Reply #48: Why I agree with Howard Dean's comment....

[helleborient]

The MOST valuable part of Howard Dean's campaign to many of us...even more important than Dean as the candidate to some of us...is that the campaign process he and Trippi have put together genuinely appealing to the grassroots, encouraging people everywhere in the country to get involved in the campaign very early on, and telling us we really do have power to change the government...is under threat when Howard Dean is attacked.

Once in a while I do hear someone say that Howard Dean has done a great job at putting the campaign together, but they disagree with him as the candidate. That has usually come from pundits in large publications.

I don't have confidence that any of the other candidates have demonstrated a real support for real grassroots campaigns, except Dennis Kucinich...campaign funding for each of the other leading candidates begins to tell the story - they are much more strongly funded by $2,000 campaign contributors than Dean is.

So I feel that when a candidate using money politics and old-line politics attacks Howard Dean...it is an attack on us, too...because they will be quick to point out Dean's way of campaigning is a failure in order to protect the entrenched world of operatives, special interests, and money.