The Iowa Daily Report, Wednesday, December 24, 2003

* QUOTABLE:

"We can't do house parties any more," said Dean's New Hampshire press secretary, Matthew Gardner. "They started spilling out into the lawn, and that doesn't work in December."

“We have to help the middle class more, not less. And for the life of me, I can't understand why some other candidates in this race want to raise taxes on work and make life harder for the middle class. For the last 50 years, every time we have invested in our working middle class, our economy grew and so did our middle class. It happened after WWII and again under President Clinton in the 1990’s. And that’s the economic future I’ll build for this country too,” said John Edwards.

Lieberman said voters identify Dean with “an attitude, which is anti-Bush and angry. And it speaks to the mood of part of the Democratic Party. But it takes more than anger to win an election and it takes more than anger to govern.”

"Cutting people off [unemployment benefits] at Christmas is the hallmark of an insensitive administration that's much more in tune with the needs of American corporations and multilateral corporations than they are in tune with ordinary American working people," Dean said.

"Let freedom ring even as we travel through the valley of the shadow of terrorism, for freedom is a sweeter melody," Dennis Kucinich said. "Let freedom ring. If freedom is under attack from outside sources, then let us not permit an attack from within."

“I know the Republicans think I'm the toughest candidate to beat. We can't let them down,” said Dick Gephardt.

* TODAY’S OFFERINGS:

Howard Dean: *Stop Dean movement *Dean, Dean, Dean
*Don’t stop Dean  *Case -- what case? *Organizational battle

Dick Gephardt: *Gephardt tough enough
*Gephardt: Dean jumped the gun

John Kerry: *Kerry: a man of means
*Kerry ends 24-hour working tour
*Kerry’s new ad

Wesley Clark: *Clark critical of Rice

Dennis Kucinich: *Kucinich’s new ad
*Kucinich civil liberties

John Edwards: *Edwards: Disabled Americans agenda

Joe Lieberman: *Lieberman and religion

* CANDIDATES & CAUCUSES:

Stop Dean movement

New York Times columnist David Brooks writes about why it is unlikely there will be a Stop Dean Movement:

“…Howard Dean has launched a comprehensive assault on his party's leaders. First, he attacked their character, charging that they didn't have the guts to stand up to George Bush. Then, he attacked their power base, building an alternative fund-raising and voter-mobilization structure. Now he is attacking their ideas, dismissing the Clinton era as a period of mere damage control… So how are the Democratic leaders defending themselves? They are responding as any establishment responds when it has lost confidence in itself, when it has lost faith in its ideas, when it has lost the will to fight."

Dean, Dean, Dean

Howard Dean has the Democrat party shaking their head and wondering out loud about his attacks on Democrats. The LA Times reports on the growing dismay:

Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network, a Democratic political action committee, has been as close to Dean as any leading centrist in the party.

But after his latest criticism of the DLC, Rosenberg says, the front runner "has a choice. Is he going to present a new synthesis that incorporates all the best of all the traditions in the party … or is he going to be the leader of the counterrevolution?"

Added Leon E. Panetta, the former chief of staff under Clinton: "I think he's asking for serious trouble when he attacks Clinton and attacks the DLC. Whether you like their positions or not, the reality is you can't afford to divide the Democratic Party at this point. You've got a tough enough job fighting George Bush."

The Times article reports on what Dean related to Walter Shapiro's who wrote the book "One Car Caravan," on the 2004 race. It demonstrates how Dean’s comments and criticisms are heartfelt:

"What a lot of people learned from Bill Clinton is that if you accommodate and you co-opt [the other party] you can be successful," Dean told Shapiro this year. "And Bill Clinton was very successful. But that role doesn't work for everybody, and it's not the right time for it anymore."

Don’t stop Dean

Bill Safire, who writes for the Old Gray Lady and once worked for President Richard Nixon, writes about the fear of the new Dean political party pulling a Bull Moose -- that is, if denied the nomination, Dean could run as an independent.

Safire does not want that outcome… not because of any concern for Democrats but rather out of concern for Republicans. You see, Safire has been around long enough to know that great success can frequently result in great arrogance:

Politronic chatter picked up by pundits monitoring lefty blogsites and al-Gora intercepts flashes the warning: If stopped, Dean may well bolt.

That split of opposition would be a bonanza for Bush. In a two-man race, the odds are that he would beat Dean comfortably, but in a three-party race, Bush would surely waltz in with the greatest of ease.

Here's my problem: Such a lopsided, hubris-inducing result would be bad for Bush, bad for the G.O.P., bad for the country. Landslides lead to tyrannous majorities and big trouble.

Which is why I worry about Dean not getting the Democratic nomination.

Case -- what case?

Howard Dean moved to remove himself and his campaign from the court case seeking access to his sealed records as Governor, according to the Boston Globe:

"We decided to take the campaign completely out of this," Dean said in a brief interview after a Town Hall meeting in Exeter… Asked whether he would challenge a request that the case be expedited on the court docket, Dean said, "We have just completely pulled ourselves out of this. Whatever Sorrell wants to do, he can." Dean appointed Sorrell to the post.

Instead, Dean is leaving the matter to his friend William Sorrell, the current attorney general in Vermont whom he appointed as Governor.

Dean: It’s the economy

Howard Dean still believes the central issue will be the economy despite continuing excellent economic news. Tuesday the Commerce Department reported that in the third quarter the overall economy grew at its fastest rate since 1983, and personal spending and consumer confidence is also growing.

Dean also picked up an endorsement from the New Hampshire political action committee of the United Auto Workers. The UAW represents about 1,000 workers.

Organizational battle

If you are a Democrat in Iowa you have received phone calls, letters, and someone may have knocked on your door asking you to support one of the top candidates running for President. This is especially true of the Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean campaigns.

“Our mobilization effort will far outshine that of any other campaign,” said Gephardt spokesman Bill Burton.

The Dean campaign has the first wave of more than an expected 3,500 out of state volunteers to arrive in Iowa. They are expected to on more than 200,000 doors and make more than 50,000 phone calls.

Burton pointed to 21 labor unions with 95,000 active and retired members who are working to support Gephardt.

Gephardt tough enough

"I think the media has anointed Howard as front runner," Mr. Gephardt said in an interview this week as his minivan hurtled past snow-covered cornfields along the Missouri River. "That's clear… "But I've always believed somebody will become the alternative, and it will become a two-person race," said Mr. Gephardt, who has represented a Missouri Congressional district for 27 years. "I believe that I can do that. I think I can prevail in that race." Rep. Dick Gephardt is quoted in the NY Times.

The Times reports Gephardt was asked by one would-be supporter whether he is tough enough to take back the White House. This is the major emphasis of many Democrat voters. They are looking for the candidate who will beat President Bush. And it’s become a discouraging aspect for Democrats with the latest polls showing Bush beating any Democrat by nearly 8 points.

Money could well be the deciding factor in the race between Gephardt and Dean. The Times reports:

By the end of September, Mr. Gephardt had raised $13.6 million, while Dr. Dean had raised $25.3 million, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign finances. Mr. Gephardt had slightly less than $6 million in the bank and Dr. Dean slightly more than $12 million.

One of the best things that Gephardt may have going for him is the fact that Republicans have said Gephardt would be the toughest candidate to beat. His TV ads in Iowa have emphasized that fact.

Gephardt: Dean jumped the gun

Gephardt is reported in the Des Moines Register as being critical of Howard Dean if he offered the V.P. spot to Wesley Clark. He is reported to have said Dean is jumping the gun. The Register reports Gephardt said:

"I've never thought that we should get ahead of ourselves," said Gephardt, a Missouri congressman. "We've got to have the people make the decision, not the prognosticators and predictors. A lot of what's going on in the last year is like a daily racing form: Who's going to win? We've got to get to the people speaking."

Kerry: a man of means

The Washington Post reports Senator John Kerry has ponied up $6.4 million and now has a $16,667 monthly mortgage payment. Asked how Kerry will meet the monthly payments, an aide replied, "he is a man of substantial means." Kerry borrowed the $6.4 million from the Mellon Trust of New England, which granted a mortgage on his half of the home that Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, own on Beacon Hill's Louisburg Square. The mortgage features an adjustable rate starting at 3.125 percent, and the payments will be interest-only for the first 10 years of the 30-year loan. According to calculations by the Mortgage Bankers Association, Kerry's monthly payments during the first year will be $16,667, or $200,000 a year.

Kerry, whose 2002 income was $144,091 according to tax returns, must pay off the mortgage himself and cannot use his wife's fortune -- estimated at $500 million. The $6.4 million is a loan to the campaign. Kerry can be repaid in full with contributions from individual donors until the primary season ends at the Democratic convention in July. After that, the campaign would be allowed to repay him a maximum of $250,000, according to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.

Kerry ends 24-hour working tour

Sen. John Kerry has been traveling Iowa in his purple-and-red Real Deal Express bus. The tour received widespread press coverage. His tour also brought him approbation that he listens to real working people and is someone who is genuinely concerned about the real world. The Des Moines Register reports:

"We weren't real sure how this was going to work," said Charlie Skokam of McClelland, superintendent of the Council Bluffs street and sewer departments. "It's never happened here. Why would somebody want to come down here? But I think he really gets a lot of input by doing this sort of thing here."

The Sioux City Journal reports:

"I think he probably looks exhausted, but more power to him," Bachman Fort said. "He has done this and this is part of the plan, what he has to do to get people to acknowledge him and hear what he has to say."

Kerry’s new ad

John Kerry will launch a new ad tomorrow statewide in Iowa and New Hampshire. The 30-second spot highlights Kerry’s energy plan to reduce America’s dependence on Mideast oil and strengthen our national security. Kerry promises to reduce oil dependence by two million barrels of oil a day, as much as we currently import from the Middle East. Kerry’s plan to reduce oil dependence includes:

·        A New ‘Energy Security and Conservation Trust’ to accelerate the commercialization of technologies that will reduce America’s dangerous dependence on oil.

·        Reducing Oil Dependence by Two Million Barrels of Oil a Day – As Much As We Currently Import From the Middle East. Kerry will provide tax incentives for consumers to buy the vehicles they want and incentives for manufacturers to convert factories to build the more efficient vehicles of the future.

·        Making Our Homes, Offices, Schools, and Cities More Energy Efficient. Kerry will cut the Government’s energy bill 20 percent by 2020 – saving the Federal government $8 billion over the next ten years - and will challenge municipalities, corporations, universities, small businesses, and hospitals to do the same.

·        A Plan to Use Hydrogen Throughout the Nation By 2020 – a clean fuel that we can eventually get entirely from renewable sources from our farms, the wind, solar energy, hydropower and geothermal sources.

Text of Ad:

John Kerry: For nearly thirty years, we’ve talked about reducing America’s dependence on Mideast oil—and here we are today, more dependent on foreign oil than ever. It’s time to make energy independence a national priority—and to put in place a plan that frees our nation from the grip of Mideast oil in the next ten years.

Because no child growing up in America today should ever have to go to war for oil. I’m John Kerry and I approved this message.

[Note: The ad shows children playing with audio of John Kerry talking directly with voters about the importance of energy independence.]

Clark critical of Rice

Wesley Clark’s campaign criticized the Bush Administration for once again trying to stonewall the 9-11 Commission. The campaign cited government sources reported in TIME Magazine that National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice does not want to testify under oath or in public about the tragedy.

Clark said, "There is no excuse for failing to fully cooperate with this independent, bipartisan commission. We need open government and new leadership that holds itself accountable for whatever goes wrong on its watch--especially when it involves a national tragedy like 9-11. The Bush Administration should be taking the lead in cooperating--not dragging its feet.

“To build a stronger and better America, we must find out what more could have and should have been done to prevent 9-11. The Bush Administration owes us the full truth and nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, they seem to be giving the Commission nothing but a stonewall."

Kucinich’s new ad

Danny Glover stars in the latest TV ad for Dennis Kucinich. The ads will be previewed on Jan. 4th in Iowa before the Iowa Debate. The ads are to be placed in Iowa, New Hampshire and Washington D.C.

The TV ads, which include 30-, 20-, and 15-second versions, are all variations on the theme "Fear Ends. Hope Begins." In the ad available for viewing today, Glover says: "Fear ends. Hope begins. Listen up, young America. If pre-emptive war continues to drive our foreign policy, if our volunteer troops are stretched thinner and thinner, you could be facing compulsory draft. All young Americans deserve a world without end -- not a war without end. Kucinich for President! The eyes that see through the lies!" As Glover finishes these remarks, the camera zooms in on Kucinich's eyes in a photograph before cutting to a video of Kucinich saying: "I'm Dennis Kucinich, and I'm running for president. Do I approve this commercial? You bet!"

The ads will begin airing in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Washington, D.C., on January 4. Details on the purchases of ad time will be available at the January 4th event in Iowa. Kucinich is also going with billboards in Des Moines, Iowa. The Kucinich campaign put up eleven billboards in Des Moines, making it the first campaign to use billboards in Iowa. The billboards contain the following messages, in addition to "Dennis Kucinich for President": "Support Our Troops... Bring Them Home," "Support Workers and Farmers... Cancel NAFTA and WTO," "Health Care... Not Warfare."

It is reported that Kucinich’s presidential campaign has raised about $4.5 million.

Kucinich civil liberties

The Washington Post reports Rep. Dennis Kucinich is using civil liberties as his rallying cry for his campaign:

Civil liberties may seem an improbable rallying cry for a presidential campaign. But Kucinich is an improbable candidate for the highest office: a maverick who takes pride in challenging authority. The Bush administration, he tells all who will listen, is encroaching on citizens' privacy rights. "This administration has overreached in the area of civil liberties," he said. "Government shouldn't have that power. It's not consistent with what we are as a nation."

Kucinich continues to gain a following in certain circles and has gained more press coverage than the other bottom of the poll candidates -- Carol Mosley Braun and Al Sharpton. Clearly part of his appeal is his message:

"My candidacy really challenges the fear that has been promoted in this country," Kucinich said. "They have built up a climate of fear in this country. Fear itself is forcing us to sacrifice our liberties."

Edwards: Disabled Americans agenda

Continuing his campaign to make opportunity the birthright of every American, Sen. John Edwards unveiled his comprehensive agenda for Americans with disabilities.

“We’re a nation where every person has equal value, every dream deserves an equal chance, and every soul should be as equal in the law of the land as it is in the eyes of God,” Edwards said. “Yet too often, people with disabilities must overcome unnecessary obstacles when they try to get an education, find a job, or receive the care they need.”

Edwards believes we must break down barriers in education, the workplace, health care, and law, and today, he announced steps he will take as president so that every American has an equal chance to live the American Dream.

“America is about giving everyone an equal opportunity, and we have a responsibility to reach out to all Americans so they have a real opportunity to achieve their dreams.” Edwards said.

Edwards’ agenda for Americans with disabilities focuses on four key areas: expanding education and employment opportunities; improving health care and federal benefits; improving long-term care; and fully enforcing existing civil rights laws.

·        Expanding Education and Employment Opportunities. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than twice that of people without disabilities, and one out of five adults with disabilities has not graduated from high school. Edwards' “Breaking Down Barriers” initiative will enable high school and college students who may not be working today to get work experience.

·        Improving Health Care and Federal Benefits. Edwards believes that insurance companies must offer the same care to those with mental illness as those with physical illness. He will also promote community-based care within Medicare by stopping the unfair and bureaucratic rules that prevent beneficiaries from getting the things they need to live at home, such as wheelchairs.

·        Improving Long-Term Care. For people with disabilities in need of long-term care, Edwards’ Living with Dignity Initiative will offer support in the community built on basic American principles: choice of services, the chance to get care in the home and community, dignity and respect for workers, and accountability for providers and the government.

·        Fully Enforcing Civil Rights Laws. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) expanded the opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Yet 13 years later there is still more to be done. As president, Edwards will vigorously enforce the ADA, restore critical protections under the law, and appoint judges committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans.

"All Americans should be able to contribute their skills and talents and be part of their communities. That’s why my plan is about,” Edwards said.

Lieberman and religion

Senator Joe Lieberman told the American Jewish Press Association that “Jewish voters should not support him simply because of his religion, but should not oppose him for that reason, either.” Lieberman discussed with the Manchester Union Leader how certain Jewish voters were reluctant to support him because of concerns about a backlash against Jewish Americans if he were an unpopular President. He also discussed how the Democrat Party is not doing a good job of relating to religious Americans:

“I have a sense of mission about this,” he said. “There had been a period of time when too many Democrats have felt that they cannot speak about the role of faith in their own lives or the constructive role it plays in the life of our country.

“In doing so,” Lieberman said, “we fail to create a bridge to many people in the country, most of whom are religious — faith matters to them.”

* ON THE BUSH BEAT:

Report critical

The Washington Post cited its source as saying that the board believes the White House was so anxious "to grab onto something affirmative" about Saddam's nuclear ambitions that it disregarded warnings from the intelligence community that the claim was questionable. The source said at the time there was no organized system at the White House to screen intelligence, and the informal system that was followed did not work in the case of the State of the Union speech, the newspaper reported.

* THE CLINTON COMEDIES:

Hillary’s China problems

The U.S. publisher of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoirs has withdrawn rights for the Chinese translation, citing the Chinese publisher's unwillingness to restore passages critical of the government. "They no longer have the right to print or sell the book," Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon & Schuster, said yesterday. Simon & Schuster had learned in September that Yilin Press, a Chinese government-backed publisher, removed references in "Living History" to the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests, and altered Mrs. Clinton's comments about human rights activist Harry Wu, who campaigns against abuses in the Chinese labor camps, where he spent 19 years.

* NATIONAL:

Joint U.S. Russian operation

The Washington Post reports on an international team of nuclear specialists backed by armed security units who swooped into a shuttered Bulgarian reactor and recovered 37 pounds of highly enriched uranium in a secretive operation intended to forestall nuclear terrorism, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The elaborately planned mission, which was organized with the cooperation of Bulgarian authorities, removed nearly enough uranium to make a small nuclear bomb, the officials said. The material was sent by plane on Tuesday to a Russian facility where it will be converted into a form that cannot be used for weapons, they said.

 

homepage