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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. Our
Mission: To hold the Democrat presidential
candidates accountable for their comments
and allegations against President George W.
Bush, to make citizens aware of false
statements or claims by the Democrat
candidates, and most especially, to defend
the Bush Administration and set the record
straight when the Democrats make false
or misleading statements about the
Bush-Republican record.
Friday,
May 23, 2003
Vote
of the morning: Observation
of the morning:
GENERAL
NEWS: Among
the offerings in this morning’s
update: ...
In
Florida, Graham accuses the Brothers
Bush of “malfeasance” and appeases
environmentalist critics ...
Columnist
Novak: GWB “laid down the law” to
squabbling GOP leaders ...
Investor’s
Business Daily unloads on Gephardt for
congressional absenteeism and distortions ...
And
Gephardt missed two more key votes – on
defense spending and unemployment benefits –
last night before surfacing on tax cut vote ...
President
Bush sends letter to Grassley expressing
support for Medicare equity reform after
provision removed from tax cut legislation.
Des Moines Register editorial complains this
morning “all we get is a lousy letter.” (See
Opinion section below) ...
Follow-up:
Chicago Tribune reports that Edwards scolds
fellow Dems for treating rural America as an
afterthought, says rural areas needed to
defeat Bush in 2004 ...
Illinois
poll: Gephardt and home state
favorite Moseley Braun leads the Dem
pack, Kucinich left out ...
Radio
talk show host Mickelson says Iowa “hosed”
by removal of Medicare provisions in tax-cut
compromise ...
Dem
State Senator: “My understanding”
Vilsack will allow more casino gambling
licenses in Iowa after legislative session All
these stories below and more. Morning
report: ...
Dean
scheduled in Des Moines and Mason
City today, visits Ames tomorrow. Lieberman
due in Sunday and Monday. ...
Graham
attacks both George W. and Jeb Bush. Under
the headline “Graham gives the Bushes a
scolding…Senator shores up image on
Everglades,” the Miami Herald’s Peter
Wallsten yesterday reported from Tallahassee:
“U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, moving Wednesday
to repair his environmental image while adding
some sting to his presidential message,
accused the Bush brothers of ‘malfeasance’
for backing controversial Everglades
legislation and predicted Florida would punish
the president for it next year. The
scolding from the typically measured senator
came days after leading environmentalists
accused Graham of failing to forcefully
oppose the sugar industry-backed bill even
while some of his primary opponents and
leading Republicans in Congress demanded a
veto. Campaign strategists hope that
Graham’s statement Wednesday will quiet his
critics who question his commitment to the
Everglades restoration while demonstrating
that he is capable of unleashing a strong
attack that could distinguish him from his
eight rivals for the presidential nomination.
Graham’s statement also marked the most
concrete sign yet that the Democrats view
Gov. Jeb Bush’s support for the Everglades
measure as a potential campaign weapon to use
against his brother in the battle for the
state’s 27 electoral votes ...
[Graham’s]
statement drew laughter from Gov. Bush, who
reminded reporters that Graham had not
even asked him to veto
the bill after he signed
it Tuesday. ‘With all due
respect to the senior senator, I got a faxed
letter from him 30 minutes after I signed the
bill, urging me to veto the bill,’ Bush said…The
governor reveled in Graham’s meanderings
on the issue, noting that he received letters
long ago from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of
Ohio, two of Graham’s rivals for the
Democratic nomination, ‘before the senior
senator from Florida.’” ...
While
most of the Iowa coverage yesterday focused on
Edwards’ $1 billion rural development
proposal, the Chicago Tribune’s Jeff
Zeleny (a former DSM Register political
reporter) captured a different angle. Under
the headline “Edwards vows to help rural
America …N.C. Democrat keys campaign to
‘regular people’,” Zeleny wrote that Edwards
“scolded fellow Democrats for treating rural
America as an afterthought, saying his party
must not cede those regions to Republicans if
they hope to defeat President Bush in 2004.
‘My party isn’t perfect by any means,’ Edwards
said Wednesday. ‘Too many Democrats too
often act like rural America is just some
place to fly over between a fundraiser in
Manhattan and a fundraiser in Beverly
Hills.’…As the nine Democratic
presidential hopefuls struggle to distinguish
themselves, Edwards says he is the
candidate who can best challenge Bush in
traditionally strong Republican areas,
including Southern and rural states where
voters have been stung by a weak economy. He
is one of two Southern candidates in the race.
‘The rural economy in America is in very bad
shape,’ Edwards said in an interview
from Iowa. ‘Families who live in small
towns in rural America are looking for a
president who focuses on their problems.’…
Edwards said he has the fortitude to
challenge Bush in states that have voted
Republican in recent elections. ‘Just
because you have yourself a new ranch and wear
a big belt buckle doesn’t make you a friend
of rural America,’ Edwards said,
referring to the president’s ranch in
Texas.” ...
Gephardt
has incurred the wrath of Investor’s
Business Daily. Headline – “An
Honesty Gap” The commentary says, “Gephardt
wants to be the candidate of ordinary,
blue-collar guys. Aren’t they
supposed to show up for work every day and be
honest citizens? Gephardt’s convinced
himself the way to capture the working-man’s
vote is by wooing Big Labor. But the fact that
he’s missed 162 House votes this year –
85% of the total – indicates he might be
spending too much time working the union
halls. By contrast, The Hill newspaper reports
that Sen. John Edwards of North
Carolina, another Democratic presidential
hopeful, has missed only 12 of the Senate
votes. In addition to what appears to be a
dereliction of his duties, Gephardt the
Candidate seems to be having some problems
with the truth. He’s not a union man
himself. He’s spent most of his adult
life as an elected official and, with a net
worth probably close to $1 million and enough
wealth to afford a vacation home on North
Carolina’s Outer Banks, he has little in
common with the average union hand. But
Gephardt so badly wants to have some
solidarity with the guys, he’s taken to
constantly bringing up he father’s union
ties, even if it requires a little fiction. ‘My
dad was a milk truck driver, a proud member of
the Teamsters,’ Gephardt said at his
campaign kickoff rally. ‘He always told me
his union’s bargaining power made it
possible for him to put food on our table.’ That’s
funny because Gephardt’s brother Don
remembers it differently. He told the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch in 1999 that their dad,
the late Louis Gephardt, resented the
Teamsters …Forgive us for being cynical
if we happen to find Don Gephardt’s
recollections a bit more plausible. After
all, unlike his presidential candidate
brother, Don Gephardt’s future does not
hinge on currying favor with Big Labor.” ...
Illinois
poll revealed. Excerpt from coverage of
the Dem candidates by Chicago Sun-Times
Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet: “In a
poll of 1,000 Illinois Democratic Senate
primary voters conducted by one of the
Illinois U.S. Senate candidates from April
22-24, Braun and Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.)
led the pack with each polling 17 percent.”
Lieberman had 16%, Kerry
11%,
Dean
5%,
Edwards 4%,
Sharpton
2%,
and Graham
1%.
The poll has 26% as undecided with a margin of
error of 3.1%. More excerpts from the Sweet
coverage: “For months, Edwards
has
been making trips to the Chicago area to woo
local donors, fund-raisers and the political
elite…an Illinois Senate campaign shared the
poll with the Sun-Times on the condition that
its name not be used because it did not want
to get involved in presidential politics. The
poll, in an oversight, forgot to include Rep.
Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).
In looking at the bottom rungs of an April ABC
News poll, Braun polled 6 percent to 4 percent
for Edwards
and 3 percent or less for Dean,
Sharpton, Graham and
Kucinich.” ...
Gephardt
continued missing votes again last night. He
was absent at 9:20 p.m. (EDT) when the House
voted 409-19 for an extension of jobless
benefits for 2.4 million Americans. Gephardt
was recorded as not voting while his Dem
wannabe rival Kucinich supported the
legislation. Four IA congressmen – Latham,
Leach, Nussle and Boswell – also
voted for the bill, while western Iowa
Congressman King opposed it. The Senate
was expected to consider the 13-week extension
today ...
Gephardt
also was recorded as not voting when the
House last night (at 7:31 p.m. EDT) approved a
$400.5 billion defense spending plan for 2004
that would increase spending for homeland
security, development of new weapons and
benefits for U.S. troops. Kucinich opposed
the military spending bill while all five
IA congressmen supported the bill, which was
approved on a 361-68 vote. The Senate approved
a different version of the defense spending
bill yesterday by a 98-1 margin with Va. Dem
Sen. Robert Byrd casting the lone dissenting
vote. ...
The
Los Angeles Times’ Ron Brownstein analyzes
the impact – and goals -- of policy
statements by Edwards and Lieberman.
Headline – “On 2004 Trail, Edwards
Offers Rural Development Initiative …The
senator stakes a claim as the strongest
Democrat in small-town America. Lieberman offers
a plan for a health care research
institute.” ...
Excerpts
from Brownstein’s report – “Sen. John Edwards
(D-N.
C.) on Wednesday opened
a new front in
his party’s 2004 presidential race with a
plan to revitalize rural America, while Sen.
Joseph I. Lieberman
(D-Conn.)
edged into the campaign debate already raging
over health care. Edwards,
campaigning in Nevada,
Iowa, laid out a proposal to encourage more
investment and technological developments in
agricultural communities. In Washington, Lieberman
proposed
creating a new federal institute to intensify
research against chronic diseases, such as
diabetes and arthritis. The
speeches continue the flurry of proposals that
the nine contenders for the 2004 Democratic
nomination are using to define themselves in a
crowded race. Edwards’ focus on rural needs
advances his effort to
present himself as the most viable Democrat in
small-town and Southern communities that voted
overwhelmingly for President Bush in 2000. And
Lieberman,
by promising that his health-care proposals
will be ‘practical and affordable,’
continued his attempt to identify himself as the contest’s most centrist and
fiscally responsible contender.” ...
Excerpt
from Robert Novak column about House-Senate
standoff over tax cut proposal:
“Furthermore, these was bad blood between
Senate and House Republicans. The House
leaders were still bitter that Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist had not informed them of his
commitment to the $350 billion, 10-year tax
cut limit. [House Ways and Means Committee
Chairman Bill] Thomas has low regard for
his Senate tax-writing counterpart, Finance
Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, and did
not relish a tedious Senate-House conference
on the final version of the bill (presided
over by Grassley). (More from the Novak
column below in “Federal Issues” section.) This
morning’s headlines: ...
Des
Moines Register, top front-page headline: “U.N.
OKs Iraqi rule by U.S., Britain…Economic
sanctions lifted after 13 years” ...
Main
story headline, Quad-City Times online: “Algerian
earthquake death toll approaches 1,100” ...
Sioux
City Journal online, top headline: “Lawmakers
complete work on $330 billion in new tax cuts;
rebates, bigger checks arrive in summer” ...
Nation/world
headline, Omaha World-Herald online “Algerian
quake toll rises”…From business
section: “Trade deficit hurts dollar,
Buffet says” Investor Warren Buffet says
the nation’s deep trade deficit, not Bush
administration policies, is the
“fundamental cause” behind the weakness of
the dollar against foreign currencies. ...
Chicago
Tribune, top online headlines: “House
Passes $330 Billion in Tax Cuts” &
“2nd teen faces alcohol charge in hazing”
An 18-year-old Northbrook youth yesterday
became the fourth person charged with
violating state liquor laws in the Glenbrook
North hazing incident. ...
New
York Times, top stories online: “U.S.
Says Sharon Is Set to Endorse Bush’s Peace
Plan” & “Senators Sharply
Criticize Iraq Rebuilding Efforts”
Report says lawmakers have been seething over
the Bush’s administration’s failure to
consult in depth with Congress about the
costs, methods and goals of rebuilding Iraq.
Iowa
Briefs/Updates: ...
WHO
Radio yesterday broadcast from the site of a
new beef processing plant near Tama.
Production at the facility – for a new beef
processing and marketing venture called the
Iowa Quality Beef Supply Cooperative -- is
scheduled to begin on 7/21 ...
KCCI-TV
(Des Moines) has reported that city
officials in Winterset – the
community best known for “The Bridges of
Madison County” fame and as John Wayne’s
birthplace – are advising parents with young
children to stop using the city’s water
system. They said the nitrate level in the
municipal water supply has reached an unsafe
level for children 6-months old and younger ...
Statewide media reports indicate pay for
Iowa teachers has slipped to 35th in the
country. That, according to an NEA report,
is a slot lower than last year, despite
teacher salary increases of about 2%. The NEA
said IA teachers in 2002-2003 averaged $38,921
– almost $7,000 below the national
average of nearly $46,000 and about $17,000
less than the highest statewide salary average
(more than $56,000 in California).
...
A
Clinton County man filed a civil lawsuit this
week against a retired Catholic priest
from the Diocese of Davenport,
accusing the priest of molesting him as an
alter boy in the Sugar Creek parish
church in the 1960s. The Quad-City Times
reported that the plaintiff – known only in
court records as ‘John Doe’ -- accused
retired Rev. James Janssen of beginning the
repeated abuse in 1967, when Janssen was
assigned to St. Joseph Parish in Sugar
Creek. The plaintiff was younger than 14
at the time. The lawsuit claims Janssen prefaced
the repeated sex acts that happened in the
church rectory and other sites with, “This
is how we build trust.” ...
VOANews
(Voice of America) reported that the U.S. has
“formally donated to Kenya nearly $1 million
worth of sophisticated security equipment for
use in the country’s three major airports.
The equipment donation comes amid renewed
warnings of a possible terrorist attack in the
east African nation.” The equipment
includes modern baggage X-ray machines and
explosive trace detectors. ...
Radio
talk show host Mickelson (WHO, Des Moines/WMT/Cedar
Rapids) said yesterday that “Iowa
got hosed again” in the latest
compromise version of the federal tax cut
legislation. The Senate had included a $25
billion provision to even out geographic
disparities in Medicare payments to rural
hospitals, but it was sidetracked in
negotiations with the House. Mickelson said if
Iowa – which ranks lowest in the nation in
Medicare reimbursement rates – can’t get
the payments increased with the “clout”
that Grassley and Harkin have “we might as
well kiss that issue good-bye.” He also
added that the state should take advantage of
the “brief window of opportunity”
presented with presidential candidates – GWB
and the Dem wannabes – campaigning in the
state to push the Medicare payment
issue.
...
An
Dem state senator indicated yesterday that it
is “my understanding that Gov. Tom Vilsack
will direct the Iowa Racing and Gaming
Commission to issue new [gambling] licenses
following the close of the legislative
session.” That comment was included in a
letter to the editor in yesterday’s Register
from Sen. Matt McCoy of Des Moines. The
main thrust of McCoy’s letter – headlined
“Des Moines needs a riverboat casino”
– was to encourage the city’s
movers-and-shakers to get moving on plans to
launch a gambling boat on the Des Moines or
Raccoon Rivers in downtown DSM. Such a
casino, McCoy wrote, would “help Des
Moines become a great Midwestern destination.”
McCoy added: “It is time for leadership from
the Des Moines City Council and business
community …Now is the time for Des Moines
to make this riverboat happen.” Recent news
reports have indicated that five other Iowa
counties are either planning gambling
referendums or exploring riverboat casino
possibilities. ...
Republican
legislative leaders are scheduled to meet with
Dem Gov. Vilsack this afternoon to
determine if they can resolve a continuing
impasse over the Iowa Values Fund economic
development package. The outcome of the
session is expected to determine the fate of a
special legislative session scheduled for next
Thursday. Vilsack has indicated he
might – reluctantly – postpone the session
if the differences aren’t resolved. Quick
updates: ...
Unfortunate,
unusual, untimely Cedar Rapids accident takes
life of 14-year-old Meagan Hollingshead while
she was driving of an experimental electric
car at school. Register reports that skid
marks were still evident where she crashed the
car in front of dozens of classmates during a
science class demonstration yesterday ...
Although
Meskwaki leaders appointed by the tribe’s
hereditary chief won yesterday’s special
election in an effort to resolve a tribal
leadership dispute – and control of a
profitable casino near Tama –morning
newscasts say it’s still uncertain whether
the results will be recognized by federal
officials. Situation further complicated as
federal marshals close casino today ...
Headline
from today’s Register: “Iowa health
leaders feel neglected by tax-cut deal…A
provision to bring Medicare money to the state
was taken out.” From Register’s Washington
Bureau, Jane Norman reports on fallout after
the Iowa provision was removed from the bill.
The president sent a letter to Grassley pledging
his future support for efforts to reduce
Medicare reimbursement inequities, but Harkin
– noting the provision received 86 votes
in the Senate – said the section should have
been retained. Harkin’s response to the
Bush letter: “I don’t want letters and
nice words – I want action.” (More in
opinion section below.) OPINIONS: ...
This
morning’s editorial, Des Moines Register:
In the editorial column, the Register this
morning reprints a letter, dated yesterday,
from President Bush to Grassley – in
which GWB congratulates the Senate Finance
Committee chairman for passage of “the jobs
and growth bill” and said “we discussed
our concerns that rural Medicare providers
need additional help, and we committed to
addressing their problems …I will
support the increased Medicare funding for
rural providers contained in your amendment as
a part of a bill that implements our shared
goal for Medicare reform.” Headline on
related Register editorial: “Promises,
promises…Instead of Medicare equity for
Iowa, all we get is a lousy letter …The
suggestion that the inequity issue be reserved
for a Medicare overhaul bill doesn’t inspire
much hope.” ...
Register Columnist Rekha Basu: Headline –
“Lincoln students show how to trounce
hate with love” Basu writes that
“Springtime is busy for graduating students
and bigots” in addressing plans by the
Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church to
picket graduation ceremonies next week at
Lincoln High School in Des Moines. The
reason: Lincoln senior class president Julius
Carter is a recipient of the Matthew Shepard
scholarship – a full-ride scholarship to the
University of Iowa given to three openly gay
Iowa high school students each year. Basu
excerpt: “All of us can support Julius by
wearing a rainbow ribbon on his graduation
day, sending a message that he is not fair
game. A message that, in the end, love really
can triumph over hate.”
...
State
Girls’ Track Meet today through tomorrow at
Drake Stadium in Des Moines. ...
The
Sporting News has named three Iowa Hawkeyes
–linebacker Robert Gallery, safety Bob
Sanders and kicker Nate Kaeding – as the
best players in the country at their
respective positions. The three Iowa seniors
were named to the publication’s all-America
preseason team. ...
The
Northern Iowa was knocked out of the Missouri
Valley Conference baseball tournament last
night after an 11-6 loss to Southwest Missouri
State in Wichita, Kan. ...
The Quad-City Times reported “a renovated
John O’Donnell Stadium won’t be the only
change for the Quad-Cities’ Midwest League
franchise in 2004. The Quad-City River Bandits
expect to have a new nickname, a new color
scheme and a brand-new look before the first
pitch of the team’s 44th season is thrown.”
Details of a “name-the-team” contest were
announced on Quad-City broadcast stations
yesterday.
...
The
Register reports that a fur trappers’
gathering will be held over Memorial Day
weekend at the annual Chichaqua Rendezvous
near Elkhart in northeast Polk County.
The event runs from tomorrow through Monday
and will feature more than 40 camps of
freeskinners, or trappers who worked
independently of large fur-trading companies.
The Register story said the weekend camp will
“recreate life between 1820 and 1840 when
fur trade was at its height in the land that
later became Iowa.” Several activities
– including muzzleloader shooting and
tomahawk throwing competitions – will be
held each day. The event is open to the public
and will be held at the Chichaqua Bottoms
Greenbelt about eight miles east of the Elkhart
exit on I-35.
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MORNING
UPDATE:
Newscasts report that federal marshals
closed the Meskwaki casino near Tama between 6
a.m. and 7 a.m. today.
The National Indian Gaming Commission ordered
the casino closed last week because of a
tribal leadership dispute, but it remained
open while a federal judge considered the
commission’s petition to send marshals to
shutdown the facility. (More on the
Meskwaki dispute below.)
On
most news reports this morning, House approval
of tax cut legislation is a major story, but
at Iowa Pres Watch it produces two alternative
headlines: “Gephardt finally casts
another vote” & “IA Republican
casts lone GOP vote against tax cut bill”
The House voted 231-200 at 1:56 a.m. EDT today
for $330 billion tax cut measure with Dem
wannabes Gephardt, who’s been under
attack for a string of missed votes since he
became a presidential candidate, and Kucinich
casting “no” votes. IA Dem Congressman
Boswell and IA GOP Congressman Leach
– the only Republican “no” vote –
opposed it with the state’s three other GOP
congressmen (King, Latham and Nussle)
supporting the bill. Overall, seven Dems
joined 224 Republicans to support the tax cut
bill with 198 Democrats, one Republican (Leach)
and one independent opposing. Senate
expected to vote on – and pass -- the tax
cut package today.
“Edwards,
the son of a Carolina mill worker who became a
multimillionaire as a trial lawyer, has
touched a nerve among the Republicans
sketching out Bush’s re-election plan. The
last three Democratic presidents hailed from
Southern states and some GOP strategists think
that Edwards fits a similar mold.”
– Excerpt from Chicago Tribune report by
Jeff Zeleny. (More of the Zeleny story
below.)
Quote
of the morning:
“Too
many Democrats too often act like rural
America is just some place to fly over between
a fundraiser in Manhattan and a fundraiser in
Beverly Hills.”
– Edwards quoted in the above Zeleny
article.
...
Under the headline “Bush quashes
Republican squabbling, lays down the law”
in the Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Robert
Novak wrote: “Late Monday afternoon, leading
Republicans of the House and Senate clenched
their teeth as they took chauffer-driven
limousines down Pennsylvania Avenue to the
White House. They were primed for a long
struggle with each other and President Bush
over details of tax cuts. Less than an hour
later, the lawmakers were on their way back up
to Capitol Hill – their tails between their
legs. George W. Bush had again laid
down the law to GOP satraps. Just as he
insisted that the post-2002 election session
of Congress finish homeland security
legislation, the president now demanded a
completed tax bill on his desk before the
Memorial Day break. What’s more, he
dictated the bill’s final details –
vetoing the Senate’s quest for added revenue
by taxing American businessmen oversees,
approving the Senate’s subsidy for state and
local governments. This capped a virtuoso
performance by Bush.” The Novak column
continues that GWB would have “no part” of
a proposal by House leaders to “ping-pong”
the bill between chambers to reach a
resolution, and added that Bush contended
“the economy needs help now. Nor did he
want a long bargaining session Monday night.
A state dinner (for visiting Philippine
President Gloria Arroyo) was to begin at the
White House at 7:30. Three of the lawmakers at
the meeting – Frist, DeLay and Senate Majority
Whip Mitch McConnell – had to change into
black tie for the dinner. Short of time,
the president did not negotiate. He
dictated.”
...
DSM
7 a.m. 55 fog/mist. Temps across Iowa at 7
a.m. ranged from 45 in Algona and 46 in
Fort Dodge and Mason City
to 57 in Lamoni. Today’s high 72,
isolated showers. Tonight’s low 48, partly
cloudy. Saturday’s high 70, cloudy. Saturday
night’s low 50, partly cloudy. WHO-TV’s Ed
Wilson reports that that “through the
weekend and Memorial Day there will be plenty
of sunshine and temperatures will warm back
into the lower to middle 70s.”
to read past Iowa Morning Reports