Guest Blogger Richard Raznikov: A Little Perspective

Author Richard Raznikov goes back to the late 60s to find parallels to today's political campaign and paints a "what if" scenario for the coming months:

It's got to be tough to swallow, the media anointing John Kerry the Democratic nominee with such ill-concealed joy, and the numbers out of New Hampshire, however they may be interpreted, are not good. However, this may be the time for a little perspective.

In late 1967, the country was up to its elbows in a stupid, horrifying war. Still, with virtually universal media acquiescence, the general public continued to support it by margins of nearly 3-1. Lyndon Johnson was regarded as unbeatable for renomination, especially since there were few meaningful primaries and no clear way to circumvent the party apparatus which would control the Chicago convention. Kennedy wanted to run but feared he'd split the party and could not win in the process. Gene McCarthy, with considerably less to lose, agreed to run. McCarthy was, essentially, boring, gray, and powerless. He had little personal warmth or appeal other than as a sort of surrogate father-figure to kids whose own families were torn in generational battles over cultural differences and the war. In January, 1968, with the first primary only two months away, opinion polls in New Hampshire showed McCarthy with a bare 11%. Then came the Tet Offensive. While most Americans still claimed to support the war, there was a rising tide of animosity toward Johnson and a feeling that things were not going as well as they should.

What happened next was one of those moments in time when a sense of discontent reaches critical mass. It was enough to turn the election upside down and change all of the careful calculations of the pros.

There is now a long road ahead before the Democrats nominate, and there is a war in Iraq -- and in Afghanistan -- which, though still popular, has all of the earmarks of a disaster in the making. True, the media is not as free as it once was, but we have the Internet. True, Bush is more personally popular than was Johnson, but it does not stem from personal affection. As the primaries are held against the backdrop of the entire Iraq adventure, even Bush's ability to coerce or instigate events may not avail him if SOMETHING HAPPENS. And if the war becomes less and less comfortable for the public, and if the disclosures surrounding 9/11 continue, and the Bush claims of success in Iraq are further undermined, then it is entirely possible that the war itself will become the defining issue of the race. Under such circumstances, Howard Dean will look better and better to most Americans.

The nomination, therefore, and the election, are not in any real respect already decided. We need to remember that a confluence of fortuitous events in a time of national emergency is not out of the ordinary. It would be wise, perhaps, to anticipate now the scenario which could nominate and elect an anti-war Democrat, and to design plans around it.

Richard Raznikov
Fairfax, California

Guest Blogger Richard Raznikov: The Real Issues the Media Ignores

Is this just another story about the press being unfair to Howard Dean? Not at all. Marin County, CA author/attorney/activist Richard Raznikov blasts the press for its reckless twisting of the facts:

In its rush to attack Howard Dean, the mainstream American media are doing the American people a dangerous disservice. While Governor Dean is certainly open to criticism -- as is any other candidate, including, obviously, George Bush, Jr. -- the nature and tenor of this criticism, echoing demagogic attacks by the likes of Joseph Lieberman and a disappointingly shallow John Kerry, not only misquotes Dean but attempts to use selective and distorted materials to portray him as “reckless.” And now, of course, his election-night imitation of Howard Beale (the news anchor in “Network”), has been seized as proof of this. Yet, a clear-headed examination of these charges casts doubt not on Dean himself, but on the motives and character of those who are making them.

One prime example is Dean’s demand that Bush and Company cease trying to hide reports of the Senate Committee on 9/11 which show, by reference to known CIA documents, that Bush and his administration had repeated warnings, prior to 9/11, that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were preparing to hijack domestic airplanes, and that their targets were expected to include significant national structures. The media -- and Kerry -- have seized on Dean’s simply raising these questions as legitimate subjects for investigation as an example of his “recklessness.”

But who is really being reckless? A candidate for President who urges complete disclosure of the facts or a President who tries to keep them secret and a media which is complicit in this attempt?

Again, Dean’s statement of the obvious -- that we are no safer from domestic terrorism with the capture of Hussein than we were before -- is criticized by such whining losers as Lieberman who wonders “how in the world” he can say that, and the media jumps on board. Yet, Iraq has never posed a domestic threat to the United States, while al Qaeda continues to evade our attempts to disarm or weaken it. And when Dean, in making the simple observation that any person charged with a crime, including Hussein or bin Laden, is entitled to a fair trial before guilt is assumed and sentence passed, he is accused to being unpatriotic.

It must be asked: who is being unpatriotic? The candidate who reminds us that our legal system and Bill of Rights are the best and surest ways to keep us free as a people, or those who, for political gain, would undermine that system and those fundamental rights in an irresponsible grab at cheap political headlines?

In the most bizarre twist of all, perhaps, the media -- and several of Dean’s envious opponents -- ask the question whether he is “too far left” to be elected. Anyone who takes an honest and dispassionate look at Dean’s long public record, and at his forthright statements of policy and philosophy, can only conclude that he is, at most, a moderate. He has always supported tight fiscal controls and balanced budgets, something notably absent in the current spend-our-children-into-the-poorhouse administration. He supports the death penalty. He refuses to make promises of the kinds of expensive programs offered up by other candidates. He manifestly is, above all things, a political realist, a man who is interested in America remaining free and strong, and who will not mortgage our children’s futures by wrecking the environment or deficit spending on the irresponsible scale of the Bush administration.

In this election, the future of the country is truly at stake. The re-election of an extremist, right-wing President, whose ignorance of economics, wholesale violation of international standards of behavior, and assault on the most basic freedoms America and its founders had the wisdom to embody in a Bill of Rights, endangers the very foundation of the country. We are today less secure, and less free, than at any other time in our national history.

Is Howard Dean angry? Sure. The national budget surplus has been handed over to Bush’s wealthy friends. Our economy has been plundered while Halliburton gets rich. And the blood of five hundred Americans has been spilled into the desert sand in a pre-emptive war based on bold-faced lies. Meanwhile, the corporate-controlled media ask whether a candidate’s honest emotions will hurt his chances but fail to ask why Ken Lay is not in prison for cheating thousands of people of their hard-earned savings.

Is Howard Dean angry? You bet he is. And if you’re not, perhaps you haven’t been paying attention.

Richard Raznikov
Fairfax, California

Guest Blogger Patty McIntosh: The Truth Behind the "Iowa Yell"

Much has been said about Dean's speech to his supporters after the Iowa Caucus. What played well to the huge crowd of supporters in the room came off as slightly crazed to television viewers, especially his Yeehaaa that has been dubbed the "Iowa Yell." The television audience couldn't see or hear the roaring crowd that Dean was trying to talk over. Here's a first-hand report from Mendon, VT resident Patty McIntosh who spent almost a week in Des Moines volunteering on the "Perfect Storm" campaign:

I'm back home now from Iowa and I just wanted to toss this out there for those of you who weren't there (and for the members of the media who were not actually there as well):

What you may have seen or heard on TV/radio was edited in such a way that it sounded like Howard was a raving lunatic.

But that's only half of the story.

What the media and pundits failed to capture, almost to a one, was the crowd.

I was THERE, folks.

I was standing 20 feet from the stage.

The crowd was enthusiastic when Tom Harkin took the stage, but they went wild when Howard appeared. It shouldn't be surprising. Many of us had been there for a week or longer, waking early, standing out in the freezing cold to show the morning Iowa commuters our Dean signs, walking door to door, calling likely Dem voters till 9:00 at night, crawling the bars to get his name out and persuade a few more Iowans to our side, and even doing housekeeping chores around the Iowa HQ. We were bleary-eyed and exhausted and overwrought over not placing at least 2nd. As Charlie Brown said once, "How could we lose when we were so sincere?"

People were shouting the whole time -- shouting at the top of their lungs, whistling, and clapping, rattling cans. Some were even using megaphones.

Flags were waving, pompons were shaking, and feet were stomping to the point that the room vibrated. There were probably over 1000 people elbow to elbow in that room that night.

The crowd was so unbelievably loud I could barely hear myself think, let alone hear what Howard was saying.

Trust me -- it was DEAFENING.

The media filtered OUT the crowd -- probably done with the intention of capturing what Howard said clearly! -- but that also meant that inadvertently most of what one hears is Howard and NOT who and what Howard was responding TO.

I saw his mouth moving, but I could only guess what he was saying most of the time. He was responding to us, his supporters out on the floor, and to our shouts and our energy.

So don't trust what you read or even what you see/hear in the media.

Trust the word of someone who was actually there.

There was nothing embarrassing about Iowa -- not even the 3rd place finish.

Howard endured a barrage of negative campaign ads from Gephardt over the course of the past month. Iowans who had originally been BIG Gephardt supporters resented it and shoved Gephardt out of the race entirely. Most or all of his delegates in the caucuses went to Kerry. A few went to Edwards.

The Kerry people were pulling dirty tricks by push-polling -- a Dean supporter, Richard Hoefer of San Francisco who runs the Dean Media Team, caught them doing it ON FILM and a Kerry staffer was fired for it.

They were saying "If you knew Howard Dean was an environmental racist, would you still vote for him?"

What the hell is an environmental racist anyway? No one in the Kerry camp seemed to know, but it sounds so awful Iowans on the receiving end of those calls were saying "Well no! Of course not!" and writing Howard off as some sort of bigot (which he is not!).

Please folks -- be as skeptical of the media as you are of the politicians in this game, and urge your friends and family to do so as well. Even when they mean well, they're not always able to convey the whole context of the event.

And sometimes (though this is not true of all of them by any means)... all they care about is what sells.

Patty McIntosh
back in Mendon, VT

Guest Blogger Arlyn Serber: I'm Angry Too!

The press is again talking about Dean's anger. Well, guest blogger Arlyn Serber is angry too. REALLY angry. Read on to find out why:

My newspaper this morning had two headlines. "Fired-up Bush takes offensive" and under that "'Iowa yell' stirring doubts about Dean." I'm wearing my Dean button today and everyone is coming up to me, telling me Dean is too angry. Michael Moore sent me a patronizing letter telling me to not give up. Dean has done a great job of setting the agenda for the Democratic Party. Michael is backing the General, but hang in there, Deaniacs.

Okay, fellow Deaniacs, our guy is angry. The press is battering him for it. His opponents are hooting about it. Guess what -- I'm angry. No, angry is too mild a word. I'm boiling mad. I'm spitting nails. I'm outraged, horrified... Well, I don't have to bring out the thesaurus. You get the idea.

Bush, with a grinning Cheney and a flag the size of Texas behind him, adorns my front page and claims success in Iraq and tax cuts. Yep, he's crowing about those tax cuts, how they helped the country and now they should be permanent. Aren't the 2.4 Million that lost their jobs in the last three years a little bit angry? 88% of Americans will save less than $100 on their 2006 taxes from the cut in capital gains and dividends taxes. Members of Bush cabinet will save an average of $42,000. I'm glad the economy is good for someone. Bush didn't give the State of the Union -- he gave the State of the Wealthy that are supporting him. About 1% of Americans are enjoying those taxes cuts he wants to make permanent. (Oh, oh, I am grinding my teeth again.)

I know that the 16,000 Iraqi's we've killed in the past year (10,000 civilians) are grateful to us for saving them from Saddam and the families of the over 500 US solder's killed and thousands injured and maimed in Iraq aren't angry that they were lied to about the "imminent danger". After all, the President says Saddam was a bad man and there is no difference between having WMD or wishing you had them.

So, Bush appointing Pickering after he'd been twice turned down doesn't make you mad? Running an Argentine style economy doesn't get you a little hot? Pushing the Patriot Act while under funding our local police and fire departments that give us safety in our neighborhoods doesn't boil your blood?  It doesn't bother you that 58 million acres of public land under Bush has been opened to road building, logging and drilling.

"Unless you act the death tax will eventually come back to life," Bush warns. Right, and all of you that make over $1,000,000 a year should be shaking in your boots. The rest of us should be damn angry at the lie that we're going to be better off.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm mad as a hornet that Bush's buddy Ken turned my lights out. Does he think we are all still sitting in the dark and don't know what his NeoCon policies are doing? Big business is running the country, not the people. I'm people and I'm angry.

Please, Please, Please, Be Angry too. Give them hell, Howard. I'm sending you a check today.

Arlyn Seber

Guest Blogger: Terry Leach in Iowa on the Caucus

In her final posting, Terry Leach, a volunteer from the San Francisco Bay Area, gives us another behind-the-scenes report on what happened throughout the day and at last night's Caucus:

Hello Friends:

Well... it's late. We're tired. I need to go to bed but the opportunity to write my final missive from Iowa is giving me, once again, the opportunity to process the day's events.

Dr. Dean, as you all know by now, carried one of the precious three tickets out of Iowa. Still viable, still adored by his fans (his rallies are likened by some to rock shows), but bruised nonetheless.

Let's start at today's beginning. I was swallowed up almost immediately by the impressive Latinos for Dean movement to help get out the Latino vote once I made it to the Dean Headquarters. Unfortunately for the Campaign, I was asked to make maps on Yahoo for about 200 brand new caucus goers. What should have taken two hours was of course, given my level of sophistication on a computer (or lack thereof)... dragged out for what seemed days. God help the poor folks who actually had to use my maps! Rusty Spanish and a Luddite at that! I hope the Campaign doesn't think I was a Kerry plant!

But that said, and now working in another room than I'd been in before, I was able to meet new people who, like us, had set aside their lives for a week.

For an hour, I sat alongside handsome Neil from New Zealand. Neil was there, along with several others foreign nationals, to help out the Campaign because it was, he said, in the best interests of the entire world to help Mr. Bush find his way back to Texas sooner rather than later. Neil is also Irish and lives in France part of the time. I suspect he's traveled and read more about world relations than has our current president.

Sitting next to Neil was a 14-year-old who'd traveled BY HIMSELF from Baltimore (with his parents' permission) to offer his considerable computer skills to the effort. I understand that various mothers who'd, like us, left children at home in the care of others, set about to care for Brandon from Baltimore.

I also met some lovely former Kucinich supporters which became relevant when we got the word that Edwards and Kucinich had struck up a deal to join together during the Caucus to bring down Dean's numbers. One need only read their respective records to be as dumbfounded as we were when the wire services carried this story. Edwards, the son of a mill-worker who also happened to co-sponsor the Patriot Act? The self-same Edwards who voted with the President to authorize unilateral action in Iraq?

Is this the same Dennis Kucinich who's been tearing Dean apart for offering health care coverage to only some of the Vermonters who wouldn't otherwise have it? Who demands we pull the troops out in 90 days? What do he and Edwards have in common?

You need to understand how amazing it is to work for a campaign that gets battered by the Left (thank you Mr. Sharpton for your pointed barbs... are you more disappointed in the candidates whose views are more similar to your own because they're not exactly your own?), the right, the pundits and everyone in between... except for a growing chorus of highly respected long-term politicians (Ann Richards, Senator Harkin, Senator Bradley, VP Al Gore...) and the largest grass-roots effort in Democratic history. How odd to beat up on a guy who's not only got the foot soldiers but the good-guy generals, too to take on Mr. Bush.

In any event... not one to take a Kucinich dive on principal lying down... I contacted a lovely woman very high up in the Green Party. She understandably didn't believe me at first. After calling Kucinich’s headquarters, she called me back and we strategized how to get the word out to Kucinich supporters to reconsider linking up with Edwards to stop Dean. Unfortunately, the word didn't get out to most of the caucuses and some of you may have seen the horse-trading on C-Span when the Kucinich people didn't get enough supporters to host a delegate... their precinct captain immediately instructed his then-released supporters to go to Edwards. Now, I'm not saying that Edwards wouldn't have done well in Iowa without this support... but I am wondering about the Anybody but Dean movement coming from every other camp... at what price Negative Campaigning? At the price of political risk-taking here on out? Is that what we really want from out elected officials?

Because you have to ask yourself what's the number one message every candidate learned tonight... Don't be a risk-taker...

Well... I'm afraid I'm sounding bitter. I don't mean to be. A year ago, if anyone had told any of us that Howard Dean would be third in the Iowa Caucus, we'd have been thrilled. Third means you're still in the game... third means you're now a bit of an underdog... like Kerry was two weeks ago and you're going to work harder than ever. Third means... that notwithstanding all the Press working to stretch the Campaign out right up to the middle of the Spring ([CNN's] Tucker Carlson told [my husband] Tim and I this one tonight, confirming other journalists' stories) you're out there fighting harder than ever.

Dean is still leading in the national polls, in NH, in fund-raising and in several other ways that pundits use to measure viability.

What I do know is that tonight's rally with Senator Harkin and Dr. Dean was full of optimism and hope for the Campaign and for America. New voters did come out in droves. Democrats are asking questions of this Administration they'd never have asked a year ago. Young people are turning off their TV sets (but not their computers!) and are taking trains to places like Des Moines and Manchester to get involved in politics. I actually heard one Dean staffer call his mother in happy tears... not because of Dean's third place finish... but because the Campaign liked him so much, they've asked him to travel to another state tomorrow to start all over again. This same fellow has probably been wearing the same underwear for 3 weeks but he looked beautiful to me.

All this optimism is hard to convey and I apologize for my sloppy attempts this week to share with you some of Tim's and my experiences... Some of you have written and have asked about traveling to New Mexico and/or Arizona for the Dean Campaign.

I heartily encourage you to take the plunge. First, the Southwest is warmer than Iowa! And for those of you on the West Coast, it's certainly closer. Mostly... you may never have another opportunity to work with some of the finest young people I've had the pleasure of meeting over the last week. Any doubts that our young people are cynical, self-centered… you name it... will evaporate.

And... let's not leave out us gray-hairs... what a treat to have eager 19-year-olds hang on your every word!!!! Being the mother of three young adults, I've got to tell you it's been a long time since my views on say, Green-Democratic Party relations carried much weight in the Leach Household. And the folks over 70... well... they truly take the cake... the comparisons to Truman's campaigns... to the JFK years... if you're a history buff and love to meet new people... sit down in a room with folks from the age of 14 to 78... who are working 15 hours a day together to send George Bush back to Texas and see if you don't also come home feeling as though you're one of the luckiest people on the planet.

Win... lose... I say that we all win if we listen to one another's stories. There are real people hurting out there in America. More than ever. I, for one, am grateful I've had the opportunity to travel with my darling and very forgiving husband to Iowa in January to experience this Campaign and also to Melanie--such a good friend... for taking such good care of Katie, our 14-year-old who now I wish we'd taken with us.

Happy travels and thanks for coming along with us!
Tim and Terry

Guest Blogger: Terry Leach in Iowa on Phoning 1s and 2s

Terry Leach, a volunteer from the San Francisco Bay Area, gives us another report from the eye of "The Perfect Storm" campaign in Iowa in preparation for tonight's Caucus:

It's nail-biting time! I'm sure from your vantage points around the nation, that you're more aware of the shifting sands... well, snow flurries... than I am. Ordinarily tethered to a computer, fax, cell phone... my predictive skills are now restricted to the last fifty voters I called and/or the nervous chatter from my Dean friends who, every time we meet on the street, in the Perfect Storm Center, or in a restaurant, ask, "How's it going?"

I started this morning--yes, on the treadmill again--watching TV and seeing our man, the good Dr. Dean, coming out of a church in Georgia with President Jimmy Carter. My first thought was Georgia? Today? The day before Caucus night? And then I calmed down, well, running on a treadmill has a way of moderating your heart rate whether you like it or not... and I considered that notwithstanding the 3,500 instant experts who've all dropped into Iowa ready to tell the good Joe Trippi how to run this Campaign... this is the time... the day before the voting begins... to trust in the process. And besides, Jimmy Carter? The wonderful man who defined for all upcoming former presidents how to spend a lifetime after near-God status to make their time on Earth count even more than their tenure in the Oval Office? We should all be so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend a few minutes with President Jimmy Carter.

And then [my husband] Tim and I--fittingly disheveled following our work-out--ran smack into the always dapper [ABC News commentator and syndicated columnist] George Will, who was having breakfast at the next table. Any chance to make a good impression and impart upon this journalist sentient thoughts from an upper middle class Democrat were gone in an instant. I was just another tongue-tied supplicant in sweats.

Determined to make today count... Tim, a northern European at heart, in fact elected to go out for another day of frostbite flirtation and court undecided voters in North Des Moines. We understand that not counting the wind factor, Tim and his stalwart companions knocked on hundreds of doors in temperatures ranging between 5 and 10 degrees. They were especially excited to come upon a house with several Dean yard signs that WASN'T on their list!!! A houseful of supporters not known to the campaign! Gold in Caucus parlance.

Fortunately for me, I sneezed this morning. Recalling that the flu vaccine offered this year didn't in fact cover all strains circulating in the States, I came to the wise conclusion that my persuasive skills could be put to better use inside, phone banking so-called 1s and 2s. For the uninitiated, A "1" is a voter who's been identified as a die-hard fan. This person will get to the Caucus even if the roads are closed. "2s" are often 1s but haven't yet told the Campaign that they'll be there come hell or high water unless a new "Sex and the City" episode is aired.

So, feeling slightly guilty that I sent my hitherto non-political husband out into the frozen wastelands, but consoling myself that I could better serve Dr. Dean in California if I experienced all of the grunt jobs in Iowa, I joined about 100 other volunteers, all similarly and not-so-strangely coming down with something exotic, and began phone banking the very people who will make or break several political futures tomorrow night.

At my table were two women from Seattle, Josh from Baltimore, and another friend, Steve, a physician, from CA. We began calling previously identified Dean supporters, and crossed our fingers. Only to learn that as in California, even when the temperature is hovering between 5 and 10 degrees, very few people are home during the day. Now I don't mean any disrespect... but where do these folks go? It's inhumanely cold outside!!!

I must say that when we spoke with dedicated Iowan Dean supporters who confirmed their commitment to attending the Caucus, our commitment to working 15-hour days in Iowa was renewed. I kept wishing I had one of those bells that those time-share people ring when another poor sucker buys a one-week trip to a place he never would go if he hadn't already sunk his money in the #$%@ time share... (Tim and I speak with some experience here). I wanted to celebrate, dance on the table... but then I remembered I was getting sick and that's why I had to work inside today. So I remained subdued.

Having recovered miraculously around dinnertime (lunch having been a chocolate bar and an apple), Tim and his red-faced companions joined me and several other Dean fans at Centro, a fine Italian restaurant. There were ten of us at our table and I suppose another six or so tables of Dean fans scattered throughout the restaurant. Peter Jennings was several tables over.

Next to our table was the Edwards Campaign. Ok. I'm being snide. I'm not really saying that all 12 of these fine-looking people are the only people in Iowa working for nice John Edwards. But we can't really find real volunteers fro the other campaigns.

The Edwards folks were terrific--they kept smiling so much at us. Gee, are southerners NICE PEOPLE. I thought they wouldn't mind when I directed our mutual wait-person to drop off our bill for $425 at their table. After all, they're so NICE.

Well, that got a good laugh and eventually, the friendliest of the Edwards' crew, Mr. Edwards' former law partner, came over to sit with Tim and I and we had a good chuckle as he slid our bill back to us. We learned that we agree on one important factoid: We are Democrats first and we will all support whomever the Democratic nominee is. Not so for the Gephardt precinct captain from Des Moines who I called earlier today (mistakenly listed as a 2 on the Dean list) who told me that he'd support George Bush over Howard Dean if Dean won the nomination.

"Really?" I asked. You hate Howard Dean so much, you'd help Mr. Bush win another four years and dismantle protections for working families altogether? "Yes," he confirmed unapologetically.

Now, I've got to ask all of you slogging through my reports... what's happened to some of these Democrats who would put their candidates over the values and ideals we've all worked much of our lives for?

Is this the reason that so many voters have stopped voting? I think so. Without being sanctimonious (or at least trying not to be), I ask you to consider that Howard Dean is offering something to the Democratic Party... not taking it away. Democratic registration has been going down, not up. Small donor contributions were considered the province of the Republican Party; not the Democratic Party. Young people were joining the Green Party... or the Republican Party... but not the Democratic Party on college campuses with significant frequency.

Howard Dean has changed all that and this Teamster would rather see George Bush given four more years than work toward the renewal of the Democratic Party. As far as I can see, the only folks with something to lose should Howard Dean win the White House... besides the far-right types... are the lobbyists and the power-brokers in Washington who rely upon a Democratic Party that must worship at the House of Large Contributions. If God forbid a President no longer relies upon the traditional sources of support... power will shift... and people who've enjoyed this power will have lost something not easily regained.

Oh--some good news for those of you not attending the California Dem Convention--my pals in California have called to tell me that Dean was the big news in San Jose. Constitutional officers Kevin Shelley (Secretary of State), John Garamendi (Insurance Commissioner), and Bill Lockyer (Attorney General) all endorsed Dean, blasting pundits who risk destroying the Democratic Party to sell papers...

Read and enjoy! And please plan to get involved in your state!

Thanks for reading and for your support!
Love, Tim & Terry

Guest Blogger: Terry Leach, Canvassing in Iowa

Northern California Dean supporter, Terry Leach, wrote this heartfelt and inspiring report on her experience canvassing in Iowa in preparation for the Caucus tomorrow evening. Terry, along with her husband, Tim, are two of the over 3,000 orange-capped "Deaniacs" who are part of the "Perfect Storm" campaign and are encouraging Iowans to weather the bitter cold and participate in the caucus (and support Dean):

Today was a kaleidoscope of experiences. I started out on the treadmill in the Fitness Room running next to a photojournalist from ABC - North Carolina, sent to cover John Edwards. The reporter wasn't much interested in Edwards' issues; this was just a story to him. He said he was getting tired of the traveling. I got the feeling he'd be happier if Edwards accommodated him and dropped out early.

Shortly afterwards Tim and I were exiting the hotel when we ran into George Stephanaopolous. He was a great sport and let us take a picture with him. He referred to us as "Deaniacs," but was very gracious when I said that I was concerned when so-called journalists used shorthand to describe a group that defied easy definition. For example, I explained that Tim and I had an SUV, three kids in the suburbs, and a Golden Retriever... I asked him whether this sort of family would immediately jump to mind when he was describing a typical 'Deaniac?' He conceded that perhaps the word was overused.

Then Tim and I met a very nice journalist from the St Petersburg Times. I asked this kind person whether he believed in the [media] echo chamber making Dean out to be angry... a gaffer, you name it... this fellow laughed and said of course the pundits didn't believe any of the garbage they're writing about Dean... it's all in the story... if Dean were to win in Iowa and NH and walk away with the nomination... the Press would have nothing to do.

"You're just joshing us," I laughed. The guy shook his head and said, "Absolutely not." Non-stories don't sell papers. What if you sink Dean in the process, we argued... "Then that's another story for us to cover," this fellow argued.

The Framers of our Constitution referred to a free and vigorous Press as the Fourth Estate... providing the necessary check and balance function to an intimidated House in the event the same Party controlled both Houses and the Executive Branch... guess the Framers never envisioned corporate consolidation in the News/Entertainment Business... You become very aware that if the newsmakers do not cooperate and make the requisite news, the news tellers... will manipulate the story and make the news that will in fact... sell papers.

Then onto the Perfect Storm Center... more crowded than ever... we could barely get through to get our packet and meet our fellow storm troopers. People are still arriving with backpacks, GUCCI luggage, and hopeful expressions.

We met up with our new friend from Los Angeles and were assigned to a new fellow canvasser--Spencer, a grad student from NY, studying international relations in DC.

We were given a solidly middle class area east of Des Moines; lots of retirees and young families. Brr... I thought it was cold yesterday... I'm getting worried! The trend... if three days is anything to prognosticate from... is not looking good! Today was serious cold to be outside for six-seven hours or so!

That said... talking to real people makes it worth it... still not a lot of people going to the Caucus... but listening to the stories of these folks breaks your hearts... take the young woman with a baby on her hip and a toddler clinging to her legs... I apologized for bothering her but she said she was grateful I came to her front door; that she'd get a sitter--a precious luxury for her--to make it to the caucus and support Dr. Dean. When I asked if her husband would also be supporting Dr. Dean she paused and then said, only if I could bring him home from Baghdad.

And then there was the modest house with a large RV in the driveway and an elderly man tinkering in the garage. Tim and I called out, "Hello!" and this nice man waved and encouraged us to come closer. He stressed that he was not a Dean supporter but that his grown son who had moved home recently was. We all agreed that no matter who won, we'd work together to send Bush home to Crawford in November and then this very proud man became tearful and asked us what we knew about the Depression. He had to compose himself and apologized profusely, saying that he was very scared about the future of this country... that he'd lived through the Depression and he loved his country and felt that Bush was the worst possible president he'd ever lived through... though not supporting Dean, he thanked us profusely for caring so much to tromp through the cold to get out the word... Tim and I were very affected by this kind man's sudden loss of composure. We surmised that his son had lost his job, lost everything...

Everywhere we go, we see evidence of generations living together... perhaps one has lost a job or a parent can no longer stay home alone. Everyone is worried about the economy here... everyone is worried about the possibility of losing health care coverage and the high cost of health care coverage if they're lucky enough to have coverage.

When people ask me, "Yes, I'd support Dean, but can he win in the midwest?" you've got to trust us. These are not flashy people. Almost no European or Japanese cars on the roads. The only way that I can see that these folks attempt to outdo their neighbors is in their front yard Christmas decorations... world class... but these people are worried. Worried sick. Worried about their kids' getting/keeping decent jobs... worried that the quagmire in Iraq will worsen and make us even more unsafe at home. Several Iowan GIs have been hurt lately... the folks behind the storm doors talk to us about this.

I think that a Dean may have even more of a chance in an Iowa... think about it; when we need a good dose of denial in California, what do we do? Wine sip in Napa? Check out the whales off the coast of Mendocino? Ski in Tahoe?

Where do these folks go to get away? If such a lovely getaway exists, Tim and I haven't seen it; their worries are all around them; closed up storefronts, empty restaurants, two generations living in one small house and so forth...

Oh--I've got to lighten this up... last night, 10 of us had dinner in the Marriott restuarant and right next to us was Fred Barnes and some other famous person from Fair & Balanced Fox News who I didn't recognize. GREAT Vicki Cosgrove had carried in her life-size Howard Dean cardboard stand-up and stood it right by the Fox News table... we had quite a hoot over that and Tim even got a picture of Fred Barnes and the good doctor together...

Tonight about 50 of us Dean supporters went to a brewery/pool hall and made a lot of noise... but truthfully--after 7 hours in the arctic cold... we all hit the wall around 9 and slithered out of there. We all were wondering where the Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards folks go to eat/drink after working all day and then it hit us... there are over 3,000 of us... maybe a hundred or so of the rest of them together... There are orange hats everywhere you go in Des Moines... I imagine it will be much quieter after we all go home!

So far, Tim and I have come about 10 minutes late to every rock star showing... Joan Jett and Jeanine Garofolo came to cheer on the troops at the Dean Perfect Storm center 10 minutes before we got there... Al Gore was by earlier... we're the almost-rans!!! We almost had dinner next to Tom Brokaw but the restaurant couldn't fit us all in... oh well... If any journalist were dong his/her job... it would be very clear that WE ARE the story... the thousands of us who dropped out of our lives to endure freezing temperatures to help create a new, invigorated Democratic Party... and not the journalists who are intent on prolonging the story... even if the destruction of the Democratic Party is collateral damage to the temporary sale of more papers...

Well... there's always chocolate...

Much love... a thawing out,
Terry Leach

Guest Blogger John Burns: An American Success Story

John Burns, back from Europe, writes inspirationally about Senator Patty Murray:

I saw Patty Murray a few days ago. Senator Patty Murray is an American Success Story. As a parent volunteer in the 1980's a state legislator told her she couldn't make a difference, He told her she was "just a Mom in tennis shoes". That was a big tactical mistake. Patty got all fired up and led a grassroots coalition of 13,000 parents to save funding for parent-child education programs. Then it was on to school board member, Washington state senator, and now US Senator from Washington State.

With some people, it is a big mistake to put them down. It is a big mistake to tell them they are not smart enough, they don't have the experience, or they can't win. These words bring out the fight in the fighter. These words bring out the fighters perseverance, toughness, and tenacity that they use to overcome tremendous odds. When you find a leader that gets riled up when people put him down, you had best fall in line with him because the world rewards that kind of person.

Howard Dean, like Patty Murray, has the fighter's instinct. That is why I fell in line with him. When the Republicans put him down, it only makes him more determined, more committed, and stronger. When they say he "can't win" he becomes more tenacious and increases his effort. When they lie about him, he brushes it off and gets back on message. Focused and street smart is a good way to describe Howard Dean. Howard, like Patty Murray, is an American Success Story. You can't stop people like Howard Dean.

As grassroots, it is our duty to support successful leaders like Howard Dean and Patty Murray. We can take a lesson from winning leaders and develop our own perseverance, toughness, and tenacity. Although you may not be aware of it, you are an American Success Story too. As grassroots you are the army that will take back the White House in 2004. It is important to fight now because our country is in danger from George W. Bush and his regime.

It is time to fight for truth, justice, and the America we believe in. The Right Wing Bush types are destroying our country. The Bush regime will not go away on its own. We cannot solve this problem with our head in the sand. It is time to fight. I don't want to fight. However, I feel I must. I feel it is my duty and responsibility to fight for my kids, my neighbors, my country and my world. I never imagined our country could fall so low. There are thousands of you out there who feel as I do. It is time to take our gloves off and fight for what we believe in.

Here are a few pearls of wisdom for the fighter you are:

• When the going gets tough, the tough get going.


• It is not the size of the dog that matters; it is the size of the fight in the dog.


• Never give up, get stronger, keep on fighting, work harder and smarter every day, and stay focused.

Be thankful for your enemies. Their words are the forge that creates the steel that is you. The more they throw at you, the stronger you become. Fine steel requires heat and hammering. With heat and hammering, we will become the largest American Success Story in history as we take back the White House in 2004.

This election cycle will be rough. Be thankful for that. Take a breather occasionally and guard against becoming what you despise. Smell the roses, enjoy the wonder of it all, then get up off your rear and get your leader elected. You are part of an American Success Story.

You have the power.

John Burns
Seattle

Guest Reviewer Stuart Heady on Winning Back America

Guest reviewer Stuart Heady of www.Snohomish4Dean.us writes about "Winning Back America".

You can imagine sitting next to Howard Dean on a long flight, with plenty of time to ask him lots of questions. He tells you long stories to fill you in on his life history, his feelings about FDR, Vietnam, the Middle East, and the major issues. The book probably was written by someone who held a tape recorder microphone up so Dean could answer questions on long airplane trips between campaign stops.

I wish that the book's editor had started at Chapter 13, and put Section One second. This would start with the way Dean sees the campaign begin to take shape and involve more and more people. But, nevertheless for a good overview of who Howard Dean is, and highlights of the major positions on issues, this is well written and an informative read. The real Howard Dean, not the reflection in the media's funhouse mirror, is sitting with you as you read. Is this guy, the sort of person who should be President? Can you see him in the White House? Yes.

For those who want to argue the cause, this is a good handbook to work from, along with the blog and its daily updates.

-Stuart Heady
www.Snohomish4Dean.us

Guest Blogger John Burns: Dwight D. Eisenhower Stands Alone

John Burns is traveling through Spain and England and wearing his Howard Dean T-Shirt. He just sent in this uplifting report of European reaction to Dean:

The statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower stands alone. The statue is near the corner of the US embassy here in London. The area is cold and mostly lifeless. British security guards eye me from inside the compound with their automatic weapons at the ready. In better times families and workers strolled in front of our embassies. In better times, US Marines proudly provided security for our embassies. Now the area is triple fenced and there are multiple layers of concrete barricades. Tension and fear permeate the ghost town surrounding the embassy.

My wife Karen and I are on day 7 of a 9 day trip to Spain and England. People over here are shocked and angry at George Bush over the Iraq war. Americans are viewed as immoral leaders in pursuit of oil profits and corporate gain. Americans are viewed as a world problem rather than a solution to the problems of the world. Americans are seen as bullies taking what they want by force. Americans are viewed as responsible for creating the terror that makes them and their embassies unwelcome around the world.

We have talked to business people, students, cab drivers, and security guards and the common feelings run deep. Everyone feels America (and their own governments) has let them down. The first hint of that took place a week ago when we touched down at Heathrow airport in London. The customs screener asked me about my Dean Tee shirt. I told her we were sending President Bush back to Crawford Texas. She said Bush should take Tony Blair to Texas with him! The motion was seconded by her fellow customs agent. The stories like this continue on and on and are too many to list.

The highlight of this trip for me was last Saturday in Barcelona, Spain. I was cheered by common Spaniards as I jogged down main street, La Rambla, with My Dean Tee shirt and Dean construction hat. I was viewed as representing a new kind of American. I had tears in eyes as I high five'd through the ecstatic crowd. One lady shouted to me that I was "phenomenal" and shouts of olé rang out as I passed by.

Not everyone here knows who Howard Dean is at this point. However, Vice President Gore's endorsement has been front page news and people here are catching on fast. Without question, the people on the streets are looking for a new kind of American leader and when they sense one, they rejoice.

Our great nation, like the statue of Dwight Eisenhower, should not stand alone. We should stand with our brothers and sisters in Europe, working together, to solve the world's problems. With Howard Dean's leadership, we will once again enjoy the international respect America deserves. Europe, like America, is ripe for Howard Dean.

John Burns
In London, England
Hometown Seattle, WA
December 11, 2003

Guest Blogger Annie Fox: This is a Movement, a Reawakening

Guest blogger Annie Fox describes her experience at a house party she hosted:

Recently we hosted a "Bushwacking party" in our home. There were 18 of us there. We had a really great group, very high level conversation, and an inspiring conference call with Dean.

Several people who came in on the fence, uncertain, cynical, absolutely jumped on to the playing field by the end and are now ready to get involved. Many of us in the room agreed that what's building here is about more than Howard Dean's candidacy. This is a movement. It's re-awakening millions of Americans to the importance of being politically active. For way too long we've let the "great white father" call all the shots. After Vietnam and Watergate it's surprising that we had fallen asleep at the wheel again, but most of us had and the car's been hijacked.

But things are definitely changing. Now that we've seen the gang at the wheel running the economy into the ditch, bleeding education, social and environmental programs. Now that we've seen them working overtime to erode our civil liberties and promote the message that dissension is un-American. Now that they've driven us dangerously close to the edge in the international arena, we've finally fixed our eyes back on the road again.

Bush and company are so obviously going in the wrong direction, racing down a one-way street and running over anyone who gets in their way. There are lots of us who refuse to along for the ride. We are patriotic Americans in the tradition of people who stand up against tyranny. And because of that deeply cherished American value, we used to be the good guys. But now, because of greed, arrogance, and bully-ism, we're the most feared and hated people in the world. So here we are, more and more of us each day, willing to do whatever it takes to get those other guys the hell out of the car. Then, as a reawakened nation, we'll chart the next part of the journey together, with the rest of the world. Because, after all, there are no roads off of this planet.

In friendship,
Annie

Guest Reviewer: Jerome Wiley Segovia, Latinos For Dean

Jerome Segovia from Latinos For Dean sent in this review of Howard Dean's, "Winning Back America ."

Latinos For Dean, as an organization, has been planning to put together a book for all its volunteers by early 2004. In the book, we are planning to include information about Howard Dean, about his policies and plans for Latinos and for the country in general, as well as general information about primaries, electoral politics and a bit of history about the struggle of Latinos as members of the American community.

We were encouraged when we saw that Howard Dean was planning to publish a book about his life and candidacy. We thought, if Governor Dean, who is campaigning non-stop 24/7 can find the time to take notes, write, and help produce this book, then Latinos for Dean, with over 500 volunteers in 21 states and growing, can surely also work towards getting a book put together.

Howard's book finally became available a few days ago, and what a great read it has turned out to be. Perhaps we will see it translated into Spanish someday! It is a book that includes the major information a volunteer would want to know about his candidate, a good starting point for those who need to be eloquent about this incredible campaign, so they can continue communicating its message on the radio, at town hall meetings, at Meetups and many other situations.

Jerome Wiley Segovia was most recently employed by Electronic Data Systems and is now volunteering full time with Latinos For Dean.

Guest Review by "Dean Fan": Read Dean's book!

This review was posted in the comments by one of the visitors to this blog. We wanted to make sure you didn't miss seeing it so we're copying it to the main page.

The Dean book is excellent. I've just started reading it and he's warm and funny and genuine.

I've read a ton of candidate books over the years and this one of the best. Dean is able to inspire confidence while remaining close to the reader. To the extent that it's a bit wonky, that's ok, even a good thing. Dean is a bit wonky. You feel like you're having a long dinner conversation with him. And because of that, it works as a book, and is not just some long promotion.

Most of all Dean comes across as a straight shooter.

Get your friends to read his book. If they read it, they'll vote for him. They'll even want to read a second book by him. (And no one since JFK has made me feel that way.)

If you submit a review to this blog, we might highlight yours too!