Dean Corps puts service back into community

[Pastiche423]

Howard Dean may well be the next president of the United States because of people like Eliot Williamson, Megan Scott, Sally Troxel and Dick Stater. They are part of something called the "Dean Corps" in Iowa, and they are taking politics back to the future by organizing campaign work around community-service projects.

The Democratic presidential hopeful has volunteers who are doing such things as collecting school supplies, participating in river clean-up efforts, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, collecting native prairie seeds for preservation, chopping firewood for a youth camp, banding birds and collecting supplies for food banks. It gives volunteers something to do besides make pestering phone calls to other Democrats, and it's having a big political payoff.

- snip -

In some ways, the Dean Corps is no different from what politicians did generations ago when precinct captains worked neighborhoods to bring food baskets to the needy or help the down-and-out. Political campaigns have moved away from that sort of thing in favor of big fund-raisers to pay for high-intensity television campaigns. The Dean Corps concept is changing that. Given how other politicians always imitate the successful tactic of another, we can expect community service to become a centerpiece of other campaigns in the future, and that's one new trend in politics that would be healthy.

More...

http://www.dmregister.com/opinion/stories/c5917686/22254884.html

[silverweb]

1. Wonderful!

I hope we see more and more of this!

[caledesi]

2. The more I hear about Dean, the more I like him.

[KingOfLostSouls]

3. I Have Reservations About Dean

simple fact he's been a bit wishy washy on some things. he's not a beltway type from what I gathered though. and he's got that whole "eastern blue blood" thing that kerry has.

however


he's running as a populist and really getting out to the salt of the earth types. even as a liberal, I'm not dumb enough to think that a leftist can truely unite americans. it takes a person willing to lead for all people, not just some people.

its refreshing to see someone actually willing to put community back. good for dean.

[Pastiche423]

4. A left coast afternoon

:kick:

[sangh0]

5. Kerry's been talking about community service

for years. I'm glad to see that Dean also thinks it's a good idea.

[Pastiche423]

6. Kerry's been talking

while Dean actually does it!

[sangh0]

7. In real life

Kerry was doing community service while Dean was skiing.

[sangh0]

8. Also

Dean is NOT doing community service, it's Dean's supporters. Dean is out campaigning.

[Forkboy]

9. So is Kerry though

he was so busy doing that he couldn't bother to show up for a critical vote (imo) on mini-nukes.

[sangh0]

10. *yawn*

Only you would think that "the candidates are campaigning" is news

[Forkboy]

12. Geez...you brought it up

:eyes:

[Pastiche423]

11. Wasn't that what Kerry

was hired to do? Voting as a representative for his constintuents?

IMHO, that WAS a critical vote. I am so lucky that my Dem Senator was not only there, but vote against mini nukes.

[sangh0]

15. Actually, no.

For one thing, the Senator was not meant to be a representative of "the people". In fact, it was designed to be the opposite. It was meant to be a defense AGAINST "the people", whose actions were sometimes guided more by passion than reason.

That's why the Constitution did not make Senators subject to popular votes, but instead had them elected by their state legislatures. It's why the Senate continues the tradition of "unlimited debate" (aka filibuster) which allows one Senator to gum up the works.

The Framers were extremely suspicious of direct democracy. That's why they made us a Constitutional Republic, and NOT a democracy.

[Forkboy]

16. Only you

would think Senators work against the people.

[sangh0]

17. Yeah, right! Only me

and Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, George Washington, and the other Founding Fathers.

[sangh0]

18. And

the Greens

[Forkboy]

19. boy you get testy

when people do unto you as you do unto others.

[Pastiche423]

24. What you call "testy"

I call unproductive.

[TLM]

25. Well in Kerry's case....

he's right.

[denverbill]

13. Man that's a FANTASTIC idea!!!

I've always thought a great way to campaign would be to spend campaign cash on community betterment projects instead of annoying attack ads.

[Pastiche423]

14. Not only that

but having an opportunity to be a postive part of the process of Democracy, helps everyone.

So many people feel helpless as to what they can do to change the harmful path our country has been lead to. W/our sky high unemployment, jobs sent overseas, no healthcare for millions, etc, projects such as these, are ways for people to be hands on in that change.

[curlyred]

20. so where do we sign up?

[denverbill]

21. I don't know if you do sign up.

I think you just do it:)

[Pastiche423]

23. There may already groups organized

in communities, but I agree, just do it!

In the activists groups I belong to in my community, I educate others about Dean; what he's doing and what he stands for. But the most important thing, is to start doing.

[Le Taz Hot]

22. If you are part of a Meet Up group

you can propose it on the next Meet Up agenda -- that's what we did. I did some research, made some calls and now we're scheduled to serve breakfast and make lunches at our local homeless shelter right before Thanksgiving. So it's not a one-time deal, we've committed to work there every other month through March -- possibly more, depending upon how this recall situation goes.