Before Dean
The Nation Magazine, or at least one of their writers, has hailed Democratic Party chairman, Howard Dean, as the architect of the successful 50 state strategy of the Democrats. It's sort of like giving first credit to inventors who did not really originate an idea, but successfully implemented the ideas of others. Mark Greene, then a successive two-time Democratic nominee in Alaska, and his mother, I. Elizabeth Greene, the campaign manager for Mark's 2002 U.S. House campaign, and a campaign assistant tried to get the Democrats to originate the 50 state strategy years before Dean became chairman.
Mark is on record in the Anchorage Daily News during the era of his Alaska campaigns, 2000 - 2002, for urging the Democrats to abandon their selective districts strategy, and he criticized successive DCCC chairs, Patrick Kennedy and Nita Lowey, for not implementing the 50 state strategy for the House of Representatives. Elizabeth spoke tirelessly on the phone to a DCCC manager to raise money for Mark's campaign, particularly the travel expenses that he would need for being the Democrats' nominee in the largest land area congressional district of the United States, but the DCCC was not forthcoming.
Since then, Mark has left the Democratic Party and started the Party of Commons. He is now a candidate for senator in Washington state for the 2010 election. Elizabeth managed the last campaign in which the Democratic nominee won consecutive nominations for the U.S. House in Alaska and warned against Bush's drum beat for war in Iraq. She is now deceased (1933 - 2006).
Post-script: DCCC are the initials for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
[This essay was revised on 12/23/08.]
Copyright 2008, Party of Commons TM
Mark is on record in the Anchorage Daily News during the era of his Alaska campaigns, 2000 - 2002, for urging the Democrats to abandon their selective districts strategy, and he criticized successive DCCC chairs, Patrick Kennedy and Nita Lowey, for not implementing the 50 state strategy for the House of Representatives. Elizabeth spoke tirelessly on the phone to a DCCC manager to raise money for Mark's campaign, particularly the travel expenses that he would need for being the Democrats' nominee in the largest land area congressional district of the United States, but the DCCC was not forthcoming.
Since then, Mark has left the Democratic Party and started the Party of Commons. He is now a candidate for senator in Washington state for the 2010 election. Elizabeth managed the last campaign in which the Democratic nominee won consecutive nominations for the U.S. House in Alaska and warned against Bush's drum beat for war in Iraq. She is now deceased (1933 - 2006).
Post-script: DCCC are the initials for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
[This essay was revised on 12/23/08.]
Copyright 2008, Party of Commons TM
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