated phone calls telling them to make sure to caucus for Dean--then giving them the wrong address.
Who would do such a thing?
"Kerry," he snaps. "They're the only asshole snake campaign that would do it."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108750,00.html
Political Passions in Iowa
Monday, January 19, 2004 By Carl Cameron
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/ThisWeek/Kerry_Dean_calls_040117-1.html
Recording Reveals Kerry Operative Dissing Dean in Campaign Call
By Jake Tapper
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/25/politics/campaign/25SHAR.html
Sharpton's Bid Aided by an Unlikely Source
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN Published: January 25, 2004
http://teacherken.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/25/234437/902
What Price Victory, Mr. Kerry?
by teacherken Sun Jan 25th, 2004
http://lois.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/21/21841/6134
Kerry's push polling and the Dean speech
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/30/04918/5575
Who is robo-calling against Dean?
http://homepage.mac.com/windhaven/iblog/C450579697/E1346225474/index.html
The Kerry campaign stoops to a new low by smearing a local Dean supporter.
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/1/20/145641/607/143#143
More on Push-Polling in Iowa
Media coverage -
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_2004vote_012904dean.html
The "Dean Scream" -- The Version of Reality You Didn't See.. or Hear on TV By Diane Sawyer
http://www.cmpa.com/pressrel/EW200401.htm
Study: Dean Trails in Race for Positive Press
http://www.cmpa.com/pressrel/EW200402.htm
Networks Anointed Kerry, Edwards Before Iowa Voters Did
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/23/opinion/meyer/main595508.shtml
Defending Dean's Scream
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0123-06.htm
We May Have Dean to Kick Around by David Greenberg
http://www.politicsus.com/012904pg.htm
The Media Purposely F-Worded Dean, and They Know It
By Paul Goldman 29 JANUARY 2004
http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?pid=1226
The Media and Howard Dean by John Nichols
Informed speculation/analysis -
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/13/opinion/main583484.shtml
Nov. 13, 2003 The Democratic Party: Outside In by Ryan Lizza.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/26/184359/424
The insider conspiracy against Dean
by OtisBall Mon Jan 26th, 2004
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/26/44444/9786
Campaign observations of a longtime Dem...
by Bob Johnson Mon Jan 26th, 2004
http://bob-johnson.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/13/0030/11593
I'm sick of the friggin' Clintons and the DLC
by Bob Johnson Tue Jan 13th, 2004
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/26/16651/7677
Have we been Roved?
by cslewis Mon Jan 26th, 2004