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Re: Donnie is sounding good ... (none / 0)

"More than a seat at the table" does not translate into DNC Chair. I don't see Fowler as having the media presence, stature or ability to inspire the grassroots that Dean has. In short, I fail to see any qualifications Fowler has that any of the other candidates are not just as strong or stronger.
by Gary Boatwright on Tue Jan 25, 2005 at 03:40:42 PM EST
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Re: Donnie is sounding good ... (none / 0)

I just got an email from DFA.  It had a quote:

"Dean had the oranges, but he couldn't make orange juice."  

Donnie Fowler said this.

Fowler is a liar and a fraud.  He doesn't have 20 years of organizing experience, he has three years of experience.  He was a lobbyist for three years in CA, and he calls that 'tech' experience.

He is an enemy of the grassroots, he's as inside as they come, and he's playing us all for a ride.  That's why he's saying that Dean will take us to the left, because that's how he sees this.  Right versus left instead of reform versus not reform.

by CentrismIsForLosers on Tue Jan 25, 2005 at 06:10:12 PM EST
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Re: Donnie is sounding good ... (none / 0)

I don't know if Donnie is a liar and a fraud, but I do know this:

At the DNC Caucus in Sacto on Saturday, a friend who talked with Fowler (and liked him) intimated that Fowler had said that he would go back to work in Silicon Valley if he lost the DNC Chairmanship.

Now this is clearly just a comment that could have been misconstrued, but if true, it validates people's discomfort with Fowler's "political class" pedigree and it points out quite an interesting juxtaposition:

DEAN: lose presidential race, WORK ASS OFF for party and do it with a smile. Then give up presidential ambitions for a difficult fight to reform the party.

FOWLER: lose DNC Chair race, cut and run for the money.

I'd love it if one question asked in NYC this weekend to all of the candidates is "What will you do if you LOSE the race?" Could be quite illuminating...  

by Fiat Lux on Tue Jan 25, 2005 at 06:19:55 PM EST
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Re: Donnie is sounding good ... (none / 0)

I'll have to say that sometimes the blogosphere jumps to conclusions very fast!  In fact, if I do not get to be DNC Chair (and things are looking better every day for my campaign) then I would like to return to my home in the Bay Area.  But I will by no means "check out".  As I have done for years, I will continue to help out the Party in ways that you all help out every day -- finding ways to finance Democratic campaigns, taking a month or six months or a year to pack up and go work on a campaign, and continuing to proselytize on behalf of a progressive agenda.  I will not lie down and get run over.  The faltering agenda and the eroding Democratic vote are too important.
Donnie Fowler San Francisco / Silicon Valley
by donnie on Tue Jan 25, 2005 at 11:25:25 PM EST
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Re: Donnie is sounding good ... (none / 0)

In fact, if I do not get to be DNC Chair (and things are looking better every day for my campaign) then I would like to return to my home in the Bay Area.  But I will by no means "check out".  

Donnie --- appreciate the direct reply. One thing that can be said for your candidacy is that you actually have the balls to come on MyDD often to engage the netroots. Serious points for you (imagine Frost or Roemer coming to our blog 'hood to mix it up with the locals?).

Should you lose the race for DNC Chair, I hope you reconsider your decision to return to high tech. The party needs you full-time, and I'm sure the new Chair would love to have you on board. You pass the "Budweiser Test" in the South, so we certainly don't need you on the wine-and-cheese circuit in Silicon Valley. And, if Dean (my choice) becomes Chair, he's going to need your help figuring out how in the hell he's actually going to appeal to "guys with confederate flags on the back of their pickup trucks".  

OK --- I've got two questions for you, if you have the testicular fortitude to answer them:  

  1. To date, you've framed yourself as the "alternative to Dean" (as opposed to the "anti-Dean") ready to "run right up the middle" of a potential Dean/Frost murder-suicide. So, along the spectrum of both "reform" and "ideology," do you see yourself as an ally of Dean or Frost? (pick one; no wiggle room allowed).

  2. And, speaking of Howard, you guys seemed pretty chummy at the Sacto Caucus. Lots of laughs and snark, it would appear, especially after Roemer got the "red cards" (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about). So, if Dean takes the DNC Chair, would you get on board the Dean Team, if called to duty?

(Before the rest of you question my naivete in asking a "born politician" such nakedly direct questions that he predictably won't answer in a public forum, let's give Donnie a chance to pass OUR "Budweiser Test". Maybe he'll prove you wrong.)
by Fiat Lux on Wed Jan 26, 2005 at 06:36:46 AM EST
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Re: Donnie is sounding good ... (none / 0)

Those are very kind words and I appreciate them.  To answer your questions...

First, I believe that Dean and I are the only two agents of change among the seven candidates in this race.  We both embrace change and innovation AND we can actually make it happen because neither one of us is dependent on DC to preserve our status or further our careers.  In other words, because we have not made our careers in DC, we can say "no" to the entrenched interests with no concern about social, professional, or
financial repercussions.

Second, my goal wherever I live is to move the progressive agenda forward and strengthen the Democratic Party at the state and local level
where the voters actually live.  I will do my duty, sir.

Donnie Fowler San Francisco / Silicon Valley
by donnie on Wed Jan 26, 2005 at 11:15:15 AM EST
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