About 225 people watched Howard Dean speak on Thursday night in the O'Connell Center, which seats 12,000.
He discussed the "50 states strategy," he is credited with developing, and the ways the Internet has changed politics.
Dean recently stepped down as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and ran in the democratic presidential primary in 2004 against John Kerry. During that campaign, he famously ended an excited phrase with a scream, which some claim damaged his chances at winning the primary. Some believe he discovered how to harness the Internet to win political campaigns, a strategy that won Barack Obama the presidency, he said.
"Everyone thinks that I did that, and I appreciate the credit. But I didn't do it, you did it," he said, referring to political organizers, who made up a large part of the crowd.
He also praised YouTube as a powerful political tool.
"Who knew a 23-year-old kid was gonna be following around George Alan in southwest Virginia when he made a racist remark, and that he was gonna be on YouTube the next day, and we were gonna pick up a United States senate seat in Virginia?" he said, about the 2006 senate elections.
Dean then spoke about his inspiration for the "50 states strategy", which advises challenging Republicans even in states and regions traditionally viewed as conservative strongholds, he said.
"We copied almost everything from the Republican National Committee, except for the cheating at the ballot box," he said.
Dean encouraged citizens to participate in democracy at the local and state levels, especially those that bring diversity to the political arena, he said. He used a recently elected official to the Alabama state legislature, who is a lesbian, as an example.
"When you elect people that are different, especially in places like Alabama, and suddenly every legislator in Alabama knows a person who is openly gay, that changes the complexion of Alabama," he said. "That means that someone has to be seen as a human being instead of some minority that everyone can point to when something goes wrong."
The event was co-sponsored by Accent and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, whose namesake introduced Dean.
Accent paid at least $5,000 to rent the O'Connell Center, according to Andrew Guglielmo, Accent spokesman. The Bob Graham Center paid Dean $1,000, well below his usual fee.
"I did this for Bob Graham," Dean said after his speech. "I've always really admired him."
