Did out of state volunteers help Dean in Iowa at all?

[Ficus]

This column was interesting to me. It was written by David Yepsen, who I really think tends to be a closet RW, but nonetheless, knows the state's politics better than almost anyone. This column isn't a critique of the message though, but the campaigns.

Okay I know some people out there traveled to IA to help Dean. What are your thoughts?

Dick Gephardt had a lot of labor unions. Dean had some key unions, too, and the largest campaign operation ever built in the state. In many ways, it was the best because of the enthusiasm and dedication of its volunteers. But, obviously, it wasn't as good as it needed to be. One problem was that it was staffed by a lot of young people from out of state. While everyone can respect their energy, it's just not the same as having your neighbors coming up and asking you to help their candidate.

(It's also pretty clear from the results that some Dean people should have been doing something better with their time than standing in the cold on street corners Monday waving signs. You going to follow the presidential suggestions of someone too dumb to come in out of the cold? Not in Iowa.)

...
Kerry's campaign had a better organization than it let on. It estimated 130,000 people would show up at the caucuses - about 123,000 actually did - and went about finding enough people to win in a turnout of that size. Even during the dark months of the campaign, Kerry's Iowa manager, John Norris, said he didn't care about problems in the national office, he just wanted his staff to focus on building their "hard count." They did and it worked. Norris & Co. put together groups of individual firefighters and veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans, to help Kerry. Having hometown people such as local firefighters or veterans stand up for Kerry in caucuses proved a lot more persuasive to other Iowans than some California Deaniac working the sidelines.

[Badger1]

1. My parents

My parents live in Des Moines and are very active Dems. They have supported Kerry since the begining. My mom got a personal letter from some Dr. in California urging her to support Dean and my dad (a vet) got two from vets out west. Iowans are very independent and take the caucus seriously. They said they took some offense at "outsiders" telling them how to vote. Others in their neighborhood made similar comments.

[Ficus]

2. there certainly were some new faces last week

here in IA. I'd tend to kind of agree with your analysis of Iowans too.

[mistertrickster]

3. I knocked on doors in Iowa for Dean. First, don't ever forget that when

a RWer ridicules people for "standing around with signs" it's because they want people to stay inside glued to their FOX news consuming ads for Wal-Mart. They don't want them out in the streets participating and shaping American democracy--that's for rich oliarchs like the BFEE to do--so we can dispense of that criticism right there.

A lot of things came together to work against Dr. Dean in the final days of the campaign--Gephardt's attack ads that forced Dean to either ignore them (bad) or respond to them (worse). The old tape of Dean claiming caucusus were controlled by special interests, which is ABSOLUTELY true in the past, didn't help him.

The part of the Dean campaign I was involved in focused intensively on registered Democrats who were just getting blitzed and blasted with campaigning from every side. I think all the attention just made a lot of people turn off ALL the appeals. Some of us were wondering if our time wouldn't have been better spent just going to a sports bar or a mall somewhere and trying to get the message out to new or non voters.

Also, there were a few glitches--campaigners sometimes covering the same street for instance as two different groups were sent to the same area. That's inevitable, but still we could have done better with the logistics at times.

As for the war whoop "gaffe," that is absolutely nuthin' and shows the depths to which the popular media will sink to try to stop an outsiders grassroots campaign. Their mantra is "maintain the status quo at all costs. We have the information and power, and we dole it out for money to the sheeple who consume it."

[Ficus]

5. thanks!

Why didn't organization = votes? That's the one missing link here...any successful close campaign is won with GOTV and organization. Dean had the best our state has EVER seen.

I agree with your most of your analysis about what happened. The negative ads were WAY TOO MUCH! I ended up going edwards as my 2nd choice, mostly because of his lack of attack ads and lit pieces. (and I like his 2 Americas theme)

I WOULD agree with David Yepsen, though, that the best way to get folks to the caucuses is NOT to stand on street corners. When only 6% of the population votes...that's just a waste of personel.

[windansea]

4. not according to this report

"Who Let the Blogs Out? Alert emailer "Andrew" offers an explanation of Dean's Iowa loss: "The decline in Dean's numbers in Iowa coincided with the arrival of his vaunted 3500 ground troops," who alienated Iowa voters. The Deaniacs were too opinionated and wouldn't shut up-- i.e., they were slightly crazed. Dean would have done better without them. As Andrew, a Dean supporter, put it: "I wouldn't want to let a lot of these folk into my house." ... It's just a theory, but note that it would explain the loss and the scream (which was Dean getting into their 'head'). ... People who were actually in Iowa should feel free to tell me if the theory rings true--though if Joe Trippi starts asking Dean volunteers to stay away from New Hampshire and "work on the Web," that would also constitute confirmation. ... P.S.: kf reader "T.C." proposed this scenario the week before the caucuses. ("Nothing like a bunch of young, smug, condescending, messianic, coastal elites to remind Iowans of why they don't like easterners.")"

http://slate.msn.com/id/2094126/

[Ficus]

6. I find Dean supporters I've met

very nice. But I didn't meet them all, and I'm also an 23 year old. Perhaps with some of the older voters the last quote is true.

"Nothing like a bunch of young, smug, condescending, messianic, coastal elites to remind Iowans of why they don't like easterners."

on edit: I love the east coast!

[windansea]

7. I am sure lots of Dean supporters are nice

but it sounds like Iowans got a little fed up with the barrage of phone calls and knocks on their doors

[Logansquare]

8. Ah, and the orange hats

Designed to, I guess, show them how many of our folks were out there. Did anyone think that it might look like an invading army? I'm hoping the campaign learns and grows from this. Kerry's brilliant recovery is proof that even campaigns that appear DOA can be revived.