NewsMax.com
Saturday, July 5, 2003

That quarterly figure, more than $ 2 million more than his nearest competitor, has helped catapult Dean from also-ran to a contender to be reckoned with. This past Monday alone, he raised more than $ 800,000, the lion’s share from online donations.

Despite the windfall quarter, Dean remains at the No. 3 slot among the presidential-aspiring Democratic candidates in the total amount raised this year.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., raised about $6 million this quarter and $13 million this year; while Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., raised about $5 million this quarter, for a total of about $12.4 million for the year. Dean has managed $10.1 million since the start of the year.

Guru of Political Cyberspace

Bottom-line war chests aside, the starling quarterly figure has put Dean on the skyline and frocked him as reigning political guru of Cyberspace. There is even a buzz in the media that the Dean phenomenon may forever change the political landscape.

Of course, there is nothing absolutely new under the sun. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., raked in about a million bucks in a short interval of time after he won the New Hampshire Republican primary.

But for those that point with relish to the McCain history of rapid crash-and-burn, the feisty former governor’s camp is quick to counter with the fact that Dean’s use of the Internet has gone way past serving as simply an alternate conduit of cash donations. Gee whiz, you can even download Dean posters and flyers to print out and nail to your trees during the backyard barbeque.

Further case-in-point: This past Wednesday evening, thousands of Deanies flocked to so-called “Meetups,” in restaurants and coffeehouses around the country. The flocking Deanies got lashed up through chatting with one another on www.meetup.com., a site that is linked to other key Dean Cyber outposts -- www.deanforamerica.com and www.blogforamerica.com.

At the meetings, hosts handed out stationery, envelopes and addresses, and they asked the gathered to write longhand missives to two Iowa Democrats, urging them to back Dean in the January caucuses.

Moving On

In addition to the aforementioned websites, the Dean Cyber invasion has been propelled by Moveon.org, a web address established in 1998 by two Californians chagrined by the impeachment of President Clinton. The site was originally set up to mobilize support against what they styled a Republican witch-hunt.

After Moveon.org’s original purpose vanished, the website carried on with a surprising momentum, evolving into a left-wing Democratic force, with more than 1.4 million members.

Recently, Moveon.org organized a Democratic “virtual primary,” and in excess of 317,000 online ballots were cast. Dean handily won with 44 per cent of the vote

“On Monday, I stood in Burlington, Vermont and said that my campaign-our campaign-was built on ‘mouse pads, shoe leather, and hope.’ Today, we see just how far that combination can go: We have won the Moveon.org primary by a landslide,” Dean gushed in a post-victory speech available on his DeanforAmerica.com platform.

“This is a milestone that will be remembered. It is moments like this that will help restore American democracy to the ideals upon which it was founded-ones that make the processes of government accessible to every American.

“We are excited to move on bolstered by the many thousands this process has brought to our campaign. We are taking the country back-one voter at a time.”

Virtual Celebration

At the end of the speech text, ran a colorful and telling announcement: “A virtual celebration of the governor’s victory will be taking place at www.deanforamerica.com with supporters gathering at www.blogforamerica.com to discuss the victory.”

It should be pointed out that the Dean camp sort of blundered into Meetup.com. At first glance it would seem to be an unlikely place for a serious presidential candidate to choose to hang his hat. All sorts of groups are registered in the site’s various Cyber communities – from beagle owners to witch covens.

The Deanies comprise 41,000 members of a total Meetup.com clan of more than 387,000 members who, using the site, organize flesh-and-blood meetings in coffee houses or bars to discuss their common topic of interest. The Deanies have settled on the first Wednesday of each month. Overall, Dean says that he has attracted more than 128,000 internet volunteers to help with his campaign, raising and donating millions of dollars in the process.

Meanwhile, Dean’s fellow candidates are shaking their heads at the surprising phenomenon.

“We’re not sure what’s to come of it,” Jennifer Palmieri, campaign spokeswoman for Sen. John Edwards, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, adding that the question is whether the message goes to “average voters” or just to a more narrow group of Internet activists – a nice way of saying weird folks who lurk in Cyberspace.

Tapping In

Jim Jordan, Kerry’s campaign manager offered, “Look, he’s tapped into an angry, motivated constituency who, for one quarter at least, pulled out their checkbooks. The question about Dean has never been about the intensity of his support. It’s about the breadth of it.”

Whether Dean fizzles on not, the way America does political business may have turned an historic corner.

“People have been pooh-poohing the Internet and saying it has never lived up to its promise and it never would,” opined political analyst and University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato. “Well, guess what? They’re wrong, and it is living up to its promise. And it’s going to be one of the primary vehicles for both organization and coverage from now on.”

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

2004 Elections

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