Clark Supporters Outdo Dean Supporters in the San Fernando Valley, CA

DoveTurnedHawk

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Sat Jan-10-04 05:38 PM
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Clark Supporters Outdo Dean Supporters in the San Fernando Valley, CA

Edited on Sat Jan-10-04 05:44 PM by DoveTurnedHawk

Every Presidential election, the 20-odd Democratic Parties of the San Fernando Valley (DP-SFV) have a "Presidential shoppers forum" for folks who are interested in learning about the candidates. This year was no different from any other election year, and we had probably over 100 folks attend.

For many months over the summer and into September, the only game in town has been Dean, and Dean still maintains a pretty solid lead among DP-SFV board members. But quite a few people were shocked to see the supporters of General Wesley K. Clark outnumber the supporters of Howard Dean at this event, especially considering the General's very late entry into the race.

Yet the momentum is shifting. I spoke to more than one uncommitted or Dean-leaning DP-SFV board member who was very intrigued by the turnout, and had very nice things to say about the General. I spoke to many undecided everyday voters who left with Clark pins and bumper stickers. And I spoke to dozens of energized Clark supporters who could feel the momentum that Clark volunteers are undoubtedly feeling right now in New Hampshire.

In terms of speakers, Dean had Richard Alarcon and Sheila Kuehl, two local elected officials. I actually lost a lot of respect for Alarcon after his speech, as he was extremely divisive, playing up the typical "Dean is the only true Democrat" type of tripe. Kuehl was a little better, but both speakers' applause lines were almost entirely Dean-centric, and only Dean supporters applauded. (Of course, everyone politely applauded the speakers' introductions and conclusions.)

Clark's speaker was Eric Bauman, the Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. He gave a stirring speech about beating George W. Bush and indicated that he would be behind whoever the Democratic Party nominated, to much applause from others in the room. He also said that any of our candidates could beat Bush, but General Clark was the man with the best chances of doing so. He talked about everything we've hashed out here dozens of times before, about Clark's electability, integrity and excellent stances on the issues. IMO, his speech was much better than Alarcon's and Kuehl's, but of course I'm biased.

(There were also speakers for every other candidate save Gephardt, Lieberman and Sharpton.)

The DP-SFV will be making its endorsement decision within the next week or so. To be completely honest, it's still Dean's endorsement to lose, since the leadership of the DP-SFV needs to catch up with the rank-and-file, and as I said earlier, Dean has been the only game in town for months.

But since a formal endorsement requires 60% of the votes, Clark might actually be able to STOP an endorsement for Dean by the DP-SFV, and that would be a major symbolic victory. If we do so, the big turnout for Clark at the DP-SFV will probably be one factor in that decision.

This is the second major public event in a row where Clark has come out on top in terms of grassroots (the other being the Rose Bowl, at which no other campaign had a presence). I think it's the start of a trend, at least in the Clark-friendly Los Angeles area.

DTH