Howard Dean Receives Backbone Award

[mandyky]

03/18/2004



The former governor was in Seattle to roll-out his new organization Democracy For America. Shortly after his news conference, Jason Sawatzki, Backbone's delegate outreach coordinator, presented Dean with the award. Here is a text of the presentation:

"My name is Jason Sawatzki and I am the Delegate Outreach Coordinator of the Backbone Campaign, a progressive grassroots effort to reclaim and embolden the Democratic Party, in hope of rescuing it from irrelevance.

Howard Dean, you, in many ways epitomize the kind of leadership that we at the Backbone Campaign like to recognize. From your stand on the Vermont civil union legislation to your speech challenging the Bush administration at the DNC meeting a year ago in Iowa, you have shown the courage to step forward and alone, make a stand on issues based on principles and not polls. At times when the public mouthpieces for the Democrats seemed to be lapdogs, mush-mouths, and capitulators, you have stood up and strengthened our message, and reframed the public discourse. You took a stand on healthcare, on the war on Iraq, on media, and on top of that you have done an incredible job of reinventing campaign finance to make special interests irrelevant.

Read the rest at http://www.backbonecampaign.org/storylist.cfm?name=news#

Other recipients have been Dennis Kucinich, Jim Hightower, and Jim McDermott.

[jpgray]

1. LOL, good for Howard! (nt)

[liberalnurse]

2. Yes, he sure has his spine

in good alignment!

[slinkerwink]

3. excellent!

[chocolateeater]

4. Here is to Howard Dean,

Dennis Kucinich, Jim Hightower, and Jim McDermott and their Golden Backbones. :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :yourock: :bounce: :headbang: :bounce: Where would we be without them?

[Robb]

5. Gotta hand it to the guy

Yesterday, for example. Marathon on the talk shows, NPR, Tweety, Hannity... what else? He's a machine! :toast: