Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news">
Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues
IOWA
DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
PAGE 1
Friday,
Aug. 15, 2003
Quotable:
“Edwards, a wealthy
trial lawyer and first-term senator, was careful to
mention three times that he is the son of a
textile-mill worker.”
– Orlando Sentinel’s Mark Silva, covering
union forum in Waterloo
Quotable:
“But, as even Clinton
loyalists know, at the end of the day with Bill and
Hill, it's always about Bill and Hill.”
– Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi, commenting on
the Clintons & California recall election
Quotable:
“I'm tired of having
Democrats tilt at windmills.”
– Dean, at health care forum yesterday in
Des Moines
Quotable:
“One might even call
Dean's style, with its heavy emphasis on
the Internet, ‘electro-pop.’”
– Pollster Matt Towery, noting that tracking
poll shows Dean “catapulting” past
Lieberman
Quotable:
“Gephardt is
working hard to put a new face on his
campaign. The old one hasn't been working.”
– AP’s Ron Fournier, one of an army of
wannabe watchers following the Dem hopefuls in
Iowa this week, reporting from Waterloo
Quotable:
“Edwards barely
registers in national and state polls, and
suffers from a perception among some Democrats
that he offers nothing more than a slick
presentation.”
– Fournier, reporting on Edwards’
plight from Charles City
Quotable:
“America has a choice,
it can have tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans or health care for all Americans.”
– Kerry, speaking yesterday at health
care forum in Des Moines
Quotable:
“For better or worse,
however, a number of Bush aides, Republican
strategists and pollsters believe the
Terminator's fortunes in the recall, if only
because of his dominating presence in the
race, will affect the president's reelection
prospects next year in the nation's most
populous state -- and possibly beyond.”
– Washington Post report.
Notable Quotable:
“No
genuine conservative has been elected in
California since Ronald Reagan in 1970. Arnold
Schwarzenegger may not be much of a Republican
and not conservative at all, but George W.
Bush welcomes anybody invigorating a comatose
California GOP.”
–
Columnist Robert Novak in yesterday’s
Chicago Sun-Times. Iowa State Fair:
Today is
Bankers Trust International Day with
fairgoers encouraged to “take pride in their
ethnic diversity by wearing native dress or
the colors of their heritage and culture.” The
“Ladies Husband-Calling Contest” is at
Pioneer Hall. The celebrity dairy goat milking
contest is in the Swine Barn tonight. Saturday
is Drake University Day with the
antique tractor pull at the Grandstand during
the day. The pigeon show is in the Poultry
Building.
Iowa Pres Watch Note
--
Tough times, especially with critical media
observations, for some of the wannabes:
Part of the campaign suspense today is to
see which Dem wannabe AP’s political
designated hitter Ron Fournier – who’s in
Iowa tracking the hopefuls wandering around
the state this week – will choose as his
next subject, although the candidates are
probably feeling more like victims when he
touches the keyboard. In his report on
Gephardt, Fournier wrote that the
Missouri congressman was “working hard to
put a new face on his campaign. The old one
hasn’t been working.” Covering Edwards
in Charles City yesterday,
Fournier wrote: “His campaign is at a
do-or-die stage as he tries to improve his
standing.” Meanwhile back on the home
front, Des Moines Register columnist David
Yepsen was writing about Kerry’s
prospects: “He was smart, rich, experienced,
conversant on issues and bulletproofed from
any Republican inferences he was weak on
defense. Unfortunately for Kerry, it
hasn’t played out that way.” Most likely
candidate for Fournier’s next analytical
report: Smokin’ – or Slumpin’ –
Joe Lieberman, who’s scheduled in Iowa
today. Even better news for the wannabes:
Yepsen’s column normally doesn’t appear
again until Sunday.
GENERAL
NEWS:
Among
the offerings in today's update:
In Iowa,
Kerry says he’s “blessed to be wealthy” and
then touches the third rail of national
politics – Social Security revisions
Hillary
vs. Arnold:
Boston Globe
commentary poses question – “As California
goes, so goes Hillary Clinton?”
In Atlanta
guest column, pollster says
Dean’s “rural strategy” is paying off,
reports his latest tracking poll has the
ex-VT Guv leading the Dem pack
Report from
Waterloo: Gephardt seeking to
reenergize his campaign
Report from
Charles City: Edwards campaign at
“do-or-die stage”
Washington
Post report says Schwarzenegger outcome
could impact GWB in 2004
Seven of
nine wannabes – minus Lieberman and Sharpton
– rally in DSM to push health care and to,
as usual, bash Bush
In
Washington state, Lieberman continues
“Joe’s Jobs Tour” and advocates government
policies encouraging environmentally
friendly technologies and job creation
Dean
says New Hampshire flooding will be first
test of FEMA since reorganized
Washington
Post poll: Majority of Americans oppose
church decision to recognize same-sex
marriages
Graham
will be “Wobegon” in New Hampshire – the FL
Sen will appear on non-broadcast edition of
Prairie Home Companion this weekend
DSM
Register’s Yepsen writes that Kerry’s base
is being “piecemealed” – urban liberals to
Dean, populists to Kucinich, labor to
Gephardt
Reporting
from Waterloo, Orlando Sentinel’s
Silva writes that union honchos are
committed to major ’04 effort – but don’t
have a horse yet
Iowaism:
State testing system to make bridge
self-de-icing All these stories below and more.
Morning reports:
WHO-TV (Des
Moines) reports that a major power
outage similar to the East Coast blackout –
due to the structure of the Midwestern
electrical grid system – is unlikely in Iowa.
Midwestern utilities operate on a different
grid format than their eastern counterparts
Numerous media
reports this morning that Pfc. David
Kirchhoff of Anamosa was the first Iowa
National Guard member to die on active duty
since the Vietnam conflict. Media accounts
yesterday indicated Kirchhoff, 31 – the
fifth Iowan to die in Iraq conflict
-- had been transferred to Germany for
treatment, but reports today say he suffered
from heatstroke. He served with the 2168hth
Transportation Company from Cedar
Rapids
Radio Iowa reports this morning that 12
Iowa schools have failed to meet federal math
and reading standards – down from 26 last
year. All of the schools, primarily in eastern
Iowa with five in Davenport and two in
Waterloo, are located east of
Interstate 35.
… Wannabes
still terrorizing Iowans. Wrapping up a
flurry of wannabe visits to the state, at
least three Dem candidates are scheduled at
the Hawkeye Labor Council forum in Cedar
Rapids tonight. Other events and activities
today – Dean has stops in Nevada, Eldora,
Marshalltown, Chelsea and Cedar Rapids.
Edwards is scheduled to visit the state
fair and visit Toledo, Vinton, Cedar Rapids
and Iowa City. Kucinich
appears with actor/activist Ed Asner in
Cedar Rapids. Lieberman attends the
state fair. According to current schedules,
only Edwards – on a “Main Street” tour
of the state – is expected to remain in state
on Saturday with Independence, Oelwein,
Dubuque and Maquoketa visits.
… “Dick Gephardt
Seeks to Energize Campaign” – headline
from FOXNews.com. Excerpt from coverage –
datelined Waterloo – by AP political
ace Ron Fournier: “When Dick Gephardt
attacked his free trade-backing rivals for
president, Deb Hansen shouted her approval.
She shook her fist and applauded when the
Missouri Democrat blasted President Bush's tax
cuts. When he spoke in hushed tones about
his son's recovery from cancer, she dabbed
tears from her eyes. ‘I've never seen this
much emotion from Gephardt,’ Hansen
said after Gephardt and five other
Democratic presidential candidates addressed
her Iowa labor group. ‘It's a new face for
him.’ Gephardt is working hard to
put a new face on his campaign. The old one
hasn't been working. The former minority
leader has failed to meet his national
fund-raising goals. He's had mixed results
courting organized labor. And his lead as
measured by polls in Iowa, where the first
votes will be cast for president in 2004, has
been erased by insurgent candidate Howard
Dean. Gephardt, who won Iowa's
caucuses during his failed 1988 presidential
bid, concedes he must win here again to remain
in the Democratic race. ‘I'm in good
shape,’ he said after addressing the Iowa
Federation of Labor. In a fiery speech, the
former House minority leader focused on his
pro-union trade record and sweeping health
care plan. He sought to undermine his key
rivals and impress Democratic activists who
wonder whether he can muster the passion and
policies to defeat Bush after 26 years in
Congress. ‘I'm the guy who fought my own
president, President Clinton, on trade,’
Gephardt said. He opposed the North
American Free Trade Agreement, which was
supported by four of his current rivals. ‘Some
of the other candidates...will tell you now
that they would not be for China (trade
agreements) or NAFTA without the environment
or labor protections. Let me tell you,’
Gephardt said, his face turning red as
he wagged his finger, ‘most of them were
for those treaties when they were before the
Congress.’ He defended his plan to divert more
than $200 billion of Bush's tax cuts to health
care, primarily to give businesses tax breaks
for providing insurance. Earlier in the forum,
Sens. John Kerry and Bob Graham
said the Missouri lawmaker's plan was too
expensive and would never pass Congress.
Gephardt responded by telling the group about
his adult son who as a boy suffered from
cancer. He recalled meeting parents who
couldn't afford treatment for their sick
children. ‘This is a moral issue,’ Gephardt
said, shouting into the microphone. ‘It is
immoral to have people without health care.’
Gephardt has been making similar policy
points on the campaign trail for weeks, and he
has become a more passionate speaker since
resigning as minority leader to run for
president. But the reaction Wednesday
suggests that his presidential message and
style have gone largely unnoticed thus far --
even inside the labor community he has courted
for years. ‘Gephardt did himself
some good,’ Mark Smith, president of the IFL,
said after the forum. ‘I think he allayed some
fears people had about whether he had the fire
in his belly.’…He seems confident, but not
certain, that his approach will win voters
over - one speech at a time, if necessary.
‘I'm very passionate about these issues,’
Gephardt said, ‘and I hope it shows.’
Hansen said it does. She came to the meeting
backing Dean, but now is taking a second look.
‘Dean still gets a star’ for his speech, she
said. ‘Gephardt gets two.’”
…
Lost in space
– or at least New Hampshire? Graham becomes
involved in “valley” vs. “region” controversy.
Excerpt from yesterday’s “Granite Status”
column by John DiStaso, the Union Leader’s
senior political editor:
“Memo
To Graham Camp.
Last week, we took a light-hearted jab at the
Graham campaign for calling
southwestern New Hampshire the ‘Monadnock
Valley’ Region when, in fact, it is
the Monadnock Region. Graham state
campaign chief Steve Bouchard didn’t like it a
bit and let us know that he’s lived in the
state all his life and it’s not wrong to refer
to the area as the Monadnock Valley. He
said there are several references to the
Monadnock Valley region on the Internet
and even sent us three stories from this very
newspaper referring to a Monadnock Valley.
Although we’ve lived here nearly 25 years and
never heard of the Monadnock Valley, we
checked. First, we checked the state’s
official Web site, where it’s officially
called ‘the Monadnock Region.’ Then,
the Monadnock Travel Council’s Web site, which
welcomes visitors to ‘the Monadnock Region.’
The state Office of Travel and Tourism
Development assured us it’s the ‘Monadnock
Region.’ Just to be sure, we checked with
Union Leader columnist John Clayton, the
connoisseur of everything New Hampshire, who
confirmed it’s ‘the Monadnock Region.’”
… Without Snow White,
seven Dem dwarfs show up at Drake University
to discuss their health care plans (for
probably the 4,850th time) and attack the
president (for probably the 629,382nd time).
Headline from this morning’s Union Leader:
“Democratic rivals joust on health care”
Coverage – an excerpt datelined Des
Moines – by AP’s Mike Glover: “Seven
Democratic presidential nominees used an Iowa
political forum Thursday to offer deeply
personal pitches for revamping the nation's
health system and to bash President Bush and
large pharmaceutical companies. Most of
the major Democratic candidates have offered
plans to expand the nation's health care
system, and would finance their efforts by
repealing various portions of the tax cut the
president pushed through Congress.
‘America has a choice, it can have tax cuts
for the wealthiest Americans or health care
for all Americans,” Massachusetts Sen. John
Kerry told the gathering of health care
advocates. Kerry used his recent bout
with prostate cancer and the expensive
treatment he got for the disease as an example
of why the system needs to be changed. ‘We
must stop being the only industrial nation in
the world that does not understand that health
care is not a privilege, it is a right,’
he said. Florida Sen. Bob Graham has
health issues of his own, undergoing major
heart surgery before he entered the race.
‘Clearly one of the challenges facing America
is making health care affordable and
accessible to all,’ Graham said. ‘That
is a goal to which we all should be
committed.’ Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt
pointed to his son's bout with cancer, and
called health care a ‘moral issue.’…’It is
immoral in this country to have people not
have health care,’ Gephardt shouted.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a doctor,
said he wanted the whole country to have
health care like Vermont, which has health
coverage for all youngsters and subsidized
care for the working poor. ‘It can pass,’
Dean said. ‘I'm tired of having
Democrats tilt at windmills.’ Dean later
had one of his more colorful days on the
campaign trail, as 200 people packed a local
blues club to watch him play harmonica and
guitar. Dean accompanied two other performers
on two songs, including one written
specifically for his campaign. He quietly
sang along with lyrics like ‘Dean for
America’ and ‘losing my mind from being
left behind.’ Former Illinois Sen. Carol
Moseley Braun and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich
offered their pitch for a single-payer,
government-run health care system, where
health coverage isn't tied to the
workplace…North Carolina Sen. John Edwards
touted his $53 billion plan to offer tax
credits to help pay for insurance costs and
argued that Bush's health care plans are
likely dictated by political adviser Karl
Rove…Gephardt also complained that giant
pharmaceutical companies influence Bush's
health care plans. ‘They put $70 million
into the campaigns only of Republicans,’
Gephardt said. ‘It's time to kick the
moneychangers out of the temples of
government.’”
… In
Seattle suburb, Lieberman charges GWB has been
“standing by” while jobs are being lost.
Excerpt from report by the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer’s Neil Modie: “Sen. Joseph
Lieberman used a Bellevue company and
its line of revolutionary, fuel-efficient
machinery as a presidential campaign prop
yesterday in a call for government
encouragement of environmentally friendly
technologies and job creation. ‘The Bush
administration has been standing by and
watching the loss of jobs and not presenting
an effective alternative to it,’ the
Connecticut Democrat said to a gathering of
reporters and nearly all of the 20 employees
of Ramgen Power Systems Inc. Ramgen, however,
has enjoyed ample government backing. Doug
Jewett, its president and chief executive,
said support from the Energy Department, the
Defense Department and Congress has been
‘absolutely critical’ in the company's effort
to develop fuel-efficient air compressors,
turbines and stationary engines using ramjet
technology. Lieberman, one of nine
Democrats seeking the party's 2004
presidential nomination, said Ramgen
embodies much of his environmental and
economic agenda: government incentives for
developing new technology; reducing America's
dependence on foreign oil through fuel
efficiency; and a reduction in greenhouse
gases…The company is developing highly
efficient compressors and engines that can
burn methane produced as a waste gas from coal
processing, diverting it from adding to
greenhouse gas emissions. ‘This is really a
win-win-win technology that you're working
on,’ Lieberman said. Companies such as
Ramgen need ‘the kind of (government)
incentives that I don't think this
administration has been doing enough of, he
said, to encourage investment in new
technologies…He held a $1,000-a-head
fund-raising luncheon at a Bellevue restaurant
before leaving town. The theme of his swing
is environmentally friendly technology and a
continuation of what Lieberman calls ‘Joe's
job tour,’ underscoring what he contends have
been the Bush administration's economic
failings. He said America has lost 3.2
million jobs, including 2.5 million in
manufacturing, since Bush became president.
He also used the hour-long stop at Ramgen to
separate him from some of his Democratic
presidential rivals on economic issues,
cautioning against protectionism and blanket
repeal of the Bush tax cuts. As he has
with increasing frequency, Lieberman sought
to contrast himself with former Vermont Gov.
Howard Dean -- casting himself as the centrist
candidate -- in the wake of Dean's
skyrocketing popularity among party liberals.
"He's opposed to the Bush tax cuts,"
Lieberman said, reiterating that he
supports tax reductions for middle-income
Americans earning less than $200,000 a year.”
…
Pollster
reports that tracking polls have Dean in lead
– notes that he passed over traditional Dem
power groups and focused on rural America.
Headline on guest column in yesterday’s
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Dean’s
rural strategy creates a major player”
Column by
Matt Towery of Atlanta, a former Georgia
legislator, pollster and syndicated columnist.
Excerpt: “My company's latest tracking poll
shows that former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean,
who barely registered in past polls, has
catapulted ahead of Connecticut Sen. Joe
Lieberman and now leads the pack of candidates
seeking the Democratic presidential
nomination. What explains the dramatic
leap? Dean, who recently made the cover
of three national newsweeklies, appears to be
the one challenger to George W. Bush who is
putting a new spin on the time-tested strategy
of populism. One might even call Dean's
style, with its heavy emphasis on the
Internet, ‘electro-pop.’ Rather than pandering
to traditional Democratic power groups such as
trial attorneys, unions or urban bosses, he is
focusing on rural America and the thousands of
towns and smaller cities that serve it as
centers of daily life. Small-town life
predominates Vermont, and Dean is
promising to help restore rural communities.
He has tied positions on virtually every issue
-- from the economy to the environment -- to
the development and growth of rural areas,
where he contends that President Bush's
policies had little positive impact. For many
people in less densely populated areas, the
Web has become a primary tool, from shopping
to entertainment. So it may be that Dean's
‘small-town’ thinking was the genesis of his
campaign's celebrated strategy to have
Web-using supporters forward campaign
literature to others. This allows
Dean's camp to expand its reach on the
Internet without violating tough rules on
e-mail spam. Indeed, Dean's campaign has
built a virtual community of online
supporters. Many of them rally to the call
for ‘emergency’ small-dollar contributions
that so far have eclipsed the amounts he has
received from fat-cat contributors. A final
and significant reason for Dean's dramatic
emergence is that he is no longer viewed as
completely out of step on Iraq. Just a few
months ago, he stood virtually alone in his
opposition to the Iraqi invasion. But
Dean has since been joined by other
Democratic presidential candidates who may not
openly renounce the war effort, but are openly
criticizing the Bush White House for its
inability to produce evidence of weapons of
mass destruction and for the continued bloody
disorder in post-Saddam Iraq. We've seen many
an early political star burn brightly at
first, only to fizzle before the first big
primary election tests happen. At the start of
the election 2004 campaign, candidates such as
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards were
seen as the fresh new faces that might
dominate the battle for the Democratic
nomination. And an early victory in Iowa
for a more traditional Democrat, such as U.S.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, could steal
the thunder from Dean. But for now, the
Dean campaign appears the leaner, faster
and more in-touch campaign organization.
Our polling shows Bush continuing to enjoy a
significant lead against all potential
Democratic foes. But Dean's campaign should
give pause to both the president and his
Democratic challengers.”
… Life doesn’t get
any easier for Edwards – especially with
national AP reports that his campaign is at “a
do-or-die stage.” Headline from this
morning’s The Union Leader: “Edwards
readies do-or-die presidential campaign”
Excerpts from report – dateline Charles
City – by AP’s Ron Fournier: “Though
one of the most inexperienced candidates in
the nine-person Democratic field, Edwards
comes equipped with some of the tools that
vaulted Bill Clinton to the presidency -
Southern charm, an up-from-the-bootstraps
biography, good looks and ability to convince
voters that he feels their pain. But his
candidacy has not caught on…His
campaign is at a do-or-die stage as he tries
to improve his standing. This is when the
millionaire trial lawyer, second among the
field's fund-raisers, must translate his
advantages into support. ‘The next two or
three months are critical,’ Edwards said
aboard his huge campaign bus that is carrying
his wife and two kids through Iowa and New
Hampshire the next two weeks. This month he
began airing about $500,000 worth of ads in
Iowa and New Hampshire, the states where
Democrats will make their first choices early
next year. The ads, scheduled to run for
about four weeks, focus on his working-class
upbringing, his policies to help the middle
class and his argument that President Bush
favors wealth over hard work. When the ads run
their course, another round is likely to
follow. ‘I want to make sure the voters
know me, where I'm from and what my vision
is,’ Edwards said. ‘For the first
time, I'm communicating with voters in Iowa in
New Hampshire.’ Edwards barely
registers in national and state polls, and
suffers from a perception among some Democrats
that he offers nothing more than a slick
presentation. He is combating the criticism
with a set of policy initiatives that may be
the most creative and detailed of the field.
Edwards wants to offer free tuition to
freshman college students willing to work 10
hours a week. Parents would be required to
insure their children under a health care plan
that offered them tax incentives. Both
initiatives trace Clinton's effort to appeal
to the Democrats' middle-class roots by
offering new government programs while
assuring swing voters that accountability
comes with the spending…The fall
buildup includes Edwards' formal announcement
in mid-September. He also is expected
to soon announce his intentions for his Senate
seat, which is up for election in 2004.
Party leaders in North Carolina are pressing
him to make way for a Democrat to seek his
seat. Edwards wouldn't tip his hand
Thursday, but he sounds and acts like a man
willing to let another Democrat try for the
Senate as he shoots for the presidency.
‘I'm in this for the long haul,’ he said.”
… Graham gets cameo
with Garrison Keillor this weekend in New
Hampshire, but central question remains: Will
he – or both of them – break out in song?
Headline from yesterday’s Miami Herald: “Graham’s
‘Wobegon’ workday…He’ll have cameo on New
Hampshire’s ‘Prairie’ show” Coverage – an
excerpt – from report by the Herald’s Peter
Wallsten: “Florida Sen. Bob Graham
will make a cameo appearance this weekend in a
special nonbroadcast edition of A Prairie
Home Companion, the National Public Radio
program hosted by his friend, Garrison Keillor.
Sunday's show, part of the program's traveling
‘Rhubarb Tour,’ will be useful for Graham's
presidential campaign: It takes place in
Gilford, N.H., the state that is home to the
first-in-the-nation presidential primary in
January. Graham will appear as part of his
patented ‘workday’ gimmick, possibly as a
character in the regular Guy Noir, Private Eye
sketch. He said he has known Keillor for
years, ever since the NPR star began going to
Washington to lobby for public radio.
Keillor's assistant, Debra Beck, said Tuesday
that a role for Graham had not yet been
chosen…While there is no indication that
Keillor's invitation is an endorsement, the
appearance on the show will be only the latest
taste of stardom for Graham's campaign. Graham,
who often breaks out into song on the campaign
trail (‘You've got a friend in Bob Graham…’)
if given the chance, predicted he will likely
do so with Keillor, as well. ‘Do you think
that Garrison's audience should be denied that
once-in-a-lifetime experience?’ Graham
said with a smirk.”
… All
politics is local – especially in Iowa and New
Hampshire during Dem nominating season. Dean
finds way to tie NH flooding to Homeland
Security Act. Headline from yesterday’s
The Union Leader: “Dean says NH floods
these new FEMA role” Excerpt from report
by UL correspondent Stephen Seitz: “Flooding
in southwestern New Hampshire could be the
first real test of the Federal Emergency
Management Administration since the Homeland
Security Act took effect, according to
Democratic Presidential hopeful Howard Dean.
‘The most important thing is to have a
FEMA that responds quickly,’ Dean said
in a press conference call from Oklahoma
yesterday morning. ‘Homeland security has
taken some of their functions. We’re going
to find out if some of the bureaucratic
in-fighting over the homeland security agency
will effect the recovery effort in New
Hampshire.’ Dean, former governor
of Vermont, had to call FEMA for assistance
several times during his 11-year tenure. He
had nothing but praise for FEMA’s response to
Vermont’s floods …Dean included
emergency planning as part of a speech on
rural development he delivered in Iowa
yesterday. Among other things, Dean said
that saving America’s family farms was a high
priority. Among the ways to do that, he
said, are to expand broadband Internet service
to rural America, and invest more in
alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol.”
… Wealthy
wannabe – Kerry – indicates he would consider
Social Security means-testing for rich
Americans. Headline from yesterday’s
Boston Globe: “Kerry hints at reform for
Social Security” The Globe’s Glen Johnson
– one of a small army of reporters covering
the wannabes in IA this week – reported on
Kerry’s campaign stop in Webster City.
Excerpt: “Declaring ‘I am blessed to be
wealthy,’ Senator John F. Kerry said that, if
elected president, he would consider some form
of means-testing for rich Americans as part of
a broader review of ideas to shore up the
Social Security system. The Massachusetts
Democrat told a group of Hamilton County
political activists late Tuesday that one
idea bearing exploration is eliminating Social
Security payments to the wealthy after they
have recouped the money they paid into the
federal retirement program during their
working life. ‘Rich people are getting
checks from poor people, well beyond what they
put into the system,’ said Kerry, a
millionaire in his own right and the husband
of Teresa Heinz Kerry. She is a philanthropist
and heiress to the Heinz ketchup empire whose
net worth has been estimated at more than $550
million. Kerry said he had a right to
recoup his personal tax payments into the
retirement system but no need for government
support beyond that. A spokeswoman for the
AARP said that the nonpartisan association
would not comment on candidates' positions,
but added that it did not support
means-testing for Social Security recipients.
Another idea Kerry said he would
consider is raising the cut-off point after
which people no longer pay into the system.
Americans pay Social Security taxes only on
the first $86,000 they earn in a year.
Kerry said he has heard suggestions about
raising that threshold as a way of building up
the fund for the pending retirement of the
baby boom generation. ‘Maybe people ought
to pay up to $100,000 or $120,000, I don't
know,’ the senator said. The baby boom
generation is expected to put a tremendous
strain on the retirement system, and the
government projects that Social Security could
be insolvent by 2042. But tinkering with
Social Security is considered akin to touching
the third rail in politics, because poorer
Americans have relied on the program since it
was instituted by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt in 1935. And older Americans who
are receiving Social Security checks are an
active and potent group of voters. Kerry
presented his ideas in response to an audience
question. Aware of the potential political
peril, he took pains to couch his remarks,
both to the county Democrats and to a group of
reporters who interviewed him after the
appearance. He said he has not committed
to the ideas and would consider them only
after assembling ‘a group of wise souls who've
been through the process’ to conduct a larger
review of Social Security. Kerry also
said he has decided against two ideas that
have already generated protests: raising the
full Social Security retirement age beyond 67,
and reducing the payments made under the
program.”
… Waterloo Labor Forum
Revisited: Another View – Orlando Sentinel
reports labor leaders ready to ride into
battle, but haven’t picked a horse yet.
Headline on yesterday’s Sentinel: “Democratic
suitors vie for hand of AFL-CIO” Excerpt
from Sentinel report – datelined Waterloo
– by Mark Silva: “Labor leaders are ready
for battle with President Bush in 2004, but
they haven't found their Democratic champion
yet. In the state that will take the first
measure of Democratic candidates for president
with January party caucuses, six appealed
Wednesday for the support of the AFL-CIO, a
labor force still debating which presidential
hopeful to endorse. ‘Somebody asked me if
George Bush had been bought and sold by big
corporate America,’ said Sen. John Edwards
of North Carolina. ‘I said no, they didn't
even have to buy him…He is taking a
two-by-four to the American dream.’ Sen. John
Kerry of Massachusetts told his union
audience, ‘Everyone I've met in America is
tired of being trickled on by George Bush's
economic policy. I have stood with you through
the years . . . stronger than most other
candidates in this field. The question for all
of us is who can beat George Bush.’ The
AFL-CIO promises its biggest campaign effort
ever for the Democratic presidential nominee.
The union alliance is sponsoring
voter-registration drives, member-education
and an unparalleled get-out-the-vote effort on
Election Day 2004. But it's uncertain that
the union will endorse any of the nine
Democrats seeking their party's nomination
in this winter's caucuses and primaries --
two-thirds of the union affiliates' leaders
must agree on an endorsement. With 66 national
unions, leaders say, it will be tough this
year to get a consensus. ‘I would say that
the only candidate right now who could get
two-thirds is Dick Gephardt,’ said Richard
Trumka, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. ‘We're
still going through the process. Hopefully, we
can have a consensus.’ Gephardt, the
Missouri congressman who carried Iowa's
caucuses in 1988, came on strong here
Wednesday. ‘There's an old saying about
cowboys -- all hat, no cattle,’ Gephardt
said. With Bush, he said, it's: ‘All hat,
no jobs. All hat, no health care. All hat, no
clue.’ A united union voice could be a
powerful force for any Democrat winning union
backing in winter primary elections. In
Iowa, scene of the first party caucuses Jan.
19, the AFL-CIO claims 140,000 members,
including schoolteachers. Union activists
could account for a third of Iowa's
caucus-goers, which helps explain why six of
the Democrats seeking their party's nomination
came to a convention center in downtown
Waterloo on Wednesday for a presidential
forum. Edwards, a wealthy trial lawyer and
first-term senator, was careful to mention
three times that he is the son of a
textile-mill worker…Kerry proposes
allowing people to take part in the federal
health-care plan covering members of Congress
and providing a 50 percent tax credit for the
costs for small businesses that cover their
employees…Gephardt wants to require all
employers to provide health-care coverage for
their employees. He proposes a federal tax
credit for employers to help pay for it all.
Gephardt campaigned here as the son of a
milk-truck driver and the father of a son who
had cancer at the age of 2. He was
insured, and his son survived…Graham
proposes starting by covering all children,
then the "working poor" and early retirees.
This could reach 75 percent of all people now
uninsured, Graham said, and it could be
achieved at a cost of $70 billion a year.
‘If a Gephardt-type bill were passed by
Congress, yes, I would sign it into law,’
Graham said in response to a union question.
‘But I think it's very unlikely.’”
… “Still
time for Kerry – but hold the ketchup” –
Headline on David Yepsen’s political column in
yesterday’s Des Moines Register. Excerpt from
column with a Webster City dateline: “John
Kerry's presidential hopes in Iowa rest with
people like Ramona Timm, a Blairsburg farmer
who showed up here Tuesday night to hear the
Massachusetts senator. ‘He had some good
points,’ she said after his speech to about 75
Hamilton County Democrats. ‘I like Senator
Kerry. I like Howard Dean. I
haven't had a chance to meet them all yet so
I'm open-minded." For Kerry, that's
good news. With all the buzz about Dean's
momentum or Dick Gephardt's trouble in the
polls, there's a tendency by some in the
political community to forget it's five months
until caucuses Jan. 19, when people like
Timm have to make a choice. And Kerry needs
every minute of that time. He's running
third in polls in Iowa. He started campaigning
here later than other candidates, and hasn't
spent as much time here. His vote to authorize
a war in Iraq caused a number of anti-war
Democrats to bypass him in favor of Dean.
Then there was the bout with prostate cancer
that slowed him down. Now, just when he's
trying to put his political flaps down to lift
his campaign, the political fiasco in
California is crowding out media coverage of -
and money for - the Democratic presidential
race. It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Kerry, a seasoned U.S. senator and
decorated Vietnam veteran, was seen by many
early on as the national heavy favorite to
beat President Bush. He was smart, rich,
experienced, conversant on issues and
bulletproofed from any Republican inferences
he was weak on defense. Unfortunately for
Kerry, it hasn't played out that way.
His base is being piecemealed. He's lost some
of the urban liberals to Dean over the war.
He's lost some of the populists to Dennis
Kucinich. Gephardt denies him some in the
labor movement. Too many Democrats worry
he'll be pegged as too liberal, as were the
last two Massachusetts Democratic presidential
candidates, Edward Kennedy and Michael
Dukakis. And there are days when Kerry must
feel snake bit. On Wednesday, the
Washington Post even wrote a story about how
Kerry went to Philadelphia and ordered
a cheese steak sandwich made with - horrors -
Swiss cheese instead of Cheez Whiz. That's a
little like coming to the Iowa State Fair and
ordering oysters on the half-shell. John
Norris, Kerry's well- regarded campaign
manager in Iowa, said such negativism is
getting to some of the younger staffers. He
said he had to buck them up in this week's
staff conference call by saying their jobs are
to quietly build the organization, not worry
about the buzz. He said Kerry's
campaign is picking up key supporters in every
county, people who understand the caucus
process and can mobilize others…Kerry is
also delivering a punchier, less esoteric
message. He told reporters here he's
‘coming out of spring training’ and ‘I save my
best for last.’ That's good, but it can be
risky. He told the audience here the
country should consider raising Social
Security taxes on incomes above $86,000 or
capping the retirement benefits paid to
wealthy Americans. Later he said those
were just ‘options’ he was considering. There
was a time, back in the good old days, when
presidential candidates could get away with
winging it in Iowa, with trying out new ideas
or brainstorming out loud with voters. No
more. Not when you are always followed by a
half-dozen reporters noting your every word.
In Iowa, with one of the oldest populations in
the country, you especially don't ad lib on
something as politically sensitive as Social
Security. Will somebody make sure Kerry
doesn't put ketchup on his Maid-Rite?”
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