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Iowa 2004 presidential primary precinct caucus and caucuses news">
Iowa 2004 presidential primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues Iowa
Presidential Watch's
IOWA DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
THE DAILY
REPORT for Tuesday, September 30, 2003
... QUOTABLE: morning quotes:
"People in Iowa do not know much about him. I
think they are concerned about his Democraticness,"
–
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said on CNN. "You've got a lot of establishment politicians now
surrounding a general who was a Republican until
25 days ago," – Howard Dean on Wesley Clark. Asked about charges that he is flip-flopping on the
issues, Mr. Dean said changing his mind is "one
of the hallmarks of who I am." "They're all Howard Dean now. They have adopted
harsh, bitter, personal attacks as their approach.
They are a party of protest and pessimism and
offer no positive agenda of their own." -- Ed
Gillespie, the chairman of the Republican National
Committee, on the Dem wannabes. "I'm catching it from all angles," – Howard Dean. “My first week as President, I’ll get rid of the Bush
tax cuts.” – Dick Gephardt. "The Clark thing has already spun out of control … He
could become a very credible candidate, and forget
whatever plan the Clintons had for him," --
Republican campaign consultant Bob Heckman,
commenting on a possible Bill-Hillary Clinton
dilemma. "The only people she is going to anger are the other
candidates. The voters don't obviously care — I
mean, if Clark can jump in and immediately be
ahead of the others." -- California-based
Democratic strategist Gail Kaufman
… Among the offerings in today’s update:
morning offering:
* CANDIDATES/CAUCUSES:
Morning … Des
Moines Register article by Lynn Okamoto, “Vilsack
questions Clark loyalty -- The governor inquires
about the presidential candidate's devotion to party
principles and 'Democraticness.'” Excerpts: “Gov.
Tom Vilsack questioned Gen. Wesley Clark's
allegiance to the Democratic Party during an
interview Monday on national television,
stepping up criticism that has plagued the retired
general for the past week. "People in Iowa do not
know much about him. I think they are concerned
about his Democraticness," Vilsack said on CNN. "One
of the questions that Iowans are asking about
General Clark is whether or not he even voted for
Vice President Gore in the 2000 election."
Neither Vilsack nor CNN's Judy Woodruff could
answer that question during the live TV interview.
Kym Spell, a spokeswoman for the Clark campaign,
said Clark did vote for Al Gore in 2000, despite not
registering as a Democrat until a few weeks ago. The
vote came a year before Clark left the military.
"When he was in the military, you serve the
commander in chief and you're nonpartisan," Spell
said. "When he became a regular citizen, he . . .
decided that he was either going to be a lonely
Republican or a happy Democrat." She said in
Arkansas, people aren't required to register as a
Democrat or Republican because the state has open
primaries. Clark has faced a barrage of questions
about his party affiliation since announcing his
candidacy for president. Vilsack said party
affiliation matters to Iowa caucus-goers, who endure
several hours in a gym, church basement or
neighbor's living room arguing about politics.
Iowa is home to the nation's first-in-the-nation
presidential caucuses Jan. 19. "People want to
know what a person's background is," he said. "They
want to know how consistent they've been with
Democratic principles." …
New York Times article written by Richard W.
Stevenson and Adam Nagourney, “Bush ’04
Readying for One Democrat, Not 10”. Excerpts:
“WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 — President Bush's
political advisers have set in motion an aggressive
re-election machine, building a national network of
get-out-the-vote workers and amassing a pile of cash
for a blanket advertising campaign expected to begin
around the time Democrats settle on their candidate
early next year, party officials said. Mr.
Bush's senior advisers, in interviews last week,
repeatedly described the Democratic field as
unusually weak and divided, providing an
important if temporary cushion for Mr. Bush. Still,
they said the recent sharp drop in the
president's approval ratings, the continued loss of
jobs in the economy and the problems plaguing the
American occupation of Iraq only made the political
outlook more uncertain in an election that they have
long thought could be as tightly contested as the
one in 2000. "We expect it to be a hard-fought,
close election in a country narrowly divided," said
Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's senior adviser.
"When a Democratic nominee is finally selected, our
expectation is that it could be a close and
hard-fought race." The decision to delay the
start of advertising until about the time the
Democrats settle on a nominee is a rejection of what
had been a central element of President Bill
Clinton's re-election campaign. Mr. Clinton began
advertising 16 months before Election Day, in an
effort to define the election before the Republicans
chose an opponent. Republicans said that would be a
waste of money, given the battle taking place among
the Democrats. Instead, aides to Mr. Bush said,
their campaign would begin spending when a
Democratic nominee starts to emerge from the primary
battle, probably battered and very likely almost
broke. In what Republicans said was a
pre-emptive effort to nullify Democratic attacks
that are likely to gain more attention in the weeks
ahead, Mr. Bush's political operation, using elected
officials and party leaders, has begun to try to
cast the Democratic candidates as excessively
negative in their attacks on a personally popular
president. The headline on a Republican National
Committee statement attacking the Democratic
presidential debate of last Thursday night read:
"Democrats So Desperate to Attack President Bush,
They Will Say Just About Anything!" As Senator
George Allen of Virginia, chairman of the
National Republican Senatorial Committee, put it in
an interview: "The president is focused on doing
his job, and the Democrats can focus on having their
debates and who can be the most shrill." "Each
of them has relative strengths and weaknesses, but
happily for us, in each case the relative weaknesses
outweigh the relative strengths," said Ed Gillespie,
the chairman of the Republican National Committee.
"They're all Howard Dean now. They have adopted
harsh, bitter, personal attacks as their approach.
They are a party of protest and pessimism and offer
no positive agenda of their own." …
CNN.com’s
Washington Wrap online offers this handy
political schedule for the week:
Monday 9/29:
President Bush
meets with the New Jersey Devils, the 2003 Stanley
Cup champs in the Rose Garden and then signs the "Do
Not Call" bill. Laura Bush is in Paris to deliver
the keynote address at the UNESCO meeting and pay a
courtesy call on President Jacques Chirac.
Vice President Cheney
headlines a Bush/ Cheney fundraiser in Memphis.
Sen. Joe Lieberman
fundraises in Connecticut.
Tuesday 9/30:
President Bush
attends a Bush/Cheney lunch and meets with business
leaders in Chicago, then attends another Bush/Cheney
fundraiser in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Laura Bush
travels from Paris to Moscow.
Clark
meets with members of Congress on Capitol Hill.
Gephardt
holds his "parties across America."
Kerry
gives a speech in Washington and fundraises.
Wednesday 10/1:
President Bush
meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah
Khan Jamali and signs the first homeland security
funding legislation. Laura Bush participates in the
first School Libraries Festival in Moscow.
Thursday 10/2:
President Bush
hosts a ceremony marking Hispanic Heritage month.
Friday 10/3:
President Bush
travels to Milwaukee for an economic speech and
fundraiser before heading back to Washington where
he and the first lady will attend a dinner
celebrating Mrs. Bush’s National Book Festival.
Clark
attends DNC fall meeting and the military reporters
and editors conference in Washington.
Graham
fundraises in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Kerry
campaigns in Washington and speaks at DNC fall
meeting.
…
OnPolitics article by Washingtonpost.com
staff writer Terry M. Neal, “The Hunted Becomes
the Hunter”. Excerpts: “Howard Dean, in
town to attend Congressional Black Caucus events, is
sitting at the Dubliner restaurant on Capitol Hill
on Saturday at 9:15 a.m., eating oatmeal and
buttered toast, chatting with three black
journalists who have been summoned by the campaign
on short notice for what was described as a casual
meet-and-greet opportunity. Dean talks for an hour
about the state of the campaign, his prospects for
capturing the Democratic Party’s nomination and the
policies of concern to African Americans that he
would pursue at the White House. Dean exudes
confidence, and he’s sure of his own intelligence.
He comes off as unscripted, but he also comes off at
times as though he’s winging it. Although his candor
is refreshing from a journalist’s perspective, his
candor is the trait that has got him in some trouble
lately. Dean was one of several Democratic
candidates in Washington last week trolling for
African American support – which we'll discuss in
Wednesday’s column -- but his Saturday meeting with
the black journalists first took a detour through a
conversation about retired Army Gen. Wesley K.
Clark and the rest of the field. Many
Democrats viewed Dean-Clark as their dream ticket.
Now the two are adversaries, and Dean
leaps at the opportunity to criticize Clark.
"I think he's in real trouble," Dean says.
He refers to recent news stories about Clark’s
praise of President Bush and top administration
officials at a Republican fund-raiser in early 2001.
Clark referred to them as a "great team," which Dean
— who just weeks ago courted the general to join his
team — thinks is not so great. "He's been out there
praising these guys," he says. "Well, that's just
not going to fly ... I mean, I just yesterday called
for [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld's and
[deputy Defense Secretary Paul] Wolfowitz's
resignations. I mean, I met with the guy, and I like
him. But Sen. Joe [Lieberman] was right on this
one: This is a Republican who just converted to
being a Democrat. That's going to be a big problem
for a lot of people." With reports such as by
Washington Post senior political correspondent Dan
Balz that Clark's entry into the race was causing
some people to rethink their support of Dean in New
Hampshire, the governor’s comments may just be
wishful thinking. Or he may be on to something.
Clark has defended his comments, saying they came
before 9/11 and that the Bush administration has
badly bungled nearly everything since then. It'll be
interesting to see how far Dean is willing to go in
his criticism of Clark in coming weeks and months.
Dean = Bulls Eye: The rest of the Democratic
field continues to see Dean, not Clark, as its
biggest threat. "I'm catching it from all
angles," Dean said gleefully, clearly aware that
the target on his back underscores his front-runner
status. …Wesley Clark’s new book, “Winning Modern Wars,” is a
searing critique of the Bush administration.
OnPolitics gives a report, written by
Washington Post staff writer Bradley Graham
headlined, “Clark Wants More Foreign Aid, New
Department to Handle It.” Excerpts: “A new book
by Wesley K. Clark, the retired Army general
running for president, calls for a major
expansion in U.S. foreign assistance programs and
establishment of a Department of International
Assistance to manage the initiative. "Focusing
our humanitarian and developmental efforts through a
single, responsible department will help us bring
the same kind of sustained attention to alleviating
deprivation, misery, ethnic conflict and poverty
that we have brought to the problem of warfare,"
Clark writes. In a searing critique, Clark
accuses the Bush administration of carrying out a
wrenching turn in U.S. foreign policy away from
traditional American principles. He cites what
he says has been an overemphasis on unilateralism
and overreliance on the U.S. military to pursue
the notion of "a new American empire." Clark
argues for adoption of "a more collaborative,
collegiate" U.S. strategy marked by renewed
cooperation with such international organizations as
the United Nations and NATO and backed by
substantial economic and political development aid.
But Clark puts no price tag on this proposed
boost in aid and provides few specifics about how
the United States should proceed. He focuses
more on articulating problems than detailing
solutions. Release of the book, titled "Winning
Modern Wars" and shipped to stores last week,
coincides with Clark's entrance this month into the
race for the Democratic presidential nomination. …
Washington Times online article written by
Audrey Hudson, “Dean calls Clark a Beltway
puppet”. Exceprts: “Presidential hopeful
Howard Dean yesterday attacked retired Gen. Wesley
Clark as a puppet of "establishment politicians"
while repeatedly and explicitly comparing his own
policies to those of former President Bill Clinton.
"I think what you see in the Wes Clark candidacy is
a somewhat of a desperation by inside-the-Beltway
politicians," Mr. Dean said. "You've got a
lot of establishment politicians now surrounding a
general who was a Republican until 25 days ago,"
said Mr. Dean, who assumed Mr. Clark was once a
Republican because he served in the military and
voted for Ronald Reagan. "I do not think that the
solution for Democrats to ... win again is to draft
Republicans and to support people who have been in
Washington for 25 and 30 years," Mr. Dean said.
Mr. Clark jumped into the race with the backing of
the Clinton family earlier this month and is leading
his nine Democratic opponents in national polls.
Previously, Mr. Dean, the former governor of
Vermont, was leading the pack and also leading in
the heated rhetoric against President Bush and the
war in Iraq. Mr. Dean is now embracing Mr. Clinton's
name and positions relating to Social Security,
Medicare, NAFTA and balancing the budget. He invoked
the two-term president's name eight times in just
more than 10 minutes on CBS' "Face the Nation." "The
person I supported was Bill Clinton," Mr. Dean said.
Responding to charges he sided with former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich, Georgia Republican, in
wanting to slow the growth of Medicare and resulting
spending, Mr. Dean said, "what I supported was what
Bill Clinton signed, which saved $200 billion out of
Medicare and saved it." When asked repeatedly by
host Bob Schieffer why he would deny the charge when
the positions were the same, Mr. Dean said "I'm not
going to be compared to Newt Gingrich by my rivals."
"They can say anything they want about me. I did
support slowing the growth of Medicare, and that was
a good thing. It worked out well, Bill Clinton
signed the bill, and Medicare is still solvent
because of that," Mr. Dean said. Mr. Dean said he
supported NAFTA "partly because Bill Clinton
supported it," and did not want to raise the
retirement age because "Bill Clinton has shown that
when the economy gets better and people start paying
payroll taxes, Social Security becomes solvent."
Asked if he was shifting his stance on these issues
because he once supported cutting Social Security,
raising the retirement age, and cutting Medicare,
veterans pensions and defense spending, Mr. Dean
said, "I wasn't alone in talking about those
things." "There were a lot of Democrats that were
talking about those things. Now, Bill Clinton has
showed us you can balance the budget without doing
any of the things that we were desperately clawing
around for," Mr. Dean said. Asked about charges
that he is flip-flopping on the issues, Mr. Dean
said changing his mind is "one of the hallmarks of
who I am." "I have no complaint and no embarrassment
about changing my positions at all," he said. …
OnPolitics is carrying an online article
written by Sharon Theimer of the
Associated Press headlined, “Bush Expected to
Raise $50M in Third Quarter…Democratic Candidates
Holding Last-Minute Fundraisers”. Excerpts:
“After less than five months of fund raising,
President Bush is roughly halfway to his goal of
raising $150 million to $170 million for his
re-election campaign. The Bush campaign expects to
raise around $48 million to $50 million when the
current fund-raising quarter ends at midnight
Tuesday, spokesman Scott Stanzel said. That would
lift Bush's total to more than $80 million since he
entered the 2004 race in mid-May. Bush had
fund-raisers scheduled in Chicago and Cincinnati on
Tuesday. Many of the 10 Democratic hopefuls also
were making last-minute efforts to achieve the
highest third-quarter money total they could. … Bush
raised a record of more than $100 million for the
2000 primaries, when the donation limit was $1,000
per person. Under a new campaign finance law, the
limit has doubled to $2,000. While the Bush campaign
said its goal for next year's primary season is $150
million to $170 million, Bush is widely expected
to raise $200 million or more. Because he has no
primary opponent, he can save much of his money to
spend against the Democratic nominee-to-be next
summer. Dean said last week that is one of the
reasons he is considering opting out of public
financing for the primaries, as Bush has. Most
of the Democrats have committed to accepting public
primary money and the $45 million spending limit
that comes with it. Kerry, too, may skip public
financing. Kerry, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and
Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut were expected to
raise $4 million to $6 million for the third
quarter. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was
expected to raise under $4 million, along with
Clark, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, Rep. Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley
Braun and Al Sharpton. "We can't continue to do what
we need to do without your continued assistance over
the next 48 hours," Lieberman wrote in an e-mail
solicitation Monday, urging online donors to help
him raise $300,000 in the last two days of the
quarter. …
UnionLeader.com article written by staff
writer Benjamin Kepple, “Gephardt
continues health care push”. Excerpts:
“MANCHESTER — U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., one
of 10 candidates running for the Democratic Party’s
Presidential nomination, continued yesterday to
attack incumbent President George W. Bush and rival
Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont. The
Dean camp wasted no time in responding to Gephardt’s
remarks, and Republicans in response took aim at
Gephardt’s position on taxes. The Missouri
congressman elaborated on taxes, as well as his plan
for universal health care, in front of about 75
people at a Tarrytown Road apartment complex. “My
first week as President, I’ll get rid of the Bush
tax cuts. They haven’t worked. They failed,”
Gephardt told the crowd, adding that he would
use most of that money to provide health care for
every American. “My plan’s the best plan. It is the
only plan that’s universal and comprehensive. By
that, I mean it’s the only plan that helps
everybody.” Gephardt’s health care plan,
according to his campaign, would require companies
to provide health insurance for their employees.
The federal government would pay for 60 percent of
the cost, via a refundable tax credit. Yesterday,
Gephardt noted his plan would also cover the
self-employed, part-time workers, and retirees. He
dismissed criticism about repealing the Bush
Administration’s tax cuts to pay for it, saying his
health plan would provide greater economic benefit
to middle-class families, as opposed to Bush’s tax
relief measures. “So, I just ask you—would you
rather have $2,500 or $700? If you know any math at
all, you’ll know my plan’s better,” Gephardt said.
“You’ll get more money!” …On Saturday, the
Associated Press reported that 30 percent of
likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire
supported Dean’s candidacy. Gephardt was in
fourth place, with six percent. Yesterday, Gephardt
made sure to say he would always protect Medicare
and Social Security. He also said that while Dean
was a fine candidate and a worthy opponent, he had
in the past sided with the Republicans’ position on
Medicare. “Governor Dean has said, on a number of
occasions, that Medicare is a bad program,” Gephardt
said. Gephardt’s campaign, meanwhile, distributed
flyers at the event comparing and contrasting
Gephardt’s and Dean’s past remarks on the issue. It
also attacked Dean for remarks which Dean made
yesterday on “Face the Nation,” about Dean’s past
positions on the health program. The Dean camp was
nonplussed. “It’s unfortunate that Congressman
Gephardt is resorting to scare tactics and the
politics of the past in attacking Governor Dean,”
said Dorie Clark, a New Hampshire spokeswoman for
the Dean campaign. “Governor Dean has criticized the
bureaucracy of Medicare in the past, but is
committed to Medicare as a program, and as a doctor,
supports health care for all Americans.” * ON THE BUSH BEAT: …
Miami Herald online article written by
Stephen Henderson, “Bush signs law to keep
do-not-call list afloat”. Excerpts: “WASHINGTON
- In an effort to keep the national
do-not-call registry afloat Monday, President Bush
signed corrective legislation into law and his
Federal Communications Commission decided to help
enforce the prohibition on sales calls to the 50
million Americans on the list. But their work is
dependent on how successful the government will be
in arguing that the popular ban on unwanted sales
calls does not violate telemarketers' free speech
protections. Last week, U.S. District Court
Judge Edward Nottingham said the law is
unconstitutional because it permits solicitations
from charities, political parties or other nonprofit
organizations, but bans them for corporations.
Nottingham's decision puts the list at the crux of a
constitutional debate that could wind up before the
Supreme Court - a clash between free
speech and the right to privacy, and a discussion
about where to draw the line between political or
artistic speech and commercial speech, which
generally enjoys less First Amendment protection.
This constitutional question looms large over the
government's ability to have any agency enforce the
restrictions. "Every time you have one
constitutional right facing off against another, you
have to use a seesaw balancing test," said Warren
Dennis, a partner in the Prosskauer Rose law firm
who has frequently handled cases involving the
Federal Trade Commission, which created the
do-not-call list. "And it's not a fixed line. It's
always changing." Bush said Monday that Americans
were "losing patience" with unwanted phone calls and
that his administration was acting to support the
people who signed up for the do-not-call list.
"The do-not-call registry is still being challenged
in court," Bush said. "Yet, the conclusions of the
American people and the legislative branch and the
executive branch is beyond question."
* THE CLINTON COMEDIES: …
Washington Times online article written by
Ralph Z. Hallow, “Clark looking better
than Hillary ticket”. Excerpts: “Former
President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton may have created a force behind Wesley Clark
that they will not be able to stop, political
advisers from both parties told The Washington Times.
"The Clark thing has already spun out of
control," said Republican campaign consultant
Bob Heckman. Those who spoke with The Times say
Mr. Clark's presidential candidacy was endorsed to
further the ambitions of Mrs. Clinton and claimed to
see evidence that Mr. Clark got into the Democratic
presidential race with at least an implicit
understanding that he would settle for running as
the senator's vice-presidential candidate, if and
when she is ready to get into the race. "He could
become a very credible candidate, and forget
whatever plan the Clintons had for him," Mr.
Heckman said. "There isn't a politician I ever met
who doesn't think he deserves to be where he is."
California-based Democratic strategist Gail Kaufman
agreed. "It took Clark so long to get in the
race, and then he shoots to the top of the heap.
Now, if you're the Clintons, how ... do you get him
to quit?" She noted that the
soldier-turned-politician got into the contest with
the public blessing of Mr. Clinton and with former
top Clinton aides on his campaign team. Already
top Clinton fund-raisers in New York are raising
contributions for the former NATO command leader.
Meanwhile, a recent Gallup-USA Today poll shows
Mr. Clark, a retired four-star general from the
Clintons' home state of Arkansas, narrowly leading
President Bush and ahead of the other nine
Democratic nomination contenders, even though
Mr. Clark had entered the Democratic contest less
than two weeks ago. Some political observers see in
the poll results evidence that Mr. Clark is
advancing Mrs. Clinton's interests by showing that
none of the other Democratic candidates has much
support and that perhaps only Mrs. Clinton offers
the hope of beating President Bush next year, said
former Reagan White House Political Director Frank
J. Donatelli. Mr. Donatelli said Mr. Clark's
entrance may have proved to the Clintons that none
of the nine previous candidates had the deep support
needed to beat Mr. Bush. "[I]n getting Clark to
run, Bill Clinton could have had in mind creating an
acceptable vice president to run with Hillary," said
Mr. Donatelli. "Whether Clark will have that in mind
is something else. "Even more pointed an
indicator is the new Gallup poll, which for the
first time shows signs of some vulnerability for
President Bush. And if she gets into the race, they
have concluded she has real chance to win in 2004 —
though I still think Bush has the edge." Clark
would make the perfect running mate for Hillary — he
has all the national security credentials she
doesn't have," said Joe Cerrell, a California
Democratic campaign consultant. But Mr. Cerrell
said he could see Mr. Clark rebelling against any
prior agreement and saying, "Why are you telling me
I should get out. I'm the one leading in the polls."
As for Mrs. Clinton's entering the race, Republican
presidential campaign adviser Charley Black said if
the senator wants to enter the race, she will have
to start campaigning now in order to build an
organization and a war chest. Most agree that
Mrs. Clinton, with her husband's help, would be the
only candidate with a chance of competing with Mr.
Bush in fund raising — even if she starts late.
But Mr. Black thinks it's almost too late for Mrs.
Clinton to start. Mrs. Kaufman disagreed. "How long
does Hillary have?" Mrs. Kaufman asked. "With her
notoriety, name ID and political apparatus, I think
she can wait till after Iowa," Mrs. Kaufman joked,
referring to the first Democratic caucus in January.
"Actually, I think she could wait awhile and still
get in," Mrs. Kaufman said. "The only people she
is going to anger are the other candidates. The
voters don't obviously care — I mean, if Clark can
jump in and immediately be ahead of the others." Mr.
Cerrell agreed that "it's not too late for her to
run. She's better known nationally at this stage
than her husband was when he ran against [the elder]
Bush."
* NATIONAL POLITICS:
*FEDERAL ISSUES: …
Washington Times online article written by
Amy Fagan, “Amendment key to abortion
bill’s fate”. Excerpts: “Congress is close to
passing a bill that will ban partial-birth abortion,
but Senate Republicans want to remove an amendment
that Democrats support and that could prevent the
legislation from passing both chambers. Senate
Republicans are confident that the Senate will pass
the bill this week and send it to the president.
"We're going to get the bill passed, and we're going
to get it signed," said bill sponsor Sen. Rick
Santorum, Pennsylvania Republican. The Senate
bill contains an amendment proposed by Sen. Tom
Harkin, Iowa Democrat, that expresses support for
Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court
decision that struck down state laws against
abortion. However, Republicans plan to strip out
the Harkin language as the bill is completed in a
House-Senate conference committee this week, said
Mr. Santorum, a member of the conference committee.
He also said they may "tighten up" some bill
provisions to ensure that opponents can't find any
toeholds to argue against the bill's
constitutionality. "We think we have a solid
bill," he said. Even opponents of the bill admit it
will pass, and that President Bush will sign it.
Pro-choice groups plan to challenge it immediately
in court. They and some lawmakers say the
legislation is just as unconstitutional as a
Nebraska ban that the Supreme Court struck down in
2000, because it defines the procedure too broadly
and would not allow partial-birth abortion to
protect the mother's health. Supporters of the
ban say they have addressed those issues in the
current legislation, in part by providing a more
precise definition of the procedure. The legislation
does not include a "health exception" but instead
includes a lengthy "findings" section, stating that
medical evidence presented in congressional hearings
shows that partial-birth abortion poses serious
risks to women's health, is never medically needed
and is outside the standards of medical care.
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