Roy Neel on the Dean strategy going forward
Feb 2nd, 2004 by jimmoore
Here, is Roy Neel blogging about the strategy for the Dean campaign. Excerpts from the post:
This year is very different. The media and the party insiders will
attempt to declare Kerry the winner on February 3 after fewer than 10%
of the state delegates have been chosen. At that point Kerry himself
will probably have claimed fewer than one third of the delegates he
needs to win. They would like the campaign to be over before the voters
of California, New York, Texas and nearly every other big state have
spoken..
..We intend to make this campaign a choice. We alone of the remaining
challengers to John Kerry are geared to the long haul—we’ve raised
nearly $2 million in the week after Iowa, over $600,000 in the 48 hours
since New Hampshire. No candidate—not even Kerry, who mortgaged his
house and tapped his personal fortune to funnel $7 million into his
campaign —will have sufficient funds to advertise in all, or even most,
of the big states that fall on March 2 and beyond. At that point paid
advertising becomes much less of a factor.
And we alone of the remaining challengers offer a clear choice to
Kerry. Howard Dean is no Johnny Come Lately to the message of change—he
has actually delivered change in Vermont. Howard Dean has the courage
and conviction to stand up for what’s right, even when it’s not
politically popular, as opposed to the cautiousness, compromise and
convenience that has characterized John Kerry’s 19 years in the Senate..
..Has such a strategy ever worked before?No. It’s never been tried.
But prior to this year, no candidate had ever raised $46 million
dollars, mostly from ordinary Americans giving $100 each. Prior to this
year no candidate for President had ever inspired the kind of
grass-roots activity that has been this campaign’s hallmark. Prior to
this year no candidate for President had so clearly revitalized his
party, allowed it to reclaim its voice, and shifted the agenda so
clearly to a call for change.