A sad day.
I still have trouble understanding why so many people like Kerry, but it's been painfully obvious that most Democrats do not think Dean is the man to take back the White House.
Not that there's anything short of a miracle that would keep me from voting for the Democrastic nominee come November. Anybody But Bush is the name of the game right now. But still, I would prefer to be enthusiastic about that nominee, as I was for Dean and for Clinton before him.
Maybe next time.
Followup: here's a transcript of Dean's excellent speech as he suspended his campaign today. Good stuff.
Comments (3)
Only "actively" out. My recommendation? Vote Dean anyway, to send as many delegates as possible to the convention. That will count more than a vote for either Kerry or Edwards, because it will give us a say in the platform, and what happens in Washington after. I don't see how Edwards has a chance, as he will soon be out of money. I don't see how Kerry has a chance, either, because he is so easy to tear down (and Rove knows it). Who knows what will happen in Boston if we just keep plugging: we got the most delegates from Washington and Maine, where we did not campaign. No reason to think the grass-roots can't keep growing, as long as we water it!
Posted by Julie Ann Thayer | February 18, 2004 2:18 PM
I hear what you say and I appreciate the thoughts. But I am also haunted by the specter of the 2000 elections, where Nader voters wanted to send a message, cost Gore the election, and stuck us with the mess we're in now. And then last year, I voted my conscience in the recall and we ended up with the Terminator anyway. I'm tired of voting my conscience and getting screwed.
Look at the hard numbers. Kerry currently has 613 delegates, Dean has 202 delegates, Edwards has 192, with approximately 2440 yet to be chosen by voters and 802 'superdelegates'. If Dean were to poll at 15% in every single state yet to vote, that would be 366 more Dean delegates for a total of 568. That sounds good, but it's only 13% of the total delegate pool. Now, even at 8 to 10% of the delegates, that's enough to have some impact on the party platform. We might be able to get our wording on a few planks, because when the TV cameras are on, the DNC wants unanimity.
But with Dean not actively campaigning, do you honestly think winning 15% of the remaining vote is even remotely realistic? Even with Dean actively campaigning fulltime in the first 17 primaries/caucuses, he got on average 14% of the vote - a range from 4% to 26%. In other words, just to have 13% of the total delegate pool at Convention, Dean would have to get about as many votes without a formal campaign as he got during his formal campaign.
That's just not going to happen.
Posted by fiat lux | February 19, 2004 10:07 PM
In all honesty, it was the media building up Dean before one vote was cast. I think the surveys and media have no clue what people think or want.
As for grass roots? I don't think an internet campain counts as grass roots. Most Americans who own computers don't use them for anything other than minesweeper. Internet users for the main source of information is still a minority. If he wanted Grass roots, then he should have talked to people, not e-mail them.
Posted by Dexter Herron | March 5, 2004 11:03 PM