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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: "Time after time, when
faced with budget shortfalls, Howard Dean's first
and only instinct was to cut,"
Dick Gephardt
said. "This is the measure of the man who
would be president. I believe in a very different
approach from Howard Dean." "My response is this is a
guy [Dick
Gephardt] with no executive experience and
who has never made a tough decision,"
Howard Dean
said. "Dick is great at
criticizing, but what has he accomplished?"
Howard Dean
asked. "This is more Washington claptrap."
"It's
[the Republican
ad] portraying the president's leadership
that he's displayed since Sept. 11, which I
support," John
McCain said. "I think it's a very
legitimate statement to be made in the coming
presidential election." NAFTA was good for the
continent when President Clinton and Republicans
in Congress teamed up to ratify it, and it will
remain good for the continent long into the
future. -- from
the Des Moines Register editorial. "What inspires me is the
way he [Howard
Dean] speaks so bluntly, and that's because
he's broken the chain of the contributor class.
He's free," said
Rep. Major Owens, a black Democrat from Brooklyn. "The problems that you
have as Native Americans are the same problems
everyone else has,"
said Howard
Dean. London's Daily Telegraph,
the voice of the remaining virile elements of the
British establishment, "represented the boldest
challenge to the conventional wisdom of the
British and European elites since Woodrow Wilson
preached the rights of self-determination of
smaller nations after the First World War."
-- from Wesley Pruden column in the Washington
Times referring to Bush’s speech to the Brits. "The Anglo-Saxons," to
use Jacques Chirac's intended insult, always
summon the courage to confront evil. Old Europe
seeks accommodation at any price. --
writes columnist
Wesley Pruden.
* TODAY’S
OFFERINGS: *Things are getting ugly
*Lieberman cries foul
* CANDIDATES &
CAUCUSES: The exchange back from Howard
Dean towards Dick Gephardt’s latest charge that
when Howard Dean was Governor of Vermont he cut
social services, has become personal. Dean stated
that he thought it was because he was in the lead
that Team Gephardt wase taking shots at him.
However, he blasted Gephardt in very personal
terms:
"My response is: this is a guy with no executive
experience and who has never made a tough
decision," Dean said.
“Dean said Gephardt, D-Mo., former Democratic
leader in the House, has been talking about
expanding health coverage for nearly 20 years, but
nothing has happened.”
"Dick is great at criticizing, but what has he
accomplished?" Dean asked. "This is more
Washington claptrap." Sen. Joe Lieberman has decided
that he wants to participate in the Iowa Debate
visa-vis satellite. Because Senators John Kerry
and possibly John Edwards are going to have to
miss the Iowa Debate carried by MSNBC due to
senatorial duties in the US Senate, a satellite
communications option has been set up so they can
participate. Lieberman, who had originally turned
down his invitation to be part of the Debate, then
changed his mind and sought to join in by
satellite, too. Apparently that didn’t cut it with
the Debate powers that be -- as of now, he will
not be able to participate. “We think this is unfair," said
Jano Cabrera spokeswoman for the campaign. The
reason they think it is unfair is because Wesley
Clark was able to participate after saying he
would not be able to attend the New Hampshire
event. Joe Lieberman issued the
following statement on the Medicare bill, on which
the Senate is expected to vote on Monday:
"I will be voting against the Medicare bill, and
will join Senator Kennedy's filibuster against it.
As much as I want to give seniors a prescription
drug benefit, they shouldn't have to swallow the
many harmful poison pills that Republicans loaded
into this bill just to get there.
"We had a historic opportunity to do the right
thing for America's seniors. But instead,
President Bush and the Republicans junked this
bill up with unnecessary and indefensible
provisions that would pay off special interests,
rip off taxpayers, hurt low-income seniors and
undermine Medicare itself by opening the door to
privatization.
"First, it would make low-income seniors pay more
for the drugs they are currently getting under
Medicaid -- while giving huge financial windfalls
to HMOs and pharmaceutical companies.
"Second, it would waste billions of dollars by
expressly prohibiting the federal government from
negotiating the best price possible for
prescription drugs and severely limiting the
re-importation of cheaper medicines.
"Third, it includes up to $16 billion in cuts for
cancer care. It would unconscionably deny many
cancer, AIDS, and transplant patients access to
the variety of drugs they need to survive.
"And fourth, it would, without any logic, commit
us to an overpriced version of privatized Medicare
that would actually drive up costs for taxpayers,
not lower them -- and jeopardize the stability of
the program in the process.
“Worst of all, it does all these things for no
good reason. None of these measures are necessary
to give seniors the drug coverage they need. They
are nothing more than a bad marriage of pork and
partisanship."
"I have canceled my scheduled campaign events in
New Hampshire Monday in order to be in Washington
to fight this measure." AFSME national president Gerald
W. McEntee and Howard Dean attended church Sunday
in Harlem, New York. Dean was in New York to
appeal to the core Democrat constituencies. He
claimed that he was going to the Democrat Party’s
core voters first, not last. He struck the notes
of concern of these constituencies when he
appealed for jobs, health care and opposition to
the war. Dean sounded a rebuttal to the early
complaints about the campaign lack of diversity as
well, according to a story in the Manchester Union
Leader:
"People use to say our campaign wasn't very
diverse. Well, I see a lot of diversity," Dean
said, raising his arms to a raucous hall filled
with union members, a majority of them black and
Latino. "Instead of coming to black and Latinos
last, we're starting here ... and that's because
we're not afraid to be Democrats!" Howard Dean is putting up a new
ad to respond to the Republican terrorism ad.
Dean’s campaign manager Joe Trippi made an appeal
for funds to respond to the ad and the campaign
reports 5,000 contributions as a result. Here is
the text of the ad:
Narrator: He [Bush] misled the nation about
weapons of mass destruction.
And we went to war when we shouldn’t have.
Howard Dean is committed to fighting terrorism and
protecting our national security.
But Howard Dean opposed the war in Iraq from the
beginning.
He believes it’s time we had a foreign policy
consistent with American values.
And it’s time to restore the dignity and respect
our country deserves around the world.
Dean: I’m Howard Dean and I approve this message
because our party and our country needs new
leadership. Howard Dean responded to a NY
Times article that said the FBI was gathering
information on war protesters:
"I am deeply concerned that the FBI appears to be
engaged in a coordinated, nationwide effort to
gather information on Americans opposed to
President Bush’s unilateral war in Iraq.
"I am committed to providing local law enforcement
with the tools to ensure demonstrations remain
safe and peaceful for all involved, but we cannot
allow a return to the dark days of Hoover's FBI
and COINTELPRO, when the government harassed,
smeared, and even spied upon people who criticized
U.S. policies.
"John Ashcroft must remember that questioning the
government does not make you a terrorist. In fact,
the right to assemble peacefully and the right to
petition our government are some of our most
deeply held patriotic traditions," Dean concluded. A Washington Post story tells
about the new wacky idea the Clark campaign has
dreamed up. The new campaign idea is a cross
between the Campbell soup guy ads and reality TV.
How this wins delegates to the National Convention
it is hard to tell. Here is an excerpt from the
story:
The Clark campaign is starting to look a bit like
a reality show.
The campaign has kicked off a contest in which two
teams of supporters and staffers race across the
country in recreational vehicles. One team, the
Northern team, left Washington's Union Station on
Friday, heading for New Hampshire. The Southern
team, meanwhile, left the campaign's Little Rock
headquarters for South Carolina.
Along the way, the teams will perform a series of
tasks, including handing out 2,004 Clark candy
bars in each of the 12 states they'll visit.
Staffers also will file reports and video clips
from the road for the campaign's Web site -- where
online viewers will get to vote on which team they
like better. The
USA Today has a story about how Kerry is
clawing his way back. The strategy of focusing on
Iowa and New Hampshire is highlighted:
Focus on Iowa and New Hampshire. More than
65 paid staffers are now working in New Hampshire;
the Iowa staff has almost doubled to more than 80.
TV ads are on the air in both states, and Kerry's
decision not to accept federal matching funds
means he won't have to follow rules that limit
spending.
The strategy of showing strength in later contests
has been sidelined. If he can't win in New
Hampshire, his standing in later states isn't
likely to matter.
"I intend to win in New Hampshire," Kerry says. He
acknowledges that, more than any tactical
calculation, his campaign will revive only if he
can articulate a more combative, compelling
message to voters. Sen. John Kerry is responding to
the Republican terrorist ad. Here is his press
release on the subject:
John Kerry will hit the airwaves on Monday in Iowa
with a new television ad to fight back against a
recent spot released by the Republican Party
regarding George W. Bush’s handling of the war on
terrorism.
Kerry spokesperson Stephanie Cutter said, “John
Kerry believes that George Bush’s failed and
flawed go-it-alone policies have made our country
less safe and more vulnerable to terrorism. As
President, John will restore America’s leadership,
rebuild our broken alliances, and get back to the
war that counts—the war on terrorism. If George
Bush wants to make this election about national
security, John Kerry is ready to take him on.”
Today marks the fifth round of ads from John
Kerry’s campaign in Iowa. The ad will be aired in
every Iowa media market. It shows President Bush
on the aircraft carrier with the “mission
accomplished” banner in the background as well as
a photo of the Halliburton headquarters. Text of Ad: Announcer:
George Bush’s ad says he's being attacked for
attacking the terrorists. No Mr. President,
America’s united against terror. The problem is
you declared “mission accomplished” but you had no
plan to win the peace, and handed out billions in
contracts to contributors like Halliburton. John Kerry: I’m
John Kerry and I approved this message because we
can't go it alone in Iraq. We have to share the
burden with other countries. We shouldn't be
cutting education and closing firehouses in
America while we're opening them in Iraq. The
Washington Times’ Inside the Beltway
reports that the National Association of
Manufacturers welcomed Sen. John Kerry’s support
of the small and medium manufacturers. However,
they were wondering about his lack of past
support:
…[T]he National Association of Manufacturers'
(NAM) chief advocate for small- and medium-sized
manufacturers says he's "heartened to see that
another presidential candidate appears to
understand just how important small manufacturers
are to our U.S. economy."
"This appears to be a turning point for Senator
Kerry, who compiled but a 7 percent NAM Key Vote
rating during the 107th Congress while
Massachusetts was on its way to losing more than
80,000 factory jobs since July 2000," NAM Senior
Vice President Patrick Cleary says.
"The senator's new proposals are welcomed, but
until he and his political allies are willing to
take real action against self-imposed domestic
costs, American manufacturers will be hamstrung in
the face of unprecedented global competition." The
Boston Globe story details how two Southwest
states of Arizona and New Mexico are coming to
play in a big battleground for the Feb. 3 round of
primaries. The reason being the other Feb. 3
states are reasonably locked up by earlier work by
candidates who have targeted them. Those states
are: S. Carolina - John Edwards; Missouri-Dick
Gephardt; Oklahoma-Joe Lieberman and Edwards. The
Southwest wins are also important for indicating
their regional importance, as the Globe indicates:
Winning the Southwest, some political analysts
say, would be a dramatic show of strength. With
their urban centers and sizable Latino
populations, Arizona and New Mexico are possible
bellwethers of the monster electoral prizes of
California and Texas, which vote a month later. The
Des Moines Register key political story is
about how there are a lot of undecided caucus
attendees. The undecided that are interviewed in
the story are not favorable to Howard Dean either
because they do not see him as able to win or
govern. The reason for so many undecided is the
lack of gravitas of the field, according to
University of Iowa political scientist Peverill
Squire:
"This year, as in 1988, there is no real
heavyweight candidate," Squire said. "And, as in
1988, no candidate has really emerged from the
pack to take control of the race. Big fields with
relatively little-known candidates produce the
sorts of races we are witnessing this year." The Des Moines register
Editorial page takes to task the Democrat
Presidential candidates and unions who use the
acronym NAFTA as a pejorative. They also reference
the issue of improved relations with Mexico as a
key reason to support NAFTA:
It cemented Mexico's transition from a
semi-socialist, one-party, Yankee-baiting country
into an emerging democracy that embraces market
capitalism and sees its future inextricably linked
in harmony with the United States.
Which Mexico is it better for the United States to
have on its border?
* ON THE BUSH
BEAT: The
Time’s cover story about President Bush
demonstrates the nation’s growing division:
For years pollsters said America was a 40-40-20
country—that is, 40% Republican, 40% Democrat and
20% independent. Now, they say, it's a 45-45-10
nation—with even fewer than that 10% truly up for
grabs. The
article explains that for many the question of
whether you like or hate Bush is about how you
perceive him personally:
But for many, it's not so much Bush's policies or
programs that make them adore or despise him, but
the very way he carries himself—their sense of
George Bush as a man. To some, the way that Bush
walks and talks and smiles is the body language of
courage and self-assurance, and of someone who
shares their values. But to others, it is the
swagger and smirk that signals the certainty of
the stubbornly simpleminded. "I like Bush's
manner," says Kathie Tenner, a retired teacher in
Des Moines, Iowa. "To me, he's very quiet and
sincere, just kind of down home, not really trying
to put on a lot of airs." "He comes across as an
idiot," says Chicago attorney Sue Zalewski. "I
know that, technically, he's not an idiot. But the
way he says things can really use some work. He
can be so uncouth."
* NATIONAL: There is growing support in the
Senate for the Medicare legislation that would
bring a drug benefit to seniors for the first
time. Democratic supporters for the bill grew to
nine, when Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California
and Ron Wyden of Oregon announced their intentions
to vote for it. Nonetheless, Democrats plan to use
parliamentary procedures to block the bill. Sen.
Edward Kennedy also promises a filibuster of the
bill. Kennedy has argued that Social
Security is in danger. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa,
quickly disputed that, adding that opponents were
playing politics and would regret it. He accused
Democrats of blocking a prescription drug bill two
years ago, saying they had "wanted an issue" to
take into the 2002 election. "They got a defeat at
the polls" instead, he said. The
Washington Times story tells a gloomy story
for liberal Democrats in the US Senate. The bane
of their existence is the Senate Democrats’ former
strength, the South:
Election analysts now believe that the Republicans
will not only significantly expand their 51-48
Senate majority by two or three seats, and
possibly more, but will strengthen the Republican
Party's growing political dominance in the
Southern and border states for the remainder of
this decade.
The 100th seat is held by a Democrat-leaning
independent.
The senatorial lineup in the 13 Southern and
border states currently stands at 19 Republicans
and seven Democrats. Republican strategists say
they will be able to sharply increase their
numbers in the region for two reasons: the open
seats are in politically conservative states that
President Bush won in 2000, in most cases by wide
margins, and because it is a region where he
receives his highest voter-approval scores.
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