In 2003 and 2004 I worked my butt off for the Dean campaign. I contributed early and often, joined the midnight madness of the summer of 03 and started attending Dean meetups. By the fall of 03 I was leading a Dean meetup group and actively volunteering at the state campaign headquarters.

In 2003 I was in despair for my country. The television news stations were all flag waving war supporting echo chambers where rightwingers got national coverage for smashing bottles of French wine in front of television cameras. I think that I had suffered from a case of 'political depression' since the fall of 2000 when the Supreme Court selected Dubyah as our next President.

And yet no one seemed to stand up and so "No More." No one, it seemed, would stand up and say that this was wrong, that things should change. Democratic leaders, under the thumb of Terry McAwful and the DLC, seemed to have no spine, no backbone, and to even half-heartedly support George Bush.

And then, at the California Democratic party meeting in 2003, Governor Dean stepped up and delivered a Paul Wellstone line: he said that he was here for the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. He had my vote from the day I heard that.