Unintended Consequences

Can Dean Campaign Methods Survive Success?

Breakthrough campaign methods have brought Howard Dean dramatic success, one largely based on giving up centralized control of the "message" and allowing individual supporters and local groups extraordinary freedom to express themselves via the Internet and local house parties and gatherings. He has also raised a surprising amount of money, primarily from individual contributors giving small amounts. The Washington Post described the campaign today as a "secular tent revival, winning over individual souls one at a time." Washington Post: People Powered (Dec. 9, 2003)

This Sunday, Dean's campaign phenomenon made the cover of the New York Times Magazine. In the article, Joe Trippi, Dean's campaign manager, described the campaign organization as a grid, modeled on the Internet, instead of the conventional structure of spokes surrounding a hub. According to The Times: "Trippi likes to say that in the Internet model he has adopted for the campaign, the power lies with the people at 'the edges of the network,' rather than the center. When people from the unofficial campaign call and ask permission to undertake an activity on behalf of Dean, they are told they don't need permission.' NYT Magazine: The Dean Swarm (Dec. 7, 2003).

With Al Gore's endorsement virtually assuring Dean's nomination as the Democratic Party candidate, the questions now include: