Clark gunning for Dean
Analysis by Roger Wm. Hughes
"It's now clear that I'm one of
only two candidates in a position to win the
nomination," Clark, a retired Army general, said
in a statement Thursday. "And I'm the only
candidate positioned to actually win the election
because I am the candidate best able to stand up
to George W. Bush and win the debate about who
will best be able to make our country secure over
the next four years."
The
Associated Press reports Wesley Clark believes
he is the one who can be the alternative to Howard
Dean because he has raised more money than his
other would-be challengers to Dean. Clark raised
between $10.5 million and $11 million in the final
quarter and is getting $3.7 million in federal
matching money. However, Dean is not taking
matching funds and raised more money than Clark
for the same period. Another factor is that Clark
is still taking in the easy first money from his
supporters due to his getting into the race late.
Clark plans to ride his military
experience to prove he’s the alternative to Dean.
While this is a possibility, it does not appear to
be a probability. Clark’s campaign will suffer for
the next two weeks as the Presidential race
focuses on Iowa -- a state that Clark opted out
of. This tactic may enable Clark to fight another
day in the battle against Dean. However, unless
Dean is weakened, he is unlikely to be able to
stop him.
Likewise, Clark’s battle plan
could be upset if Dick Gephardt wins Iowa and Dean
does not meet expectations in New Hampshire. Clark
does not have the workers that the unions provide
Gephardt. He also does not have the workers and
supporters that Dean has generated. In that case,
Gephardt is better positioned to be the
alternative to Dean than Clark. And Clark could
end up helpful to Gephardt in denying certain
Southern states to Dean. Gephardt, from border
state Missouri, could win key Midwestern states
and pick up Southern states on the borders.
But the greater problem facing
Clark is his poor, erratic performances. As Clark
continues to boast about his military performance,
his political performance has been spotty at best.
Monday, the Clark campaign plans to roll out a key
domestic policy issue that will serve as the
centerpiece of the campaign. It is normally by the
third or fourth day after a new endeavor that the
Clark campaign fails to keep its discipline and
focus. If Clark can show discipline in his
campaign, he may finally get into the center ring
of the fight for the nomination.
Clark is hoping he can make a
dent in Dean following Iowa and New Hampshire
using a southern base. So far, Clark has not shown
he has true Southern appeal in the Democrat Party.
Machine politics has a greater influence in the
South than any other place except for urban
political machines. The South also is a place
where Black voters have a greater influence.
Dean’s endorsement by Al Gore will be pivotal for
Dean as he competes in the South - both with the
machine politicians and Black voters. Dean has
been gaining key northern Black congressmen.
Edwards Factor
A similar problem for Clark will
be Senator John Edwards in South Carolina. Edwards
is recognized as a genuine Southerner who has the
accomplished record of winning votes from Blacks
and whites in the South. Edwards, who has
acquitted himself well in this race, could be a
spoiler in Clark’s plan of showing strong southern
regional support for his campaign. Unfortunately
for Edwards, this campaign cycle is not one that
favors compassion or reason – Edwards’ strong
suits. This is the cycle of fear and anger, and
Edwards will not last long in this race after Feb.
3.
Kerry factor
There remains the question of
Senator John Kerry as the challenger to Dean.
While Kerry would be out of the race if it were
not for his money, that money could carry him
farther than many if Kerry shows well in Iowa and
comes close in New Hampshire. Dean’s lead has
shrunk in New Hampshire according to the latest
poll. If Kerry is still standing and Gephardt is
in the race, then Kerry could hurt Gephardt in the
northern states. If Gephardt is gone, then Kerry
could help Clark by hurting Dean in the northern
states. Either, way Kerry could help Clark’s
chances of becoming an alternative to Dean -- that
is, if Clark can become a competent candidate
instead of continuing in his sporadic past
performance. Kerry can and will have his hurrah
and day as a candidate. He will be a significant
player for Democrats for years to come. But he
will not be his party’s nominee this season.
It is clear that Dean remains a
worry to traditional Democrats. Dean’s argument
that he can win because he brings the disaffected
to the polls is a suspicious argument to most in
the party. They know that bringing the rioting
rabble into the streets of America frightens the
voters in the middle. As long as Democrats fear
their own frontrunner, there remains a possibility
for an alternative to Dean. The problem for the
alternatives is that there are too many of them.
They need to be winnowed out soon for a viable
alternative to emerge. Clark, by skipping Iowa,
may have assured Dean the nomination, or not.
While all of these candidates
add to the national debate, the key question is
whether Gephardt survives Iowa. It becomes more
and more clear that the only possible alternative
to Dean is Gephardt. Clark’s inability to be
consistent in his campaign makes him an
interesting aberrant in American politics and
fails to enable him to be an alternative. No
amount of money can change the fact that the
Democrats do not want to trade one erratic
campaigner for another.
Farm Policy
The Des Moines Register gives a brief position
statement for each of the Democrat candidates for
President in its paper today regarding farm
policy.
Stop Dean strategies
The Washington Post covers how various campaigns
are trying to shape their approach to stopping
Howard Dean:
The
strategies range from Rep. Richard A. Gephardt's
one-state last stand in Iowa to Sen. Joseph I.
Lieberman's rapid-fire attacks on Dean to retired
Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark's national campaign on
electability. All of them depend on Dean stumbling
during the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses and the New
Hampshire primary the following week.
The article places Wesley Clark
as the one best placed to challenge Dean.
No Child Left Behind
The Manchester Union Leader covers the issue of No Child Left
Behind legislation. It not only covers reactions
but also the candidates’ views:
Five
Democratic Presidential candidates voted for the
No Child Left Behind Act as members of Congress.
Now they complain they were victims of a
legislative bait and switch, tricked into
supporting a sweeping reform bill they say is
under funded by the Bush administration.
Dean worries
The Sioux City Journal reports the Northwest Iowa
Democratic faithful are not comfortable with
Howard Dean. The story tells one person switched
from Dean to Kerry and how party leaders find that
party supporters are uncomfortable with Dean:
With
the holidays over and the caucuses less than three
weeks away, Ewing said, voters are now ready to
get serious about picking a candidate. From her
conversations with Monona County residents, Ewing
said Dick Gephardt and Kerry seem to be the
primary choices. "I think Dean is probably more
popular in eastern Iowa, with the colleges," Ewing
said.
She
was joined by Donna Clothier, Shelby County
Democratic Party chairwoman, in saying that
Gephardt and Kerry are more electable and more
experienced in foreign policy than Dean. "They are
seasoned and know what they are doing," Clothier
said. "I just question whether Gov. Dean is
seasoned enough to be president. He has made some
terrible mistakes in the last few weeks." She said
people initially liked Dean's firebrand method of
speech, but are increasingly concerned over some
gaffes that resulted in backpedaling.
Unintended consequences
The NY Times covers Democrat National /committee
Chairman Terry McAuliffs plan for a quick unity
behind a Presidential nominee may be going awry:
In a
classic case of unintended consequences, a process
intended to produce unity, a strong candidate, and
a compelling platform to take against President
Bush has so far produced a campaign that many
Democrats describe as strikingly harsh and marked
more by daily bickering than sweeping themes or
compelling new ideas on where to take the country.
While
it is hardly unusual for political contests to get
rough, it rarely happens this early. And it almost
never happens in the Iowa caucuses, a state where
Democrats say, or at least used to say, that
voters punish candidates who engage in negative
campaigning.
Gays boosted Dean
The LA Times carries a story
about how gays and lesbians were critical to
Howard Dean’s early boost into the lead:
"The
early foundation of Governor Dean's presidential
campaign - both in fundraising and organization -
was built by the support of the LGBT (lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender) community around
the country," said Dean finance director Stephanie
Schriock.
The
gay community "was the first to recognize Dean's
strength of character after his leadership on
Vermont's civil union legislation, and because of
that, they were the first to open up their homes
for events and ask their friends and colleagues to
give money to this endeavor," she added.
Dean’s Southern charm
The Washington Post reports Howard Dean doesn’t
seem to have any Southern style to his wooing of
votes down South.
So far
this morning, Howard Dean has made references to
being a "Vermont Yankee," a "guy from the North"
and a variation on "not from 'round here." And
he's only halfway through his speech.
"This
is not some crackpot socialist idea from some
liberal Yankee state up in the North," the former
Vermont governor tells a sleepy group of
breakfasters at Horne's Country Buffet. He is
speaking on the topic of his universal health
insurance plan. This is a few minutes after he
asked, rhetorically, if "that Yankee from way up
there" can win in South Carolina, and a few
minutes before -- in response to a question about
the environment -- Dean says the Bush campaign
will try to tar him as "this environmentalist,
Birkenstock-wearing guy from Vermont."
The article is 4 pages on the
web and shows the cultural differences between
Dean and the South may not be bridged, but that
Dean can find support South of the Mason Dixon
Line.
Dean’s no environmentalist
The
LA Times covers Howard Dean’s record as
Governor of Vermont and finds that Dean put big
corporations ahead of the environment:
Dean's
11-year record as governor suggests he is much
more a pragmatist on environmental issues than an
ideologue, a centrist who often catered to
business interests first, addressing the
accompanying environmental concerns later. And his
focus on a few pet environmental projects — while
largely ignoring others — left some here feeling
that Dean lacked a broad vision for the
environment.
"In
Vermont, the environment is a consideration in
almost everything we do. We hold our leaders to a
high standard," said Mark Sinclair, senior
attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, a New
England environmental group considered to be
moderate. "But [Dean] failed to show real
leadership on most environmental issues [and]
missed a lot of opportunities. He is portraying
himself as being a lot greener today than he was,
in action, as governor of Vermont."
Dean can’t win
In a speech entitled "Health
Care that Works for America," Rep. Dick
Gephardt today highlighted his health care plan as
the leading plan of the Democratic presidential
candidates in solving America's health care
crisis. Gephardt also continued to question
Governor Howard Dean's ability to draw a stark
contrast with President Bush.
Following the Gephardt’s charges
against Dean, the Dean campaign recruited a nurse
from the hospital to blast Gephardt.
"It is ridiculous for Dick
Gephardt to criticize Governor Dean on health
care," said Marcia Beck, a nurse at Broadlawns
Medical Center. "Howard Dean is a doctor and a
governor who actually delivered results on health
care. Congressman Gephardt has been in Washington
for 27 years and has failed to deliver anything
but rhetoric."
Gephardt’s release is as
follows:
"The state of our union and the
state of our economy are closely intertwined with
our health care system," Gephardt told an audience
at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines.
"Spiraling health care costs are dragging down the
economy, workers are reluctant to change jobs
because they fear losing their health care, and
even trade is affected by health care costs to
employers. In the race to the bottom, American
manufacturers are losing out to foreign
competitors who don't have to factor sky-rocketing
health care costs into their profit margin."
"All of these reasons are why
every Democratic candidate for president has
offered a health care plan to the American people.
And over the last six months, independent analysts
have had a chance to compare and contrast those
plans. I was the first to offer a health care
plan, and it turns out that my plan is by far and
away the leading plan on every standard you can
think of - on the number of people covered, on the
economic benefit to taxpayers, on fiscal relief
for state and local governments, on boosting the
American economy, and most importantly, on
simplicity."
"When you compare my health care
plan to those plans offered by Howard Dean, John
Kerry, and John Edwards, you'll find that the
differences are stark."
"First, look at the most
important measure - how many of the 43 million
uninsured will be covered by each of our plans?
The Edwards plan covers 22 million, the Kerry plan
covers 27 million, the Dean plan covers 30 million
- my plan covers 43 million Americans. Howard Dean
and the other candidates may think leaving tens of
millions of Americans uninsured is acceptable. I
think they're wrong."
"My plan is the only plan that
requires employers to offer coverage to both
full-time and part-time workers, it improves
retiree coverage, and employers can never drop
their health plans. The Dean, Kerry, and Edwards
plans actually encourage employers to drop
coverage and send people to buy health care on
their own. And none of them cover part-time
employees, nor do they improve coverage for
retirees."
"My plan is by far and away the
best plan for the self-employed, like many family
farmers here in Iowa and across the country. Sixty
percent of a farm family’s health care premiums
would be covered – which the other plans don’t
even come close to matching."
"My plan also provides more than
$100 billion per year in economic stimulus to the
entire economy and helps create over 750,000 new
jobs. John Kerry's stimulus is less than $29
billion, Howard Dean's is less than $9 billion,
and the Edwards plan has no economic stimulus at
all."
"And finally, my plan puts
$2,000 to $3,000 into the pockets of a
middle-income family, as compared to the Bush tax
cuts, which only provide $700 to $800 for
middle-income families. It's even worse when you
look at the other Democratic plans - the Edwards
plan gives a mere $25 a month to families, an
amount which will be immediately canceled out by
increased health care costs. The Kerry plan can
cost a family $632 per month and the Dean plan can
cost a family $395 per month."
Examining the record of Howard
Dean, Gephardt said, "Here is the hard truth --
Howard Dean has said he wants to turn Medicare
into a wholly managed care program. He has
repeatedly supported cutting Medicare in order to
balance the budget. He tried to cut Medicaid
services to the poor, elderly, and disabled as
Governor of Vermont. And he's the only Democrat I
know of who has called Medicare 'one of the worst
federal programs ever.' Even George Bush won't
admit to that out loud. He may think it, but he
won't admit it."
"We can't beat George Bush if
our nominee has so little regard for Medicare and
Medicaid and their value to seniors and low-income
Americans. They may teach clinical detachment in
medical school, but we should expect more from a
president."
"Howard Dean says these charges
are quote "a total lie." And he then personally
belittles every other Democrat running and says
we've done nothing to improve health care in this
country. First of all, I'll put my record on
health care up against anyone."
"Howard, even the COBRA health
care coverage you now rely upon as a recently
unemployed ex-governor - you wouldn't have that
coverage if those of us in Congress hadn't passed
it. I congratulate Howard Dean on his medical
career, but he shouldn't presume to lecture anyone
on how to pass real health care reform in this
country."
"I believe in something
different. I believe a campaign for the presidency
is about setting high goals, reaffirming high
principles, and holding yourself to the highest of
standards. I believe in offering the American
people bold ideas grounded in both real life
experience and experience at the highest levels of
government."
Gephardt’s ad buy
Gephardt has spent at least $1.5
million there and at least $250,000 in South
Carolina. He has not been on the air in New
Hampshire since early October. Gephardt started
broadcasting ads about health care and the middle
class in Tulsa, Okla., spending under $50,000, and
in several Michigan markets, with a buy of about
$150,000.
Clark’s values
Politics New Hampshire.com covers Wesley
Clarks return from the South:
Speaking about his tour of eight Southern states,
Clark said "I wanted to see if they agreed with me
on what values are important. I’ve sort of
reworked what I’ve been saying. I want to talk
about values."
"You
know when I started the race, people would say,
‘You’re in here because of foreign policy.’ Of
course, there’s no doubt about it," Clark told 60
supporters at a house party.
"I’m
just now starting to put it together with values,"
he said. "And that’s what I’ve really haven’t
talked about, patriotism, faith, family, and
principles. And it’s been so much fun to talk
about it and see that resonance down there and we
had those places down there, they were hopping.
And I can’t wait to talk to folks in New Hampshire
about it."
They also have an
article that explores ten surprises that could
happen in New Hampshire.
Clark’s ad buy
Clark has spent $3.5 million so
far to run ads in New Hampshire, as well as in
Arizona, South Carolina and Oklahoma. This week,
he is spending about $150,000 to broadcast in all
four media markets in Tennessee, which has its
primary Feb. 10; about $60,000 to broadcast in one
New Mexico market; and about $30,000 in two North
Dakota markets. He plans to start running ads soon
in Virginia and Wisconsin.
Kerry talks business
Sen. John Kerry has been trying
to appeal to business owners in New Hampshire.
While he has offered several proposals to
encourage business, his latest release takes a
personal approach. Recalling his days as a muffin
and cookie shop owner, Democratic presidential
candidate John Kerry is proposing new measures to
help small businesses, including making it easier
for them to compete for federal contracts.
Kerry, in remarks prepared for
delivery Friday, called for less bundling of
federal contracts, which groups together smaller
contracts and can make it harder for small
businesses to compete for them. He said the number
and size of bundled contracts has reached a
10-year high.
Although the total number of
federal contracts has increased 7 percent under
President Bush (news - web sites), according to
Kerry, the small-business share has dropped by 14
percent to just 21 percent. He wants to increase
that to 30 percent.
In 1976 Kerry opened a cookie
and muffin shop called Kilvert and Forbes in
Boston's Quincy Market, which he said gave him
firsthand knowledge of the challenges of running a
small business.
Kerry said he would make it
easier and more affordable for businesses to
invest in technology. He called for changes to the
tax laws to allow small businesses to immediately
write off technology investments, rather than
having to space out the tax breaks over several
years.
Small businesses are drowning in
tax paperwork, Kerry said, especially those that
do business in multiple states. He wants to allow
state and federal employment tax returns to be
filed on a single form.
To make it easier for small
businesses to set up pension plans, which Kerry
said can cost as much $20,000, the Massachusetts
senator supports a pension pooling fund to help
share the cost among multiple companies.
Lieberman’s 50 ways
"I hope and pray this will be a
year of peace, progress, and prosperity for
America and the world. This is a time of great
change and challenge. But it is also a time of
tremendous promise. And I remain optimistic that
if we get the right leadership and live up to our
best values, our best days are still ahead of us
in 2004 and beyond.
"Sadly, our leadership over the
past three years has not been as good as the
American people and our nation has lost too much
ground as a result. Too many Americans are
struggling to find work--while the Bush
Administration pursues policies that won't produce
long-term economic growth or create good jobs.
"Too many middle-class families
can't pay their rising health care bills, and too
many police and fire departments can't make the
investments they need to keep us safe--while
George W. Bush lavishes corporations and the
well-off with huge windfalls they don't need.
"Record surpluses have turned to
record deficits--threatening the stability of
Social Security. Failure to plan for the day
Saddam Hussein fell has put the lives of thousands
of brave men and women at unacceptable risk in
Iraq. And in a dangerous world, when we need
friends and allies more than ever, the Bush
Administration has squandered our moral
authority--and left America more hated than I can
ever remember.
"My New Year's Resolution is to
do whatever I can to give America a fresh start.
To bring America together and move us forward. To
replace the divisive, special-interest-driven
politics of George W. Bush with strong, steady,
and serious leadership--applying new ideas to
realize our common values.
"Most importantly, it's time to
get back America's sense of hope and optimism,
which has always lighted our path to better days.
"That's what I'm offering the
American people. I'm an independent-minded
Democrat, who will fight for what's right for our
future, regardless of whether it's politically
easy or not, and put our country first. And I know
what it takes to restore security and prosperity
for the American people, fairness and integrity to
White House, and unity to our country.
"To give America a fresh start,
we need fresh thinking new ideas to give our
nation new hope. That's what I have provided
throughout my career in public life. And that's
what I will continue to do throughout this
campaign.
"To start this New Year right,
here is a list of 50 New Ideas to Give America a
Fresh Start."
1) Offering a real middle class tax cut
for 98% of taxpayers to restore fairness
to our tax code
2) Providing a new long-term growth
strategy for creating 10 million new jobs
to expand opportunities, restore prosperity, and
rebuild a strong middle class
3) Creating a special zero capital gains
rate for investments in small start-ups
to give small businesses a new boost to launch new
ventures and create new jobs
4) Offering manufacturers a Make It in
America tax credit to encourage companies
to keep and create jobs here at home
5) Creating a new public-private
partnership (NextTech) for developing the
next generation of advanced manufacturing
processes to help create the factories of the
future
6) Offering workers $1,500 Tools for
Tomorrow Scholarships to help workers get
the training they need to fill the high-skill jobs
in the factories of the future
7) Developing a national broadband
strategy for accelerating the deployment
of high-speed Internet to connect every home and
business within the next decade
8) Taking strong legal action against
China and other nations that manipulate their
currency to ensure a level playing field
for American manufacturers
9) Asking corporations and the well-off to
pay their fair share and setting tough
spending limits to bring down the deficit each
year and balance the budget within 8 years
10) Creating an independent corporate
welfare commission -- to identify and
eliminate corporate loopholes and wasteful
subsidies
11) Launching a national paid family leave
program to help workers care for a
newborn baby or an ill relative without losing
their whole paycheck
12) Creating a new American Center for
Cures to find life-saving treatments to
the chronic diseases afflicting 100 million
Americans
13) Launching a new national network of
school-based health centers to bring
health care to where kids are and give families
easier access to quality care
14) Guaranteeing workers will never lose
their health care if they lose their job
by giving them access to the same low-cost,
high-quality plans that Members of Congress have
15) Building on the American
pediatricians' children's health care plan with
MediKids to give every child access to
affordable coverage from the moment they're born.
16) Offering a $3,000 Caregiver Tax Credit
to ease the burden on the estimated 50 million
Americans who are caring for an aging relative at
home
17) Eliminating the Medicaid asset test
for nursing home assistance to save
seniors from having to spend themselves into
bankruptcy to pay for the care they need
18) Expanding the Dependent Care Tax
Credit and making it refundable for
low-income families to help meet middle class
families halfway in coping with rising child care
costs
19) Setting real penalties for domestic
abusers who violate restraining orders to
strengthen protections for women and reduce the
risk of additional violence
20) Building a new network of Safe Places
for domestic violence victims to provide
women and children longer-term transitional
housing until they get back on their feet
21) Stopping big corporations from
targeting junk food marketing to young kids and
preventing junk food sales in schools to
help combat the growing obesity epidemic
22) Requiring marketers and restaurants to
disclose the nutritional information of the foods
they make and serve to help consumers
make informed choices
23) Pushing retailers to block the sale of
violent, adult-rated entertainment products
to children to help parents protect their kids and
raise them with the right values
24) Creating an Office of the Investor at
the SEC to protect the interests of
ordinary investors and prosecute mutual fund
companies and other traders who try to rip them
off
25) Requiring true independence for mutual
fund boards and corporate compensation committees
to protect the interests of investors and deter
runaway CEO pay
26) Allowing and encouraging workers to
diversify 401(k)s to reduce the risks of
Enron-like ripoffs and protect their retirement
security
27) Forcing companies to get shareholder
approval for stock option plans and offer at least
50% of options to rank-and-file workers
to stop Enron-like hoarding of options
28) Making the fight against poverty a new
national mission to reduce the poverty
level by one-third within the next 10 years.
29) Making the Earned Income Tax Credit
fuller and fairer, by eliminating the marriage
penalty and providing extra to larger
families to help make work pay for all Americans
30) Expanding the use of innovative
Individual Development Accounts to help
low-income workers save and build assets and gain
economic security
31) Increasing the number of Second Chance
homes for teenage mothers to provide them
with the support they need to avoid the trap of
poverty and become self-sufficient
32) Creating small high schools and
targeting more resources to high-poverty districts
to better prepare low-income minority students to
get into college and stay there
33) Raising the Pell Grant maximum to
$7,760 to open the doors of college wider
to low-income students
34) Providing College Completion Credits
to colleges that make progress in closing the
graduation gap to help make the real the promise
of equal opportunity
35) Reforming our immigration laws through
earned legalization and improved family
reunification to bring immigrants out of
the shadows and into the economic mainstream
36) Launching an American Dream Fund for
expanding immigrant access to English
language programs to give every new American a
fair chance to achieve their dreams
37) Committing to a Service Members and
Veterans Bill of Rights to match the
service and sacrifice of our men and women in
uniform with respect and responsibility
38) Building a new Alliance for Democracy
within the U.N. to marshal the material
and military resources of the free world in our
common struggle against terrorists and tyrants
39) Developing a Marshall Plan for the
Muslim World to build new economic and
diplomatic bridges and fight the alienation and
deprivation feeding the rise of terrorism
40) Refocusing the mission of the National
Guard on homeland security to tap their
talent, training, and technology to strengthen our
domestic defenses
41) Creating 24-hour emergency operations
centers in every state to strengthen the
chain of information between federal and state
security officials and local first responders
42) Issuing a real Declaration of Energy
Independence to wean America from its
dangerous reliance on foreign oil within the next
20 years
43) Giving a clean car tax credit to
consumers and businesses that buy hybrid and
natural gas vehicles to speed the
deployment of alternative energy technologies
44) Investing in new technologies like
Integrated Gasification-Combined Cycle that turn
coal into hydrogen to make cleaner use of
America's most abundant energy source
45) Implementing an innovative,
market-friendly cap-and-trade system for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions to combat global
warming without hurting the economy
46) Banning employment discrimination
based on sexual orientation to secure
equal rights for gays and lesbians in the
workplace
47) Providing domestic partnership
benefits to federal employees to set an
example for the private sector and uphold the
basic principle of fairness
48) Expanding the E-government Revolution
to give citizens better and quicker access to
information and services through the Internet and
restart the reinvention of government
49) Reforming the Independent Counsel law
instead of abandoning it to restore trust
in the integrity and fairness of high-level
investigations of federal officials
50) Banning no-bid contracts and secret
policy task forces to reassure the
American people that government is there to serve
the public interest, not special interests
Edwards’ different kind of campaign
Kicking off 2004 with a bang,
Senator John Edwards and his family today set off
on a statewide tour from New Hampshire’s southern
border to Coos County and back, culminating on a
major speech on the steps of Nashua’s City Hall
Saturday at 3pm.
“I’m going to work my heart out
for every vote in New Hampshire, and I’m deeply
grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who are
joining me in this drive to bring real change to
our country,” said Edwards.
Edwards began the trip by
rallying a group of several dozen supporters as
they began a city-wide door-to-door canvass in
Nashua announcing Saturday’s speech.
Edwards used the kick-off as a
chance to call for the final month of the campaign
to be a real debate of ideas, not the negative
attacks that have characterized the other
candidates’ campaigns thus far.
“We’re all angry at what George
W. Bush has done to our country, our values, and
our way of life,” Edwards said. “We all know what
we’re running against -- now we need to tell the
American people what kind of future we’re running
toward.”
“These past few weeks, I’ve seen
attack ads on Iraq. Attack ads on Medicare. I’ve
even seen attack ads on attack ads,” said Edwards.
“The American people know better. They know that
when politicians are yelling at each other, their
voice isn’t being heard. That’s why I’m running a
different kind of campaign – a campaign about my
positive vision for bringing real change to
America, and about my detailed plan for getting it
done.”
The statewide tour takes
Edwards, his wife Elizabeth, and their three
children from Nashua through Tilton, Littleton,
Lancaster, and Gorham on Friday and returns
through Conway, Dover, and Portsmouth on Saturday
before culminating in a speech at Nashua City Hall
at 3pm.
After a year of introducing
himself to New Hampshire voters, Edwards will use
tomorrow’s speech as an opportunity to outline his
vision for change, differentiate himself from the
other candidates, and ask New Hampshire voters for
their vote in the primary at the end of this
month.
Missed in Rhode Island
Rhode Island delegates are
probably not in the cards for Sen. John Edwards.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Matthew Brown said
Edwards, a North Carolina senator, had 918 valid
signatures, with 321 questionable. He needed to
file 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot. The Boston Globe reports Edwards’ campaign’s
response:
"Obviously, we are disappointed that the board
would throw out the signatures of registered Rhode
Island voters who want to see John Edwards on the
ballot because of technicalities," said Roger
Salazar, a spokesman for Edwards.
Edwards: health care
The Washington Post covers Sen. John Edwards’
carrier building move of championing the Patient’s
Bill of Rights that is an oft mentioned issue of
his campaign:
Edwards has a vivid memory of the day in 2000 that
Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.)
summoned him from the Senate floor and escorted
him to the entrance to the leader's office, where
Kennedy was waiting. They told him they wanted him
to take the lead in negotiating a bill with Sen.
John McCain (Ariz.), who had been crusading for a
patient-protection law as part of his campaign for
the GOP presidential nomination. Edwards recalls
that Daschle said to him: "There is going to be a
lot of work involved. . . . Is that something you
want to do?" Edwards replied with one word:
"Absolutely."
Kucinich in the big “Times”
Dennis Kucinich -- who complains
about the lack of press coverage -- is featured in
an article in the NY Times. He continues to earn the title of
chief liberal spokesman:
As he
hopscotches around the country, delivering
speeches that blend the themes of John Lennon with
an ardent defense of the working class, Mr.
Kucinich — a slim man at 5-foot-7, 135 pounds —
has become the boutique candidate for peace
activists and Hollywood liberals. Willie Nelson
and Bonnie Raitt are the headliners of a
fund-raiser concert for him this week. Ed Asner,
the actor, likens Mr. Kucinich to "a prophet
speaking the truth."
While many are wondering how
long Kucinich will stay in the race for the
President, it is probably a moot question.
Kucinich may wish to be President, but above all
else he is interested in changing America if not
the world:
"He
doesn't need a lot of money," said Jerry Austin,
an Ohio Democratic campaign consultant. "He stays
in Motel 6's and takes Southwest Airlines. He'll
stay in as long as he can afford to get from one
place to another, because he wants to be heard."
Kucinich matching funds
The Dennis Kucinich for
President campaign will file with the FEC for
$2.603 million in matching funds. This is in
addition to $741,000 already filed for, making a
total of $3.34 million. That total includes no
contributions since December 4 -- so there is more
to come. The rapidly expanding Kucinich campaign
receives a higher percentage of its contributions
in small donations than does any other campaign,
and processing the many small contributions takes
time.
Congressman Kucinich himself
helped answer the phones until 3 a.m. this morning
Eastern Time (the end of the fourth quarter
Pacific Time) as contributions came in. The
campaign's fourth quarter money now stands at
$1.622 million, with many checks still to be
counted and the possibility that the figure will
reach the mark set by the campaign during the
third quarter of $1.7 million. The Kucinich
campaign brought in just over $1.5 million in the
second quarter, and $187,000 in the first quarter.
So the total, without counting matching funds, is
about $5 million. With at least 80 percent being
matched, that total jumps to about $9 million.
January 2 and 3rd will witness a
series of fundraising events for the Kucinich
campaign in Austin, Texas, including a concert on
the 3rd featuring Willie Nelson performing his new
song "What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth." Like
last night's fundraising party at campaign
headquarters, the concert will be shown in live
video over the web.
Kucinich: draft is here
Dennis Kucinich suggested that
the draft is already here in a release:
The Army's refusal to release
tens of thousands of soldiers who have completed
their terms of service amounts to drafting them on
the very day they fulfill their obligations. These
men and women have already risked their lives.
They should not have to risk them a second time
through involuntary service, through being forced
to stay in Iraq. This is a draft. A draft forces
people to serve involuntarily. If this occupation
is allowed to continue for years, as the President
and other Democratic presidential candidates want,
we are bound to see a more formal draft. And with
three of the Democratic presidential candidates
favoring mandatory draft registration for
18-year-old women, even families without sons
could be in for a huge surprise. Before we move
any further down this path, we must recognize this
occupation of Iraq as a destabilizing force in
that country and a drain on the resources of this
one. We must go to the United Nations with a
proposal that would pull US troops out as UN
peacekeepers are brought in. We must give up our
hopes for oil profits and privatization of the
Iraqi economy and instead rebuild our own economy
here at home.
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