Jim Moore’s blog: Innovation, Strategy, Public Policy

We need to create a new way to categorize political views, that is not
based on simplistic notions of right and left.  It  would be
based on five or six key dimensions.  The dimensions should be
keyed to the great tradeoffs that we experience in political
life.  It should deal with authoritarianism versus trust in
people, and it should deal with ,. but how to deal with
transcendance…cost-v quiality, v process…

Joe Trippi’s latest email (attached) is an historic document. Important things to note:

A:
We are living through the most front-loaded (in time) presidentail
campaign in history. Critical action is happening months before it
would be expected in a “normal” campaign. Why? The web. The web has
accelerated everything related to connecting people and conveying
information and ideas. In this election, the web has accelerated 1.
awareness of the state of the world and the state of the nation, 2.
mobilization of individuals, 3. communication among individuals, 4.
competitive awareness of other campaigns and movements, and 5.
fundraising and other campaign participation by large numbers of people.

B:
The Bush campaigners are (appropriately) concerned: They know that
there is a very real possibility they will lose the presidency next
November to Howard Dean’s movement. Why? Because the bedrock values of
most Americans favor egalitarian community, self-reliance, civil
liberties, and democratic participation. And it is precisely these
values that are expressed in the Dean campaign, and that are suppressed
in the Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft version of Republicanism.

C. The
Dean movement is the first Democratic campaign in years to truly go to
the grassroots for its strength. By going to the roots the Dean
campaign is connecting the values of the people with political action,
and setting up the conditions to win elections.

D. Republicans
have been going to their grassroots base for many years–very
effectively. And so despite having less people in their roots–because
their ideas are inherently less popular–Republicans have been very
successful in winning elections because their roots are better
mobilized.

E. Republicans have delighted for years in the
Democrats’ belief that winning elections requires “moving to the
center.” Democrats have pursued this false theory of politics, and lost
election after election. Meanwhile, Republicans have invested 20 years
in moving to the grassroots–and to the Right–and won elections.
Republican strategists know that in the current electoral climate, the
secret of winning elections is to go to the roots–and has little or
nothing to do with where on the political spectrum a candidate lives.

F.
Republican strategists know that if a Democrat goes to the roots, he or
she will win. They see Howard Dean doing that. Republicans are going to
launch an all out attack to try to smear Howard Dean and cut off his
connection to the roots.

G.  Bush’s
smear attack on Howard Dean, and Howard Dean’s reach to the roots, will
define the historic battle of January, 2004. Coming to us all in just
three weeks!

Here, FYI, is Trippi’s email to the campaign members:

From: “Joe Trippi, Dean For America”

Dear Friend,

When
Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean on Tuesday, he said that Democrats “don’t
have the luxury of fighting among ourselves to the point where we
seriously damage our ability to win on behalf of the American people.”

Yesterday
we learned why Gore was right: the New York Times reported that George
W. Bush and Karl Rove are planning to attack Dean as early as January
– just a few short weeks away. Their goal, according to the Times, is
to “get a quick start on defining Dr. Dean as too far to the left for
the country before [Dean] can wrap up the primaries.”

We
know that George Bush is raising $200 million to spread more false
impressions and half-truths. And we know that we can only stop him by
matching his special interest money dollar for dollar — but it can
only happen if everybody participates. No one can take our country back
for us — we all must act together — and you can start by contributing
whatever you can afford today:

http://www.deanforamerica.com/revolution

Everyone
must act — including you. Even if you can only give $10 today, today
is the day to take the next step and join more than 218,000 others who
have already contributed. Time is running out. Bush is already
beginning his air war — not because they’re afraid of Howard Dean, but
because they’re afraid of you:

http://www.deanforamerica.com/revolution

Less
than three weeks remain before the start of 2004. We have built the
greatest grassroots campaign ever in political history. But it’s going
to take the full participation of each of us to achieve what we know is
possible.

Thank you for all you do.

Joe Trippi
Campaign Manager
Dean for America

P.S. Read the full New York Times article here:
 P.P.S.
The Iowa Caucuses are just 40 days away. Plan now to travel to Iowa to
join Howard Dean on the front lines of your campaign — and have the
experience of a lifetime:
 Forward this message to a friend!