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In Dean Meetups that have been going here in a small city of 100,000 - central Illinois - since July, I've had the opportunity to meet a local union official, local teachers, University faculty, students, and ex-Republicans who all are united in a primary goal - sending George W. Bush back to Crawford, TX. This has been a wonderfully empowering experience for me.
In previous presidential campaigns, I had to wait until the few weeks rush before my states primary or give money or go to New Hampshire or Iowa to feel part of a campaign. This year, we have gotten people involved considerably earlier with personal time and energy in addition to money, with little or no help from the traditional party apparatus.
One of our Dean Meetup members reports writing to the Kerry campaign multiple times and hearing no response, so she chose to come to the Dean Meetup where she found people actually working to oust Bush. She admits she may yet support Kerry in the primary, but she appreciates the ability to work with Dean supporters until the point his campaign gets here.
We've been rebuffed by the local Democratic hierarchy with comments that they weren't started working yet, because it doesn't matter until March. But we have been welcomed by an insurgent Democratic candidate for congress who is not a Dean supporter but was happy to come to our Meetup, and endorsed by local peace activists as a worthwhile organization.
The same has been true of the Kucinich Meetup locally and their campaign workers. They are working hard, becoming visible, and again are ignored by the traditional party apparatus.
This is the revolution that I believe Dean and Kucinich as candidates are bringing about in the party that no other candidates seem to be doing - at least in our area. They are willingly giving power to grassroots individuals and encouraging our participation.
As a result, I've given over $100 to the Dean campaign - the first I've ever given to a presidential campaign - although I worked on both Clinton campaigns. Howard Dean came to Chicago and spoke words that I believe and that moved me - We will fight to take back the American flag as a symbol for all of America. We will work on civil rights by bringing all Americans together, because it is when we vote together that real progress is made. Harry Truman was right about healthcare, and we will finally bring universal access to fruition.
The simple fact of the other campaigns is that they have not sent their message here - even by proxy in the form of campaign workers who might see our state (Illinois) as important some time before a last few weeks rush prior to the primary...or some time next fall.
With the Dean and the Kucinich campaigns, we feel empowered. We feel wanted...we feel valued, and that is the way to engender support. The Dean campaign has encouraged us to work to make a human connection to empower voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. As a result, thousands of letters have been written and more direct human connection between those with similar political ideals have been made.
Policy statements, political television, and debates never mean as much as direct human contact...and maybe through the campaign this year, the entrenched powers-that-be in the Democratic Party may finally realize that. We need to build connections with individuals outside of the rush right before primaries or the general election...the party needs to be here as a force for positivity in all parts of the country all of the time. Millions of Americans do not look to Washington for support and solace when facing everyday life, they look to other human beings nearby, and that is where the Democratic Party needs to be.
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