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1:43 am - August 24, 2003 I am a seasoned Washington, DC activist, political and nonprofit fundraiser, and grassroots organizer who attended today's rally with a healthy dose of skepticism. I have not been squarely for Dean, because I think he has an ineffective answer on gay marriage ("leave it to the states" and that he personally "never thought about that very much"). I think that needs to be cleaned up and he needs to appear not so weak. But I went anyway tonight. I went because I believe in grassroots organizing, because I am excited by the momentum I see, and I went because I wanted to give him a chance. I wanted to work beyond the handful of concerns I have about Dean and meet him on his own terms and playing field. Howard Dean did not disappoint. His speech, stump or not, was invigorating. He spoke in specifics and details about the issues in a way that is vital to mobilizing the Democratic base. He is putting language to the thoughts so many of my friends and neighbors have had: 1. This was a war based on lies. 2. The Democrats (most) are behaving like sycophantic Republicans. 3. I should be proud to be a Democrat and to remember what that means. 4. This is a lousy economy based on flawed logic, poor and immoral priorities, and neglect of the middle and lower classes. 5. When the poorest folks and the folks in the middle do better, we all do better. It meant a great deal to hear those things. To have the specifics put behind them. It was astounding to have a politician share with the crowd that he knows that early and sustained investments in effective education and programs will reduce the likelihood that a child will end up in jail. You can spend the money now, or you can spend three times as much later. It meant a great deal to hear that there is a candidate who will include sexual orientation in the list of those deserving equal treatment (though I still think his answers in this area need improvement). In short, Dean won me over. For the most part, he wants what I want. It made me proud of the opportunity we have to build a country based on finding the most effective ways for a government to serve all the people and not just the Bush dynasty and their followers. Do we want a dynasty or a Democracy? I vote for a Democracy. Some tips for Dean: 1. Be careful when announcing the website. It sounded like Dean for American . com. 2. Let the people chant. I know it feels like it is momentum building to keep talking, but crowd chants need to work their way into a bit louder of a pitch to get adrenaline flowing. 3. The pre-speech slate needs at least one speaker who is an energizer, who knows how to do call and response effectively. These folks were great, I loved them, but at least one person needs to take us higher. 4. The "no signs other than our signs" policy has to go. The look of the pictures is over manufactured and belies the diversity of the people who come out to see you. It robs your campaign of the opportunity to gage issue strength and depth in the crowd. It also limits my free speech and flies in the face of the grassroots message you are putting out there. If you must keep it, at least explain why you want only your signs in the email. 5. When speaking near or in DC, acknowledge our disenfranchisement. 6. The crew that ran the event was great, but there was very little information available. A fact sheet, a flyer, etc. would have been great. People copy these and take them to church, to their bridge club, to their campus, etc. As is, all we could leave with were signs and stickers and t-shirts. Likewise, please mention the toll free number, an address for the campaign, and other ways to contact you, to donate, etc. As a fundraiser, I always have return address envelopes for the organization and/or cause I am raising money for. Your list building was great, but put an envelope in the hands of the people and the checks will come in. 7. If possible, get a transcript of each speech out to those who registered within 48 hours. The speech was great! If I get a copy, I can share with my list of folks who live in states you are visiting, states where you need more volunteers etc. This text can be used to raise money as well! Thanks for a great night. I'm on board now. Also sent to the Dean Campaign: Seattle- Thank you so much for turning out. I want to send a thanks to all those who are making this happen. Very important though: This is the time to plan our momentum for the next 6 months through election day. Momentum is nice when it just happens, but we cannot afford to leave it to that. Let's plan our momentum together! 1. Stay engaged. Find something to do on a weekly basis that engages the issues and voters where you live or in your network of contacts. Do this through Meet Ups, hosting a house party, emailing links and stories that support Dean to your friends and family, continuing to read the blog and Dean for America. If you are exceptionally busy, program these activities into your digital calendars, etc. Post a schedule on your refrigerator or memo board reminding you to check in with the campaign, to brainstorm about people you havenot discussed Dean with, etc. The right wing has a way to stay involved, it's called church. And while many of us are church going folks, I would imagine less folks on our side flirt with Federal Electin Commission violations. The Christian Coalition is effective and their local groups are aggressive. Engagement is the way to maintain our beautiful momentum in the face of Rove-ing Republican waves of money and misinformation. 2. Perform outreach to minority groups and groups typically in the Democratic base. Let's not be Liebermans and focus on grasping at conservatives we want to come to our side. Our base needs to be strong, mobilized, informed, and engaged. If we bring the base and people get to the polls, we can do this. Sure, go after the 2% that might come to us from the other side. But let's get the 18 year olds, the unregistered, and the non-voting. This group is huge! 3. Contribute. Early money is great. We need to meet the goals set by the bats and match Bush as best we can. Plan your family or personal budgets with Dean's campaign in mind. Let's make sure there is enough to keep getting Dean in front of people, in the media, etc. The tremendous video, Internet, audio work this camapign is doing is unprecedented and presents tremendous expense. Give generously, but pace your giving -- The money in the last 5 months will be crucial too. 4. Communicate specifically and efficiently about Dean. I have learned this as a fundraiser fot the past 5 years. Follow Dean's example by speaking in specifics about the issues. If you are up to it, prepare a fact sheet (no more than 10 short ones or 5 slightly longer ones) about Dean. Post it to your website, send it to your contacts, hang it on your refrigerator. 5. Beyond the Internet. Stay connected to people who are not Internet folks. Print out the website for people, or printout great posts from the blog. We do not need an expensive phone bank to work the phones. 6. Follow up. Have you recently turned someone on to the Dean campaign? Check back with them. What are they thinking? Are they still engaged. Do they have concerns? Let's all take the conversation to the next level and keep the momentum going.
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