Following last week’s post on Howie Dean, “just another guy under the Obama bus,” RBO got to wondering about the fate of those other lucky hand-picked Dean Dozen selectees.
Surely, besides The One, in the past four years plus, they have all become political rising stars. Right?
Well, unsurprisingly, not so much.
In a May 12, 2004, Blog for America letter posted at DemocracyForAmerica.com, former Vermont Governor, former 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, and DFA founder Howard Dean announced the first “Dean Dozen”:
… twelve diverse candidates that represent the spirit of grassroots democracy. These will be tough races, and not all of the Dean Dozen may win. However, they will all spread the message that to change America progressives must compete.
Now, several years later, we are left with some interesting questions, the least of which is who were those fortunate folks chosen as “The Dean Dozen?” You know one of them — Barack Obama. Can you name the others? We thought not.
Plus, unfortunately, the Wikipedia, to which RBO turned for quick answers, incorrectly reports that of the twelve, only one of them won in the 2004 general election. Actually, there were two Dean picks who won in 2004: Obama and California Assemblywoman Lori Saldana.
The next question that comes to mind here at RBO is why? If Dean’s DFA threw millions of dollars behind a dozen candidates, how is it that only two of them won?
Was “The Dean Dozen” just a litmus test of some sort to see who might be viable in upcoming political contests? Were each of these possible candidates selected for particular characteristics? Male or female? Minority?
Was it some kind of test run? Did all of them receive equal backing on the campaign trail? Equal financial support?
Certainly with the fundraising millions at his disposal and the Deaniacs (that army of loyal blogging fools and supporters who showed up at political events across the land), winning for every candidate should have been a shoo-in! But it wasn’t.
Surely, with the master “Dean Plan” in hand, manipulating a dozen political races couldn’t have been a difficult task. But apparently it was.
So what went wrong? Or did anything really go wrong?
Is it possible that only one of them — only one of the fabled “Dean Dozen” — had truly been “chosen”? Did the remaining eleven just provide a smokescreen, political cover for the only real candidate?
You have to wonder, as well, because only two were successfully elected in 2004, what has happened to the others? Where are they now?
In the end, you’ll have to come to your own conclusions.
Here are some more little heavy hints for you, straight from the pen of Daily Kos diarist DHinMI, who observed May 14, 2004, after the identities of Dean’s “Dozen” were announced:
Well, his dozen is a peculiar list. It’s very difficult to discern what strategic considerations Dean and his staff put into their choices, except possibly that these folks are being rewarded for their loyalty to Dean’s candidacy. How else to explain Dean’s decision to target the resources of his still significant fundraising and activist base to this collection of campaigns [...]
· Four candidates for State Representative in districts which in 2002 were overwhelmingly Republican, so much so that some couldn’t even attract a Democratic candidate.
· One candidate who already won her primary for an overwhelmingly Democratic seat in the California State Assembly.
· A candidate for a closely contested California State Assembly seat.
· A primary candidate for an overwhelmingly Democratic State Representative seat in Missouri.
· Three candidates for down-ballot offices in Arizona who have yet to even qualify for the ballot.
· A candidate for county office in Florida.
· One of ten primary candidates for Dick Gephardt’s open (and heavily Democratic) Congressional Seat.
· The Democratic candidate running against Tom DeLay, who is one of the least vulnerable members of Congress.
· Barack Obama, an incredibly exciting candidate almost certain to take back a Republican-held Senate seat.
On this list, there are only two candidates who have a high probability of seizing seats currently held by “the right-wing conservatives who dominate our government,” but even one of those seats is in a legislative body (California Assembly) under the control of a solid Democratic majority. And even if every candidate on this list wins their race, they will not constitute a critical mass of Dean support in any state or legislative body where they could band together or on which he could build for the future. All he will have done is help elect a handful of people scattered mostly in part-time legislatures.
Even more puzzling, it apparently seemed to DHinMI, was Dean’s gamble:
Furthermore, highlighting so many candidates with such slight chances of winning is a real risk. If these candidates achieve the improbable and win in 65%+ Republican districts, Democracy for America looks like a powerhouse. If they lose, Democracy for America might be viewed as a group unable to effectively target its resources to help viable candidates win tough races, and the value of the group’s endorsement and the credibility of its calls for reform could vanish.
So, for your consideration, the following list of Dean-backed candidates is being presented exactly as it appears in DFA’s letter. RBO is highlighting significant words or phrases that may assist you in answering questions. A “Where Are They Now”? will follow:
Mary Ann Andreas for State Assembly in California. The 80th Assembly District has some of the highest unemployment rates in California, so it’s all about jobs for Mary Ann in her race against the Republican incumbent. www.andreasforassembly.com
Ken Campbell for South Carolina State House. A Dean inspired candidate! Oconee County has a chance to put a real community activist and small business owner to work with Ken Campbell. www.takebackoconee.com
Maria Chappelle-Nadal for Missouri State House. Maria has won the support of the grassroots in this race. Democracy for America is behind her in her campaign to take back the State House for Democrats. www.maria2004.com
Scott Clark, Mark Manoil & Nina Trasoff for the Arizona Corporation Commission. The Corporation Commission is a watchdog agency protecting consumers from fraud and corporate abuse. Clark, Manoil & Trasoff became politically active on the Dean campaign and are running as a ticket for the commission. If you live in Arizona and can help them get on the ballot, contact them by email here: corpcomm04@hotmail.com
Kim Hynes for State Representative in Connecticut. 28 Republican state representatives in Connecticut ran unopposed in the last election. We won’t take our country back if we don’t compete. Kim is doing her part. You too can get involved. http://kimhynes.smartcampaigns.com
Richard Morrison for United States House of Representatives from Texas. Want to get rid of Tom DeLay? Here’s your chance. Morrison is hitting back at “The Hammer” by competing against him in the Texas 22nd. Join me and get involved in the fight today. www.richardmorrisonfordistrict22.com
Barack Obama for United States Senate from Illinois. In the race to regain control of the U.S. Senate, Democrats have few better chances to pick up a seat than in Illinois. DFA volunteers all over Illinois helped Obama win his primary, now it’s time to help him win the general. Stay tuned: I will be on the trail with Barack soon. www.obamaforillinois.com
Rob MacKenna for Hillsborough County (Florida) Supervisor of Elections. Rob is a computer programmer and is fighting to add a voter-verifiable paper trail to the touch-screen voting machines in the largest swing county in the all-important state of Florida! www.rob2004.com
Monica Palacios-Boyce for Massachusetts State Representative. Inspired by my race for the White House, Monica launched her campaign for state representative when she learned that the Republican incumbent had faced no opposition in his last two elections. www.monicaforstaterep.com
Lori Saldana for State Assembly in California. After an upset victory in the primary, grassroots activists want Lori to win in her race for the environment, education, economy and community of San Diego. www.lorisaldana.com
Jeff Smith for United States House of Representatives from Missouri. Campaigning in a 10-way primary for the opportunity to fill retiring Representative Richard Gephardt’s seat in Congress, Jeff is an articulate young progressive running an energetic grassroots field campaign that – with your help – could surprise the pundits. www.jeffsmith2004.com
Donna Red Wing for Colorado House District #25. After serving as the GLBT Field Advisor for the Dean for America campaign, Donna has returned to the mountains of Colorado to mobilize progressive activists in communities across her district. www.donnaredwing.com
Where are they now?
Mary Ann Andreas (left): According to JoinCalifornia.com, during the 1980s-2000s, Andreas was a member of the Morongo Tribal Council and, previously, Tribal Chairwoman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. As an added bonus, she is/was a member of the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board. In the November 2004 general election, Andreas lost 37% to 51.6% to Republican Bonnie Garcia.
According to her campaign website, Andreas last ran for her tribal Assembly.
Ken Campbell (no picture available): In January 2008, Campbell, Chairman of the Oconoee County Democratic Party, was among 80 South Carolina politicians who endorsed John Edwards’ presidential campaign. In a November 2008 post-election article, Campbell described himself as a New Democrat.
A May 2004 article reported:
The automotive marketer gave Dean some money over the Internet, and he hand-wrote a dozen letters to undecided Iowa voters whose addresses he downloaded from Dean’s website. And as a result of his political awakening, he made the South Carolina Statehouse website his homepage when he logged onto the Internet. [...] When Campbell contacted the local Democratic Party, they welcomed his candidacy, he says. Now his campaign staff is full of former Dean people. Since the DFA endorsement, traffic on his website is way, way up, and he’s raised at least a couple thousand dollars as a result.
In the 2004 general election, Campbell lost 34.3% to 65.68% to Republican Bill Whitmire.
Maria Chappelle-Nadal (left): Chappelle-Nadal has served since 2005 as State Representative for Missouri’s District 72.
Kim Hynes (right; on left, with Aldon Hynes): The following is according to a November 21, 2008, blog post by Aldon Hynes at Orient Lodge:
One final note, my wife, Kim Hynes, is an organizer and lobbyist for Common Cause here in Connecticut, and Common Cause, along with several other groups, continue to work hard to promote citizen involvement in our government through programs like the Citizens Election Program.
Richard Morrison (left): Morrison, who was also a member of the Kos Dozen, ran in 2007 for Precinct 1 Fort Bend County Commissioner. He was sworn into office on New Year’s Day 2009.
Rob MacKenna (right, with Howard Dean): In February 2006 MacKenna was listed as Tampa Bay DFA Chair. No further information is available about his current status.
Monica Palacios-Boyce (left): The May 12, 2005, Boston Phoenix reported:
Palacios-Boyce was crushed by her Republican opponent, Todd Smola, by a two-to-one margin. Among Palacios-Boyce’s weaknesses: not enough cash. “[Being on the Dean Dozen] raised her, like, nothing,” says one political observer. “That’s what killed her — she was never able to get off the ground because she was never able to raise money. Groups like DFA want to be powerful players, but they need to decide what they’re going to bring to the table.”
Aldon Hynes blogged May 14, 2005, at Orient Lodge about the Massachusetts State Democratic Convention: “Monica Palacios Boyce, who was a Dean Dozen candidate running for State Representative in Massachusetts and who is also a cell biologist will be participating in two breakouts about Stem Cell Research.”
Lori Saldana (left): Saldana has served since November 2004 for the 76th District in the California State Assembly since being elected to the California State Legislature, where she acts as Assistant Majority Whip.
Jeff Smith (right): Smith was elected to the Missouri State Senate in 2007.
Donna Red Wing (left): According to the biographical sketch on her website, Red Wing Works LLC, she is an “Activist, Advocate, Agitator” — Political, Non-Profit and Fundraising Consultant — who conducts “Diversity Training that includes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues in the workplace.”
Conclusion
As DHinMI astutely observed in May 2004, Dean’s choices didn’t make sense. DHinMI called it a “peculiar list.” Dean’s “strategic considerations” were a mystery unless the motivating force was to repay loyalists for their support of his failed candidacy.
Honestly, though, does that make any sense? Why would Dean throw around millions of dollars in campaign cash in a token gesture? DHinMI just didn’t get it.
RBO gets it. Only one member of the “Dozen” received full backing. Only one received the full power of Dean’s plan. Only one — The One — was truly hand-picked to go all the way to the top, which brings us back to the biggest question of all. Why?
Our citizens may be deceived for awhile, and have been deceived; but as long as the presses can be protected, we may trust to them for light.--Thomas Jefferson.
(just passing along link)
“Obama climate czar has socialist ties”
“Until last week, Carol M. Browner, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick as global warming czar, was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group’s Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for “global governance” and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/12/obama-climate-czar-has-socialist-ties/
Interesting analysis.
FYI, there were actually several Dean Dozens in 2004, with each group of 12 candidates announced together in an email to Dean’s supporters. The candidates you listed above were in the first dozen I think. I was endorsed in the last dozen. DFA did send me the maximum contribution allowed by law to my campaign, but that was only $200 (That campaign finance law has since been overturned).
I believe the answer to why lies, in large part, with George Soros.
Soros is key to obama’s success and it’s no coincidence that Dean is in Soros’ pocket.
Check out “The Men Behind Obama” for starters and learn more about the power elite’s role in selecting their front man, obama, to ensure that they achieve their agenda of a “one world government.”
Hillary had to be stopped from getting the democratic nomination because she knows how to play the games in Washington better than most and has the intelligence to out manuever the boys at the top. She definitely could not be trusted to “do as she was told.”
It’s significant to note that obama never makes any statement about any serious crisis without first checking with his handlers. He is nothing more than a Soros puppet, with the help of Zbigniew Brezinski and David Axelrod waiting in the wings to keep him on track.
I can’t answer the “why” about why I was picked in the first Dean Dozen, but I was proud to be. Scott Clark, Nina Trasoff and I ran under Arizona’s clean elections law, so the endorsement wasn’t about money for us, because we couldn’t accept financial contributions.
Dean spoke well for those of us who thought one GWB administration was too much and that our country was on the wrong track; he encouraged his base, and a reinvigorated Democratic party not to surrender the general concept of “patriotism” to Republicans, who were eager to sacrifice basic American values, not to mention elementary competence in government.
I think Trippi’s book, The Revolution Will Not be Televised, explains a lot about the grass roots orientation of Dean’s campaign, and later his outlook on not letting any seat go unchallenged. That was the core of the 50-state strategy.
Nina ran for Tucson city council in 2005, was elected, and is running for reelection this year. Scott returned to his law practice.
I ran again for the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2006, and lost again. But in 2008, two of the three seats on the ballot went to Democrats who ran a smart race, and the third Dem lost by only a couple thousand votes, out of several million cast.
During 2008, I served as the Maricopa County Democratic Party chair, applying the Dean strategy of contesting “safe” (Republican) county supervisor seats with the first full slate of Democrats to run for the office in at least several generations. No great upsets, but I think we moved the two-party system and our base forward. With grossly underfunded campaigns, our candidates were nonetheless able to come in close.
Sometimes progress isn’t achieved in one election cycle. And in announcing the Dean Dozens, I think Dean’s team acknowledged that.
Maybe “Dean Dozens” were rolled out in each area to see how anti-American communists would run in areas which were typically true American strong-holds. Dean already knew how the communists were working out in Chicago so why not test the waters in other areas. As well he needed to see if he could get the communists into areas where he could bring in the ACORN faction.
We might also look to see what each of these areas has economically or socially which would make make them attractive to the communists and what type of “investments” George Soros has in each.
I have found it exceedingly odd that Dean, the father of the Democratic Party, has not been heard from since the election. Obama/Soros took over the Democratic Party immediately and moved it to Chicago. Where was Dean?
Quite frankly I never believed Webb’s former assistant committed suicide, so maybe Dean saw the writing on the wall? There have been some really high profile “suicides” which appear to not make the mainstream media.