Soaking In Howard Dean

124 Photos.

I got up late today. It was not long before I headed towards Times Square, center of the known universe, but good thing I checked my email beforehand. Robert was to miss our get-together. I hope it was not the reality show style of my blog that scared him away! Robert, some other time.

Going On The Offensive For Ferrer

"It's 6:30am and I just arrived back to the hotel. Really long story, just another one of my misadventures -- but let's just say, somehow I ended up in Connecticut. I'll see if I can meet you earlier than one, but that'll be tough given the bizarre circumstances I just ended up in. This story is so ridiculous they could make a sitcom out of it. Anyhow, I'll give you a call as soon as I wake up."

So I show up at Times Square. After a little while I leave a voice mail for Robert and then decide to walk over to the Union Square Park where Dean was to show up with Ferrer. That is a walk from the 42nd Street down to the 14th Street. But then after the Cindy Sheehan event on the 110th Street I walked all the way down to the southern tip of Manhattan. Got to soak in the city.

I was hardly ever more than a foot or two away from Howard Dean the entire time at today's event. I must have come across like a handler. I acted like it too a few times, like there was this woman with her young daughter, and of course she was just passing by, unaware of the Dean event, and she goes, oh my, that is Howard Dean, and I said "Governor," and he immediately responded and went over to meet them. I did not realize he was aware of my presence. My first word to him I ever spoke on my own. So this is how history gets made, eh! More than once we were both laughing hard at some of the same jokes, and they were not even jokes, just remarks by people coming over to shake his hand, or his own comments. He is a regular guy. He laughs easily. That is his appeal. He almost comes across as a college buddy. The guy who gave Generation Dean its name might be a member!

There was this time towards this end, after Ferrer had already left, and the crowd was gone, and Dean was just going to walk over to wherever he was going next, and I felt like bringing up Dean 2008. I wanted to bring up Reagan and 1976, Bill Clinton and 1990. But then Dean can't really talk about it until 2007. And if he has to be convinced to run, he should not run. But if you ask me, he is surely running. It is so obvious he is.

And there was this cross-cultural awkwardness, this silent moment, when I was standing right next to him, to his left, and there were only a few people around, no media, people passing by not bothering to look at him or recognizing him, a total regular guy out on a stroll, and he gave up.

"See you later," he said to me in a sweet, calm voice. The first three words from Dean to me.

In the American culture, the emphasis is on talking, silence has to be constantly broken. Whereas in the culture where I grew up, sometimes family members get together, and just sit around, minutes pass by, noone is talking, and everyone is feeling just fine. Silence does not bother. Silence is also a bonding experience.

But then he said he will be in town several more times for Ferrer. I am showing up each time. I am going to ease into striking conversations. I am going to talk Dean 2008. After all, I am already working on it. Ferrer 2005 to me is but a prelude to Dean 2008. On its own, I would have had to struggle to get excited about it. And it is to do with my not having a thing for local politics. I have to look at the big picture to get myself excited.

Ferrer just came across as so thankful to Dean. He was effusive about it too. Dean is like a movie star. As he walked through the farmers' market, so many young people came over to him, and it was so obvious they were all Deaniacs, like in this movie where you have to have a gift to recognize all these creatures from a different planet who look just like humans otherwise, but they recognize each other.

I showed up half an hour early today as well. There was some kind of an exhibit on the Polish movement for democracy from the late 1980s, and that so totally spoke to me on the work I am doing on Nepal.

I helped myself to a slice of pizza while I waited.

And a street play about Guantanamo and more, a small group that basically wanted an end to the Bush regime, and they wanted it now. At the time I did not realize the group was also going to come after us in a loud way. They saw a good size crowd and got all worked up.

"You see that? That is Howard Dean, the number one anti-war presidential candidate from 2004. We are on the same side. Now cool it," I said.

"But this has to end, now! What are you doing about it?"

"First you have to take over power, before you can exercise it better."

"But what are you doing now? People are dying."

"Great work. Keep it up. I am with you."

The Dean-Ferrer entourage had fired up all cylinders for the small street play group. They felt their moment had arrived, and they were going to make the most of it. They started shouting.

Maybe the words did not come out exactly that way, but that was the thrust of it. Someone on the Ferrer campaign I had met because I arrived early for the event was watching all this. He looked at me, impressed. This guy can talk, he thought.

Before Dean arrived I got to meet a few people. One was this guy whose mother had been elected judge in some capacity somewhere. He showed me this medal the Italian government had awarded her, she had been made some kind of a Don. I told him, Arnold got himself elected Governor of California, and they named a mountain after him in Austria.

And then Ferrer showed up. Looks like he is already getting security details. I think he arrived in a NYPD vehicle.

And then Dean showed up. He came by the way of a sidewalk. No flashing lights, no nothing.

There was some interaction with the media. There were a bunch of questions for Ferrer. Then, predictably, they descended on Dean. They wanted to talk about Iraq, and a bunch of national issues. Dean kept bringing the attention back on the race at hand.

"I am here to do all I can for Ferrer."

"Who says Democrats are not behind Ferrer? I chair the Democratic Party, and I am solidly behind Ferrer."

The stroll through the farmers' market was just amazing. Both of them got to meet "real" people. People who were not there to meet Dean or Ferrer, but just happened to be there. And there were all these Deaniacs, equally surprised to be face to face with Dean. You could just tell they were Deaniacs. Dean would not miss a beat.

"So are you voting for Ferrer?"

"I can't. I am from Minnesota."

Somebody else was from Ohio, and so on. But those were exceptions.

A young girl asked Ferrer a school lunch question, and Ferrer gave a specific answer. That was the policy highlight of the day. She was from the Bronx.

And the two of them did the subway thing all over again. We smoked out a few more animals all over again.

Dean Was In Town Yesterday

There were children onlookers. They must have sensed the hubbub of it all.

And there was this elderly lady, unaware of the Dean event.

"Howard Dean, my favorite human being!" she said, and she did not even make an attempt to reach out for his hand. Actually she made an attemt to get out of the way of the Dean entourage.

He reached out to her, after spotting her. I don't think he heard what she said.

I think by now I am past getting star struck by Dean. I think I am about to ease into conversations. Got to talk to the regular guy. Bond. I mean, I am totally already working on Dean 2008. Why not bounce around a few ideas with him? And just talk. I mean, Dean knows Heather and Tracey, maybe he should get to know me as well. I don't know anyone who is thinking Dean 2008 like I am thinking Dean 2008. The idea is custom made for me.

Good thing Ferrer is running for Mayor. I get to see more of Howard Dean.

"Democrats from East Coast to West Coast have been supporting my campaign," Ferrer said at one point. He was thankful for the focus Dean's appearances can bring.

And now there are two photos of me with Dean. My attitude has been like, see these photos of Dean, I took them all, I was there with him, you don't need a photo of me with him. But then opportunity presented itself. It was this lull towards the end. And Dean asked the few of us if we wanted to get photos taken. I was second in line.

And I took one for Bill - Wilbur Weder - that I promised to email to him. I am about to. I will just send the permalink of this blog entry.

I come back to my place.

"You smell something?" my Estonian roomie asks me.

I think he is talking about the bathroom.

"No. Not really," I say to reassure him.

"It is Estonian food. National food."

"Can I try some?"

"Maybe later. An hour later."

I am all about free food.

Lewis Cohen Has Been Behind Ferrer Since Summer 2004

Lewis Cohen: "I have been and am a member of the 2005 New Yorkers for Ferrer Finance Committee since the summer of 2004. I, and Bernadette Evangelist, have been the only Directors of Democracy for NYC who have openly and enthusiastically supported Ferrer since the beginning of the campaign."

A few points of clarification are due on my part. This is the second time. The first time was with Norman Siegel.

A Not So Little Norman Fact
A Little Siegel Incident

Tracey had to educate me on Norman Siegel's ethnicity. That was some major hole she had to plug. I think she was amused. There was that look on my face.

DFNYC members in their individual capacities may go for any candidate of their choice, that is the democratic spirit. We don't lose our individual identities just because we are members of DFNYC.

This is not the official DFNYC blog or anything of that sort. This is one person's blog, he just so happens to be a staunch member of the DFNYC.

A blog is not a newspaper gone online. A blog is a blog. It is more casual, conversational, intimate. This is not an attempt at objectivity. Actually, it is more like one person's views and observations given voice, there actually might be a tendency toward subjectivity. It is not here to show off my knowledge, or ignorance. It is more a window into my thought processes, more akin to a reality show. There is no emphasis on fact-checking. If I mess up on some facts in one blog entry, I don't go back and correct it later, I just post a new blog entry. At another blog I wrote about Sonia Gandhi after her Congress party cruised to a victory in India. An Italian born was going to be leading India, I said. She chose not to go for it. I never went back to that blog entry to correct it. That blog entry was a snapshot of many people's thinking at that point in time. Everyone just assumed Sonia was going to be Prime Minister.

I think I am trying to get to the voice part of the One Person, One Vote, One Voice superstructure. At the one voice level, you just talk. It is you. It is not the group yet. You say whatever you want to say. You take the stands on issues the way you want. I think that is important. Or we might end up with groupthink. There should be ample room for original thinking at the One Voice level. That precedes the one person, one vote mechanism, or the consensus mechanism through which we make decisions, either on policy or candidates, or campaign details. And once the group has decided, we all come around to supporting and contributing. Ideally. Sometimes a person might still not go with the majority if she feels strongly about her outvoted position. That is there.

And I am totally for DFNYC taking votes among members before endorsing candidates when more than one choice is available. That is the democratic spirit. DFNYC members had the option to take the organization behind Bloomberg, but we chose Ferrer by a wide margin, and so we are solidly behind Ferrer. And our man Dean is possibly the biggest boost Ferrer has got. Dean has been Ferrer's rocket fuel. We are key. And Ferrer knows it and appreciates it. Ferrer appreciates the importance of the primaries more than any of us. He can not possibly be begrudging having had to wade through it.

DFNYC endorsed Gifford Miller for the primaries, and I was not here when that happened. But we have nothing to apologize for. Miller was Speaker of the City Council. Ferrer had not been in any office in a few years. I can see how Miller might have come across as appealing. And there is an article somewhere that talks how Miller did not use his sex appeal to his advantage or he would have won! The members went for who they went for. And now we are enthusiastically behind Ferrer. We are the strong wind behind his sails. We contest the primaries, but then we all get together behind the winner of the primaries. That is the democratic spirit.

Slowly and surely I am learning more and more about city politics.

It was not that obvious Ferrer was going to win the primaries. And Directors of DFNYC who might supervise our internal vote taking on policies and candidates have nothing to apologize for. The mechanism has to stay oiled.

We are better off because of the primaries. Ferrer is better off. And he knows it.

And looks like we already have friends in high places with Lewis and Bernadette. Makes our work for Ferrer so much easier.

The key now is to get Ferrer to win. It will be nice to have a Mayor Ferrer when Dean 2008 sets up shop in the city. This is a major act of self-interest for us.

Ferrer 2005 is of national importance.

Going On The Offensive For Ferrer

Only a few days back I read a comment by Heather (DFNYC In The News) on MyDD that was making fun of a "prominent" local Democrat's claim that no prominent Democrat in the city seemed to be for Ferrer. How prominent can he be? I never heard of him.

But Howard Dean is behind Ferrer, and that is the next President Of The United States. I have heard of him. And DFNYC is solidly behind Ferrer with 81% of the votes. And we just so happen to be the largest Dean group in the country. We are the prominent Democrats in town. Don't make us whip up our mailing lists! Nobody quit after 2004, many of them just went into hiding. They are all sharpening their claws, waiting to pounce.

Bloomberg is feeling the Dean heat already. He knows deep in his heart that he can lose. Around the time Dean was last in town, Bloomberg was at a press conference. And a plane was heard in the sky. And Bloomberg said in an exasperated aside, "That is Howard Dean in the DNC corporate jet." That man is so scared he thinks he is facing Dean aerial attacks. But that man is so out of touch, he does not know Dean flies commercial.

I just went to the DFNYC site and there is a message from Heather about another Ferrer-Dean event tomorow. Is Howard Dean Fernando Ferrer's running mate or what? (Dean Was In Town Yesterday) If he is going to keep showing up like this, Ferrer sure is going to cross the line. And it will be nice to have Ferrer as Mayor when Dean 2008 sets up its headquarters in the city. (2008: Some Thoughts)

Join Fernando Ferrer and Howard Dean at the Union Square Farmer's Market!

Meet on the NE corner of Union Square Park TIME: 2:30 pm.

Wow, this is just so cool. I will be there. I am meeting Robet Mayer of Publius Pundit for lunch tomorrow, him and about 10 of his Boston friends. Robert is at the Bentley College in the Boston suburbs. They have some kind of a college break, and they are in town. Robert and I got to know each other through Charlie Szrom of the Students for Global Democracy. Charlie is in Indiana, in Bloomington, where I considered settling down before I decided on NYC. (Bloomington, IN, As An Option, Possibly Moving To NYC) And I get to meet Charlie within a week. He will be in town too for some kind of a scholarship interview. We go sightseeing together. I am so excited about these two and their organization. They speak to the total global democracy messenger in me. This is to do with my Nepal work. (What's Going On In Nepal)

I started this blog entry to chalk up a strategy.

Going on the offensive for Ferrer.

Martha Kenton of the Cesnik 2005 fame is leading the DFNYC effort. (Some Suggestions To The Cesnik Campaign, Eric Cesnik For City Council)

Larry and Dino have some great work going on with their sites. I mean, the Bloomberg ads are offensive. One that I am forced to see - since I don't own a TV - when I am out reading news at the Yahoo site shows this beautiful Manhattan landscape unfurl, and the message is, Vote for Bloomberg. Admire the beauty and vote for Bloomberg. Wow. Not even the pompous Donald Trump would stoop so low.

I just got an email from Dino not long back. Their new site is out, Ferrer Four.

This is what I am suggesting.

Truth On Bloomberg, and Ferrer Four both do great work on policy logic.

I see three big holes in the effort though.

One, we need one site that compares and contrasts the Ferrer management style with the Bloomberg management style. I have not had the chance to dig in and do some research myself. But from the little I know, I can already draw a few conclusions. Ferrer was Bronx Borough President. Bloomberg's disadvantage is that his leadership style is corporate. He cuts some major corners on social expenditures so he can build a stadium. Don't blame him: that has been his life's training. It is hard to change course mid-stream. Ferrer on the other hand has an exective style that is more political. He is more in tune with the common people. He is not a machine politician, rather he is a politician who knows the system, he knows the voters, and their various organized groups, he knows how to work the system. And that is who you want in the executive office.

Two, the three sites need to cross link to each other prominently. Have three button links at the top of each site, on each page at the site.

Three, whip up the DFNYC mailing list to send traffic to these sites after all three sites are up and running. I hear the core DFNYC mailing list is 2400 strong, Tracey told me at the last MeetUp. (Tracey Denton Of DFNYC) There would be a short message that displays the three sites, and briefly summarizes them. And a request to members to forward the email to everyone in the city they personally know, and to request them to do the same. This email viral marketing does not cost a dime, and is more effective and respectful than TV ads. Effective because people receive emails only from people they personally know, respectful because there is an invitation to an intelligent conversation. We are not trying to play mind games like clever ad people, we are talking policy. 2400 people send it out to 20 people each who send it out to 10 people each, that is 480,000. That is half a million people. If our message has oomph, this is all it will take to elect Ferrer. Although I do not suggest not doing everything else we will be doing, that the Ferrer campaign team is doing, with the emphasis on the get out the votes efforts. And be at the ready to handle all that traffic. The sites should not crash!

So Dino, Larry, whip it up, baby.

And do not miss the DFNYC Monthly Mixer with Freddy Ferrer. Tuesday, October 25.

Take Back The City 2005.
Take Back The Congress 2006.
Take Back The White House 2008.

Bloomberg Is No Democrat
Fernando Ferrer