To that end, he is crafting a broader message of change — a message that he applies to the Democratic Party as well as to the Republicans. It’s not unlike “The Man from Hope” campaign, circa 1992, when the Democrats ended the last depressing Bush reign.
In New Hampshire Warner talked about the changing global economy, and the need to respond to its challenges. He said that investing in alternative-fuel technologies will be good for business “and just might save the world at the same time.” He pointedly refrained from excessive Bush-bashing, and told the Phoenix that Democrats need more of a sales pitch than “just punching the other guys in the arm.”
In other words, Warner is advocating a broad-scale progressive vision that doesn’t require adherence to individual planks of the liberal platform.
At the same time, he is distancing himself from the center and embracing progressives where he can. Warner was one of the first to endorse Lamont over Lieberman’s independent campaign. And a few weeks ago, he pointedly blew off the DLC’s annual “National Conversation” conference in Denver. “That shows you that [Warner] is trying to maintain that outsider status,” says LaRaja. “Or maybe at least avoid the Lieberman treatment.”
Clearly, Warner sees a potential opening for an outsider in the Democratic field. The only true liberal in the mix, and the early darling of the grassroots, is Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold — a liberal, Jewish congressman from the upper Midwest — is the natural heir to the following of the late Paul Wellstone.
But, of course, Wellstone never won a national election, and many worry that Feingold has no chance in ’08. If Feingold’s candidacy starts looking like Kucinich redux, the grassroots have few appetizing choices. “People have made up their minds about a lot of the people who are going to be candidates,” says Green. Dean supporters, by definition, have already once rejected Edwards, John Kerry, and Wesley Clark; Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Al Gore are retreads from the past; Indiana senator Evan Bayh and Connecticut senator Chris Dodd are centrist Washington legislators; Tom Vilsack of Iowa and Bill Richardson of New Mexico, although governors, are pure party insiders. “Mark Warner is the fresh new face,” says Steve Grossman, a Massachusetts political veteran and finance chairman for Dean’s presidential campaign.
Presidential-preference straw polls on sites like DailyKos and MyDD show Gore and Feingold as top choices, followed by solid support for Clark, Edwards, and Warner. No one else registers more than two or three percent.
Going courting
Former Deaniacs, when discussing the growth of the movement, emphasize the sense of community and empowerment fostered by the campaign. If a candidate can recreate that, it’s entirely possible that the grassroots will come.
But creating that community is not as simple as it may seem, even with all the new Web and telecom technology at a campaign’s disposal. Dean allowed grassroots activists to contribute ideas and act on their own — symbolized by the campaign’s legendary Meetups, where local leaders and plans emerged by consensus rather than directed by campaign staff or structure.
