why is noone talking about meetups here like they did during the primaries

[Bombtrack]

Or am I just missing those threads?

It seemed like there was more activism 8-9 months before the election than there is 50 days before. I dont get it.

[tridim]

1. Two words..

Howard Dean.

[JI7]

2. there is less need for meetups in many states that are solid blue or red

[demokatgurrl]

3. I can't speak for that but

since I started doing actual campaign work for Kerry and others, I haven't gone to meetups. I guess I saw those as places to meet people and get informed until there was real work to do. Now there's lots of work so I just go to phone banks and organizing meetings.

[JI7]

4. i never went to meetups, but did things on my own

or with some other people .

[NoPasaran]

5. I'm still going to Meetups

Democracy for Texas and Austin4Kerry. But I'm actually a lot more active now registering voters and taking part in other activities so the meetup is just another event, not the big night o'politics it was earlier. And I think that what discussion of them does occur happens more in the State Forums.

[mistertrickster]

6. Kerry doesn't have the grassroots support that Dean and even Clark

did. That was a big factor that Deanies were hoping that people would keep in mind during the primaries. They didn't, and now they get what they voted for . . .

Before the flames begin, I support Kerry, I've sent money to the campaign, I have pounded shoe leather registering voters etc. But the fact remains, what ever it is that brings people out in droves to work for a candidate, Kerry isn't showing it as much as the other front runners.

[JI7]

7. hhahaahha

he is getting them out. meetup isn't the only way to do things . he gets huge crowds at his events. and record fundraising.

[mistertrickster]

12. Agreed, but I'm talking about the grassroots organisation building.

People want to work for a guy who comes out firmly against the Iraq war from day one without hesitation or qualification

AND

who says to people, I need your help and I need your ideas. You are the most important part of this campaign.

The Dean campaign wasn't about Dean: it was about empowering hundreds of thousands to get involved.

That's what we're not really getting from Mr. Kerry.

[JI7]

16. many people want many things, including different things

as for the Kerry campaign, it was about getting him to win the election so he can change the direction the country is going in. i knew i could be of no help in iowa so i didn't go. but i did my own things for him in other ways. i did keep contact with people in iowa though and know how hard they worked.

[zulchzulu]

9. That's a fallacy

If you look at the Iowa primary with an open mind, you'd see that one of the main reasons that Kerry handily won was due to strong grassroots efforts. I was there. I saw it.

For every guy with an orange hat walking in neighborhoods, there were dozens of Kerry supporters. The same goes for other states. This is not dissing Dean fans; it's just what I saw firsthand away from the sometimes less-than-realistic blogorama void.

As far as Meetups go, I personally think it's pretty crappy, spammy groupware.

[JI7]

11. yes, zulch, i remember your posts on here

for those of us who supported Kerry but were not in iowa, people like you helped us to see how things were going. and there was a positive energy coming from kerry supporters in the state as we got closer to day of the caucuses.

[mistertrickster]

14. I was there in an orange hat. I beg to differ.

nt.

[zulchzulu]

15. Thanks for your good work

Now we need to move on and beat Bush.

[mistertrickster]

19. According to Time magazine, Kerry had some 450 volunteers in

Iowa and Dean had "thousands." The Dean army would be out big time right now. They would be making news by their very involvement and numbers just like they did in Iowa.

But Kerry still has the debates. Let's hope he can make something happen by then, because spin it all you want, the polls are saying four more years right now.

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:ii9p-HaLUEAJ:www.time.com/time/election2004/article/0,18471,579103,00.html+kerry+dean+volunteers+iowa&hl=en

[Cheswick2.0]

21. I am sorry, that just is not true

[Cheswick2.0]

22. I am sorry, that just is not true

It is very clear that Dean had the grassroots and Kerry had the democratic machine, the dirty tricks and the Gephardt voters who were told to caucus for Kerry to stop Dean.

[Tangledog]

8. Do they work?

I went to three meetups in early spring, and at every one I was the only one to show up. In one instance, the host institution didn't know anything about it. Fortunately, said institution was an interesting art gallery, so the hour's drive wasn't a total waste. But I'd have to say that meetups aren't the way to go for me.

[zulchzulu]

10. Meetups are for towns with no Kerry/Democrat HQs

I consider Meetup to be sort of an entry ramp to a campaign. Now though, I would suggest people go to meetings at their nearest Kerry or Democratic Party HQ. You can go any time the places are open as opposed to some limited time away from the resources needed.

[Ramsey]

13. I've been going

I've been to the last 2 Kerry Meetups in Philly. There are several venues (about 10). I will say however that the turnout is much lower than we had at Dean for America meetups. However, we still have a very active DFA group here, working to GOTV.

[Bluzmann57]

17. Well I just got an email about a Meetup

A Democratic Party meetup at a place that has been closed for about a year. It may be easier to attend one if they had it at a place that was actually open for business.

[madfloridian]

18. Our Dean Meet-ups are now DFA meet-ups. Still active.

We are going to get more active soon. Our local DEC is trying to pull even further to the right, and it is angering a lot of people.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

20. Louisville, KY meetup

Received this today -

Just a quick reminder that Louisville Democratic Party Meetup
Group has an event tomorrow,
What: Louisville Democratic Party September Meetup

When: Tuesday, September 14 at 7:00PM
Where: Highland Coffee
1140 Bardstown Rd
Louisville KY 40204
502-451-4545

Are there any more meetings like the New York RNC convention protests scheduled between now and November 2nd? Think we need to grab the news cycle again in a huge way.

[madfloridian]

24. Our area has 3 Democratic meet-ups that I know of....we attend DFA

That is Democracy for America. They are back up to 169,000 last I saw. Meet-up keeps changing numbers around.

There are also Democratic Party meet-ups, not connected with the DFA, though many attend both of them.

There is also a Kerry Meet-up.

[Cheswick2.0]

23. I'm still going to meet-ups for DFA

democracy for America.