"Recruiting neophytes to liven up the party" Dean's new campaign.

[madfloridian]

http://www.longislandpress.com/v02/i38040923/news_01.asp

SNIP..Ever since John Kerry claimed the nomination in March, most of the Democratic presidential hopefuls have quietly gone back to their day jobs. Not Howard Dean. Although no longer in pursuit of elective office, Dean's still on the road five or six days a week vigorously promoting Democracy for America (DFA), the political action committee he built with the raw materials left from his presidential bid. Its impact is already being felt in Democratic political circles across the country—and here on Long Island.

"I think Democracy for America is a significant movement," says Marsha Laufer, who chairs the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee. "Dean's ability to attract young people to his campaign, people who had never been politically active before, and his use of technology—all of this was very impressive in 2003. I think he can continue to attract people into the political process."

SNIP..."Born to a working-class Brentwood family, Dahroug's struggle got even tougher at the age of 14 when his father had a serious stroke. The future pol had to work several jobs to get himself through Columbia University undergraduate studies and earn a Harvard master's degree in education. Now 25 and gunning for Trunzo's 3rd District seat, Dahroug was driven to public service by his own life experiences, he says, and inspired by the candidacy of Dean.

"It was empowering to see people from all different walks of life coming together to organize," Dahroug says. "People who would normally be marginalized were coming together to say, 'We can do better,' and that's the kind of message that I want to bring to the local level."

Dahroug, A Dean Dozen


Jim Dean and Dahroug