Confessions of a depressed Dean supporter

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

Since Dean dropped out, there have been a lot of threads here speculating as to why it is that his supporters are as upset as they are. I'm one of the upset ones, but for someone who was not a Dean supporter and who is observing this phenomenon from the outside, it must have seemed a little bizarre. One might even say "cult-like". It's understandable. I mean, why the hell were all these people going crazy over this utterly unelectable, centrist governor of a dinky little state?

Well, I can't really speak for others in the Dean camp, but most that I've talked to over the past year have echoed the same sentiments about him that I have felt. My enthusiasm for him went beyond merely agreeing with what he said or thinking he was the best candidate running (although I certainly felt that way). When he was speaking, he had an ability to connect with me in a way that felt real, in a way that felt personal, despite the fact that he would be speaking to huge, impersonal crowds on C-Span, hundreds of miles away from me. There was simply something in his speaking style that was so incredibly refreshing and cathartic that, for me, it put him in an entirely different category than any other candidate for political office that I've ever seen. His bluntness and candor was like nothing I've ever encountered before, and it gave the impression that he believed what he was saying, a rare trait in candidates for public office.

I don't know if this really explains it or not. I hope that for people who didn't like him or didn't support him that this will shed a little light on why the people who supported him felt as strongly as they did. As I said, I can't really speak for anyone else, but I've shared this observation with fellow Dean supporters and they've felt the same way.

Hope this helps.

DISCLAIMER: I know a lot of people had serious problems with him. His style was absolutely polarizing, and there were many discrepancies between his record as governor and the things he was saying when he campaigned. I understand that his slash-and-burn style was extremely off-putting to many people, and that he said things about other candidates that must have made him seem like a complete asshole. It is no mystery to me why people didn't like him, and I don't blame the media or assume these people were just ignorant.

[Indiana Democrat]

1. YOU are an outstanding Dean supporter.

You "Get it" in more ways then one.

Thank you for your honestly and your commitment to your Democratic candidate of choice.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

4. Thank you

I'm mainly just trying to help people make sense of this.

[Eloriel]

19. "Outstanding Dean supporter" because he's disloyal?

And bought the media spin?

Sorry, Danny, but that's the way I see it. I think your whole paragraph about Dean's so-called "faults" is a bunch of bunk.

It's not that I think Dean is perfect, he's not. But you didn't even pick up on all of his strengths before lambasting him with your list of mostly media-created-and-hyped 'sins.'

BUT -- hey, you WILL get the approval and appreciation of those who hate Dean for their own self-serving reasons (as you can readily see). If that's your aim, congratulations.

Of COURSE there are going to be people who dislike one candidate or another or a bunch of them. That doesn't mean their perceptions of the candidate are accurate.

[mzmolly]

23. Uh oh... LDSH is in the *disloyal Dean supporter* category now.

:spank:

Be careful what you say LittleDanny, the Dean Gods may be watching :eyes:

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

27. All I'm saying

is that I understand the arguments of people who didn't like him. I'm not saying I agreed. I'm saying I understood.

I'm still a supporter and I'm still voting for him in my primary. I don't have any doubts or questions about my own "loyalty." I am not one of these people who jumped ship at the first sign of trouble, and I have been as strong an advocate for him as anybody.

If seeing someone else's point of view or trying to explain my own to others makes me disloyal, then I guess I'm disloyal.

[mzmolly]

31. Well....

you know how it goes "dis-ruptor" was the Scarlet word *I* was branded with ... :scared: Those DIS words can get you into some trubba in Dean Heaven. There's gotta be a Dean Supporter list of commandments somewhere to keep us on the up and up? :freak:

*cough* I best leave this alone now. :hi:

Peace LDSH.

Disclaimer:

Dearest Dean Gods/Goddesses,

LDSH is not responsible for my post in any way shape or form. Please don't bannish him to the pitts of Dean Supporter Hell because of my post(s) in this thread. ;)

[Adelante]

2. I know how it hurts, LittleDanny

Many of us do understand, really we do. So sorry.

[wryter2000]

3. I have to LOL while I agree with you

The other day I got an e-mail from him that was so immediate, unrehearsed, and -- for lack of a better word -- real, I almost thought the guy sat down and wrote it to me specifically. It even included the word "hell" and had the lines breaking in funny places. This wasn't a piece of pre-packaged campaign material. I had to keep reminding myself that he has no idea who Alice B in Oakland is and never read my post on the blog.

That being said, don't feel too depressed. He isn't running for president any longer, but he isn't going away, either. Wait for the next phase and see what happens. I'm hoping we're all going to rally and unseat DeLay and a few choice others. Maybe we can light some fires under Daschle and Di-Fi and their ilk, too. No matter what the bashers say, Dean was not in this for himself. He, like the rest of us, feels we need to rescue our country from BushCo et al. So, that's what we're going to do.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

6. Yep

That happened to me all the time! Campaign e-mails that were immediately directed to my junk mail just like all the other mass mailings I got felt like personal letters from an acquaintance. It was a very strange phenomenon, but there you go.

In any case, I'm depressed that he won't win the White House but I'm not so despondent that I won't do what I need to do to get rid of Bush. Perhaps the greatest punchline is that in my resolve to help unseat Bush*, I constantly hear myself saying "Howard Dean would have wanted it this way."

Go figure.

[Marymarg]

5. Dean's charisma, don't see it

I appreciate your post. I found it to be very interesting.

I am a yellow dog Democrat so I eagerly support the Democratic candidate and therefore try not to get too attached to any one candidate before the convention. I must say that I never was able to really warm up to Dean although, as I said, I would have supported him completely if he had been our nominee.

However, he struck a chord with so many people, definitely energized a lot of people, and did enormous good for the Democratic Party. I am so thankful for his candidacy. He was and hopefully will continue to be a powerful voice for the Party and for the nominee. He has already played a very important part and did it extremely well.

I hope the energy and enthusiasm Dean inspired in his followers can and will be transferred to our nominee.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

9. Many, many people felt the way you do

Like I said, it's completely understandable why a lot of people didn't warm up to Dean. He was utterly polarizing, as most of the posts here will bear out --- I read very few posts here that said "Oh.. I don't know... Howard Dean... I guess he's OK." People were either FOR him or AGAINST him in most of the cases I saw. My mother, whose Democratic credentials are engraved in stone and whose political opinions I greatly respect, hated his fucking guts and was thrilled when he dropped out, as were a lot of other progressives I know whose opinions I respect. I have to believe that reaction was just as valid as the positive reaction that I had to him.

[DFLforever]

21. Polarizing - either love him or hate him

That's what they used to say about Paul Wellstone.
People used to hate him too, not just in the White House but in my used-to-be-great state of MN. And they would laugh at and belittle him because he was a hot man in the cool medium of contemporary TV politics. And some of the left viewed him as not progressive enough: he had supported Clinton on Kosovo.

Paul Wellstone was one of the most loving, gentle men who ever walked the earth. But he was a fierce fighter, speaker of truth and man of passionate conviction, and a challenge to the powers that be.

And that I would suggest is the real reason he was 'polarizing'
and the reason Howard Dean is as well.

[mzmolly]

22. I always think of Dean and Wellstone in like terms as well.

:hi:

[seaglass]

7. That was the most honest post I've ever seen from a Dean

supporter.

You did an excellent job explaining what attracted you to Dean and for that I can empathize with your feelings of loss. In fact, the first time I saw Dean speak at a J-J dinner, long before he announced, I was equally impressed.

What happened between then and now is best saved for another post.

You did your candidate a great service with this post.

[iamjoy]

8. My Analysis of Dean

Dean was extremely polarizing; and scared the DLC 'cos they didn't think he was electable.

Dean changed his story too many times, shot off his mouth and had to retract statements. And sometimes he was right, but people just didn't get him. Like when he said the Middle Class didn't get a tax cut. Or that we weren't really any safer for Saddam being gone (we really don't know what is going to rise up to rule Iraq). Sometimes Dean was right, but the idea was unpopular, like when he said we need to consider raising the retirement age or reducing benefits to keep Social Security solvent.

But I will tell you what really bugged me about Dean - he did stuff like have closed door meetings in Vermont and then he sealed his records. We already have one administration that tries to do things secretly, we don't need another. Also, he said he was going to follow the rules to get the federal matching funds, then recanted.

I think we owe Governor Dean a lot for bringing people in who weren't otherwise interested in politics. Dean made the party take a good look at itself. The one thing that appealed to me about Dean is that I don't think we can win this election by moving toward the right. he was proud to be a Liberal, in fact, so proud that he pretended to be more liberal than he is.

Of course, now that Nader is going to hold us down while the Repugnantcans rape our country...

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

11. I'm not too worried about Nader actually

I just don't see him getting more than a small fraction of the support that he got in 2000. Too many people who voted for him then have wised up, and now know that there was a BIG-ASS DIFFERENCE between Bush and Gore, and won't repeat that argument again. When you have Michael Moore endorsing a four-star general for president, then you know this is not the same climate we had then.

[Cuban_Liberal]

10. I'll miss his voice too.

I was never an 'anti-Dean' person, because Dr. Dean contributed enormously to the re-awakening of the party, and i enjoyed his plain-spoken way. I hope he doesn't stay 'under the radar' for long. :)

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

12. He was nothing if not massively entertaining

I can't see him just fading away either.

[Leilani]

13. This Clark supporter knows

exactly what you're talking about.

Hang in there!

[Jai4WKC08]

29. Amen to that

Yeah, we know.

But hang in there. If he's serious about continuing the movement, you'll hear from him again. There is MUCH work to be done. Bush to beat. A LOT of congressional candidates who need our help. Reform to be achieved in so many areas.

Give him some time to mourn his own loss and he'll be back.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

14. Thank you.

No doubt I am not popular among Dean supporters on the board, but I do feel your pain.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

17. You have done nothing but express your opinion

Nothing wrong with that. This is only an internet discussion board after all.

[diamondsoul]

15. Hi, Danny

It's not at all odd to me. I get it, even if I don't quite feel that way about Governor Dean. I've been telling anyone and everyone to leave Dean supporters the hell alone.

If Kucinich were forced to quit, I'd go to pieces for probably quite a while.

Dean in the last two months of his campaign did and said things that countered most of my objections to him. I'd vote for him in a second if there wasn't a candidate I align with a wee bit better. Take care and know you're welcome if you feel like taking another tough road from here.

[Old and In the Way]

16. Thanks for your perspective.

I think it's safe to say that we all invest money and emotion in our candidate of choice. Supporting a candidate is always more than the sum of their points on a voting/issues matrix. It's a belief in the message and the messenger. Having been in the "losing" camp more times than I care to remember, I appreciate the feelings of despair and frustration.

Hopely, time will help to heal these wounds and we can all join the bigger battle to oust the unelected junta that occupys our government today. Then we can focus on building and executing a progressive agenda to counteract the policies that have been implemented by an undemocratic RW government.

[frustrated_lefty]

18. Good post.

Thanks for speaking from the heart, that was a good post.

[incapsulated]

20. Very honest and heartfelt post

Thanks.

From a Clarkie perspective, I can relate. When you "fall in love" with a candidate, you can be aware of their shortcomings, but you love them anyway. You can't understand why people can't see what you see in him, but you believe anyway.

It's a sad time for anyone who supported one of the "grassroots" or "outsider" candidates. We are back to politics as usual, and nobody understands our loss except our fellow supporters.

When Kerry was my only real choice, I longed for Clark or someone else to get in the race. When he did, I got more excited than I thought I could get about a primary candidate. I think Dean supporters can understand the feeling of "wow, we are offering you this great alternative to the same old politicians, something exciting and new and different!" and instead they wanted the same old shit. And it was depressing.

Now, I'm back to where I was in the beginning. Stuck with the same old politicians to "choose" from, and wanting something else. Except now "something else" has a face and a name and a campaign that failed. It hurts.

[NNN0LHI]

24. That is really a nice post. Thanks LDS n/t

[indigo32]

25. Danny I completely agree with what you are saying

and thankfully, I'm sure he's not going away, we just don't know for sure yet what he's going to do. It's been very hard...but theres plenty of work left to do.

[MuseRider]

26. Hey LittleDanny!

You have always been a wonderful Dean supporter. You understood your guy, you also understood that he was not everyone's cup of tea so talking about him with you was a pleasure. It hurts a lot when you truly connect with someone like that, that is how I feel about Kucinich, when they drop it just hurts and leaves you feeling lost after spending so much time supporting them. At least Dean is not going to disappear. Keep on with him and we will all join together at some point with the progressive point of view to push our party in the correct direction.

[Hav]

28. Nice post

I can understand that many Dean supporters might be upset about how the things went.
I mean, I saw reports (I'm not American) about them walking in the cold and knocking on the doors to inform the people about Dean (and not getting paid) and I believe he made many people feel very passionate about a political campaign.That was very important,a great achievement and I hope that interest won't fade.
I generally liked his messages and his speeches and the way he hold them.He wasn't that perfect speaker like Edwards but he could connect to the people as well.

As for the "electability" issue, I always thought that if everybody would listen to his message,there wouldn't be an electability problem.
But that was just my impression.

[kaitykaity]

30. This helps immensely, and I'm also a depressed Dean

supporter. Dean connected with me in the exact way that you described. I have a hard time with his implosion/destruction, whatever you want to call it, because I'm searching desperately for an objective explanation when none I've heard so far makes any sense, on either side.

[JNelson6563]

32. Not me.

Perhaps I feel things too deeply. Things like betrayal. That is how I felt watching those painful votes take place on the Senate floor. I was sickened watching Dem after Dem cower under their desks, hoping and wishing Rove would forget they were there. It was pathetic.

Dean was such a breath of fresh air after those dark days.

I can only imagine folks who didn't watch what I watched, or feel the deep disdain for the Dems who tucked tail and ran, didn't quite connect with Dean.

But then again, I'm the passionate type, an all or nothing kind of girl so I have a hard time relating to the apathetic and indifferent. Loyalty being an important characteristic to me and my sense that certain Dems had seriously betrayed that loyalty to the base--well that plays heavily into my views as well.

I think Dean spoke truth to power and he did it well. I can't understand why poeple have such a problem with that. Well, yes I can. ;-)

Julie--who sees a fearful country clinging for dear life to its comfy paradigms....