I've listened to the mass media spin on John Kerry's campaign vs. Howard Dean's campaign. Apparently, Kerry is trying to spin himself as a populist candidate, aping the success of Dean's well-motivated and highly networked campaign. The media has latched onto this with interest, since they've realized that Dean will not play their little games with them, pandering to the Fourth Estate's self-importance. On the contrary, Kerry is the consummate insider, and someone with whom the media feels comfortable.
For all of you who are not aware of it, there is a website that every single voter should read before entering their polling place. It is OpenSecrets.org - the website that aggregates and publishes campaign contributions data. In five minutes at the website, something very fascinating about the Kerry vs. Dean debate becomes apparent. John Kerry receives the largest fraction of his campaign contributions from the group entitled Lawyers and Lobbyists. That's quite fascinating for someone who claimed in New Hampshire to "stand against the special interests." On the contrary, Dean received the largest fraction of the donations from the category called "Other".
"Other" apparently includes the members of his own campaign organization, Dean For America, who are currently in aggregate the 6th largest contributor to Dean's campaign. One does not see this level of dedication from the Kerry campaign. Kerry's top contributors tend to work at banks and law firms, not universities and state governments, like Dean. One can easily draw the conclusion that Dean supporters tend to have the courage of their convictions. What does that say about Kerry's supporters? And by inference, what does it say about the two candidates? Everyone who is voting in the Democratic primaries should consider this carefully.
Posted by brent at 19:20