Dean supporters flock to Iowa finale

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3859368/

With the Iowa caucuses now less than 20 days away and their candidate feeling the heat from his rivals, Howard Dean's campaign staff has turned once again to their most valuable resource and most potent weapon in the fight for the Democratic nomination: volunteers. The campaign is in the process of unleashing as many as 3,500 supporters from all 50 states and beyond on the Hawkeye State’s voters.

Coming from as far away as Japan, where four U.S. citizens have committed to travel to Des Moines on behalf of the Dean campaign, these volunteers will be bused from town to town in 147 vans, utilize 325 cell phones and relax in the luxury of 13 winterized Girl Scout Camps. And all their activities will be coordinated from a nerve center located in Sen. Bob Graham’s former campaign headquarters.

In all, three waves of volunteers will make their way to Iowa before the voting begins Jan. 19. In addition to their cell phones, they’ll be armed with maps, voter lists and red hats identifying them as Dean campaign volunteers. Their activities will be coordinated by a half-dozen paid Dean staffers. Together with at least 75 paid field coordinators, they will go find Iowa’s undecided voters with the goal of luring them to support the former Vermont governor.

Says Sarah Leonard, Dean’s Iowa spokesperson, "The governor is our best tool. He is our best persuader. If we can get people who are undecided in front of him, the better our chances of persuading them."

[windansea]

1. yikes

they have red beanies?? anybody got a pic??

[eyesroll]

2. Here ya go.

[maddezmom]

5. what does the hat say?

looks more orange than red in the photo, but it could just be the lighting.

[windansea]

8. thanks

actually pretty cool looking

[no name no slogan]

3. I heard they wanted 5,000 originally

but still 3,500 is fairly respectable. Combine that with the 100 paid staffers on the ground and they'll probably do quite well.

[maddezmom]

11. good show by Dean supporter

that's a ton of folks on the ground.

[auntpattywatty]

4. Red is a Republican color - they should have blue hats - for Democrats

[JNelson6563]

6. looks like "hunting season orange"

Probably not a bad idea. ;-)

Julie

[slinkerwink]

7. that's great news! I heard from one of those iowa volunteers that

in one precinct alone, they covered hundreds of houses......sounds like they're very committed to deliver an Iowa win to Dean.

[Lisa0825]

9. I'll be there the 15th through 20th!

So I can hang around for the victory party!:party:

Dean For Texas is chartering busses for us to get there, and others are flying in or driving in on their own.

[cade]

10. heck ,I'm here all the time

probibly won't see any cantidates' supporters because I don't live around any of the bigger cities. I have already noticed in the little T.V. and radio that I listen to, that the ads for ( and against ) Dean, Kerry and Gephart are becoming a regular feature.
Iowa has the most people over 85 in the United States. Exicitement isn't easy to come by. There is a rural Iowa ( where I live ) that is the predominate feature - and there are a handful of big cities. Iowa City , Des Moines, Sioux City, Waterloo ( the armpit of Iowa ). I live fairly close to Fort Dodge which is mid-sized for Iowa. I originally lived in a town of 226 as a kid.