Good News from Kerryland
QUESTION: If you hold a statewide organizing meeting in John Kerry's homestate only a few days after the New Hampshire primary -- and after much media crowing about Howard Dean being a has been and John Kerry being a shoo in -- will anyone show up?
ANSWER: You betcha.
On Saturday, January 31, Massachusetts for Dean held an all-day organizing meeting -- a morning session at UMass-Amherst and an afternoon session at Boston University. We planned the meeting in the midst of the Iowa and New Hampshire efforts. In other words, this meeting got planned in about a week and many folks in MA found out about it at the last minute and in the midst of the latest round of the anti-Dean media circus (which has been especially strong in Massachusetts, not surprisingly).
How many people showed up? Close to 50 in Western Mass, and well over 100 in Boston. It was standing room only to hear Steve Grossman (National Co-Chair of DFA) and the Governor's brother, Bill Dean (who lives in MA), and listen to presentations by MassforDean organizers about: what we'll be doing to help out in Michigan and Maine; registering MA voters by the February 11 deadline; MFD's media strategy; and GOTV in MA for March 2. The Q&A and breakout sessions were lively and went well beyond the time limits.
The energy at these meetings was INCREDIBLE. People are not discouraged; they are energized; they are determined. In some ways, it was like an enormous statewide meetup. There was a good mix of longtime Dean activists and quite a few newbies (we invited our whole mailing list and DFA sent out a notice to all their tens of thousands of supporters in MA).
We even got some media coverage. NECN (New England Cable News) dropped by the Boston session and interviewed Steve Grossman.
What we have built is amazing. What we have inspired is amazing. We are much more powerful than we sometimes think we are. And while we shouldn't kid ourselves -- this is going to be a tough tough climb -- we cannot forget: WE HAVE THE POWER. Onward!
ANSWER: You betcha.
On Saturday, January 31, Massachusetts for Dean held an all-day organizing meeting -- a morning session at UMass-Amherst and an afternoon session at Boston University. We planned the meeting in the midst of the Iowa and New Hampshire efforts. In other words, this meeting got planned in about a week and many folks in MA found out about it at the last minute and in the midst of the latest round of the anti-Dean media circus (which has been especially strong in Massachusetts, not surprisingly).
How many people showed up? Close to 50 in Western Mass, and well over 100 in Boston. It was standing room only to hear Steve Grossman (National Co-Chair of DFA) and the Governor's brother, Bill Dean (who lives in MA), and listen to presentations by MassforDean organizers about: what we'll be doing to help out in Michigan and Maine; registering MA voters by the February 11 deadline; MFD's media strategy; and GOTV in MA for March 2. The Q&A and breakout sessions were lively and went well beyond the time limits.
The energy at these meetings was INCREDIBLE. People are not discouraged; they are energized; they are determined. In some ways, it was like an enormous statewide meetup. There was a good mix of longtime Dean activists and quite a few newbies (we invited our whole mailing list and DFA sent out a notice to all their tens of thousands of supporters in MA).
We even got some media coverage. NECN (New England Cable News) dropped by the Boston session and interviewed Steve Grossman.
What we have built is amazing. What we have inspired is amazing. We are much more powerful than we sometimes think we are. And while we shouldn't kid ourselves -- this is going to be a tough tough climb -- we cannot forget: WE HAVE THE POWER. Onward!
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