"Action Plan" to help Dean & the Democratic Party kick some RW butt

[moggie12]

This “Action Plan” incorporates ideas DUers came up with in response to my post a few days ago, where I listed some thoughts I had about supporting Howard Dean. I asked for input and got so many good ideas, I decided it was worth the time to do a whole new post.

As noted in the original post, I think everybody should do whatever they can to support Dean. Whether you're a registered Democrat or not -- or whether you supported Dean in the primaries or not -- is completely irrelevant at this point. His success in rebuilding a strong, grassroots-based Democratic Party -- in conjunction with Harry Reid & Nancy Pelosi leading the charge in Congress -- will enable the Democrats to take back Congress in '06 and win the Presidency in '08. AND I'M FOR THAT!! (BTW, just for the record, I was an Edwards supporter in the primaries.)

(For reference, this is my original post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...
If you want more info about some of the ideas listed below, I’ve cross-referenced the reply # so you can read a more detailed explanation from the original post)


Here's the summary of suggestions:

1) If you haven’t done so already, sign up on “Democrats.org” – Dean’s public statements and any DNC requests for help will come through there.

2) If you can financially afford to do so, make a donation when Dean sends out his first official e-mail as DNC chair and asks for money. The number of donations he gets in response will be just as important as the dollar amount that is raised – it will demonstrate to the media that he has widespread, grassroots support.

3) Contact the media and ask them to cover Dean. For example, replies #7, 13, and 38 suggested:
a) E-mailing Russert, Matthews and other pundits and asking them to have Dean on their shows.
b) Contacting C-Span and asking them to cover Saturday’s DNC meeting. C-span events coverage recommendation e-mail: [e-mail]

4) Bomb the media with messages of support when they try to minimize/marginalize/smear Dean:
a) If you hear something on TV or see something in print, put up a post on DU so people can zap that particular twerp with e-mails -- post the e-mail link so it’s easy for people to do.
b) Write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper -- Democrats.org has a feature that allows you to do this easily (see reply #45 for suggested themes)

5) The post office sells pre-stamped blank postcards for 25 cents each -- everybody should send him a message of support on one of these cards on Feb 12th. Letters would be good, too, but I was thinking it would be pretty nifty if he could wave a stack of postcards around. (These can also be used to send messages to the media, politicians, etc – letters/postcards are taken even more seriously than e-mails since there’s more effort/expense involved on the part of the sender. The Post Office sells them in stacks of 25.)


6) Spread these ideas so more people help Dean and the DNC:
a) Through your e-mail buddy list
b) Through other web-sites you visit (see reply #37)
c) Word-of-mouth to your friends
d) Make-up flyers to give out in public places (see reply #49)
e) Encourage people to register to vote or maybe even to re-register as Democrats if they’re currently registered independent or third-party (see reply #49)


7) Get involved locally: Go to Town and County Democratic meetings, become a Precinct Captain, attend local DFA meet-ups (see replies #3, 5 and 17).



Finally, there was a suggestion for a group nickname for those of us who want to see Dean succeed: “Human Fire Hydrants United”. It comes from a NYT article, which talked about a conversation Dean had with Terry McAuliffe (snip):

"A lot of people came by the table to congratulate him," recalled Mr. McAuliffe, who said Dr. Dean had invited him to what became a three-hour dinner to discuss the party's operations. "And he said, 'No, no, not till the vote's over.' But I did tell him, 'You are about to become a human fire hydrant. You will get blamed for every loss. You will get zero credit for any win.'"


If anybody has any more ideas to help protect Dean from being “p’d-on”, please reply and add on to this post.


Finally, please keep this KICKED so people see it and take part in this effort. Thanks........

[corbett]

1. On Board Except For Item 2

I'm more than happy to kick your superb post but must disagree on item 2. In theory, it's a great idea. However, the Democratic Party failed utterly to challenge the shrub's claim of victory on 11/2/2004. What's more, it now appears that even if meaningful election reform is pushed through Congress and signed by the commander-in-chimp by the 109th Congress' summer break, it will have little or no effect on the 2006 elections.

In light of these facts, unless the DNC can show me that it will allocate grass roots contributions to races in districts and states which had little or no election fraud in 2000, 2002 and 2004, they won't see a thin dime from me. I will continue to support them and spread the good news but no financial contributions, even though I think Dr. Dean will make a great chairman!

[moggie12]

2. Fair enough, don't blame you for withholding your hard-earned cash

I didn't know the election reforms (if passed) wouldn't go into place in time for the '06 elections. That's totally depressing. Why is that? Because ensuring paper trails for electronic machines will take time to implement? It seems like it shouldn't take so long. Is there some kind of scam going on?? Thanks for any info you can give me....

[corbett]

4. Part Scam, Part Legitimate Concern For Handicapped

The 2007 aspect of the final bill which hits both houses, if at all, will be kept very quiet because Karl Rove, now deputy chief of staff, knows that he will lose his majority in at least one house if reforms hit before the mid-term elections. Sadly, there's a legitimate aspect to the argument about mandatory paper trail because of the handicapped voters.

For details, I suggest sending a private message to Andy Stephenson. He's an expert's expert.

[moggie12]

5. Thanks for the info -- it figures Rove would be involved n/t

[moggie12]

3. dang, this thing dropped like a rock - should've put "Gannon" in title

[corbett]

6. Just Took My Postcard To The Post Office

Will have the February 12 post mark.