NYT: Figures Detail Dean's Slide From Solvent to Struggling

[DJcairo]

a very sad story indeed...

By GLEN JUSTICE and JODI WILGOREN

Published: February 2, 2004

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — While Howard Dean's campaign began as an insurgent effort reliant on grass-roots support, figures made public this weekend offer new details on how his successful fund-raising transformed the organization into a high-spending campaign with little worry about costs.

From Washington to Hollywood, the Dean campaign often provided valet parking at its events, spent heavily to bus outsiders in to speeches in Iowa and began pumping money into commercials seven months before the first vote was cast.

In all, the campaign rolled through more than $31 million last year and at least $10 million more this year, transforming Dr. Dean from the best-financed Democratic candidate to one scrambling to raise money and stay out of debt so he can keep his campaign moving.

"They spent it all in one huge strategic error — they completely squandered it," said Steve Murphy, campaign manager for Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, who dropped out of the race and has not endorsed another candidate.

Democratic consultants and strategists at rival campaigns said the heavy spending resulted from a number of mistaken tactical decisions, including advertising too early, enlarging the organization too quickly and betting too heavily on the first contests.

http://nytimes.com/2004/02/02/politics/campaign/02DONA.html

[David Dunham]

1. Dean Spent Contributors Money on Valets? What a Waste!

[MercutioATC]

2. And Dean still has more cash on hand than Kerry...spin that.

[DJcairo]

4. Yea...cash on hand wins elections no matter what!

Especially when you have so much, you don't even compete in half the Feb primaries. That's a winning strategy certainly. Wow, Dean is definately viable. Thanks for making me see the light.

ROFL

[MercutioATC]

9. YOU posted the "Dean financially struggling" thread, not me.

The fact is, Kerry has had to repeated loan his campaign money (and mortagae houses) just to keep it afloat.

WHO'S having financial difficulties?

[joshcryer]

16. They'll bash Dean at any cost.

Even if their bias and hate is obvious.

[OutlawCorporatePolls]

35. elections are won by...

...poll manipulation and free publicity via big media, who donate to their candidate.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

37. Elections are won by the candidate who gets the most votes.

An uncomfortable fact when you are a Howard Dean supporter.

[Hawkeye-X]

14. Yup. One important fact that you overlooked.

Kerry was broke as shithouse rat. $2M in the hole. Time to pull another mortagage loan, eh?

Damn credit risk... (1 bob for the right answer to this trivia.. Who said it and what movie?)

[mzmolly]

3. Here is something far more sad...

http://www.blackcommentator.com/75/75_cover_dean_media.html

"Howard Dean has joined the list of victims of U.S. corporate media consolidation. Dean shares this distinction with Dennis Kucinich and the people of the formerly sovereign state of Iraq, among many others. Dean was stripped of half his popular support in the space of two weeks in January while John Kerry – tied in the polls with Carol Moseley-Braun at seven percent just two months earlier – rose like a genie from a bottle to become the overnight presidential frontrunner. Both candidates were shocked and disoriented by the dizzying turns of fortune, and for good reason. Neither Dean nor Kerry had done anything on their own that could have so dramatically altered the race. Corporate America decided that Dean must be savaged, and its media sector made it happen."

[DJcairo]

7. Oh, and the media calling Kerry's candidacy dead for months

just 'decided' they loved Kerry? Please. He won, you lost, fair and square. Stop crying in your tea cups and realize mistakes were made and in politics as in life there are no second chances.

[mzmolly]

8. Read the article...

:hi:

[mitchum]

5. unfortunate

[John_H]

6. They don't get it. the tactics were brilliant. Voters know he can't win

It's that simple. Tactics can't fool enough people win a presidential primary--you have to have a viable candidate too.

[revcarol]

10. I got a fund-raising letter from Dean...

Instead of the usual, "Contribute because they're all attacking me(the Job complex)," it was ,"I want you to let me automatically charge your credit card for your contribution for the next 6 weeks, every Tuesday!!"

Guess ordinary non-automatic contributions aren't doing the job...

[MercutioATC]

11. He's always had that option. A lot of people I know use automatic payment

for everything because it's easier for them. He's just giving contributors the option...you can donate (or not) any way you choose.

I had a fundraising phone call from the campaign a month or so ago. They asked if I'd like to schedule regular contributions through my credit card. I told them that I was more comfortable donating online. The campaigner said "No problem. Thanks for your support!" and left it at that.

I've never found Dean's campaign yo be high-pressue whatsoever.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. And I see Dean is STILL advertising on web sites

even now!!! :crazy:

[MercutioATC]

13. Your point?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

19. They don't know how to effectively spend the money they have.

They already have the interent users in their campaign and are winning that voting demographic hands down. They should be advertising in print or on billboards or any other medium except the internet!

[MercutioATC]

26. I don't agree. Internet advertising is less expensive.

He's doing other forms of advertising, of course, but I think the internet ads are good.

[progressivebydesign]

23. Banner ads are usually dirt cheap, bartered, or late in being removed. N/T

[stickdog]

15. Once again, Dean is compared to absolute perfection with the added

advantage of hindsight.

Compared to the other candidates, Dean's financial situation is great.

This fact is very surprising considering the way Dean lost two races and the way he's been attacked by the media so mercilessly.

I mean, if Dean is "scrambling to raise money and stay out of debt so he can keep his campaign moving," then what are the other candidates -- who have far less cash and are raising far less money -- fscing?

[displacedtexan]

17. What are other candidates facing?

The prospect of raising more money.
Kerry, Edwards, and Clark will continue to raise funds, and no one will wonder if they are wasting donated dollars on valet parking or busing in crowd ringers (which really surprised me, btw).
Why does Dean need to bus in ringers, anyway? I thought he packed the house everywhere. Hmmmmmmmmmm...

[stickdog]

18. Yeah, luckily the other candidates don't have to worry about anything

like that since they've inspired neither volunteers NOR any fund raising efforts to support them!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

20. Lunch money from millions of kids: Trippi stole millions

and Dean wasted the rest.

Shameful.



And any claim that Dean now has more money than Kerry is simply false.

[ibegurpard]

21. Lunch money from kids?

Let me unambiguously and positively say that you just gave me the biggest laugh of the day.

[progressivebydesign]

22. Be careful, even with your quotes, in calling someone a thief publicly.

I wouldn't go there posting that Trippi is a thief. I'm surprised no one has mentioned what a bad idea that is on a public board. I try to be very careful with that.. regardless of my own opinions about it.

You seem to get free rein on your anti-Dean posts.. I have yet to figure out who you do support.... I haven't seen any positive posts from you about your candidate. Who is it?? I'm much more interested in hearing the good things about other candidates, then to see people tear down other candidates. It doesn't win over supporters to another camp.. only makes them dig in further supporting their guy. THat's psychology 101.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

33. You are warning me

that I better 'watch what I say'?


lol

:scared:

[stickdog]

24. Kerry's in the red to himself to the tune of 8 figures.

There is no candidate in the entire history of running the POTUS whose campaign was ever in a worse financial stituation than John Forbes Kerry's is right now.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

25. What you've posted is not true.

I understand that those who oppose Kerry would like to believe otherwise, but the fact is that the small online donations that used to go to Dean are now going to Kerry.

[MercutioATC]

28. Correct, it's only a 7-figure debt right now...but growing quickly.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/31/politics2245EST0692.DTL

As Kerry and the Kerry campaign are separate legal entities, this IS money that the campaign is obligated to pay back. What do you call financial obligations in excess of revenue? Net debt.

Kerry's campaign is in the red.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

29. Pretend Kerry isn't raking in the online donations.

Pretend Dean has more money that Kerry.

But it isn't convincing anyone.

Did you know the Dean campaign spent over fourteen thousand dollars on valet parking?

Dean really has his spending priorities straight :eyes: I guess we can trust him with the federal budget.

[MercutioATC]

38. Once more, please respond to my LINK, not your own opinions...

The link I provided clearly shows that Kerry's campaign is in debt.

If you're actually talking about Kerry the PERSON, yes, he has more money that Dean, the person...more than Dean's campaign, even.

The Kerry campaign is in the red, however.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

39. No matter how many times you state that up is down, up is still up.

[MercutioATC]

42. No matter how many times the issue is avoided, the truth still exists.

Again, refute if you believe my cite is in error.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MercutioATC]

30. An absolute untruth! Any ad buyer would have been paid.

Dean didn't get the results he had hoped for, but the money was spent the way it was intended. Neither Trippi, the campaign or Dean did anything wrong. Kerry DOES have less money:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/31/politics2245EST0692.DTL


To be PERFECTLY clear, I'm not calling YOU an "untruth-teller", I'm saying that elements of your post are untrue.

(happy, mods?)

[Feanorcurufinwe]

31. Might as well say Dean won in Iowa, it would be just as true as your post.

Dean's broke, it's all over the news.

Trippi's contract with the Dean campaign represented an unethical conflict of interest that lined Trippi's pockets.

Beyond the naming of Mr. Neel, Tricia Enright, the campaign's communications director, said Dr. Dean was forming "a new creative team" to overhaul its television advertisements. He said the campaign was not firing its media firm, in which Mr. Trippi is a partner. Many Dean supporters have been critical of the ad campaign, particularly in Iowa. Some questioned the arrangements by which Mr. Trippi forfeited a salary as a campaign manager but collected commissions — said to be as high as 15 percent in some cases — based on advertising buys.

<snip>

It was also Mr. Trippi who suggested that Dr. Dean give a rousing, fired-up speech after his crushing third-place finish in Iowa, a speech — and screech — that may have led to his undoing in New Hampshire.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/29/politics/campaign/29DEAN.html?pagewanted=2&hp

Trippi makes the decisions, and also benefits from them financially.

It really makes you think twice about Dean's judgement.

[MercutioATC]

32. I would argue that your post contained a greater untruth:

"And any claim that Dean now has more money than Kerry is simply false."

My link provides information contrary to your assertion. You provide no proof for your assertion. How to you resolve this difference?

My link is to a statement of fact (documented fundraising numbers). Your post, while entertaining, is supported by opinion only. I would encourage people to have opinions, but there have been no legal claims of wrongdoing on either Dean's or Trippi's part.

I can post an opinion and link to it....doesn't make it any more than an opinion.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

36. Horses wear blinders, but it is not a good fashion statement for people.

Last week, campaign officials said they had about $3 million left and bills to pay. They were not advertising on television and had temporarily suspended staff salaries. Joe Trippi, the campaign manager, left and Roy Neel, a former White House aide and lobbyist, took over. "One of Roy's big charges here is to pinch pennies," one Dean campaign aide said.

<snip>

Democratic operatives said they were shocked at both the Dean campaign's ability to raise cash quickly and its ability to spend it. Many pointed to money spent on advertising long in advance of any voting. For example, the campaign spent almost $294,0000 advertising in Iowa in June and early July. In August, it spent about $282,000 in New Hampshire. It also ran more than $107,000 worth of advertisements in Texas, President Bush's home turf, in an effort to fire up supporters.

<snip>

When the campaign did step into Iowa, it brought several hundred paid staff members and interns, as well as 3,500 out-of-state volunteers. Though many paid their own way to get there, the campaign spent huge sums outfitting them with cellphones, computers, food and the ubiquitous orange wool hats, which seemed like a brilliant sign of strength at the time but have since become an icon of miscalculation.

John Norris, Mr. Kerry's Iowa campaign director, said the spending was evident on the ground. For example, he said, the Dean campaign bused in supporters from out of state when Dr. Dean spoke, something the Kerry campaign did not do because of the expense. "It was all about creating a perception that there was a huge, big crowd, people were everywhere, there was momentum, and that he would inevitably be the nominee," Mr. Norris said. "There was a cost for creating that perception."
http://nytimes.com/2004/02/02/politics/campaign/02DONA.html

[MercutioATC]

40. Yellow wombats should never dress in fall colors...

Doesn't make much sense or address your statement, does it?

Insiders in Dean's campaign claim he has $3M-$5M left. Kerry's campaign has, at most, a little over $3M with an outstanding campaign debt (to Kerry) of at least $6.5M.


How, exactly, is Kerry's campaign NOT in debt?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

41. You keep seeing the answer in my post.

"How, exactly, is Kerry's campaign NOT in debt?"

[MercutioATC]

43. Not at all. Kerry's campaign IS in debt and I have a cite to prove it.

I see no link that would prove otherwise.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

45. Keep believing.

[MercutioATC]

46. Thanks, I will. You keep believing too (proof be damned).

:hug:

[Feanorcurufinwe]

48. Kerry supporters will keep contributing.

[MercutioATC]

49. Yes, they will. So will Dean supporters. Dean supporters are ahead

so far...

Money is NOT everything, but it's a great thing to have when you're campaigning...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

34. I see you're still scared.

Good to know.

[Southsideirish]

47. Yet like a phoenix arising from the ashes, Dean will be victorious

despite the constant onslaught from those who keep saying he's "dead".
Hour after hour they come back to throw another shovel of dirt on - what are they so afraid of, I wonder??

[Eurobabe]

44. Oh boy, one of Virginia's own....

"We'd have spent it differently if we knew it wasn't going to work," Don Beyer, Dr. Dean's campaign treasurer, said in an interview."

Bet you are sure glad you came out early for Dean, huh Don? We tried to tell you...