The DNC is doing a lot, more from the meeting, and yes, Dean reads forums.

[madfloridian]

Yes, the DNC does notice.
Blog by Jenny Greenleaf.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/12/4/174854/498

Yes, the DNC does notice!
by Jenny Greenleaf

I'm probably breaking a "too many diaries in one day rule," but I wanted to call this out separately. While Gov. Howard Dean was speaking at the 12/3 DNC meeting, he talked about what happens when Democrats stand up for Democratic principles.

He said, "I was reading one of the blogs I read frequently right after Murtha made his resolution and I saw the comment, 'Finally, the Democrats have stood up for us; now we're going to stand up for them."

$400,000 came in from the Internet, unsolicited. A similar thing happened when Harry Reid shut down the Senate.

So, don't ever doubt that someone at the DNC is reading and paying attention to what's going on in the blogosphere and how it affects the bottom line. It could very well be Howard himself.

Diaries :: Jenny Greenleaf's diary :: Sun Dec 4th, 2005 at 05:48:54 PM EDT

http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/12/4/173923/536

Maureen White and Andy Tobias gave reports on the financial state of the Party. White talked about how it's usually difficult to raise money the year after a presidential election, especially if your candidate loses. However, we've raised 13 million more that we did in 2001, even without the soft money. And, unlike the administration, we're in the black.

White talked about taking Dean to meet the major donors, said he was a good fundraiser and that donors are particularly impressed with not only his specific knowledge of policy, but also with the 50-state strategy. They think it's a methodical plan and a brilliant approach, and it makes it a lot easier to raise money because donors like to know where the money goes.

Andy Tobias said that we had raised $44.2 million so far this year, 26% more than in 2003, and that we were on track to raise $50 million for the year. We have $6 million in the bank. The Party has 5.5 times as many grassroots donors as it had in 2001, with 10s of thousands of monthly donors.
Get your Democracy Bonds here

By putting DNC organizers on the ground in every state, we are conducting a capital campaign of human capital. That's where a large portion of our money is going: to fund these organizers."

I have grave concerns about people wanting third parties trying to keep people from donating to the Democrats. Note there are over 5 times as many grassroots donors as in 2001. I think we need to keep that up, not discourage it.

One-issue people holding Dean responsible for everything wrong with this country are going to hurt the party. We have too much going for us.