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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
* QUOTABLE: Dean, while campaigning
at the University of Northern Iowa, said the
current generation of young voters sees the world
as its community. Under his presidency, he said,
there would be globalization not just for
business, but for human rights, the environment
and labor rights. “The Clinton years are
now seen in the rearview mirror by Democrats with
the same kind of nostalgia baby boomers feel about
their high school years. They may have been
tiring, uncertain and full of frustration, but
looking back, they were pretty good after all…”
-- written by
Quad Cities Time political columnist Ed Tibbets. "I'm on a mission from
God to get all these caucus people to get off
their behinds and do the right thing,"
said Bob Kuntz
of Florida, 61, who heads the Hillary Now
campaign. "I think this is a
terrific opportunity for the candidates themselves
to deliver their message to a much broader
population than they've been doing,"
said Hillary
Clinton. "Sure, this President’s
policies are helping some Americans,"
Edwards said.
"But our goal should be policies that work for all
Americans, and under George Bush, there are far
too many being left behind." "It's going to be hard to
stop us if we win Iowa. There is no question about
that," Howard
Dean told reporters Friday outside his Ames
headquarters. "If the problems that
Kerry has had connecting with voters up here are
related to his campaign organization, then this
change may actually help him, but if his problems
come from himself, and not the campaign, then his
rivals have an opportunity to chip away at his
support," said
Linda Fowler, a Dartmouth College government
professor and elections specialist. "I heard Kerry’s going to
JJ as Al Gore" and "First of all let’s talk dress
code. Just a note to Kerry staff, those navy
blazers are going to restrict movement."
-- from Dean
Iowa campaign press release parodying a Washington
consultants’ conference call about Saturday
night’s big Iowa Democratic dinner.
Dean's signature
exclamation to his supporters is: "You have
the power!" It
is a revivalist's promise. While the other
candidates build themselves up, Trippi says, Dean
builds up his supporters by saying: "Look
at you. Aren't you cool? Aren't you amazing?" “Battered Democrats are
hungry to hear that. So were the conservatives,
then isolated from power, who flocked to Barry
Goldwater in 1964. It is the Goldwater campaign,
not George McGovern's 1972 antiwar crusade, that
Dean's movement most resembles. Goldwater was not
about "new ideas." He was about preaching the full
conservative gospel and giving his followers a
vehicle through which they could organize and put
it into practice”
…. Writes E. J.
Dionne, Jr.
* TODAY’S
OFFERINGS: *Historical moments *No Thanks *Dean’s response *Iowa Poll *Lieberman’s new
approach *Eligible for funds *Not attending *Edwards’ new push *South Carolina *Bankruptcy *Medicare *Livestock moratorium *Chip off the old block *Gephardt gets union
endorsement *Clark takes to the air *Clark’s NY endorsement
*Clark’s Bush bashing *Kucinich and Cuba *New! New Hampshire poll *Insider poll *Bush Push: Medicare *Hillary’s in town
* CANDIDATES &
CAUCUSES:
In politics there are
historical moments that change politics. With Sen.
John Kerry’s announcement that he will not
participate in federal campaign finance system, we
have hit such a mark. It demonstrates that even in
the same cycle of this election everyone agrees
the old campaign system is dead. How much
McCain/Feingold contributed to this demise is not
yet clear and probably will require viewing from a
greater historical perspective. Odds are, it will
be ranked as too little, too late. The old system was the result
of another historical event known as Watergate. Of
course the preceding event to that was known as
the Chicago Convention Riots. It was after the
disastrous 1968 Democrat Convention that the
Democratic Party created a committee to reform the
process of nominating their candidate. George
McGovern became the chair of that committee.
Later, his campaign manager Gary Hart propelled
the Iowa Caucuses to the forefront in launching
McGovern’s failed 1972 Watergate candidacy. And
now, John Kerry has used the scene before Iowa
Democratic Party’s Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner
hosted by Hillary Clinton to gain maximum focus on
the demise of a system that Democrats hold
hallowed. Kerry’s hope is that some
blame will fall on Howard Dean for this failure of
what was hoped to be an egalitarian system of
campaigns. However, like so many ideals, they can
not be constrained against the real forces of
nature. Neville
Chamberlain’s pleadings and appeasement
could not prevent Adolf Hitler’s aggression. While many wish to blame Bush
for this fine affair, the real fault is with Dick
Morris and Bill Clinton. Clinton was going down
the tubes, so he brought in the master of
triangulation -- Dick Morris -- to figure out what
to do. Morris knew that the person who controlled
the message controlled the public’s opinion. Thus,
he set out to wage an unprecedented uncoordinated
early massive advertising campaign that re-shaped
Clinton’s image. And the sheer gall of it all were
the notes passed back and forth between Morris and
Clinton -- which of course were supposed to be
prohibited by the nature of an uncoordinated
campaign. McCain-Feingold campaign
finance reform was intended to take the soft money
out of the process and make uncoordinated
campaigns be more uncoordinated and bridle their
last minute attacks. Like many ideals, it cannot
seem to guard the principle from the real world. There is the story of
Benjamin Franklin bringing an influential land,
bond and currency speculator during the
Constitutional Convention to one of his sought
after dinner parties. Members of the delegation to
the convention chastised Franklin the next day for
allowing undue influence being placed upon the
delegates from rich special interest. Franklin
replied, “If this constitution does not represent
the financial interest of this country then this
constitution and country will not last.” This nation has always been
about the tension between the striving for the
ideal and the practical. May it ever be so. Sen. John Kerry said no thanks
to $18.7 million, and became the third candidate
for President to join the reality that the federal
campaign system is dead.
“As you know, this has not been an easy week in
our campaign. But I’ve been in tougher spots than
this before – and I’ve fought back and won. And
we’re going to fight back now because I feel so
strongly about the issues and about nominating a
Democrat who can defeat George Bush.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I have no doubt
it is the right one,” said Kerry. Kerry’s decision was undoubtedly
timed to bring focus on Howard Dean’s previous
decision to forego the federal campaign finance
system. Kerry pointed to his efforts at campaign
finance reform and that he had not taken PAC
contributions in past elections. He went on to
challenge Dean.
“I wish Howard Dean had kept his promise to stay
within the campaign finance system. But he did
not. He changed the rules of this race – and
anyone with a real shot at the nomination must now
play by those rules. And today, let me be clear:
I’m in this campaign to win the nomination and to
defeat George Bush next November.
“Today, I also issue a challenge to Governor Dean.
Senator Russ Feingold has called on all Democratic
candidates who forgo matching funds to pledge that
they will not spend more than the limit of $45
million until the nomination is decided. I accept
that – and I call on Howard Dean to do the same.
To show America that his decision was about
beating George Bush and the special interests and
not just about grabbing an advantage in the
primaries,” said Kerry Kerry’s alluding to the
campaign’s poor performance this week is
indicative of how important it is for Kerry to get
his campaign moving. January elections have the
problem of coming just after major holidays. It is
traditional that after Iowa and New Hampshire not
everyone remains in the hunt for the nomination,
and those who do not know any better find the
spotlight and megaphone for their campaigns turned
off. Kerry’s problem is being
attributed to two factors. First and foremost
Kerry and Dean share the same demographic
constituencies of the mostly liberal wing of the
Democrat Party. Second, Kerry voted for the war
and that is the key focus of the campaign at this
time.
"This guy's in a jam. I think it goes back to the
war. I think he walled himself off from his own
supporters. What it would take for Kerry to do
well would be for the war to go away as an issue
and the focus to shift to the economy and that's
the opposite of what's happening. The more the
focus is on the war, the greater the gap, the
contrast, between Dean and Kerry is likely to be,"
political columnist Charlie Cook, editor of the
Cook Political Report. Kerry’s point where he has a
clear advantage over Dean appears to be the
environment. Unfortunately that is not a key
deciding factor in who to vote for. If Kerry is to
win back his constituency, it will have to come
over the economy, where Kerry has a fighting
chance. The real difficulty for Kerry is that it
is not easy to be the Dean alternative candidate
if he is like Dean. Howard Dean campaign is reported
as responding to John Kerry’s challenge to hold to
the $45 million limits for the contest between
fellow Democrats as being premature according to
the
Boston Globe article:
"We just gave up $18 million dollars, we are a
long way away from $45 million," Dean said. "We'll
make a decision when we get to the point of having
to worry about having $45 million." Dean
spokeswoman Tricia Enright rejected Kerry's
challenge as a gimmick.
"The fact of the matter is, we've had 233,000
Americans giving us $77 apiece, and we're now
asking 2 million Americans for $100," Enright
said, referring to Dean's strategy of using small
donations from grass-roots supporters to raise
$200 million without the appearance of a
special-interest taint. "Obviously they're looking
at a strategy of asking one guy to give them give
them $10 million." The Des
Moines Register announced their latest poll
regarding the demographics of potential caucus
attendees. The following self-described categories
by the top three candidates’ followers is very
instructive -- that is the supporters of their
campaigns view themselves having these
characteristics. Don’t worry about going over the
100% -- this is because they view themselves in
more than one category:
Category:
Howard Dean
Dick Gephardt
John Kerry
Liberal
66%
40%
49%
Moderate
48%
71%
49%
Conservative
19%
46%
18%
Dove
30%
10%
22%
Hawk
8%
10%
8%
Environmentalist
53%
49%
61%
Feminist
26%
16%
23%
Political activist
20%
9%
23%
Policy wonk
18%
7%
8% * The latest head to head
results have Gephardt - 27%; Dean – 20%; and Kerry
–15% If Kerry gets out of the race,
the prospects of Gephardt doing well in Iowa could
fade. The other instructive aspect of
the poll was that the economy and jobs were way in
front of the war as an issue. The top percentages
by issue were: economy & jobs – 40; war – 19;
health-care – 17; and education - 10. Lieberman has a new ad in New
Hampshire and he needs something. This ad strikes
directly at Howard Dean and continues to try and
pull the John McCain independents to his campaign,
even though that is not what his press release
says he is doing. His release says he wants to
focus the campaign on the issues that matter most
to Americans expanding health care, giving tax
cuts to the overburdened middle class, and
protecting Social Security. In the 30-second ad, "Focus,"
Lieberman faces the camera and says, "The charges
are flying back and forth in this campaign. I
don't think it's right to have raised a divisive
symbol like the confederate flag. Or to give up on
principles like limiting the amount of money in
campaigns, as John McCain and I have fought for.
I'm Joe Lieberman and I approve this message to
focus this campaign on expanded access to health
care, tax cuts for 98% of taxpayers, and deficit
reduction to protect Social Security. That would
be a fresh start." The ads were produced by
Integrity Minded Media, a collaboration of
Lieberman media consultant Mandy Grunwald and
pollster Mark Penn. The Lieberman campaign also
announced today that the Federal Election
Commission declared Joe Lieberman's campaign
eligible to receive federal matching funds. To become eligible for matching
funds, candidates must raise $5,000 in each of 20
different states, in amounts no greater than $250
from any individual. The U.S. Treasury Department
will distribute matching funds beginning in
January 2004. The maximum amount a candidate could
receive is currently estimated by the FEC to be
$18.6 million. Lieberman made the announcement
today that he will not be present at Iowa’s
Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner tonight. Sen. John Edwards won the press
release derby yesterday with five releases and
that doesn’t include the Des Moines Register story
about livestock. The
Boston Globe covers the new push:
Edwards on Wednesday announced a "major" expansion
of his political operation in the state, going
from 17 to 24 paid staff, hoping to gain ground
here and weaken Kerry heading into a series of
primaries in February. Edwards recently finished a
four-day, 25-stop bus trip across the Granite
State that included six town hall meetings in a
single day. FLORENCE, SC: Joined by local
small business leaders for a roundtable
discussion, U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC) today
outlined his plan to bring jobs, capital and
business expertise to hard-hit South Carolina
communities.
"Every proposal, whether or not it has to do with
education or health care or the economy revolves
around a core principle of mine: equal
opportunity," Edwards said. "I want to give more
Americans the opportunity to reach their full
potential than ever before. That means standing up
for American workers and making sure that certain
parts of the country have what they need to get
their economy growing again." While George Bush visited South
Carolina earlier this week touting positive
economic reports for the nation, Edwards said the
need to create jobs remains as strong as ever.
Some 128,000 South Carolinians are out of work,
and the state has lost 58,000 manufacturing jobs
since President Bush took office. While the latest
national unemployment rate remained almost
unchanged from last month, the African-American
unemployment rate actually jumped to 11.5 percent. To create jobs, Edwards outlined
his plans to:
·
Keep Corporations Here at
Home. Edwards will fight tax giveaways to
multinational corporations that encourage them to
expand overseas and cut taxes by 10 percent for
manufacturers who create jobs here at home.
·
Stand Up for U.S. Workers in
Trade Deals. John Edwards has been a
tireless advocate for American workers, fighting
for fair trade deals and legislation to protect
workers impacted by trade agreements. He will hold
our trading partners to their agreements to ensure
that the terms of trade are fair. He will also be
a tough negotiator on trade, and he will only
negotiate trade deals that have real, tangible
benefits for U.S. workers and businesses. To
protect textile, apparel, and other manufacturing
workers, Edwards has repeatedly called on
President Bush to fight Chinese manipulation of
their currency, implement safeguards against
textile imports from China, and look out for
textile and apparel workers in upcoming trade
deals.
·
Give Venture Capital to
Businesses in Struggling Communities.
Edwards supports efforts to bring venture capital,
small business loans, and business expertise to
create jobs in struggling communities. His new
REACH Fund will invest in entrepreneurs in small
towns and rural areas that are losing jobs today.
Edwards will also double funding for Community
Development Financial Institutions to serve urban
and other communities overlooked by most banks and
other traditional financial institutions.
·
Create Tax Incentives to
Invest in Economic Revitalization Zones. A
new round of the New Markets Tax Credits will
leverage $7.5 billion in private-sector
investments into struggling communities. Edwards
will put a priority investments that create
high-quality jobs and that help areas hard-hit by
recent job losses - to be identified as Economic
Revitalization Zones - that are often left out of
federal assistance.
·
Offer Real-World Job Training
and Help Small Businesses. Too often,
government training doesn't actually train workers
for jobs that exist in their communities. Only one
worker in four gets the job he trained for.
Edwards will create a Training Works initiative
with one goal: to ensure that when people get job
training, they are getting training for jobs that
exist in their communities.
·
Get Our Economy Back on Track.
Edwards will restore the conditions for long-term
economic growth by stopping George Bush’s effort
to shift the tax burden away from wealth and onto
work, insisting on a responsible budget and
investing in our future competitiveness through
education and innovation. Senator John Edwards (D-NC)
today released the following statement on a new
report showing a 7.8 percent increase in the
number of bankruptcy filings, which have risen to
a record high of 1.63 million. "We
face a quiet crisis in America. Middle class
families stand on the edge of a financial cliff,
and unless we act, more and more families will
fall off of that cliff. Senator John Edwards (D-NC)
today made the following statement on the emerging
Medicare drug bill:
"Based on today's story in the Wall Street
Journal, we now know the Republican-run Medicare
conference has become a politics-as-usual giveaway
to the drug companies at the expense of America's
seniors. The drug lobbyists are celebrating
because they have watered down provisions to allow
cheap re-importation of drugs and to encourage
generic drug competition.
"The American people will be the ones who pay the
price. Republican Jo Ann Emerson said, 'Obviously,
the conferees are ignoring us and listening to the
drug industry.' A drug company lobbyist said,
'it's very good.' The Des Moines Register reports
that Sen. John Edwards has called for a national
moratorium on construction and expansion of
concentrated animal-feeding operations. He also
announced his support for certain aspects that
would ban meat packers from owning livestock. This
is a change of position for Edwards, who found the
practice sometimes referred to as vertical
integration as beneficial in his home state of N.
Carolina. He supports the ban with the option for
states to be able to opt out. This attempt is clearly in
response to Dick Gephardt who has for months run
ads in Iowa featuring Gephardt’s support and work
with Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin to ban vertical
integration of meat packers. Oh -- by the way, we are sure to
hear more Bush bashing next week on the topic of
Education. Edwards will visit New Hampshire to
mark American Education Week 2003, outlining
education proposals across the state and talking
with New Hampshire voters about his plans to
improve our schools and give educators the tools
they need. Chip Carter, the middle of three
sons of James Earl Carter, was at Botticelli
Restaurant in Sioux City, Iowa in support of
Democrat presidential candidate Howard Dean. The
Sioux City Journal has a good account of the
visit:
My father says (Bush) is the worst president of
his lifetime," Carter said. He said he always
thought Reagan was the worst president, smiling
wryly, since Reagan was responsible for the family
having to depart the White House in early 1981. "I
had a nice room up there, you know," he said. The
Journal explains why Chip is for Dean even though
his father hasn’t taken sides:
Carter said he supports Dean for "his edge, his
rolled-up sleeves" and straightforward demeanor.
He said Dean reminds him of his father since they
"tell it like it is." Carter said Dean, being an
ex-governor and Washington outsider, like his
father, will play well with voters. He noted that
no U.S. senator since John F. Kennedy in 1960 has
won the White House. Rep. Dick Gephardt received his
home state endorsement from the Kansas City
AFL-CIO. It is just over 2 hours on Interstate-35
to Des Moines.
"Dick Gephardt has dedicated his career to
upholding the rights and dignity of working men
and women," said Bridgette Williams, president of
the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO. "Gephardt has
fought to protect American workers from the
assault of foreign trade. He has worked hard for
fairness and has provided a strong voice of
support for labor. Dick Gephardt is the man to
beat George Bush in 2004, and the Kansas City
AFL-CIO is going to support Gephardt all the way."
The Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO
represents over 80,000 workers who are members of
organized labor in the Kansas City area. Wesley Clark is the last of the
top tier candidates to go up on television.
According to the
NY Times, the ad is more like “Saving Private
Ryan”:
As gunfire is heard in the background, an
announcer recounts the battle in Vietnam for which
General Clark won the Silver Star: "The first
bullet shattered his hand — the second and third
hit his shoulder and leg."
While flashing to black and white photographs of
generic jungle combat, the announcer says: "As he
fell to the jungle floor, he continued giving
commands to his troops and rallied their courage.
He refused to be evacuated until his troops were
safe." Campaign officials said the
commercial was devised to draw attention to
General Clark's military background, which they
believe to be his most compelling selling point
with voters, many of whom know that he was a
general but not much more. Representative Anthony Weiner
announced his endorsement of General Wesley K.
Clark's campaign for President of the United
States. Weiner became a member of the United
States House of Representatives in 1999. He
represents the 9th District of New York, which
stretches across Brooklyn and Queens.
"Anthony Weiner represents a new generation of
leadership," said General Clark. "He is a champion
of consumer rights and gun control and an emerging
expert on homeland security issues. I am thrilled
to have Anthony Weiner on my team."
"This is a troubled moment in United States
history. My constituents, the people of Queens and
Brooklyn, are desperate for a leader who can set a
new course on domestic and foreign policy," Rep.
Weiner said. "I believe that General Clark is that
leader and he is the best candidate to beat George
W. Bush next fall." Today, President George W. Bush
held a White House ceremony to sign a proclamation
for the National Employer Support of the Guard and
Reserve Week. "I'm glad the President took
time today to recognize our Reserve and National
Guard members. But our troops need much more than
fancy words from the White House," General Wesley
Clark said. "They need Kevlar vests, health care,
reliable pay checks and a success strategy for the
ongoing war in Iraq. Take it from an old soldier,
proclamations are little comfort to troops under
fire." Clark would honor reserve and
national guard members with more than words. He
would:
Immediately Correct Our Soldiers' Pay Problems:
Extend Health Care to All Members of the
National Guard and Reserves:
Ensure Every National Guard and Reserve Member
is Equipped to Succeed:
Launch A Success Strategy for the Sake of Every
Solider: "Even though both houses of
Congress had passed identical amendments
eliminating funding to enforce the ban on
traveling to Cuba, the ban remains in place. This
is because a conference committee meeting behind
closed doors overruled the Congress and took out
the language which would have removed the funding
that enforces the ban. "The United States' Cuba policy
is a failure. The unilateral embargo must be
lifted The persistently hostile and aggressive
rhetoric must cease. We must lift not only the
trade embargo. We must also lift the travel ban.
We must cooperate with Cuba on issues of national
security… Dean has expanded his lead in
New Hampshire. The latest percentages are as
follows: Dean – 38; Kerry – 16; Wesley Clark – 5;
John Edwards - 5;, Joe Lieberman – 4; Dick
Gephardt – 3; Dennis Kucinich –1; and Al Sharpton
and Carol Moseley Braun had the support of less
than 1 percent. The poll also showed that 27
percent were undecided. This week's Democratic Insiders
poll in the National Journal with 50 possible
votes by the chosen few gives Dean 39; Gephardt 8.
Twenty-nine of the 50 gave John Kerry bad marks --
one even said, "He's managed to combine the
duplicity of the Gore campaign with the arrogance
of the Dukakis campaign." Joe Lieberman also
received 9 votes in the low-expectations category.
* ON THE BUSH
BEAT:
Bush Push:
Medicare President Bush continued to push
Congress to pass a drug benefit package in the
Medicare reform bill – this time, during his
weekly radio address. Excerpts: First:
Within six months of Medicare reform law, all
seniors would be eligible for a Medicare-approved
drug discount card. This card would give seniors
an immediate 10 to 25 percent savings on the cost
of their medicines. For seniors with typical drug
costs of $1,285 a year, the card would deliver
annual savings of up to $300. And for low-income
seniors, the discount card would include a $600
annual credit toward drug costs.
Second: Beginning in 2006, we would establish
Medicare prescription drug coverage for all
seniors who want it, at a monthly premium of about
$35. For most seniors without coverage today, the
new coverage would cut their annual drug bills
roughly in half. Third:
Seniors with the greatest need will get the most
help. Low-income seniors would pay a reduced
premium or no premium at all for the new drug
coverage. And low-income seniors would also have
lower co-payments for their medicines.
Fourth: Our seniors would enjoy more choices in
their health coverage, including the same kind of
choices that members of Congress and other federal
employees enjoy. If seniors have more choices,
health plans will compete for their business, by
offering better coverage at affordable prices.
* THE CLINTON
COMEDIES: Hillary is in Des Moines, Iowa
and all the real candidates for President are
competing for airtime, but most of the media
oxygen is being sucked up by Hillary. When she
arrives she will go to Veterans Auditorium for the
Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. She will then attend two
closed, hors d'oeuvre events with donors. First is
the 150 people who donated $1,000 apiece, then the
500 who donated $300 each. Hillary is scheduled to spend
the night at Terrace Hill, the Iowa Governor's
mansion. It is her first time sleeping over in the
Governor’s mansion. After an early morning
breakfast with Gov. Vilsack and his wife, she is
heading to two more fund-raisers - one for U.S.
Rep. Leonard Boswell and one for her hosted by Des
Moines lawyer Jerry Crawford - and the 12:30 p.m.
Borders book signing. Hillary was asked in an
interview by Iowa Public Radio when was the last
time she was in Des Moines and she couldn’t
remember when it was that she was last in Iowa.
She did recount that she was in early grade school
when she first visited Iowa with her parents from
her Iowa bordering home state of Illinois. Hillary is no stranger to the
Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner. Hillary and Bill
Clinton attended the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in
the fall of 1991, even though they knew Iowa Sen.
Tom Harkin was the favorite son.
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