THE DEAN BAT IS BACK! "Bringing Out the Bat" for Cheney!

[Khephra]

On Monday, July 28th, Vice President Dick Cheney will raise $250,000 for the Bush campaign from a handful of special interest contributors at a luncheon in Columbia, South Carolina.

Let's show George W. Bush and Dick Cheney that we will not let our government be sold to the highest bidder. Let's show that the grassroots are stronger than the special interests.

At the end of June, the Dean campaign posted a "fundraising bat"-- a baseball bat that marked online contributions to the campaign-- on the Dean for America homepage. More than 73,000 Americans contributed $7.6 million dollars to Howard Dean in the second quarter, mostly through small donations. Thousands of Americans understood that their contribution, when combined with the contributions of thousands of others, had the power to change our country. The bat became a symbol of that power.

To take on Dick Cheney and George W. Bush-- to beat back the special interests-- the Dean campaign is "Bringing Out the Bat" this weekend. Our goal is to raise $250,000 in online contributions by midnight, Monday, July 28th. You can take part. You can show George W. Bush and Dick Cheney that the grassroots campaign for Howard Dean is going to send them packing. Click on the link below to contribute:

http://www.deanforamerica.com/dtvbc

We'll be updating the bat 4 times a day throughout the weekend, and every half hour on Monday. Join in and watch your progress-- see how your contribution is making a difference. Updates will be posted on the official Howard Dean weblog:

http://www.blogforamerica.com

Let's demonstrate the power of the grassroots. The bat is back!

Joe Trippi
Campaign Manager
Dean for America

[Cha]

1. That would be so Cool! Times like this I wish I had extra buckolas

to fatten up the bat!



And bless their inovative fundraising Hearts!

:kick:

[w13rd0]

2. I'm so incredibly broke right now...

...but if it means beating the tar out of Cheney with the grassroots bat, I might have to dig...I am TOTALLY behind this "new" (old) paradigm of grassroots giving in small donations over the course of the primary. It's really very powerful. Look at the statistics on fundraising, it's quite astonishing.

[sonias]

11. I'm stepping up to the plate for Dean

I love the imagery, using the big bat on BFEE. I always liked that about BartCop's site. Growing the big hammer. Now Dean has a big bat. We need all the equipment we can get our hands on to oust the regime.

Adelante Con Dean!

Sonia

[RevolutionStartsNow]

3. Okay I'm in!

Just can't resist that bat!

[Khephra]

4. The Bat must be obeyed!

;-)

Ok, I'm off to donate too!

[Khephra]

5. NOTE: TO EVERYONE

PLEASE DO NOT POST THE BAT DIRECTLY FROM THE DEAN SITE. THAT WILL SLOW THE DEAN SITE DOWN AND MAKE IT HARDER TO REACH OUR GOALS.


Thank you!

:-)

[CMT]

6. here we go again

and for such a good cause.

[dajabr]

7. $50,379.53 at Midnight

$50,000.00 down, $200,000.00 to go!

http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/000786.html

[dajabr]

8. Dean's got himself a "DeanMobile!"

Now that the campaign has a few bucks, they upgraded from the mini-van :-)

Pics here: http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/000782.html#more

[RevolutionStartsNow]

9. Cool!

Thanks for posting that, cool photos! I like Dean's shirt in the bike photos: "It all started with a man who wanted a bike trail..."

[Aaron]

10. Good photos ty for linking them :)

I wonder if this 'Bat' thing Dean does gets big - and supporters start carrying bats to rallies as a sort of visual campaign slogan - that would be an interesting sight - but how would it get reported?

[sonias]

12. I'm stepping up to the plate for Dean

I love the imagery, using the big bat on BFEE. I always liked that about BartCop's site. Growing the big hammer. Now Dean has a big bat. We need all the equipment we can get our hands on to oust the regime.

Adelante Con Dean!

Sonia

[dajabr]

13. $110,960.48 at Noon!

Let's keep it up!

[RevolutionStartsNow]

14. Awesome!

The bat seems to bring out the people!

[Fleshdancer]

15. 2pm update....

$130,572.50

2,319 individual contributions

[RevolutionStartsNow]

16. More than halfway there...

in less than 24 hours. No problem.

Go Dean!

[dajabr]

17. 4PM - $147,430.44 / 2,669 individual contributions.

B-)

[dajabr]

18. 6PM - $162,170.59. / 2,902 individuals have contributed...n/t

[dajabr]

19. Midnight: $186,953.77 / 3,403 individual contributors...n/t

[RevolutionStartsNow]

20. Looks like they set the goal too low!

48 more hours. And they raised over $130k just in the last 24 hours. Whew.

[tedoll78]

21. And just think..

This is *before* matching funds! Sweet!

[Le Taz Hot]

22. 9:30 am (EST) Update

$195,764.20 with 3,591 donors. Average: $54.51 per donor.

$250,000.00 by midnight Monday? Yyyyeeeeahhhh. No problem.

[janx]

23. $195,764.20 at 9:30 Sunday morning!--3,591 contributors!

And we still have a day and a half to go.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

24. $204,469

yay!

[sfecap]

25. $212,975.20...3907 contributors.

n/t

[LewisJackson]

26. $221,667.84 raised, 4,091 contributors n/t

[Teacher4dean04]

28. And they are adding a second bat!

It's obvious we are going to meet the goal, so they are adding a 2nd bat and doing something special with the money in that second bat.

People Powered Howard!

[sfecap]

27. At 8:00pm....$236,816.00...

4,385 contributors.

Should hit the goal by 10:00pm....

[dajabr]

29. "Top Secret"

As of 10pm EDT, supporters have raised $245,316.20 online in the Dean Team vs. Bush-Cheney Challenge, with 4533 individual contributors.

Now, here's the cool part:

As of 8 pm EDT, 4,385 Americans have contributed $236,816 to the Dean Team vs. Bush-Cheney Challenge.

Back when we started this challenge on Friday night, Robert asked in the comments if we were being too timid in setting a goal of only $250,000. The answer, now, appears to be "yes."

We thought we'd hit $250,000 sometime on Monday, but we didn't think we'd hit it over a lazy weekend in the dead of summer. You have made all the difference.

Trippi is stunned.

We've been reading your comments about what to do now.

We know that many of you have waited to contribute until tomorrow, the day of Cheney's fundraiser. So here's what we'll do:

Later tonight, we'll celebrate here on the blog when we hit $250,000. Then, we'll add a second bat.

The second bat won't have a goal. It will be up to you and thousands of other Americans to fill that bat up to whatever amount you can by midnight, tomorrow. We're close to matching the Bush-Cheney fundraising machine. Tomorrow, let's see by how much we can surpass them.

And wait til you see what we plan on doing with the additional money you help raise tomorrow. It's top secret, but we can tell you this-- it will surprise everyone.

We'll be giving you half hour updates all day tomorrow, beginning at 8 am.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/

[Teacher4dean04]

30. Goal Reached!!

Bat #2 is up and waiting for your donation!

Go Dean Go!

[dajabr]

31. Even after all this time backing Dean...

I'm still in awe of his Campaign - and his supporters!

Way to step-up - awesome job everyone! Now, let's see where the next 24 hours takes us. B-)

[Egnever]

34. Couldn't agree more!

Go Doc Go!

[mandyky]

35. I was pleasantly surprised

this morning when I logged onto DeanforAmerica and saw the goal had been reached ahead of schedule. Dean definitely is "People Powered Howard"!!

[Fleshdancer]

32. 1 am - $256,352.72

4,753 individual contributors

[RevolutionStartsNow]

33. Awesome

just returned from an Aimee Mann concert...wore my Dean shirt, a guy walked by and said "Cool, Howard Dean!" Cool indeed.

[dajabr]

36. 9:30 am Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney Update

As of 9:30 am EDT, 5,594 Americans have contributed $295,447.12 to the Dean Team vs. Bush-Cheney Challenge.

http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/000816.html

[dajabr]

37. 10:30 am Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney Update

As of 10:30 am EDT, 6,004 Americans have contributed $313,995.12 to the Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney challenge.

[Fleshdancer]

38. 11 am update

As of 11 am EDT, 6,202 Americans have contributed $322,954.88 to the Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney challenge.

[dajabr]

39. 1 PM Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney Update

As of 1 pm EDT, 6,972 Americans have contributed $364,598.88 to the Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney challenge.

[Teacher4dean04]

40. Am I the only one

with a huge grin on my face? I haven't been in this good of a mood since Nevada finally funded the budget.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

41. This morning...

when I dropped my kids off at the beach, I stopped at the parking booth to get an annual pass, and the woman working there saw my shirt and said "Hey, you're wearing a Dean shirt! I just found out about him and am looking forward to reading more about him." I of course gave her the always-handy business card that I carry (has our local Dean group website and meetup info).

Nice way to start the day!

[dajabr]

42. 3 PM Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney Update

As of 3 pm EDT, 7,562 Americans have contributed $393,171.41 to the Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney challenge.

http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/000833.html

[Fleshdancer]

43. 7:30 pm update

An incredible 8,625 Americans have contributed $450,654.88 to the Dean campaign, demonstrating the power the grassroots have to take on the special interests that are financing the Bush-Cheney reelection effort.

www.blogforamerica.com

[Fleshdancer]

44. 8 pm update - $455,318.16

8,725 contributors

[RevolutionStartsNow]

45. 8725 contributors!

That is amazing. Awesome. Would like to see how many are first-time contributors.

[Dudley_DUright]

46. 8:30 update

It continues! As of 8:30 pm, 8,826 Americans have contributed $461,813.19 in the Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney Challenge.

[Dudley_DUright]

47. 9:00 PM update

8,934 people have now given $468,613.59 to the Dean Team v. Bush-Cheney Challenge.

[Dudley_DUright]

48. 9:30 PM update

An incredible 9,004 Americans have contributed $474,428.62 to the Dean campaign in the past few days, taking on the Bush-Cheney machine by showing the power of the grassroots.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

49. $482,194 at 10 pm

with an astounding 9,105 contributors!

:) :) :)

[dajabr]

50. 11:30 PM ET Update: 9,430 Americans, $499,494.84

n/t

[RevolutionStartsNow]

51. We did it! $504,205 at midnight EST!

Yay!

And when I say "we", I mean myself and the 9,528 others!

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

52. Too cool!!!

Woohoo! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[dajabr]

53. Glad you and me...

and a whole bunch of DUers are part of that "We!"

:toast: