1) Would you as Chair speak out against cabinet and judicial nominees if a small minority of Senators were opposed to the nomination, but the majority of the DNC were for? (this was in reference to the Condoleeza Rice vote - would the Chair stand with the 13 Dems or the Majority?)

Wellington Webb - If he felt strongly opposed to the nominee (as he did in the case of Condi or a Clarence Thomas) then he would speak against such a nominee. Race or Ethnicity should not trump policies and positions when considering judges and the like.

Simon Rosenberg - The Chair should give private advice and council to the Congressional Leadership prior to important votes, but felt that it was not good for the Chair to speak differently than Reid or Pelosi. The Chair should follow the leadership. The Chair should be a consensus builder.

Howard Dean - also weighed in a bit. He felt that in the main Dems needed to speak with one voice, but that in certain cases the Chair should speak out even if Congressional Dems were leaning the other way. That we need to be careful when criticizing Dems who are representing conservative districts or who are from Red States and have different pressures on them.

2) How should the Chair work with Reid and Pelosi

David Leland - Must work with the leaders, but felt that the party message may be crafted in DC, but the party must be delivering that message in local districts by local reps. That when important votes are up, we are letting citizens know how and why Dems are voting in a particular way.

Howard Dean  - We must avoid embarassing politicians. Must respect Dems who are representing conservative states. The Democratic Message should be  come from the States up, not DC down.

3) What strategic, tactical changes would you implement immediately?

Martin Frost - Starting Feb. 13 doing some of what Karl Rove (spit twice, that would be me), did - contacting small donors and recruiting them as activists. The Dems have assembled lists of donors, now it's time to put them to work.

Tim Roemer - Elections are about Money, Message and Mechanics. We need to make sure we have the money available and that it is being wisely spent on message and mechanics. Need to look at how money was spent and in where it was most effectively spent and replicate elsewhere. Must start fighting for electoral reform and fighting gerrry mandering.

4) How can we fund and support new media and fight the Right Wing Noise Machine?

Donnie Fowler - Need to learn from the successes of Ken Salazar and MT. Why were these efforts successful and how can we replicate. We need to coordinate with groups like ACT, MoveOn and others. (Didn't really answer the question in my humble opinion).

Wellington Webb - We need to practice a politics of pragmatism, must not forget the base (Also didn't really answer the question).

5) If you are not the next Chair how will you help the person elected. (posed to all candidates)

Okay, no one would answer this question, said yes they would help and then went on to say what they would do as chair.

Martin Frost - Will continue to work with the Party in any way posssible and necessary.

Welling Webb - We need to not just talk about diversity, but act on it, put diverse faces before the electorate.

Howard Dean - Mentioned Democracy for America and how through that organization would continue to support candidates and campaigns.

Simon Rosenberg - Work toward increasing participation, need to imagine a new architecture and infrastructure for creating and communicating message, need to invest in think tanks, and encourage the blogosphere. Have weekly meetings with the leadership to develop a coordinated and disciplined message.

Donnie Fowler - Promised to work with whoever was elected chair.

Tim Roemer - The stomach that we have to go after each other should be directed at Republicans, must always remember we are on the same team.

David Leland - Loves the Party and what it stands for and will work no matter what the outcome.

6) Which Fowler Ammendment do you NOT support.

I'll do a separate post on this, because it was something I knew nothing about and found quite interesting.

7) We are losing Faith Based Voters, how to we regain them?

Tim Roemer - We need to speak to our core values on helping the poor and disaffected, the Dems value good jobs, economic security and focusing on these is how to reach faith based voters. Don't institute litmus tests for Dems, be the big tent party (in regards to his stance on abortion).

Martin Frost - We have let the Reps convince the electoral and we can't let them get away with it.

8) What are your plans to make the Democratic Party to Urban Voters when it's not election time.

Howard Dean - We need to become the party of reform the way Gingrich did for the Reps, because after 8 years of W the country will be desparate for reform.

Wellington Webb - We must go into rural areas much earlier and be a presence all the time, not just at election time

* NOTE - This theme was brought up by all candidates at some point. We can't just show up a few months before elections. The Dems need to be running a 24/7/365 operation.

Simon Rosenberg - We must work on a common national strategy. Spoke out against putting IA and NH first in the primaries.

David Leland - The DNC should be helping local and state parties to prosper, not imposing on them.

** Personal note, as an urban voter, felt overlooked in the candidates responses to this question.

Whew... I hope these notes are helpful to some of you. It was a great experience. There is a great slate of candidates out there.