Statement from Howard Dean on Accusations from the Gephardt Campaign

Props to the Dean Press people. I learned about this story from their press release even before I heard about the story from the Gephardt campaign or the media. That's quick response!

For Immediate Release
June 19, 2003

Statement from Howard Dean on accusations from the Gephardt campaign that the MoveOn Primary is rigged:

San Francisco -- “MoveOn has done more to get people involved and to give them a voice in the political process than any other organization in recent memory. To question the integrity of MoveOn and its 1.4 million members is outrageous and only serves to further erode the American people’s belief that their voices matter.

“People in Washington wonder why so many have been turning away from the political process. This type of baseless accusation only gives them one more reason to tune out.

“My campaign will continue to stand for one thing: citizen participation. We must not allow Washington cynicism to erode the fundamental belief that people at the grassroots can make a difference in their government. Join me, and let’s move on.”
###

Update: You can learn more about the Gephardt campaign's questioning the MoveOn people at the Kansas City Star. In the article, it is stated:

Officials in Dick Gephardt's campaign said they were surprised when their supporters who registered got an e-mail encouraging them to vote for Dean. Gephardt's team considered pulling out of the primary but decided to stay in.

"We are not going to change our participation at this point, but we are concerned that the process seems to be rigged," said Erik Smith, a spokesman for the presidential campaign of the Missouri lawmaker. "We think there is a legitimate role for MoveOn to organize grass-roots support for candidates, but we are worried that it appears they are playing favorites."

MoveOn replies in the same story

Dean campaign manager, Joe Trippi, said the other campaigns are just trying to disparage the primary because they know they will not win.

Boyd said everyone registered on the site got the Dean e-mail Wednesday because he finished in the top three in a poll conducted by the campaign last month. The other top finishers also got to send a message - Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's was sent Thursday; Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich will send his Friday.

Other campaigns have written pitches that are posted on MoveOn.org, but not e-mailed to its members. The messages are a reward for finishing at the top of the poll, and the other campaigns were told that they would be sent in a memo describing the endorsement process, Boyd said.