'Chaos' Hits Dean's Camp
by Helen Kennedy
Daily News Washington Bureau
Wednesday, January 28th, 2004

WASHINGTON - Facing electoral disaster, Howard Dean shook up his campaign staff yesterday, shedding the man who turned him into an outsider phenom and replacing him with a veteran Washington operative. Campaign manager Joe Trippi, whose Internet wizardry built a grass-roots network of supporters and donors that changed the face of politics, quit after Dean put former Al Gore chief of staff and corporate lobbyist Roy Neel in charge. "I'm out of the campaign but I'm not out of the fight," Trippi said. "I hope people stick with him." Dean said he wanted to "centralize" management of the campaign and hoped Trippi would come back "after he's thought this through a little bit." Dean said, "If it hadn't been for Joe Trippi, we wouldn't be where we are." Trippi rejected an offer to stay and run the media and Internet operation. Other top aides also were rumored to be considering leaving. One campaign insider groused, "It was turmoil before. Now it's chaos." Dean spent the day huddled with advisers, arguing strategy for the next big contest: the seven states that vote on Tuesday.

Dean lags in polls in all seven. He had two conference calls, one with top moneymen and one with officials who endorsed him. Both gave him an earful about his losses in Iowa and New Hampshire and made it clear they would jump ship if he didn't win somewhere pronto. Things look bleak for Dean, who only a few weeks ago was soaring toward the nomination with money, magazine covers and mojo. "We are in enormous trouble," admitted one top staffer. "This may be over soon," said another. His back-to-back losses are expected to severely curtail his ability to raise money just as the race goes national, when having substantial money for ads is the only way to win. Dean campaign insiders say most of the $40 million he raised in small donations is gone, blown in Iowa and New Hampshire and on ads aired nationally last year. Staffers will not be paid for the next two weeks. "We need to husband our resources for the 10 states coming up," said Dean, who insisted he will fight for every state, while Trippi advised picking certain battlefields.

"We're worried about money but we're not broke." There are signs Dean's army of small contributors are growing wary. When the campaign asked for $1 million by last Tuesday, $600,000 came in. "We spent it as fast as it came in," said one source. "Trippi had too much faith in the donors. He thought they would always respond when we asked for more money. I think that maybe was a mistake." The shakeup also ensures that Dean's troubles dominate the news, allowing front-runner John Kerry more precious days of positive coverage. The Massachusetts senator, flying high on his big New Hampshire win, picked up money and endorsements, including Rep. Jim Clyburn, a key black congressman from South Carolina. It was a psychological blow to native son John Edwards, who admits South Carolina is a make-or-break state for him.