The folks at DemocracyFest are looking to have next year's festival as a national grassroots tribute to Howard Dean.

I Hope it's huge.

Caveat venditor

Latin for "let the seller beware". It is a counter to caveat emptor, and suggests that sellers too can be deceived in a market transaction. This forces the seller to take responsibility for the product, and discourages sellers from selling products of unreasonable quality.

In the landmark case of MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. (1916), New York Court Appeals Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo established that privity of duty is no longer required in regard to a lawsuit for product liability against the seller. This case is predominantly regarded as the origin of caveat venditor as it pertains to modern tort law in US.

Unless the Republican Party seriously reforms itself from a party of ultra-conservatives to a party of moderate-conservatives and middle-of-the-road moderates, they will not likely be succesful in any kind of 50-state-strategy! The Democratic Party's 50-state-strategy has worked as well as it has because the Democratic Party as a whole has reformed itself from where it was just four years ago. In other words, it is now a party that comes from the moderate-left and middle-of-the-road moderation. And, that has helped us in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, etc. And, Barack came close to winning Missouri, Georgia and Montana. And, he did well in South Carolina, Arizona, North Dakota, and South Dakota. He got at least 47% of the vote in Missouri, Georgia, and Montana, and he got 45% of the vote in South Carolina, Arizona, North Dakota, and South Dakota! The Dems picked up a few senate seats in non-traditional Democratic states, and also picked up a lot of U.S. House seats in a lot of non-traditional Demcratic states!

If the GOP wants to mimic that success, then they will have to stop letting ultra-conservatives from the deep south run their party. They should be looking for moderate leaders in the northeast, mid-west, and westcoastal states!

And, the GOP would not be as strong as they are in the deep south either, if it were not for minorities and young people not voting as often as they should in mid-term and special elections. The Dems are doing better in the deep south, but they could still do better. And, hopefullly they will learn the importance of voting in mid-term and special elections, and not just the General Election for the Presidency!