Chris Dodd for President

ALS Fighter has a great diary up on Daily Kos explaining why he will be caucusing for Chris Dodd on January 3rd, 2008.

In roughly two weeks, I will be proudly joining thousands of people across the state by participating in the Iowa Democratic Caucus. As a relatively new resident of Iowa and first-time caucus goer, I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to show my support for the candidate I believe will be an agent of change and is best qualified to be our country's next president. I desire an individual with decades of leadership experience, a person with strong principles who will strive to restore the Constitution, and someone who all Americans can be proud to call their president. That is why, on January 3, I will be supporting Chris Dodd.

ALS Fighter goes on to write that Dodd's leadership to restore the Constitution, his history of serving in the Peace Corps and the military, and his ability to bring people together from both parties to get things done has convinced him that Chris Dodd is the best person to be President.

ALS Fighter - whose Daily Kos handle comes from his fight with ALS - makes another point that I think merits highlighting:

I want a Democrat elected next November. But that's not enough. I want someone who can unite rather than drive the wedge between "blue states" and "red states" deeper into the fabric of this great nation. I believe Dodd has the skills to achieve that.

Dodd has a proven record of getting results. He takes progressive Democratic policies and finds Republicans who will work with him to make them law. Family & Medical Leave. Child care. Head Start. Housing assistance. The list goes on and on, but ALS Fighter is right: In a Dodd presidency, you can expect results and the leadership needed to bring Americans together.

You can read ALS Fighter's blog here.

Yesterday's Daily Kos straw poll showed Senator Dodd surging into second place in the poll, tripling last month's performance, to 21% support with over 12,000 people voting.

dKos Reader Poll. 10/22 -- 10:24 a.m. to 1:22 p.m. PT. 12,369 respondents.

            2007                                     2006

            Oct Sept Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Jul

Edwards      31  39  34  36  40  39  42  38  26  35  28  15
Dodd         21   7   0   1   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
Obama        16  21  29  27  22  24  25  26  25  28  28
H. Clinton    9  11   8   9   6   6   3   3   4   4   5   2
Other         6   5   7   9   6   5   9   8   *   *   3   6
Don't Know    5   5   5   7   7   5   8   6   *   *   3   4
Kucinich      5   6   4   3   2   2   2   4
Richardson    2   1   6   5   8  13   8   6   5   4   2   1
Biden         1   1   1   0   0   0   0   1   0   1   1   1
Gravel        0   0   0   1   1   3   0   0   0   0   0

It's not a stretch to say that we're ecstatic here at the Dodd campaign with these results. But this hasn't come out of the blue.

Chris Dodd's work to stop the illegal wiretapping bill and on ending the war with a firm enforceable is resonating with Americans who feel a sense of frustration that Congress hasn't followed through on its mandate to change the direction of the country. It's this type of leadership that offers clarity and boldness, combined with his ability to get results, that sets Chris Dodd apart from the field and that will earn him the nomination.

This poll represents the strong, growing support that exists for Chris Dodd in the netroots. The netroots are a community of Democratic and progressive activists, a hyper-informed group that is distributed around the country, but is very influential and socially connected to large numbers of people. In academic terms, a great deal of bloggers and blog readers are "poli-influentials" and "community hubs" -- the best kind of advocates for a campaign trying to reach out to voters who are ideologically similar to their candidate. Dodd's support in the Kos poll comes after months of hard work, issue leadership, and action fighting for issue the netroots care about.

Ari Melber, writing at the Huffington Post, explains why Dodd is likely to get this kind of support online:

Dodd is well positioned to benefit from the online attention. He's already been leading on the netroots' three major priorities: Iraq, the Constitution and Proud Aggressive Politics. As an agenda, that boils down to: End the war, Defend the Constitution and instead of apologizing for your beliefs, Fight like hell when opponents attack you or the country. Alert readers will note these are key items for plenty of Democratic voters offline.

I think Melber's spot-on. In my travels with Senator Dodd around the country -- including extensive time in rural Iowa and New Hampshire -- these issues have come up at effectively every event I've been at. Americans are sick and tired of this war and the Bush administration's abuses of the Constitution. They're fed up with Democrats' inability to follow through on campaign promises to change course in Iraq and bring our troops home. They want to see someone stand up for the rule of law and stop the flow of power towards this President and his political appointees. But most of all, they want to see leadership through action and unapologetic commitment to Democratic principles. That is, the results we see online are just another manifestation of sentiments seen and felt by Democratic voters around the country offline.

Chris Dodd has been out front, leading with clarity and conviction. From his Restoring the Constitution Act and the citizen generated whip count around the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, to the Dodd amendment and a commitment to not vote for another dollar for war in Iraq without there being a time line for withdrawal tied to funding, to his passionate and principled defense of the netroots against Bill O'Reilly's attacks -- Chris Dodd has built a clear record this campaign of being the only candidate who's proving to the the Democratic base that he's a guy who they can trust as President to stand with them on the issues that matter most.

That's why I can safely say that Dodd's meteoric rise over the last two months in the Kos straw poll has staying power. Dodd has earned this. His leadership on FISA may be a tipping point, but it's also an opportunity for many people to take a good, hard look at Chris Dodd's record and find even more reasons to support him as their candidate. And let's not forget, Chris Dodd is still the only candidate who has made restoring the Constitution and standing up for the rule of law a driving factor in his Presidential campaign. He will continue to fight against telecom amnesty and will stand firm in his defense of the Constitution when it comes to stopping torture, closing Guantanamo, honoring the Geneva Conventions, and only approving Bush administration appointees who understand how the Constitution works. That means Dodd will continue to be right there with people of all political stripes who think that the Constitution demands protection from people who swear an oath of office to uphold it.

This was originally posted on the Daily Kos in response to today's straw poll.

This month's Daily Kos straw poll saw Chris Dodd surge 5% -- a result that I, Tim Tagaris, and all my other colleagues on the Dodd campaign are very happy to see. But looking at the comments on the poll, there remains an all-too common sentiment in the Daily Kos community.

I really like Dodd, and think he would be an outstanding President, but, he's not a viable candidate, unless he comes out of nowhere and wins Iowa.

I have to say this is a common sentiment in these parts. All I can say is this: why in the world would you want to disempower yourself and this community by trying to pick a winner now when you have the ability to make one yourself?

Senator Dodd often says that there are two types of people. On the one side, there are those who want to pick a winner in a political race, to show that they are great prognosticator and ensure that they get on the winning side and look really smart once the votes are tallied. On the other side are people that look at a field of candidates and decide who they want to help make a winning candidate. They decide by finding the candidate who they most agree with on the issues and who they think will be there, standing side by side with his base during the race and into office.

What kind of person are you? Do you want to pick a winner? Or do you want to make a winner?

At the end of the day, the only pundit who matters is you. Do you agree with what a candidate is saying? Do you think someone is leading the ideas race, even if their leadership in the things you care about isn't reflected in the latest Gallup poll?

Chris Dodd is using his campaign to lead on ending the Iraq war now - by setting a date certain for withdrawal and enforcing that deadline by cutting off funding. Dodd is standing with and for the majority of Americans who want Congress to end the war -- and that means he's not going to vote for a bad bill that does nothing to end the war through the Congressional powers of the purse.

The people who share these views and want to see a Democratic nominee who is leading on the issues now are making Chris Dodd viable by standing up with their support. Dodd's at 7% this month in no small part because Kossacks are looking at him and liking what they see.

If you like Dodd, if you want to elect someone who will restore the Constitution, if you want to vote for someone who's leading the fight to end the war in Iraq by cutting off funding now, and who will enact a corporate carbon tax to make polluting too costly for polluters, then now is the time to get on board with Chris Dodd's campaign for President. You want a candidate who you won't have to apologize for and with Chris Dodd, you can know that you're getting a leader for you

Our campaign can't succeed without the support of Democratic activists like you. If you choose to decide what to do along the guidelines that Charlie Cook and Tim Russert want you to use, well, I promise that you'll be missing your opportunity to make the next President. But if you want to make a President, then now is the time to come help Chris Dodd's campaign.

We just jumped 5% in the Kos straw poll and I can promise you that the 7% of Kos voters who want Chris Dodd to be President are not picking him because Chris Matthews or Charlie Cook or Bob Novak told them he was the most electable Democrat. They're voting for Dodd because he is leading on the issues now and has repeatedly stood up for the Democratic base -- for ending the Iraq war, restoring the Constitution, from Bill O'Reilly's attacks and from John Cornyn's smears.

So please, come on over and join the Dodd Squad or make a small-dollar donation. We need your support and you need a candidate worth believing in.

I wanted to point everyone towards two great diaries up today at Daily Kos. First, diarist Skulnick endorses Chris Dodd for President. Second, diarist ThatTallGuy tells the community the "REAL Top 10 Reasons I'm Voting for Chris Dodd." Go check them out and see what people are saying today.

Last night Senator Dodd referenced Bill O'Reilly's statement from 2005 to the effective of it being OK with O'Reilly if Al Qaeda wanted to attack San Francisco. O'Reilly denied it and accused Senator Dodd of reading his transcripts on Media Matters. Warning, the transcript that follows includes some profanity on O'Reilly's part. Here's how it went down:

DODD: Talking about Al Qaeda attacking San Francisco, blowing up San Francisco. That’s not offensive? O'REILLY: When did I say that, senator? DODD: You said it in 2005, I think is correct. O'REILLY: What forum? When? DODD: Right here I believe on your show. O'REILLY: You are wrong. I didn't say it here. You don't know what the hell I said with all due respect. You got it from Media Matters. You didn't hear it and you don't know.

Since Mr. O'Reilly specifically mentions Media Matters, I think it's worth while to see what the Fox News transcripts Media Matters says Bill O'Reilly said on November 8, 2005 on The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: Hey, you know, if you want to ban military recruiting, fine, but I'm not going to give you another nickel of federal money. You know, if I'm the president of the United States, I walk right into Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium, and I say, "Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead."