Politics

The American Prospect has an excellent article looking at just why Howard Dean’s campaign is so successful:

When the history of this past week in the Democratic primaries is written, the relative impact of MoveOn.org, Meetup.com and “smartmobbing” technology on Dean’s ability to raise such an unexpected sum will all feature prominently.

But reading the threads on the message boards at BlogforAmerica.com — the official Web log of the Dean campaign, where donors discuss their reasons for giving and for backing Dean — it quickly becomes obvious that the single most important factor in Dean’s stunning fundraising numbers is the most old-fashioned weapon in any campaign’s arsenal: message.

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On Dean’s blog , the message-board threads have acted as constant, ongoing, real-time focus groups for everything the governor says and does. The campaign takes it all in. Plenty of ideas adopted by the campaign start out on the threads of the Dean blogs, say Dean campaign aides, and the Dean for America Internet team is constantly updating and modifying the site in response to the posts. To follow the blog is to watch the campaign unfold in real time with a startling level of intimacy and transparency; it is to enter a freewheeling, unending conversation where thousands and thousands of Dean’s supporters chew over every aspect of his campaign and strategy, message and image, policies and past record.

In this world, whatever the mainstream press is saying about Dean’s role as the campaign’s angry candidate is rejected. His supporters say that they are drawn to him because they find his message inspiring, upbeat, honest and forward-looking — and because it makes them feel strong again.

A quick summary of the main themes Dean’s supporters returned to again and again during yesterday’s “Deanathon” online fundraising drive shows that they believe his message is more about patriotism and hope than it is about disaffection or rage. Admittedly these comments all come from true believers. But when was the last time any Democratic candidate generated true belief?

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Most of all, these people seemed to be supporting Dean because other people they know and trust are supporting Dean. The Internet campaign magnifies the voices of friends and relatives above the voices of the famous or the powerful.

[…]

Today Howard Dean has demonstrated to his doubters — and they are legion — that he is not just the angriest man in the race. To his supporters, he is also the most optimistic Democratic candidate running. And after raising more than \$7.5 million from them in the last quarter, he has a right to be.

(via mathew Gross)

I just got this in my e-mail box:

Dear MoveOn member,

The votes are counted, the exit polls are complete, and the results from the MoveOn primary are in. Over 300,000 MoveOn members have cast votes — a turnout bigger than the election turnout in many states — and news outlets from CBS to Reuters have covered the story as it unfolded this week.

The MoveOn primary has allowed hundreds of thousands of ordinary voters to speak at a time when usually only pundits, pollsters, and wealthy donors have influence. Now it’s time to put our money where our mouth is. The end of this month — June 30th — marks a key deadline for candidate fundraising: candidates will truly sink or swim based on whether they show that they can raise money.

Since no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, we’re encouraging everyone to support the candidate they voted for. That’s why we’ve attached a fundraising appeal from Howard Dean (the candidate who you voted for) below, and that’s why we strongly encourage you to give what you can — from \$20 to \$2,000 — TODAY.

You can give to Howard Dean’s campaign online right now at: http://www.deanforamerica.com/moveonfordean

So how did the candidates do? The statistics below are only a part of the picture: perhaps the most significant fact is that virtually all of the candidates would have the enthusiastic support of a majority of MoveOn members. Taking back the primary process for ordinary people is an important goal, but the vote made clear that we’re ready to defeat Bush no matter who the Democratic nominee is.

As a result of the primary, well over 100,000 people have joined a presidential campaign or contributed to one. We’re already building a movement to defeat Bush in 2004.

Here are the vote totals:

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The complete results, along with some analysis, are available on our website at: http://moveon.org/pac/primary/report.html

It’s been an amazing week for MoveOn.org PAC. Every Democratic presidential campaign has invested time and energy into the primary. The national news media have covered the process with gravity. Together, we’ve begun to shift the balance in how these choices get made — from wealthy benefactors and snarky pundits to ordinary, active citizens. Thank you.

Sincerely, –Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack The MoveOn Team June 27th, 2003

P.S. For links to all of the candidates’ donation pages, go to: http://www.moveon.org/pac/cands/

Very interesting — and congrats to Dean! 43% of the vote is certainly nothing to look down upon!

Dean’s statment on the results can be found here.