Dean Beats Fundraising Goal with Small Donors...Again

[tsipple]

Howard Dean set a Halloween weekend mid-quarter fundraising goal of $310,000 in his "Bush Frightens Me!" online campaign. The fundraising deadline was set for 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Dean's thousands of contributors beat the goal once again, and with eight hours to spare in the Eastern time zone. Total raised so far: $311,166.53 as of 4 PM Eastern. Over 5,700 people donated so far this Halloween weekend.

The average contribution is $56 per person -- the vast majority eligible for full federal matching funds. The vast majority of contributors are also eligible for repeat donations since they are not near the $2,000 per-person limit.

Howard Dean continues to lead the Democratic field in fundraising, and he is doing so with the highest proportion of small (and matchable) donations. The Dean campaign also has the largest number of contributors of any candidate running for the Democratic nomination.

The fundraising strength is also mirrored in the number of supporters signed up with Dean for America. Just under half a million Americans have signed up as Dean supporters to receive e-mail updates and other campaign communications. Over 130,000 people have signed up for community organizing meetings through Meetup.com. Dean volunteers have sent over 21,000 personal letters to Iowa and New Hampshire voters in just the latest effort. Over 1,400 people have volunteered for on-the-ground field work for the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary, excluding additional supporters from major unions. These numbers represent the largest and broadest grassroots organization of any candidate running for President.

If anyone would like to contribute to the Halloween "Bush Frightens Me!" campaign, please click here to help meet the Pilots for Dean goal. If you donate at least $31 before midnight tonight you'll receive a limited edition "Bush Frightens Me!" button which will be a lot of fun to wear throughout the next year. Thanks!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. He can raise money, but is he the right man for the job?

[Closer]

2. Ummm

of course he is!

[Chomskyite]

3. Keep an eye on him and see

Also read about his record. Make up your own mind. Don't let yourself be browbeat by the overwhelming numbers of middle class Americans who think he is and have given him an insurmountable lead in campaign funds for use in the primaries and against Bush.

Don't let the fact that half a million people have signed on as active members of his campaign blind you.

Read the web page. Make up your own mind about where you stand re: his positions.

[tsipple]

4. Another Astonishing Statistic

There are already an estimated 1,500 web sites supporting Howard Dean. (That's based on a quick sample survey of registered Internet names.)

[Chomskyite]

5. Is it time to start using the I word yet?

That word being "inevitable"?

[Padraig18]

6. What comes right before inevitable?

That's the stage we're at now...

[Punkingal]

7. This is a dupe.

Please see:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=74064

[w13rd0]

8. I don't like starting threads...

...so I'm tacking my thoughts to this one.

Gephardt says he doesn't want to represent people with trucks with confederate flags. Rep Gep is the rep for my area, here in Saint Louis, MO. Apparently Rep Gep hasn't spent that much time in the district he represents, because I've got news for him: YOU ARE ALREADY REPRESENTING THEM.

Dean is demonstrating that he can take every one of these out-of-context fabricated scandal attacks and turn it into a positive. And that's just what his campaign will do in the general election. Let the right wing attack him on the civil union issue, we've already got commercials with Tricky Dick Cheney's comments during the Cheney-Lieberman debate cued up and ready to go.

BRING IT ON!

[tsipple]

9. More Fundraising Statistics

In the 3rd quarter of 2003, Dean raised an estimated $4.5 million more than the previous Democratic record holder for fundraising: Bill Clinton. As a sitting President, Bill Clinton raised $10.3 million in a single quarter. Dean bested that record with small donations in a field of nine (now eight) other candidates.

And the campaign is burning cash at a modest rate. According to 3rd quarter FEC reports, among major Democratic candidates Dean has the most "headroom" to FEC state-by-state spending limits. Other candidates -- primarily Kerry, Gephardt, and Clark -- may have to bust through FEC state limits and give up matching funds because they're bumping up close against spending caps in early primary states. Dean appears to be in the strongest financial position against Bush post-primaries should he win the Democratic nomination.