The REAL reason Dean supporters support him...

[CTLawGuy]

it is not because of the war, or because of "kool aid", or because of anger.

People support him because he GETS IT.

He understands that in order to win, the Democratic party must stand for something, it must represent its constituency in government. 2002 was a disaster because the Democrats were so afraid of Bush they barely ran campaigns. Cleland and Carnahan voted for the war and the tax cuts in a desparate atttempt to save their seats and lost them. The reason the party out of power is successful in midterms is that they run against not only their opponents but the president as well. We never ran against Bush. We were too afraid of 9/11 and swing voters, and Dukakis.

We, the Democratic people have been frustrated for at least two years because of our party's lack of fight.

Dean came on to the stage not afraid to criticize the Dem leadership for not fighting for us. He is not afraid of George Bush, and he believes the only way for the party to win is to be an ALTERNATIVE to the other party. Not to be like them. When Dean called other candidates "bush lite" he didnt mean to say they were republicans, he meant to say they are cowering before the president because of the polls, and they shouldnt do that, they should be proud to be Democrats. It was about STRATEGY, not VIEWS.

Becuase people were angry with the Dem leadership, Dean's words resonated powerfully. He began to represent everyone who felt ignored by the party, and to represent even those who had been disillusioned with politics.

For two years, our party has been divided and leaderless. This primary is about what our party will mean. Will we be a party that worries about the swing vote, even to the point of adopting the positions of the other party, or will we be a party that emboldens and represents the base?

In short, we support Dean because he wants to take the Democratic Party back for the base. We will attract swing voters by having a coherent and clear message. If swing voters hear only one message, they will be responsive to that message or if they don't like it, they will ignore politics. The election WILL be about Saddam's capture if we allow it to be, if we are afraid of Bush and allow him to frame the debate. If we can communicate a coherent set of principles that we actually stand for, voters will pay attention. If we advocate a muddled and overly nuanced message, voters will not pay attention. Dean wants a message and an attitude to give people a reason to vote again. Its already happening if you notice all the people who have never been political working on dean's campaign.

One last thing: the average voter respects Bush because he percieves Bush as decisive and genuine. From what he can understand, Bush takes a position and sticks with it. Voters hate nothing more than a politician who they feel is trying to pull the wool over their eyes. They hate overly nuanced and complex positions, which is to an extent unfortunate given the realities of governance. The democrats need to have someone who is as decisive and genuine as Bush supposedly is.

I think voters will perceive Dean as having those qualities (should he get the nomination, of course) Any Democrat who has any positions of her own is instantly painted as liberal by the media. But Dean is a centrist, has always run as a centrist, and will continue to run as a centrist. Voters will understand he is a centrist, becuase Dean has the apparatus to get his message out. (two big issues that make him a centrist, that will register with voters: guns, and balanced budgets) they will see someone who signed a bill they may or may not like, to give civil unions, but they will respect that he wasnt paying attention to polls when he signed it. he opposed a war they may agree with, but they will see it as genuine and not a political calculation. After that, they turn off their politician-BS filter and might actually listen to what he has to say.

What dogged Gore was the perception that he was ungenuine, that he was trying to sell something to the american people, that he was a different person every week. to a lesser extent, I believe that is hurting Kerry too. People see him as trying to hedge his bets on the war (whether that is valid is another story). People hate sales pitches, thats why they despise TV ads, they'd rather see someone who just says what he believes.

I know I've rambled on, but I hope you all voice your thoughts.