Chris Dodd for President

Hon. Howard Dean May 4, 2007 Chairman Democratic National Committee 430 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20003 Dear Chairman Dean: I write today to urge you to join the growing chorus of those in the blogosphere, those in academia and citizens from across the country who are urging major media outlets to release video of any and every debate during the 2008 primary election season into the public domain or make it available under a Creative Commons (Attribution) license. A presidential campaign is not about the candidates who run. A presidential campaign is about the issues they present, and the constituents they hope to serve. The Democratic Party supports and advances the issues most Americans care about, and the Democratic Party would serve every American best. It is in our interest as a Party to make public our ideas by allowing video of the Presidential debates to be viewed by anyone, at any time. While copyright protections remain essential, I see no cause to maintain copyright on Presidential primary debates. Because the campaign will continue until our convention next summer in Denver, we will have many chances to gather and discuss the issues, and making the product of those discussions free and open to the public simply makes sense. I urge you to join those calling for the unrestricted release of debate video, and I hope you agree that by doing so, the Democratic Party will continue to spread our message and inform millions of Americans of where we stand. Warm Regards, Senator Chris Dodd