Reply #30: I don't believe this "generalization" of Dean supporters is true. [View All]

[EXE619K]

The majority of people in the Dean camp are affiliated with the Democratic Party and yes, that's true.

However, after attending a lot of Dean "Meet-ups" and having gone to many of his support rallies, there are many "non-Democrats" in his camp as well(for example myself...supported Bradley and McCain in 2000 and all of the people that I worked for in the McCain camp here, I found that most of them became Dean supporters.)

Now, I've always wondered why Dean has such a strong support from the "far-left" of the Democratic Party. As an Independent, this baffled me for a while.

But, after speaking with other "Diehards" of Dean locally, I'm certain that most people who support Dean know very well "who" their candidate is and also; they are well versed in his accomplishments and record.

As a "Deaner" for over 14 months now, I can only tell you this:

1. The Dean campaign, in origin, was driven by the ABB theme like other campaigns. Yet, the underlying force of the Dean Movement is fueled by rebellion.
Rebellion in particular to the dissatisfaction of the continual loss of The Democratic Party in 2000 and 2002. When Dean commented that the current Democratic field as "cockroaches", a lot of Democrats were angry for attacking one of their own. However, it caused a euphoric response from within the ranks of "Deaners".

2. Pragmatism is blind to political ideology. As I have mentioned, Most "Deaners" know that their candidate is NOT a "far left-winger". But, we are ardent supporters of Dean because of his accomplishments in Vermont and his "less than subtle" critique of his own political party.
True leadership is not defined by how well a person follows a crowd. True leaders will criticize their own and not be afraid to do so. During his time as Governor of Vermont, he went against the grain of his Liberal support and did the right thing to make that state a better place for ordinary citizens. Dean is a pragmatist, not a "politics as usual" leader.

I think people in the other camps should know that the heart that pumps the Dean campaign is not about political ideology of Liberal or Conservative politics.

It's rooted in Rebellion and Pragmatism.