Thank you Jason for providing some additional context. Truly one of the greatest personal honors was being selected by Gov. Dean to help formulate and implement the 50 state strategy into actual nuts and bolts programs beyond the rhetoric. And it's still evolving and full of untapped potential for sure.

Keep in mind though that from state specific strategic plans, field organizers in every state to a new national voter file - everything that the DNC and state parties have been doing over the past three years is completely new and has had to be built from scratch. And frankly, it takes more than a blog post to dig in and make it work.

The irony of the tired saws from the righteous "kick up and suck down" crowd is that Jim, I and many others in Oregon were pushing these reforms long before Dean made it fashionable and have shared a lot of the same frustrations. But it took Gov. Dean's leadership and force of will as a change agent nationally to begin breaking down all these counterproductive rivalries.

Rather than arguments, we now have daily strategic conversations with bright, talented "outside the beltway" DNC staff like Jason and Brad Martin (former MT ED) about how we can strenthen our partnership and advance our respective goals - electorally and otherwise.

And in that vein, I'm going to suggest that this thread focus not on individual personalities but on the future. The Democratic Party has never been about one person - it wasn't about Bill Clinton and it certainly isn't about Jim or me. Future challenges and opportunities will fall to the new leadership team that we'll be electing this Saturday and their views are far more important.

So instead, let us have a constructive conversation about how best to continune to evolve the 50 SS from an exciting concept (that paid some immediate dividends in '06) to a permanent, robust program built around a whole new way of organizing and doing business.

Remember Governor Dean's tenure as DNC chair is finite as well, and the question remains open what the legacy will be of investments made in the 50 SS? Will it become the dominant paradigm or will it gets scuttled by the next personality based big idea. I'm rooting for the former.

The 50 state strategy is more than a feel good slogan. It's a powerful message that every volunteer is part of something bigger and that you can make a difference no matter where you live. It's not state party this, DNC that and Future Pac the other.

At the end of the day, it's about you and working together to build capacity and create synergies at the local, state and national levels. And, it's my strong believe that the 50 SS is only sustainable if the investments made promote and yield greater financial self sufficiency for local parties, more grassroots Democrats getting excited, active, and engaged, and yes, actually elects more Democrats - by building effective, electioneering infrastructure that a candidate at any level take advantage of and win.

And I would be remiss if I didn't point out that everyone has an opportunity to help the new DPO leadership get off to a strong start by buying a ticket to our St. Paddy's Day Auction.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments and I wish you all the best of luck!

As a County Chair who has worked with Neel, I can say that anyone who questions Neels dedication to the 50 state strategy is either uninformed or has another agenda afoot. It has been such a priviledge to work with one of the best state organizers in the country. Oregon was a machine. I just learned of Neel's resignation, and besides being sad, I am hoping that whoever replaces him can carry on Governor Dean's strategy as well as has Neel. Good luck Neel. You've made a huge difference to our process.

It's still strange to me that Neel and I went to high school together in Virginia and now we both live in Portland and we're both blue.

I worked for his dad one summer -- really nice man.

Alan - email me some time at [email protected], but do it sooner than later! It'd be fun to catch up.

Bests,

<h2>Neel</h2>