The Dean Diaspora: an early report

Micah Sifry does some initial examination in this Nation article of what I call the "Dean Diaspora" (remember, you heard it here first!)

As Micah points out, a lot of past grassroots political efforts faded back into the woodwork because they relied heavily on a central organizer that either didn't care enough to keep it going (John Anderson, Jerry Brown) or choked it off by being to controlling (Jesse Jackson, Ross Perot). The Dean Diaspora could be different because it began as a loosely organized collection of individuals and organizations and never really lost that initial structure (I leave the question open as to whether a failure to evolve beyond that structure may have ultimately done Dean in). As such, the energy that was tapped by the Dean campaign could continue to effect change long after the Dean campaign is nothing but a fond (or painful) memory.