Expats4Dean

Yet another article about why Dean is the Democratic party's best chance at unseating George Bush:

Mr Karl Rove, the President's chief political strategist, said he regards Florida as 'ground zero' so far as next year's election is concerned.

He also said he hopes the Democrats select the liberal, anti-war, pro-gay union Dr Dean as their candidate. Yet his public glee appears to mask a private fear that countering Dr Dean will not be straightforward.

It will require the Republicans to go into early attack mode. And they will need to think out of the box to rebuff the doctor's boundless energy, astonishing fund-raising prowess and ability to generate headlines day after day.

First, of course, Dr Dean has to win the Democratic nomination.

If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend going to this site for an excellent flash presentation of the many men and women who have sacrificed their lives in Iraq, and the corporate greed that has unfairly benefitted from their bravery. Thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving from Tokyo! I had family in town, so I've been somewhat MIA. Glad to be back and refocusing on Election 2004.

I finally got around to updating our meetup totals, and we have a whole batch of new additions to report: Taipei, Taiwan (2 members), Porto Alegre, Brazil (2 members), Arhus, Denmark (1 member), and Trondheim, Norway (1 member).

I also wanted to mention that Munich, Germany -- a group which just formed at the beginning of the month -- continues to astound me with its incredible growth, more than doubling their membership within the past three weeks! That's grassroots at its best.

Why I'm for Dean - From The Nation's William Greider. "Howard Dean is an odd duck, certainly, in the milieu of the contemporary Democratic Party. He is, I surmise, a tough and savvy politician of the old school--a shrewd, intuitive pol who develops his own sense of where the people are and where events are likely to take public opinion, then has the guts to act on his perceptions."

I wanted to take this moment to wish everyone no matter where you may find yourself this holiday season a very Happy Thanksgiving. We really do have a lot to be thankful for this year! I'd personally like to thank everyone out there for their passion, input & creativity during the past year. Look where we are today.

I'd also like to thank Howard Dean, for being cool, having guts, keeping it real and giving me real hope for a future where we are all in it together. Thanks Doc!

How are you guys spending this Thanksgiving? Roasted duck? Tandoori turkey? Enjoy the day. I have a good feeling this day next year is going to be even better.

Just found this on Metafilter, Freewayblogger !
"When you put a sign on the freeway people will read it until someone takes it down"

The Queens Democratic Party is preparing to endorse Howard Dean for president on Tuesday, insiders say. With one of the strongest party organizations in the state, the Queens Democrats' endorsement will carry with it the support of 45 elected officials.

As many of you know, Bush is visiting London this week. And the expats and British foreign nationals are letting him know what they think about it. Click here to read an article about the organizer of the London protest. He makes me proud to be an expat.

What do you all think: should Dean take a page from Congressman Jesse Lackson, Jr. in response to questions about supporting civil unions? Here's what Representative Jackson said in a speech at the 14th Michigan Dinner of the Human Rights Campaign in Detroit last weekend:

Let me be perfectly clear. When I assumed office, I put my hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. I did not put my hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible, the Torah or the Koran. The people of the Second District of Illinois did not elect me to be their pastor, priest, rabbi or imam for the purpose of shepherding their souls. They elected me to be their political representative and the guardian of their Constitutional rights.

I must say it fits perfectly with Dean's style. If I had a penny for every time the good doctor said "Let me be perfectly clear"... well, let's just say I'd have a lot of yen converting to do.

Please pardon my much belated attempt to share some of Dean's international policies with this group. Certainly we of all people should be aware of where Dean stands, beyond his opposition to the Iraq war. So let me start with a subject dear to my heart: global women's issues.

The following is an excerpt from Dean's official policy statement:

"America has an obligation to ensure the health and wellbeing of women and girls around the world."

As President, I will seek to reestablish America's role as a moral leader in the international community. Critical to this mission will be investing in the health and well-being of women around the world. Such an investment would promote social development, economic growth, democracy, and international security.

The combination of poor educational prospects and early marriage forces too many girls around the world into poverty, exposure to HIV/AIDS, and often a life of prostitution. We must recognize the cultural differences in many developing countries that prevent girls from receiving equal treatment, and devise strategies to encourage change in harmful practices.

Are there any American exchange students out there reading this blog? You'll want to be sure to check out the latest policy statement issued by the Dean campaign, addressing a $7.1 billion program that will encourage America's youth to attend college. Here's a quote from a New York Times article on the subject:

Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said he would also use tax credits so college graduates would never owe more than 10 percent of their annual income in loan payments and would retire their debt within 10 years. For students who become nurses, teachers, police officers or firefighters or otherwise pursue public service, the loan repayments would be capped at 7 percent of annual income.

In addition, Dr. Dean said he would quadruple AmeriCorps, the program that enlists young people for two years of domestic service, to 250,000 slots a year.

This loan payment cap is an absolute plus for students who would like to work in low paying jobs upon graduation, but otherwise could not consider this because of the amount of debt they face. From an international perspective, this means that more people can consider jobs such as working for a nongovernmental organization overseas, or accepting a teaching position in underdeveloped countries.

I think it's a wonderful step in the direction of cooperation and giving to the world rather than merely taking from it. My only complaint is that he could have gone beyond the domestic plan of AmeriCorps, and tacked on international public service as well... but understandably he is focusing on how this will help our country, and most people aren't too excited to hear about shipping off our citizens overseas no matter how high-minded the goal. (Too bad for us, isn't it?) And perhaps Dean can make an international outreach part of "phase two", once we actually regain other countries' respect and support.

This LA Weekly article provides a balanced look at the recent endorsements Dean has received. The SEIU & AFSCME are huge for the campaign and momemtum going into the 1st set of primaries but they don't mean the nomination is locked up regardless how good things look right now. Much of the road ahead is uphill & we still need to pedal hard.

"The joint endorsement of the two unions strengthens Dean where he’s already strong, in America’s cosmopolitan centers. AFSCME is as concentrated in New York as the SEIU is in California. Neither union has much strength in the anti-union South, though AFSCME does have politically active locals throughout the Midwest. And those are the two regions where Dean could use their help — or anybody’s — the most.

As the primary season assumes clearer shape, the key question now is which candidate will emerge as the anti-Dean. (At least, that’s the key question unless Dean implodes, and to date, Dean has shown himself to be both error-prone and implosion-proof, a somewhat oxymoronic condition that may not be sustainable.) If Dick Gephardt manages to beat Dean in Iowa, that distinction may be his. If not, that mantle may pass to Wesley Clark should he emerge the victor in South Carolina, where he currently leads in the polls. John Kerry would have to defeat Dean in New Hampshire to get back into the race, an outcome that looks less and less likely.

Unless Dean blows everyone away early on, the contours of the contest would go something like this: Dean wins the New York and California primaries on March 2, though the real contest that day could come in Ohio. One week later, the scene shifts to primaries in Texas and Florida, where Clark, if he’s still around, could have a good shot at beating Dean. That would set up a climactic showdown in the March 16 Illinois primary, where the endorsement of Richard Daley the Younger could be key. Even in the age of MoveOn and MeetUp, it’s nice to have the Daley machine on your side."
LA Weekly: Columns: Powerlines: Dean's November

I usually choose not to post about these things here, since they may be less meaningful from an overseas perspective, but this was a huge boost for the campaign that everyone should be aware of.

SEIU and AFSCME, two of the largest unions in the country, have chosen to endorse Howard Dean. Why? Two reasons: 1) he has a platform that will help America's working families, and 2) he can beat George Bush! Take that, ye naysayers.

From a Washington Post article about how the two unions came to believe in Dean's candidacy:

The only similarity was that at the beginning of their discussions, Dean was not on either union's list of likely endorsees. Last December, at one of their first meetings, Stern asked Dean if there was any way he could help him, thinking he could open some union doors to the little-known candidate. "He said, 'Well you can endorse me,' which I thought was a pretty bold, first opening comment," Stern said. "And I said, 'Well, we're a little far away from that,' and he said, 'Well, if you endorse me, I'm going to be president.' "

The SEIU offered all the candidates the same resources: a list of their local leadership and a warning that the route to the endorsement began not in Stern's fifth-floor office on L Street NW but through the rank and file. "Everybody got the same advice," an SEIU official said. "Howard Dean took it to heart." No other candidate came close to Dean's outreach. "Shockingly" not close, Stern said.

Update and correction
I was way off on my earlier estimate. The media has been reporting the Medicare blimp ($600k) campaign as lasting 12 months. The actual duration is 3 months. Based on the latest quotes I have received the actual cost (12 months) is 2.3 million - 195,000 per month (Lightship Group) for 120 hours (6 hours a day, 5 days a week) of flight time. $2.3 million is the same price as 30 seconds of Superbowl commercial airtime. A blimp over a city the size of Chicago gets an estimated 1.6 million impressions a day. That is 32,000,000 impressions a month & 384,000,000 over 1 year. In one month of blimp advertising we can get the same visability as one 30 second Superbowl commercial for under $200k as opposed to the over $2 million for the Superbowl not to mention the free media you get with a 12 month blimp campaign. Do you still think it is worth it?

From The Guardian

"The centrepiece of the protest will be a huge march on 20 November arranged by the Stop the War Coalition which will go through the capital and end at Trafalgar Square, where a giant statue of George Bush will be pulled down in a parody of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad. It will be led by American nationals living in the UK who have gathered under the title Expats Against Bush. They will carry banners reading 'Proud of my nation. Shamed by my President'."

UPDATE: the march takes place on the 20th, the article had it erroneously as the 19th

This seems to be the blog of the Expats Against Bush group mentioned in the article. If there happen to be any Dean supporters in southern England who, amazingly, aren't already making plans to attend, let me just note that it certainly looks like it will likely be a lot of fun.

This Washington Post article has a pro-Bush slant, but I still enjoyed reading it, especially given the following two paragraphs:

Republican officials said that if Dean becomes their opponent, his campaign-financing decision could dramatically change the landscape for Bush in the months between clinching the nomination and the Democratic National Convention in late July. Bush's strategists had assumed the Democratic nominee would be low on money, or broke, during that period and would have to rely on advertising by outside interest groups, which cannot legally coordinate their messages with the campaign.

Republican officials have said they expected to be able to use that time to run a flood of advertising -- with separate waves promoting Bush's record and bashing the Democrat, with little direct opposition on the air. Bush, who is pouring much of his money into elaborate get-out-the-vote operations, now faces the prospect of an ad war with a well-funded competitor through the spring and summer.

"George Soros, one of the world's richest men, has given away nearly $5 billion to promote democracy in the former Soviet bloc, Africa and Asia. Now he has a new project: defeating President Bush."

"It is the central focus of my life," Soros said, his blue eyes settled on an unseen target. The 2004 presidential race, he said in an interview, is "a matter of life and death."

Soros's Deep Pockets vs. Bush (washingtonpost.com)

DEAN'S POLICIES ARE CENTRAL FOCUS OF NEW DEAN ISSUES FORUM, NOW ONLINE

November 10 (San Mateo, CA) - The policies of leading Presidential contender Gov. Howard Dean, M.D., and their implications for post-election America, are the subject of a dynamic new online resource, the interactive Dean Issues Forum (DIF).

The Dean Issues Forum opens to the public today.

The DIF is yet another of the all-volunteer initiatives by Dean's supporters that are changing the political landscape. The DIF, not officially affiliated with the Dean campaign, comprises 26 "issue forums" including Dean's policies and issues pertaining to healthcare, education, labor, ethnic communities, seniors, young people, globalization, the economy, foreign relations, the environment, and gender in America. A special humorists forum is in planning. The DIF is staffed by more than 40 "moderators," each an expert in his or her field and a Dean supporter.

"The Dean Issues Forum addresses a need among Dean supporters to chime in on the candidate's policies as they are and as the supporters, who're a very smart bunch of people, think they should be," said Bob Jacobson, founder and administrator of the DIF. "Our moderators keep the discussions flowing. We expect that the official Dean policy team and Gov. Dean himself will find the DIF to be a repository of good ideas and a place to review new policies as they're being readied for roll out."

[edited 8:40pm by Heather; view edited portions in comments]

Every so often people write on the official blog about how Dean supporters need to take a step back and seriously evaluate whether our guy could possibly beat George Bush. They most often site the formula for failure that they see in Howard's approach: 1) making people pay more taxes, 2) advocating marriage-like rights for same-sex couples, and 3) being emotionally impulsive to the point that people don't trust him with his finger on the proverbial button.

It is good to be challenged to defend the hope we have in Dean. It's important to always be realistic about whether Dean is the strongest candidate. I believe our ultimate goal has to be to take back the White House, and if Dean can't do it, we shouldn't vote for him.

Here's an editorial that may help you solidify your thoughts. It's definitely not the kind of argument you'll hear from Karl Rove or the mainstream media, but I think it's the right one.

"Let us not be fooled by misguided conventional wisdom. [Howard] Dean is a threat and Republicans better not ignore him."

The latest press release from the "Dean for President" campaign? Fresh political insight from the lefties at The Nation magazine? Michael Moore or Al Franken's recent rantings?

No, this is the considered judgment of two respected Republican pollsters -- Bob Moore and Hans Kaiser -- from Portland's Moore Information. Their Oct. 6 memo should be a welcome read (www.moore-info.com) when Dean visits here Tuesday.

"Da Blimp, Da Blimp"

A few of you might have caught my recent comments posted on the O-blog about a Dean 2004 Blimp. Call me kooky but I think it's a good idea given that we need cost effective ways to engage in a national campaign. What do yo think? Imagine this flying over LA traffic for a week, the Superbowl, Nascar or Kentucky Derby. We could get some great photos of crowds at Dean rallys too :) The Dean Blimp
UPDATE 11.10.03, Added an online poll, pics, more links and news. Thanks goes out to DeanCore and DeanNation for featuring this front and center!

I used to detest the local news at home in California but since moving overseas it has become of the things I miss, along with super burritos! I have not found my mexican food fix but I just found a great way to watch local news from stations all over the US called Feedroom from Reuters. You'll have to disable popup blockers & will need a decent connection. Use the menu at the upper left to scroll through available stories. I'll add this to the side bar soon along with a few other streaming video links for news. If you have another link please share it here in comments.

Today I went through and updated our meetup totals (check the right sidebar for details). Some of you must be doing some massive recruiting! The top five locations (London, Paris, Montreal, Toronto, Tokyo) each raised their membership by significant amounts, especially London (what is your secret??).

I also wanted to alert you to the dynamite efforts going on in Frankfurt, Germany. They had two members as of October 31st, and now they are up to eight!! That's 400% growth in under ten days! Incredible.

Also, Munich, Germany, which I announced as a new location last week, now has enough members to actually hold a meetup! It's very exciting to see new groups come out of the woodwork like this.

Finally, I am proud to announce two new additions to our international Meetup list: Beijing, China (2 members) and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (1 member). Welcome!

From yesterday's PBS Jim Lehrer NewsHour- an excellent commentary by Shields and Safire discussing the flag issue & how the attacks from the other candidates were an attempt to block the union endorsements Dean is picking up this week, Windows media 215k stream.

The matching funds vote is now closed, but we're not done talking about voting here at Expats4Dean. At this stage of the game, it's all about the primaries and caucuses, so if you haven't pledged to vote or attend yet, now is the time.

If your home state has primaries before March, I encourage you to vote absentee; on the other hand, if you have a less meaningful primary, please consider pledging to attend the Democrats Abroad caucus in your country. According to the Dean site, Dems Abroad is 30% of the way to its pledge goal of 50 people.

I think Zogby is a pretty good polling organization, so when I saw the latest results I was pleasantly surprised. Keep in mind that this poll was taken during the height of the flag controversy:

Dean has a slight edge in the East and South. In the West, Clark enjoys 22% compared to Dean's 17%. In the East, Dean (18%) is followed by Lieberman (15%) and Gephardt (11%), and Kerry trails with just 8%. Dean is the leader in the South with 13%, followed by an 8% tie of Edwards, Lieberman, and Sharpton. Gephardt has a slight lead on Dean in the Central-Great Lakes area, 16% - 15%.

How 'bout them apples?

Talk about two-way communication! Here's an article that shows how Dean might take a supporter's idea and run with it:

...Paul Johnson, an independent voter from Nashua who supported John McCain in 2000 and has supported Dean since May, tells Dean that he's "deeply troubled" by the idea that his candidate is going to turn down federal matching funds and bust the caps on campaign spending. Politics is awash in too much money, Johnson says. Why not take the moral high ground and abide by the current system? That sounds like a great idea until Bush spends $200 million, Dean says. Well, then "challenge him to spend less," Johnson replies. Tell him you'll stay under the spending limits if he does, too. Dean's face lights up. "I'll do that at the press conference on Saturday," he says. "That's a great idea." (Saturday at noon is when Dean is scheduled to announce the results of the campaign vote on whether to abandon public financing.)

I was exploring the Wayback Machine again and found a great speech Dean gave back in 98 to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on his official webpage.

" I believe the budget needs to be balanced by 2002. This ought not to be a debate between the Republicans and Democrats. The question is how do you balance it? The first thing the speaker and his folks in Washington did was cut a small program to feed children breakfast and lunch in school to solve the trillion dollar budget deficit program. You have to go where the money is and cut there, but you don't cut programs for children."

"Within two years I want this Congress to guarantee that every child in America whose family lives in poverty receives health care. That would cost less than the difference of opinion between the president and the Congress on the defense budget. I am not asking anybody to cut the defense budget."

"All I am asking of the Republicans is for them to agree with the president on his number, and that the extra money be spent insuring every child in America. How much stronger would our country be today if working people who can't afford health insurance could feel that they can take their child to the doctor when the child gets ill. It is cheap."

-Howard Dean, 1998

Dean for America desperately needs people to vote on the matching funds decision!! I recently received an email from headquarters asking that we do everything possible to get a high voter turnout, so I'm begging you to go vote on this (if you're eligible).

Here is the important part of the DFA email:

WE REALLY NEED EVERYBODY TO VOTE ON THIS!

Read this:
http://www.deanforamerica.com/decision

Then vote here:
http://ballot.deanforamerica.com/mailBallot.php

We need to get as many people to vote as possible, so that we can be sure that we're doing what our grassroots supporters want!

What he doesn't mention is that the ballots are considered spam by ISPs with increased spamguards. Some service providers dump it in your bulk mail folder (as mine did), whereas others go so far as to return it to the sender. If you didn't receive your ballot, you should go to the official site and click the "request ballot" link to have a new one sent to you.

Paul Krugman strikes again, this time with unmistakable support for Howard Dean. It's too bad he's not allowed to endorse any candidate, but I dare say he seems to be doing it anyway.

Op-Ed Columnist: Flags Versus Dollars

Google Deskbar enables you to search with Google from any application without lifting your fingers from the keyboard. Installs easily in your Windows taskbar.

Cool!

If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien of the U.S. -- and are already on the Dean email list -- you are eligible to vote in today's decision whether the Dean campaign should decline or accept federal matching funds. Read more about this vote here.

What do you think of this move by the campaign? How do you think the vote will turn out? Let us know what you think by posting on the Expats for Dean forums.

European meetups were mentioned on the blog yesterday. Recognition is such a wonderful gift!

137,900 people, 820 locations, 50 states, 20 countries. What a night! The West coast Meetups are just getting warmed up, but early reports from the East Coast, Midwest, and European locations are all pointing toward another successful Meetup day.

Now let's get some of our lesser known locations noticed! It would absolutely make my day if Pakistan and India were mentioned... I guess it will take a few more sign-ups for that to happen.

I am one of the folks who felt that Dean was right to use strong language about white southerners sporting confederate flags on pickup trucks, and I didn't think an apology was necessary. (Hence my "how big is this tent" post.)

But Dean did feel the need to express his regret, and apparently a whole lot of other people did, too. So while I am in the minority, I also have to say that the New York Times article about his apology is amazing.

And who am I to say what Dean should and should not do? He is clearly his own man, as this portion of the article makes abundantly clear:

Some in the Dean campaign had wanted to stick to today's script, an important announcement about letting supporters vote on whether to abandon the public-financing system.

Even an hour before his Cooper Union appearance, Dr. Dean said he was unsure how or when he would address the flag issue. In addition to President Carter, Dr. Dean consulted yesterday with the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, as well as several African-American labor leaders and elected officials.

Behind stage moments before noon, aides said, Dr. Dean scribbled down remarks on race, saying his gut told him to go ahead.

"You can blame the media or blame my opponents, but the fact is, I've got to own my own words," Dr. Dean explained yesterday evening in Manchester. "And that's what I decided at about 3 o'clock this morning."

They say you can often predict a presidency by the patterns that develop during a campaign, everywhere from how they handle money to how they respond to negative press. Dean may have lost supporters through this debacle, but if this is the kind of repentant remark we can expect from him as President, I am all the more committed to helping him go all the way.

Very interesting article from Opensecrets.org with more than a few surprises. "Bush has raised more from lawyers and law firms ($5.4 million) than from any other industry so far this year" "Clark collected more money from the legal profession than from any other industry. He took in $278,000 from lawyers and law firms"

"Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has raised $25.3 million so far, and has $12.4 million on hand. Among his top contributors are Time Warner ($61,000), Microsoft ($30,000) and IBM ($25,000). Dean's own campaign staffers have contributed nearly $21,000 to their boss' campaign, making the group of them his sixth biggest donor.

Two of Dean's top five donors -- and 10 of his top 20 -- are groups of university employees. University of California employees attained the highest ranking of any organization, with more than $63,000 in contributions to Dean. Dean has raised money from the professors and staff of at least 450 colleges and universities. Those in the education field have contributed a total of $852,000 to Dean's campaign, behind only the legal profession ($966,000).

One-fourth, or $3.1 million, of Dean's itemized contributions has come from California. Fourteen percent, or $1.8 million, was raised in New York state. Dean has collected nearly $930,000 from Massachusetts and $693,000 from his home state of Vermont."

-opensecrets.org

"The headline coming out of this debate is the pounding Howard Dean took for saying he wants the votes of guys who sport confederate flags. It's a bum rap." Confederate Flog - The new bum rap on Howard Dean. By William Saletan

Dean has often argued that he can win the south by being a candidate that southern white men, with confederate flag decals on their pick-up trucks, can vote for. Now many candidates are calling this a flap, saying that Dean is somehow embracing the confederate flag through his desire to win these votes.

You've got to love Dean's response, though. From the Washington Post:

Yesterday, Dean said he wants to create a biracial coalition in the South. 'For my fellow Democratic opponents to sink to this level is really tragic,' he said. 'The only way we're going to beat George Bush is if southern white working families and African American working families come together under the Democratic tent.' "

The official website has a place where you can pledge to vote in your primary or caucus. I hope you will find a couple of minutes today to make this pledge for Dean.

At first I was going to vote in the primary in my home state, but I recently learned that Democrats Abroad holds a caucus in February. I've decided to participate there instead, and potentially make a big impact on Dean's level of support among Americans abroad.

To pledge to attend your Democrats Abroad caucus, click here.

The mainstream media has eventually caught on to the fact that the current electronic voting solutions have some serious security problems.

"With just over a year to go before the next presidential race, touchscreen voting machines don't seem like the cure-all some thought they would be. Skeptics fear they'll only produce more problems, from making recounts less reliable to giving computer hackers a chance to sabotage results" CNN.com - Worries grow over new voting machines' reliability, security

Since I'm updating the Meetup numbers on the right sidebar anyway, I thought I might start a new tradition on this blog: announcing new locations! I have to add the caveat that perhaps these locations have been there in the past, but for whatever reason I was not seeing them in my weekly scan of the list.

This week I have the pleasure of announcing two new international meetup groups: Belfast, N. Ireland and Munich, Germany! Both of these areas need a few more members before Meetup will grant them an actual meeting, so if you know any Dean supporters who live there, have them visit the Dean Meetup site and sign up!