News & Notes from Iowa & Democracyland
Grassley Wins The Diddly Award!
Honoring the jaw-dropping achievements of the 108th Congress
Pork
spending has enjoyed such an unimaginable renaissance that even Pork
Prince Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) is offended. Republican Sen. Charles
Grassley, for one, convinced the government to underwrite the $225
million creation of an African rainforest in Iowa to help children
appreciate the “wonders of the jungle.”
(more shocking fun)
OK, It's Now Official: The Name “Dean” No Longer Exists
This
message from Jessica, the gal who is organizing “Deanfest” while at the
same time running for office in Vermont, was posted last night on Blog
for America.
I wanted to let you all know that you will be receiving an email from Gov. Dean about Deanfest today!!!
In the
letter he will invite everyone to join him at the event and list some
of it's highlights, as well as direct people to our website.
The
email will go out to DFA's entire mailing list. This is great news!!!!
Many people don't know about the event yet, and we are hoping that this
will also give us a surge of donations (which we desperately need).
The
somewhat controversial news in Gov. Dean's letter is that he will tell
his membership that in the interest of ensuring that this festival is
not only produced as an inclusive event but also marketed as such, he
has asked My Vote is My Voice to rename the event. He explains that the
event was formerly called Deanfest but will now, formally, be named
DemocracyFest.
Based on
emails I have received from you, some of you are going to be happy
about this news because it will make the event more inclusive. However,
I understand that many of you may not be thrilled.
I'm
going to be honest with you here. What it comes down to is money. The
expenses for producing this event are very high. Our expected expenses
total $184k. Some of the large expenses include the venue, both private
and police security required to get our permit, insurance,
stage/lighting/sound, cleanup/dumpsters, tents/tables/chairs, etc, etc,
etc.
Contributions
are up to $3k, which is wonderful, and we are very grateful, and 3,000
advance ticket sales would cover $105k. We were counting on sponsors
and/or additional ticket sales to cover the rest. However, we are
finding it extremely difficult to find sponsorship with the event
called Deanfest, as well as difficulty finding headline performers and
speakers who felt that an event named “Deanfest” was somehow against
Kerry. (I know that we all know this is not true, but it seems that
that is the impression that the name gives).
Another
problem, because of the resistance to the name outside of the Dean
community, DFA understandably felt it may hurt them to promote the
event if it was called Deanfest and that they would only be able to
promote the event though their email list/blog/meetup if the event was
named DemocracyFest. Without the promotion by DFA, we were very
concerned that we would not be able to get even 3,000 people to
come…which still does not cover expenses.
So, in
order to have the event at all, we need to change the name. It is still
ok with us if you continue to refer to the event by its nickname,
“Deanfest”, but the official name of DemocracyFest will be used in all
marketing materials.
Now,
this name change does not solve all our problems, we only have about a
month before the event and the chances of finding a large sponsor is
slim. Our hope is that DFA's letters to their large email list will
increase donations dramatically.
Please help by making a contribution here.
Contributions or gifts to My Vote Is My Voice are not tax deductible.
Thank you,
Jessica
And Now For Something REALLY Interesting!
Draft Dean for VP Committee has Bloc of 350 Delegates Committed to Floor Fight in Boston
LOS
ANGELES, July 1 /PRNewswire/ — The National Draft Dean for VP
Committee (NDVPC) announced today that it would use Democratic party
rules allowing draft petitions to mount a floor fight at the Democratic
National Convention in Boston July 25 to put former Vermont Governor
Howard Dean's name in contention for the party's VP nomination.
Recent
polls show Nader's candidacy engulfing Kerry's slim margins over Bush
in 15 out of 18 battleground states. “People are suddenly
realizing that Nader is going to cost Kerry this election. Zogby and
Fox polling show that only a Kerry/Dean ticket neutralizes the shift to
Nader,” says NDVPC member Melinda Lachance. “A draft Dean movement in
Boston is essential to make this Kerry/Dean ticket a reality.”
Tapping
into the large, still-connected nationwide network of Dean supporters
and delegates, and reaching out to delegates of other candidates, NDVPC
has found early success. Delegates from at least 18 states have agreed
to participate in a draft petition on the convention floor and promote
it among fellow delegates.
“This is
democracy in action,” said Michael Meurer, NDVPC co-Chair. “It only
takes 300 delegates to mount a draft petition at the convention, and we
believe we already have that level of support.” Meurer added, “Dean is
the only VP candidate who genuinely excites the progressive base of the
party.”
The draft Dean initiative is being launched by the same group running the http://www.draftdeanforvp.org
online petition drive. The draft Dean petition has nearly 7,000
signatures from all 50 states and is expected to pass 10,000 before the
convention. A NDVPC-sponsored VP poll has also drawn over 550
responses. Tabulated petition results and VP poll results will be sent
by special courier to Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill during a
NDVPC press conference prior to the convention.
(Source)
Blog For Iowa 
Understanding the enthusiasm of a Dean VP slection. Has anyone determined at what point that becomes counterproductive? The end game is that we have to rid our country of this junta. I dont care who Kerry picks to make that happen. I would rather Gephardt be Secretary of Labor than VP, but if thats who Kerry picks so be it. The single thing I want from the VP selection is that they go for the throat of Bush/Cheney.
mark
carlisle, iowa
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I'd say it becomes counterproductive when it is no longer possible. Personally, I am glad to see that some of the folks who are Dean supporters but not Dem newbies are taking action – action that is permitted by the rules of the Democratic Party. Not that rules make much of a difference, as we've seen at such events as the state convention and during the primary campaign, when rules stated that the DNC could not show favor for any candidate and then went out and Dean-bashed at every turn.
You're right about the end game. But there are a lot of Dean supporters, both long-time Dems and freshly-minted newbies, who are burnt out and disgusted with the way things are going. If Kerry were so politically un-astute as to choose Gephardt as VP in payback for the murder/suicide of Dean in Iowa, I think a lot of Dean supporters would drop out completely. On the other hand, if Dean were selected, Kerry would get a huge influx of enthusiasm and hard work.
So, if you're looking for the best way to fire up a huge crowd of people to beat the Bush junta, pick Dean. Worst possible way: pick that bland, evil-twin Gephardt. Middle-of-the-road choice: pick Edwards, who is no more experienced now than he was a few months ago. He could be the new Dan Quayle. Going for the throat of Bush/Cheney? Edwards? He'd have to drop that nice-guy facade to do it.
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LOL. Is trial lawyer and nice guy an oxymoron? It would not hurt my feelings to see Howard get the nod. I just dont think its realistic. But what do I know? I'm just a crazy xGI.
mark
carlisle, iowa
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I agree with you. I don't think it's realistic, either. But, I'd still like to see us put up a fight.
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