BS: Dean Quits ?

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: LadyJean
Date: 27 Feb 04 - 12:01 AM

Thanks Alice. We lost the battle, but the war has just begun.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 26 Feb 04 - 11:21 PM

Dean's campaign organization and the volunteers he mobilized goes on.
The letter, in part, from Dean today:

----
Tonight I am speaking in New Haven, Connecticut, to thank a group of
people who worked hard to support our campaign. I am grateful to all of
you for everything you have done to advance our cause.

Our work to build a better America has only just begun.

On March 18th, I will announce our plans for a new organization to focus
our nationwide grassroots campaign on transforming the Democratic Party
and changing America.

We are determined to keep this organization as vibrant as it was
throughout our campaign -- and your involvement is crucial to success.
Please attend your Meetup next week and work with your local group to
spread the word that our mission continues:

http://dean2004.meetup.com

There are many ways to bring change. We are leaving one path, but we
will follow a new path that will lead to the same destination: taking
our country back.

Our new effort will seek nothing less than to change America by:

- Reviving our democracy and bringing new people into politics

- Supporting candidates and office-holders who tell the truth, stand up
for what they believe, and oppose the radical agenda of the far right

- Fighting against special interests, and

- Fighting for progressive policies like health care for all, investment
in children, equal rights under the law, fiscal responsibility, and a
national security policy that makes America stronger by working with
allies and advancing progressive American values.

Everyone involved in our campaign should stay involved, stay together,
stay with the Democratic Party, and support the Democratic nominee. As I
have said before, I strongly urge my supporters not to be tempted by
independent or third-party candidates.

Let me tell you how I think the Democratic Party can win in 2004:

This year, our campaign made the case that in order to defeat George W.
Bush, the Democratic Party must stand up strong for its principles --
not paper over its differences with the most radical Administration in
our lifetime.

In order to win, the Democratic Party must aggressively expose the ways
in which George W. Bush's policies benefit the privileged and the most
extreme ideologues.

I will do everything I can to ensure that the 2004 Democratic nominee
runs as a true progressive -- with an agenda for working Americans and
their hopes for a better future. Because that is the way to win in 2004.

Thank you again for all that you have done. Please continue to visit
www.deanforamerica.com and www.blogforamerica.com frequently for the
latest news as we prepare to launch our new initiative.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

---

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: LadyJean
Date: 25 Feb 04 - 11:45 PM

Apparently, back in the 1950s, some psychologists tried an experiment. Subjects were shown a group of lines, and told they were to tell the testers if any of them were the same length. What subjects were NOT told was that one person in the room was an subject. The rest were part of the test. They would all give the same WRONG answer. More often than not, the subject could be convinced to follow the crowd. I think the Dean campaign lost to that kind of thinking.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 25 Feb 04 - 09:55 PM

Nerd

When you say "Steve Reeves" it should be very loud with reverb. I remember seeing those flicks as a kid. My dad used to love that crap.

Martin Gibson was a name I grew to love. On another forum where I used to drive people crazy I went by the name of Col. Bleep which I thought was also a pretty cool name. Do you remember the cartoons with Col. Bleep from Zero-Zero Island? Do a Google search on Col. Bleep if you need to jar your memory.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 25 Feb 04 - 01:18 PM

MG,

True about the image conjured by "Nerd." But in real life I am six foot two, two hundred pounds, lift weights thrice a week, bearded, and wear no glasses. My best friend think I look like Steve Reeves, the guy who used to play Hercules, though I admit I'm not as trim!   I also don't wish to attract chicks, except for my wife. So the image doesn't concern me.

I don't like Dick Shunnary much...I guess if I were concerned with images conjured by my name, I'd pick "nerd" over "dick."

How about Lex Icon? It works better orthographically than aurally, but it has the added plus that I get to be an Icon.

I do think Martin Gibson is a cool fake name!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 10:59 PM

Nerd, you should change your name to Dick Shunnarry.

God, if my nickname was Nerd, I wouldn't advertise it. Bad for getting chicks. Kind of brings up an image of a pencil necked geek with pus pimples and adhesive tape holding his glasses together.

Sheesh, what an image I can create.

I choose to use a combination of my two finest vintage guitars, a Martin D-18 and a Gibson J45. Now that's an image!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 06:36 PM

The OED defines ungrammatical as

1. a. Not in accordance with the rules of grammar.

(It also says that the word "gibberish" is "often applied contemptuously to blundering or ungrammatical language." Searchable dictionaries are wonderful, aren't they?)

So yes, MG, it's a real word.

My own handle being "nerd" is not unrelated to to its rhyming with "word." One of the nicknames I have been saddled with in my life is "word nerd."

I have also been called other kinds of nerd, however...

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 05:21 PM

Hey, if I buy a bumper sticker, I want it spelled correctly!!

Is ungrammatical a real word?

Why does word rhyme with Nerd?

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 04:03 PM

Gee, Martin, I'm sorry I don't have the time to check all of YOUR messages for typos! ha. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 12:49 PM

Yes, Martin, and the first thing someone may think upon reading your post is that it is ungrammatical. But it's petty to comment on things like that, no?

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 12:03 PM

First thing when they see the bumper sticker is that they will think that a person who cannot spell is for Howard Dean in those caucus states.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 09:01 AM

I have made a bumpersticker to put next to your DEAN sticker on your car. "I'm still voting in the primary for" (or if your state has a caucus "I'm till voting in the caucus for".
They are priced at cost, no markup on Cafepress, $2.99.
Click here

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 23 Feb 04 - 07:14 PM

And he was running for president of the US, but dropped out of the race recently.

He is, however, still on the Ballot, and Democrats can still vote for him to be their candidate. If he gets more than 15% in any state, he will add delegates to his (approx) 200 that will represent him and his agenda at the National Convention of the party. I'd suggest that anyone who really likes Dean's policies should do that. Those delegates will not affect who the eventual winner will be, but they WILL bring Dean's progressive agenda to a more prominent position at the convention and thereby influence the party's agenda.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 23 Feb 04 - 09:44 AM

Sweetfia, Howard Dean is the former governor of the state Vermont. He was re -elected to five terms as governor there. He reformed Vermont's system of health care so that almost every person in the state has health coverage (which is not true in other states in America). He and his wife are both medical doctors. He put into place a system of dealing with domestic violence and abuse that reduced child abuse/molestation by up to 70%. He re-vitalized downtown businesses of the small towns, closed leaking landfills and did other positive environmental actions, created jobs, created positive market changes for Vermont dairy farmers, and balanced the state budgets so that Vermont is not in debt like most other US states are. He declared his candidacy for the president of the US on the Democratic ticket in 2003. He was the first to speak up vocally on a national level against the invasion of Iraq. He supported the fight with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, but said that Iraq has been contained and that alQaeda needed our military focus instead of Iraq. Many like-minded Americans were awakened by Dean's words, and flocked to his web site www.deanforamerica.com and a giant gassroots movement has backed him with their small donations, raising more money than the other Democratic candidates. He came from obscurity to being the front runner candidate for the presidency. His policies included development of renewable energy sources that would increase US security by decreasing our dependence on oil (a plan that would create jobs), environmental and labor concerns being considered in foreign trade, and more.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Sweetfia
Date: 23 Feb 04 - 09:19 AM

Er, don't want to sound stupid ('cause i don't have time to throughly reac the thread), but could somebody tell me this Mr Dean is?

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Susan A-R
Date: 22 Feb 04 - 10:37 PM

As a Vermonter, I have to say my faith in Dean has grown, and my faith in the mainstream media has shrunk. Interesting that they wouldn't even cover the WEATHER in Vermont when Dean was doing well.   They'd talk about those awful temperatures in Maine, New Hampshire and New York, but we seemed to disappear.

Howard was a good, if fiscally conservative, governor. A small state isn't easy to run. We have to have all of the same stuff, but on a smaller tax base, and he managed it well. He did a whale of an organizing job, and he has definitely put a burr under the Democratic party's tail. I find it hard to complain about any of that.

I hope that he can continue to make life interesting between now and November. Yes, he did quit running for president, because he does have some political sense, and his ego could bow to his good sense. Rare these days, I reckon.   I believe (and I'm not normally a paranoid person) that if Bush wins this election, we won't have any more. At best, we'll lose another 3 million jobs, increase the deficit some more, and give media, corporations and the military more of a hold on this country. Unlike Ralph Nadar, Dean could see that, and will push the Democrats to mount a real campaign of issues, rather than the out-republicaning the republicans campaigns of the past.

I'll support whoever runs from the Dems in November, but on Vermont's Town Meeting Day, I'll vote for my own governor. (He's one of our more moderate politicians. You should pay attention to Bernie Sanders if you want to really hear a different opinion.)

Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 22 Feb 04 - 12:45 PM

Firth, takes one to know one. Don Firth is obviously a real name. You.   Martin Gibson only exists on this forum, walks away from his computer, and becomes someone else completely. I really don't lose any sleep over it. The pleasures of the Internet.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Don Firth
Date: 21 Feb 04 - 04:06 PM

Once again we confront that Great Cosmic Mystery:--

Why are there so many more horses' asses than there are horses?

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 21 Feb 04 - 03:52 PM

Thanks, pals.

The real Martin Gibson, he of the first & third post.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Thomas the Rhymer
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 08:19 PM

Nevermind... The flame remains the same.
ttr

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 06:11 PM

Uh-oh, a THIRD Martin Gibson, this time with a lower-case m. The plot thickens!

Looks like one or two or all of the one or two or three MG, Mg and mGs here is threatening to fuck us.

Like I said, totally uncool!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,martin Gibson
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 05:48 PM

Yeah, I guess so, to a point. Mostly the Dean quits part. the rest? Eh.

The imposter is obvious. The capitols thing is strictly random.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 05:44 PM

Whoa, dude, totally uncool!

Are there two MGs here, our beloved flamer and an impostor? I notice some posts have a capital G and others don't. Or is the capitalization just random? Maybe that's why one of them just keeps cutting and pasting....

Anyway, I like the way the real MG (if indeed he is telling the truth) disavows the actual post, but approves its content ("I couldn't have said it any better myself"). What does that mean, MG? Are you really threatening to fuck us then? Or are YOU the impostor, and the one who originally threatened to fuck us the original MG? It's so deliciously confusing!

And get this: what MG really objects to isn't the content but the FORMAT!

Too funny, MG!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 05:28 PM

I didn't post the last post. Really.

But I couldn't have said it any better myself.

I am so glad that someone took the time to snap and pretend he was me.

His format was all wrong.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin gibson
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 05:12 PM

HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT!

HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT! HE QUIT!

ANYONE WHO SAYS HE DIDN'T QUIT I WILL THROW YOU OVER A RAILING AND YOU CAN KISS YOUR A**HOLE GOODBYE! THIS IS YOUR OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION THAT DEAN QUIT AND YOU ARE F*CKED, IF NOT BY ME THEN BY OTHERS LIKE ME! WE WILL F*CK YOU LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN F*CKED BEFORE AND THEN WE WILL COME BACK FOR MORE FROM YOUR SORE AND SORRY ASSES!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin gibson
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 03:15 PM

Cutting and pasting is lazy? I'd say it's common sense time saving.

So much, I want to do it yet again!


I like what I said before that I'll say it again:

Lazy? Because I don't take so much time to write all of the trash the oh-so-wordy have to expound?

DEAN LOST!

HARDLY ANYONE WANTS HIM! MILLIONS HAVE ALREADY VOTED!

HE QUIT!

RIGHT NOW HE REPRESENTS NOBODY!

DEAL WITH IT!

Boo-Hoo. Boo-Hoo.
You can back Dean all you want and say he "withdrew" instead of quit. What a laugh. Not enough wanted him to win ANYTHING**. I say because of that he "QUIT" running for president.

Thomas the Rhymer: Why should I tell you who I want for president? It is none your business. In America, we have a right to that privacy

** Modification: regarding anything regarding the presidential campaign.

"Like... gag me with the competitive ethos, dude..."

TTR: About as much balls as the valley girl you just emulated. Why don't you just go nah nah, nah hah, nah? I just love it here when people can dish it out and then when it's thrown back at them all of a sudden they're mean spirited. Entertainingly laughable.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 02:21 PM

MG,

I think you proved your laziness again by cutting and pasting from your previous post instead of saying something new. And you proved your meanness of spirit by characterizing me and others as crybabies. Luckily, given your behavior and your attitude we don't have to care what you think.

Also, you're wrong. For example, when you say that Not enough wanted him to win ANYTHING. Enough wanted him to win the governorship of Vermont that he lasted five terms after his initial half-term (when his predecessor died in office). I still suggest this is more than you've ever achieved in elected politics. Unless you're a five-term governor or a Senator from somewhere.

I think it's interesting that you shout again on "anything," exactly the word that makes your sentence untrue. Another symptom of your insecurity? Poor ol' MG...

TTR,

I know on that other thread I bloviated until you were forced to agree with me just to shut me up, but you don't have to keep agreeing if you don't want to ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Thomas the Rhymer
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 02:13 PM

WAS SO!... And I'll kick your ass until you agree with me. ?;^)

Care to join in?

We are the champions... my freind,
And we'll go on fighting... to the end...

Like... gag me with the competitive ethos, dude...
ttr

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 11:46 AM

You speak as if such rights only existed in America... :-) A common misperception among vociferous Americans. Civilization didn't begin in 1776, my friend, and it wasn't invented in Philadelphia either.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 11:41 AM

I like what I said before that I'll say it again:

Lazy? Because I don't take so much time to write all of the trash the oh-so-wordy have to expound?

DEAN LOST!

HARDLY ANYONE WANTS HIM! MILLIONS HAVE ALREADY VOTED!

HE QUIT!

RIGHT NOW HE REPRESENTS NOBODY!

DEAL WITH IT!

Boo-Hoo. Boo-Hoo.
You can back Dean all you want and say he "withdrew" instead of quit. What a laugh. Not enough wanted him to win ANYTHING. I say because of that he "QUIT" running for president.

Thomas the Rhymer: Why should I tell you who I want for president? It is none your business. In America, we have a right to that privacy.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Thomas the Rhymer
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 01:26 AM

Well said, nerd... Bravo!
ttr

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: LadyJean
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 01:26 AM

I found the lyrics to the Mary Ellen Carter on the mudcat. I suggest all Deanites play them for inspiration.

After Iowa and New Hampshire, a lot of people voted for Kerry because they thought that prunefaced sell out was "electable".   Someday people are going to figure out that any candidate is electable if you vote for him.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 01:12 AM

Martin,

(1) He did not lose, or quit, as I expressed above. He chose to withdraw for the sake of a party that mistreated him.

(2) "Hardly anybody" still amounts to more people than wanted any candidate except for Kerry. Do you think the primary should simply stop now and Kerry should be declared the winner?

(3) The millions who have already voted are still a small minority of Democrats. Do you think the rest should be disenfranchised and not allowed to vote?

(4) You clearly ARE lazy. In your last post you had to type in all caps (scream). Generally when people have to raise their voice in a quiet place, it's because they're insecure about the validity of what they're saying.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: bflat
Date: 20 Feb 04 - 12:09 AM

He made his mark by restoring the Democratic Party's confidence and igniting a belief that Bush can be defeated. He made the right choice to drop out. He was never suited for the job of President. Enough voters saw that and spoke with their ballot.

Ellen

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 11:28 PM

Actually, Martin, Dean had a lot of people voting for him. He is second in the count of delegates.
The totals at this point are Kerry with 613, Dean with 202, and Edwards with 192. He is still on the ballot in all state primaries, and since Edwards is not on the ballot in Vermont, Dean will probably win Vermont even though he is not actively campaigning. There are still the superdelegates to count at the convention, which include Dean delegates. Many people are pledged to vote for him even though he is not on the road campaigning. In Washington state, Kerry got 53 delegates, Dean 37 and Edwards zero. Not to stress your caps lock key, but I just had to respond ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Thomas the Rhymer
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 11:00 PM

Flamin' Martin strikes again! And doesn'y he cast a vast shadow over the face of the deep? So... who do you want for prez, Mr. Gibson?
ttr

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST,Martin gibson
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 05:39 PM

Lazy? Because I don't take so much time to write all of the trash the oh-so-wordy have to expound?

DEAN LOST!

HARDLY ANYONE WANTS HIM! MILLIONS HAVE ALREADY VOTED!

HE QUIT!

RIGHT NOW HE REPRESENTS NOBODY!

DEAL WITH IT!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 12:13 PM

Another reason to sign the petition to the DNC.

-------
Americans for Jobs" [the group, started in November, ran three anti-Howard
Dean ads including one picturing Osama bin Laden] received $663,000 from 26
donors. The profile is not ``progressive." About two-thirds of the
contributions
were corporate, with two executives giving $100,000 each, and a third giving
$50,000. Another $80,000 came from attorneys. The Torricelli for Senate
Committee kicked in $50,000. Six labor unions gave $200,000. Expenditures,
besides the
half-million for television ads, included $40,000 for Jones' consultancy firm
and $15,000 for Skadden, Arps.
OpenSecrets.org (via BushOut.TV) notes that Skadden Arps is the top
contributor to Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, and a top-five contributor
of
Kerry's career since 1989.

Margie Burns, the writer quoted by BushOut.TV above, in JRNL.com:


...let it still be said that the treatment Dean received is disgusting.
Surely, the impact of the loathsome "Osama" ad was foreseeable. Photos of
Osama bin
Laden and Saddam Hussein, after all, were very effective against decorated
Vietnam veteran Max Cleland, in Georgia.

Update II: According to the AP, it looks like Torricelli may have broken some
more laws:

Former New Jersey Sen. Torricelli, currently raising money for front-runner
Kerry, donated $50,000 from his Senate campaign fund to Jones' group.

Federal Election Commission spokesman Bob Biersack said it was "fuzzy"
whether Torricelli's contribution was permissible under FEC rules. Donations
to such
groups are not included on an FEC list of permitted uses for campaign funds.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 12:10 PM

sp ooops, that should be "Democratic Party". ha!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 12:08 PM

No, not a new party, "our party" refers to the Democractic Party.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Nerd
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 11:08 AM

Hi folks,

I'm another diehard Dean supporter as many of you know. I think, even after the fact, the media coverage is shameful. References to "his failed campaign," "his failure," "losing the primaries," etc, are pure media distortion. Dean is still ahead of Edwards in total delegates.

Here's why I think he bowed out. The only way for anyone to win at this point without the drama and divisiveness of a brokered convention was to narrow the field to two serious candidates. If the primaries kept going on like this, especially with the real possibility of a loss of Kerry momentum, there would have been something like a 40-30-30 split in delegates at the end, and then the dealmaking would have begun to select a candidate. That really could have hurt the party, so someone had to quit.

Logically, it was Edwards (in third place) who should have quit, especially with Dean's strong support in NY and CA. But after the last debate, in which the moderators kissed Kerry's ass and attacked Dean, I think Dean realized that there was no way to overcome the pressure that the party establishment and its special interest backers were putting on endorsers, media outlets, and voters. He realized that this pressure (NOT his candidacy) was splitting the party. In short, Dean was confronted by powerful forces who were so afraid of his message that they would rather hurt the party than let him compete, and he bowed out to save the party from its own bad behavior.

Martin Gibson, Dean may be a loser, but look at what he has achieved. First of all, as governor of Vermont he extended health care coverage to almost all Vermonters, he improved the lives of the working poor and those above the poverty line but in danger of falling back under by instituting help with childcare costs, he turned massive deficits into a healthy surplus, etc, etc. He supported the position that gay people should have the same legal rights as the rest of the world, even when the controversy could have cost him his job. He was re-elected five times in a closely divided state, even though he came to the job unexpectedly and from the other party after his Republican predecessor died in office.

As a presidential candidate he has transformed the message of all the potential Democratic nominees, he has showed the world a new way to raise clean political money not tainted by special interests, and he has, in fact, outperformed every candidate except Kerry.

What are your major political accomplishments, MG? Do they measure up to this loser's?

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 10:18 AM

... our party ... Oh, I get it, it will be a new party, and it plans to do something at the Democratic Party's convention? Huh? Howzzat work?

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 10:01 AM

There is a petition online of "a formal complaint to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party for the violation of the Charter of the Democratic Party by officers and staff of the Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee."

If you watched, read, or listened to enough of the statements coming out of the DNC and DLC during this primary campaign, you would have realized that Dean was being attacked from the party leaders who were blatantly hostile to Dean, a fellow Democrat. The reason? Dean's power, the MONEY, was coming from small donor contributions, not from sources the DLC had established with connections. That kind of power scared them, the power of hundreds of thousands of voters in grassroots America behind a Governor who was not a party "insider".

To view and/or sign the petition, go here. Please pass the link along to others by email and posting to other forums and blogs.

--------

http://www.petitiononline.com/dnc/petition.html

--------
Go DEAN and his policies for renewable energy, reduction of domestic violence and child abuse, basic health care coverage for every American, reform of political contributions, job creation, worker rights protection, environmental standards, and a proven record of success in Vermont over 11 years as Governor. He is still my man. I'm behind his organization all the way. I hope he becomes Secretary of Health and Human Services - Alice

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 09:11 AM

I'm not sure how the Dean Campaign got derailed but it certainly did. Hwever, it's less than helpful for Democrats who supported other candidates to crow about Dean recognizing that his presidential asperations are no longer viable. Such mean-spirited posts should be reserved for Bush supporters who seek to further demoralize the Dean supporters.

As a late Dean supporter, I'll still be working hard at our state convention for his reform platform. And I'll certainly vote against Bush when the November elections roll around.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: open mike
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 02:38 AM

how about a kerry dean ticket!!

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: SueB
Date: 19 Feb 04 - 12:43 AM

I'm still for Dean.

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: Alice
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 11:54 PM

I'm still going to work for Dean and the policies he represents. His organization will go on and the BACKBONE he has put into the Democratic party will be strengthened by all the Deanites who have become involved politically. He is still on the ballot in all the states that have not yet voted. I'll vote for him in our primary on MT (which doesn't happen until June). The party needs to have its primary on the same day in all the states. This situation where people jump on a bandwagon before New York or California have even voted is ridiculous.

Imagine all the mistatements that every candidate makes... none were jumped on the way the media jumped on Dean. As soon as he stated that he would do something about how the media is owned by a few powerful entities, then the media looked for any way they could to take him down from being the frontrunner. Why don't they show Bush's goofy comments over and over 700 times on the tv?

Here is the thank you letter from Governor Dean.

---------
Dear Alice,

I am very proud of all of you and very grateful to all of you for your
extraordinary hard work.

I announced today that I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency.

I am so thankful for all of you who traveled around the country, showed
up at our office, worked around the clock, because you believed in what
we were doing - to you, thousands of Americans who have given generously
of your time, in your states, because you believed in our cause.

I want to thank the 300,000 small donors that decided that they wanted
their country back.

I want to thank all the people in every state who heard our message and
supported us.

We have led this party back to considering what its heart and soul is.
Although there is a lot of work left to do, I am very proud of all of
you and very grateful to all of you for your extraordinary hard work.

As the fight moves forward, I have some things that I specifically want
to ask of you.

First, keep active in the primary. We are still on the ballots. Sending
delegates to the convention only continues to energize our party. Fight
on in the caucuses. Use your network to send progressive delegates to
the convention in Boston. We are not going away. We are staying
together, unified -- all of us.

Secondly, we will convert Dean for America into a new grassroots
organization, and I hope you stay involved. We are determined to keep
this entire organization vibrant. There are a lot of ways to make
change. We are leaving one track, but we are going on another track that
will take back America for ordinary people again.

Third, there have been a lot of people who have decided to run for
office locally as a result of this campaign. I encourage you to run for
office and support candidates like you who run for office. We will use
this enormous organization to support you as you run -- we will change
the face of democracy so that it represents ordinary Americans once
again.

We must beat George W. Bush in November. I will support the nominee of
our party and do everything I can to beat George W. Bush and I urge you
to do the same. But we will not be above letting our nominee know that
we expect them to adhere to the standards that this organization has set
for decency, honesty, integrity and standing up for ordinary American
working people.

One of the things that I realized a long time ago is that change is very
difficult. There is enormous institutional resistance to change in this
country. You cannot expect people with great privileges taken at the
expense of ordinary working people to surrender them lightly.

Change is hard work. Change does not happen simply because you go to a
rally and simply because you make phone calls -- and I know how hard
everybody has worked. But change is a process that you can never give up
on.

Change is the state of America and change is the state of humankind. The
history of humanity is that determined people overcome obstacles. It is
natural for people to resist, but it is also inevitable that we will
win.

So we will continue to fight. This is the end of phase one of this
fight, but the fight will go on, and we will be in it together. We will
continue to bring our message of hope and change to the American people.

Thank you very much for everything that you have done.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

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Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 11:20 PM

Wal, now, there's quittin', and then there's Quittin'.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 11:12 PM

Yo, WYSIWYG, I'm stickin' with "Dean hasn't quit." Just keep watching. The White House ain't everything..... I mean, look at the guy who lives there now...

The entire nation owes Howard Dean a big ol' thanks. Even the Repubs. After all, democracy ain't no good to them if the progressives ever monopolize the governemnt...

Like I said, Howard ain't got no quit in him....

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Dean Quits ?
From: LadyJean
Date: 18 Feb 04 - 10:57 PM

I'll be 49 tomorrow. I have never worked on a political campaign before. I worked for Dean. I was proud to do it. I got to see him in person when he was here in Pittsburgh, and he struck me as an amazingly decent guy. We haven't had one of those in the White House in a long time.
He had the guts to sign the civil unions bill, though he had to know it would cost him. He had the brains to balance the Vermont state budget, and the compassion to see to it that 90percent of the children in Vermont had health insurance.
Kerry, who voted for the Iraq war, the Patriot Act, and Bush's infamous No Child Left Behind, coopted Dean's issues. That, and the fact that he does a fair to middling imitation of John Kennedy (Who is much admired in this country.) made him the front runner.
But they aren't going to put the genie back in the bottle. The Dean campaign started something. Look for more grassroots campaigns. Ordinary people matter! That was Dean's message. I was proud to work for him!