Reply #9: A couple of other suggestions...

[ImADeanDem]

I got to participate in a conference call with the Guv last night, and he suggested sending positive, pleasant, HANDWRITTEN letters to Governors Rendell and/or Richardson, both of whom are rumored to be considering a run in 2008 -- meaning that they will need the support of the grassroots. His suggestion was basically to talk about how we (the grassroots) intend to be extremely activist in the next primaries, and that we would "love to be helpful" in their campaigns (with the implication being that we're more likely to support them if they support our choice for Chair). He suggested we emphasize the work that we did in his campaign, and certainly mention it if we got involved (or more active) in politics because of him.

The hard part, though, is that he said we should keep our letters to no more than 2 paragraphs, or they won't read them. So short and sweet is the name of the game! I'm still trying to figure out how to word my letter. The hardest part is getting the implication of "you help us, we'll help you" across without sounding like I'm threatening or bribing -- know what I mean?

Anyway, thought I'd share that info for anyone who's interested. (He also suggested sending thank you notes to Governor Vilsack, who's endorsed him. And if your state has a Dem Governor, you could write to them. I guess maybe the Governors have a lot of influence on the vote.)

Oh, the other thing he said was that the unions pretty much have the power to make or break his chances. He does NOT want us spamming people we don't know, but if you are a member of a union that has a representative on the DNC, it might be good to write to them.

Edited to take out the assumption I made that Rendell and Richardson were both DNC members -- I just checked, and they're not. I guess the thinking is that they have significant influence on members of the DNC, even though they're not themselves members.