Interview With Jim Dean of Democracy for America
By Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t | Report
Tuesday 11 March 2008
"Democracy is not a spectator sport
and politics is too important to be left up to the professionals."
-Jim Dean
In our interview, Jim Dean, chair of Democracy for America (DFA), shared his
thoughts about the Democratic primary election, the strategies of past Democratic
campaigns and the rise of a new locally based progressive movement.
DFA formed after Jim Dean's brother, former Gov. Howard Dean, failed to become
the Democratic nominee for president in 2004.
According to their web site, DFA works on the local level to build a progressive
infrastructure by training candidates for office, coordinating a network of
grassroots activists and helping to connect Internet activists with various
campaigns across the country.
The group recently backed Donna Edwards in her primary contest against incumbent
Maryland Congressman Al Wynn. Wynn was targeted by progressive groups because
he voted with the Bush administration on sensitive issues like the invasion
of Iraq, energy policies and the 2005 bankruptcy bill. Edwards defeated the
eight-term incumbent and will most likely be elected to represent Maryland's
heavily Democratic Fourth District in November.
Right now DFA is encouraging its members to contact Congress and voice their
opinions on the controversial attempt to give retroactive immunity to companies
who may have broken laws by cooperating with the Bush administration in various
surveillance programs.
On Saturday, March 1, I met up with Dean on the University of California Berkeley
campus where he and DFA Executive Director Arshad Hasan were hosting a "Training
Academy," a two day workshop for citizens who are interested in running
for office or working on political campaigns at the local, state and national
levels. Roughly 50 participants filled four classrooms, where they were given
handbooks and were walked through the finer points of political organizing.
When combined with the funding from the national party, these activists are
the manifestation of the so-called "50-state strategy," an effort
spearheaded by Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean to create
a more localized Democratic Party. Dean has been quick to point out DFA is not
affiliated with the DNC, but it is clear they are working along parallel lines.
Critics have called the 50-state strategy a waste of money because it spreads
resources out across the country instead of targeting specific "swing states"
where Democrats would be more likely to win in the short term.
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