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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
* NOTABLE
QUOTABLES:
"Nothing brings out the Christian conservative
base more than having some good 'red-meat' moral
issues on the docket,"
said Republican
strategist Charles Manning.
"Our goal is for the largest grass-roots effort
ever," said Bush
campaign manager Ken Mehlman.
"Where you come from and where I come from are
absolutely irrelevant; it's where we're going
together that counts,"
said John Kerry.
* TODAY’S
OFFERINGS:
*Kerry’s not cutting it *Blowing in the wind
*Star firepower *Clark’s service record
*Kerry’s hired gun *Lieberman: Victory essential
*Clark says U.S. losing war
*Can’t find me love *Gay marriage
*Test run *Caucus integrity
*Convention excitement? *Full scale assault
McCain: Congress spending like drunken sailors
* CANDIDATES &
CAUCUSES: A
NY Times article goes in depth on Sen. John
Kerry. The question that keeps coming back in all
of these articles on Kerry is, why isn’t the
patrician Kerry doing better? Maybe the answer is
just that simple -- it is that he considers
himself a patrician:
Mr. Kerry wants it to be simple. "Gary Hart
endorsed me the other day by saying, `I subscribe
to the quaint notion that when somebody runs for
the president of the United States, they ought to
be qualified for the job,' " he told an audience
in New Hampshire last month. It was a bit of
nominal understatement he often uses — one that
does nothing to mask a patrician undertone of
disdain for both President Bush and his Democratic
rivals. His present wife says that he is
not aloof:
Ms. Heinz Kerry said of her husband: "He's not
aloof. He's just so goddamned, excuse me, busy.
He's so busy that he's off here, he's off there,
doing something. That might seem to some people
aloof. As I've said, that's something that I had
to get used to as well and try to say, `Hey! Hey!
Hey! I'm here.' But it's not aloof. It's busy." The article ends with a review
that Kerry has been in tough spots before and come
through:
On Feb. 28, 1969, while Mr. Kerry was on patrol in
Vietnam, his boat came under hostile fire. With
his crew's support, he ordered the boat straight
toward the shore, transforming it from a wide
horizontal target into a skinny vertical battering
ram that hit the beach, where a solitary Vietcong
held a B-40 rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Mr.
Kerry chased and killed him. Sen. John Edwards was blown
about in Derry, New Hampshire’s traditional
Holiday parade. Edwards joined Frosty the Snowman,
Santa and Mrs. Claus in the city’s holiday
festivities. The state was buffeted by high winds
yesterday that apparently made it difficult for
the bareheaded Edwards to keep his hair coifed. Edwards’ message of the day was
not about shopping or the economy but rather about
a patient bill of rights. The Patients’ Bill of
Rights is important because it gives more power to
doctors, families and patients, according to
Edwards. In a separate story by the
Manchester Union Leader, it is reported that State
Senator Lou D'Allesandro has endorsed Edwards. The
story reports how D'Allesandro is one of just six
Democrat State Senators and was courted by
everyone. The Telegraph News UK is posted
on Drudge Report relating how Wesley Clark is
wooing Hollywood for his campaign. The News
reports that Clark is winning amongst the notable
stars of political interest:
In an unlikely attempt to gain star backing for a
slow-burning campaign, the Democratic presidential
candidate, General Wesley Clark, is spending late
nights talking politics with Madonna and wooing
sympathetic super-groups such as The Eagles, with
whom he recently shared the stage during a
rendition of Hotel California. He sells well, according to the
story:
A lunch with Mr. Spielberg has also taken place.
According to Mr. Spielberg's spokesman, Andrew
Spahn: "Gen Clark was a very bright articulate
guy. We talked about Iraq, North Korea, foreign
policy and tax cuts."
Mr. Dean may be winning the early battles in Iowa
and New Hampshire, but Gen Clark has taken the
lead in Hollywood's unofficial "primary". In a
Democratic race constantly criticized as
lacklustre, an injection of star quality on the
side of the General may yet prove a tactical
masterstroke. Wesley Clark in a Boston Globe
story is gaining veterans over his rival contender
for the group -- Sen. John Kerry. Both of these
candidates’ military service provides them with
the legitimate means to appeal to these voters.
The other aspect that seems to be in their favor
is that some veterans do not believe the Bush
administration is doing all it should for veterans
and those currently active in the military. Recently, when MSNBC's Chris
Matthews asked Kerry if Clark was a "headquarters
guy and you're a field guy," Kerry agreed. "He has
generally been. No, he was in the field at one
point, but very little in his career." Clark, recently campaigning in
New Hampshire at a Veterans Hall, answered the
accusation of not being a field soldier. Clark’s
response according to the Globe was:
Clark's campaign shot back with a news release
titled, "Clark Communications Director to Kerry:
`Huh?' " and touting Clark's seven months in
Vietnam and his rise to the military's highest
ranks. Clark, talking to reporters in Manchester
on Wednesday, made the case for his own
experience: "I think my record speaks for itself.
I stayed with the US armed forces after I came
home in a stretcher, after a lot of people left." A Boston Globe article profiles
political consultant Michael J. Whouley’s joining
Sen. John Kerry’s campaign. Whouley is part of a
last-minute Massachusetts contingent joining the
campaign. He has played in the top tiers of
presidential campaigns before:
Whouley is widely respected in Democratic circles
for his organizing prowess, running aggressive
field operations to canvass voters, identify
caucus-goers, and rally supporters with direct
mail and phone banks. He is valued also because he
eschews the spotlight; he declined to be
interviewed for this profile.
With his gravelly voice and no-nonsense demeanor,
Whouley is also known for cutting through the red
tape that can strangle a campaign. Last week,
Kerry aides in Iowa were buzzing after a call from
Whouley won instant approval of the state
campaign's direct-mail budget, which had been tied
up at headquarters.
"We're happy to have Michael helping us," said
Jerry Crawford, Kerry's Iowa campaign chairman.
"He certainly knows Iowa and is very well
respected out here." Sen. Joe Lieberman on Fox News
Sunday stated that victory in Iraq is essential
for the war on terrorism:
We are fighting not just to make sure that the
victory that our military won over Saddam Hussein
results in a stable, modernizing Iraq, but that we
defeat the terrorists who have now joined with
Saddam Hussein's loyalists there in Iraq to fight
us, and, of course, they're killing Americans and
Spaniards and Italians and Japanese and the United
Nations and everybody else at an alarming rate.
This has now become a great battle, not only to
secure the victory out military won in Iraq, but
to win a victory over the terrorists, because if
we don't, they will be emboldened, and we will pay
for it in the future.
We will win it. We must do everything necessary to
support our troops, to rebuild Iraq. We will win
it. Lieberman stated that we are in
a global religious war:
Islam against — fanatical Islam against
Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, every other
"ism," every other religion, including every part
of Islam that doesn't agree with these fanatics.
And we cannot let that happen, and it's within our
power to stop it… It is clear — and this is not
imagining anything; you've just got to read and
listen to what Usama bin Laden and the rest of
these extremists and terrorists are saying — that
that is what they desire. Lieberman thought the Bush
Thanksgiving Trip to Iraq was the right thing to
do:
I do. I thought it was exactly the right thing to
do, the right place for the commander in chief to
be. First, obviously, to thank the men and women
who are there for us and separated from their
families. And secondly, I thought the president
said two important things in his remarks that
hopefully were heard by the Iraqi people and by
the insurgents, the enemies who are fighting us.
One, he said Saddam Hussein and his regime are
gone forever. And, two, we are going to stay here
until this country is stabilized. And now we've
got to back that up with plans and policies that
make that real. We have to have a success
strategy, a victory strategy for Iraq… But I
thought it was a good trip and the right thing to
do. Wesley Clark told CNN's "Late
Edition” that not only is the U.S. losing the war
on terror but that Democrats would lose the 2004
presidential election if they didn’t nominate him:
"I think the country has to understand: we're not
winning the war on terror. We are not winning the
war on terror," Clark said. "This administration
took us into Iraq. It's a world-class bait and
switch."
“The day has passed when the Democratic Party can
run as a domestic policy issues-only party. You
have to be able to handle foreign policy and
international security in an election," said
Clark.
"I'm the only one who's got hands-on practical
experience in doing it."
"This is going to be ... a referendum on the war
on terror," he told CNN's "Late Edition." Rep. Dennis Kucinich told ABC's
"This Week" that he hasn’t found love on the
campaign trail: It seems the Democratic
presidential candidate has been standing up the
many requests for a date -- his campaign for the
White House hasn't left much time for matchmaking. A Washington Times article
covers the possible effects of gay marriage on the
election. According to a poll this month by Fox
News Channel and Opinion Dynamics, homosexual
"marriage" is opposed by 66 percent of Americans
and supported by 25 percent. Respondents also
opposed civil unions by a margin of 48 percent to
41 percent. The story characterizes the
Republicans as having a position and the Democrats
as trying to ignore it:
"This is a huge wedge issue," said Democratic
consultant Michael Goldman of Massachusetts.
"It's a major, fundamental difference" between the
way Mr. Bush sees the world and the way the
Democratic candidates see the world,” he said.
"You've got one guy who looks like he's got a
strong position and who's willing to stand up and
say it," he added. "And then you've got the
Democrats, who look like they're looking for an
out, because they don't want to insult their
constituency." Political independent
expenditures are spending $4 million in TV ads a
year before the general election according to an
Associated Press story: "It's
audition time," said Evan Tracey, head of
Arlington, Va.-based Campaign Media Analysis
Group, a nonpartisan company that tracks political
ads. "The left-wing issue groups are trying to
soften the president and they're showcasing
themselves to show that they're not afraid to go
after Bush." Part of the reason the public is
being exposed to early ads is because the new
McCain Fiengold Campaign Finance Law prevents
interest groups from using soft money. Soft money
usually comes from huge, unlimited donations from
corporations, unions and individuals. This money
is used to pay for ads that mention federal
candidates in their districts and with the new
restraints are required to stop airing one month
before a primary and two months before the general
election. Many of the groups are Bush
bashing organizations. The AFL-CIO has spent $1.5
million on TV ads Bush administrations overtime
pay changes. MoveOn.org, a liberal online group
that has spent about $1.2 million on television
ads saying that job losses are the worst since
Herbert Hoover. However, interest groups
including support for steel tariffs, orange and
sugar tariffs, environmental groups, securing
weapons of mass destruction and confirmations of
judges are just a few of the issue groups who
recognize the importance of pushing their message
during elections when candidates, voters and the
media are paying attention. Some of the early ad buys are
just large enough that it only allows for testing
of the ad’s effectiveness. The AP reports about
some of these groups: The
Sierra Club, for example, has spent at least
$350,000 on ads in New Hampshire, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada and
Nebraska, highlighting what the group says are
flaws in the president's environmental record.
More spots are planned for next year. And: Some
groups are reaching out to important
constituencies. The
Center for Community Change, an advocacy group for
the poor, spent about $25,000 for a
Spanish-language television ad in Miami and Texas
this summer and an English-language one in
Washington, D.C., accusing Bush of excluding poor
Hispanic families from an expanded child tax
credit. Des Moines Register columnist
David Yepsen writes about a Howard Dean zealot who
was looking for a way to fix the Iowa Caucuses by
bringing in out of state residents:
Asked about Fineman's story, Dean's campaign said
an overzealous volunteer made the inquiry and the
campaign has no plans to try to stack the caucuses
with out-of-staters. They are trying to get
thousands of volunteers to come to Iowa to help
with voter turnout, a spokeswoman said, but
they'll be told they can't participate in the
events. Iowa politics and the caucuses
in particular have always been a clean honest
affair. The Iowa Democrat Party is going to have
lawyers standing by the night of the caucuses to
handle any shenanigans. Also the caucuses are
close to a family affair and outsiders tend to
stand out in nearly all precincts. The Democrat
Party took the phone call seriously and is
doubling up efforts to prevent fraud. The
LA Times carries comments from political
scholar Kevin Phillips about the possibility of
next year’s two conventions:
Democrats may have the first multi-ballot
convention since 1952, which could be a disaster
or an unexpected opportunity. Republicans, who set
their convention in New York City so President
Bush could return to the scene of his apparent
post-9/11 political triumph, might find Manhattan
circa 2004 a much less friendly international
stage. There may be more FBI agents and uniformed
military people in town than visiting politicians. Phillips indicates that 30
percent or below is the trigger aspect for a
possible brokered convention:
However, should Dean or someone else lead with a
delegate count below or around 30% through March,
that probably wouldn't be enough to command the
nomination. To win, the early leader would have to
politick heavily enough and persuasively enough in
the spring to gather 38% to 40% of the delegates
by May or June.
* ON THE BUSH
BEAT: A
Washington Post article covers some of the
Bush campaign’s plans for the election. It is
clear Bush is ready to launch a full scale ground
and air war against his opponent -- whoever they
are:
Bush's campaign has an e-mail list totaling 6
million people, 10 times the number that
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has,
and the Bush operation is in the middle of an
unprecedented drive to register 3 million new
Republican voters. The campaign has set county
vote targets in some states and has begun training
thousands of volunteers who will recruit an army
of door-to-door canvassers for the final days of
the election next November. The surprising aspect of the
Bush – Cheney campaign is its reliance on old
fashioned campaign techniques at the grass root
level:
"We live at a time of the greatest proliferation
of communications technology in history, and in an
ironic way, that technology has taken us back to
the politics of an earlier time," said Ralph Reed,
former Georgia GOP chairman and now a regional
official in Bush's reelection campaign. This effort is daunting and is
best described by one supporter: "This party has
no infrastructure," one Bush adviser said. "We
have to build it from the ground up." Registering new GOP voters is
the best way to gain votes. Republicans are
registering voters at NASCAR events and
naturalization ceremonies, on college campuses and
in targeted precincts. Voter registration is most
intense in battleground states like Iowa and
Oregon. Bush lost Oregon by 7,000 votes in 2000.
The national committee's goal is to register
45,000 GOP voters by next year.
* NATIONAL: Sen. John McCain on the "Fox
News Sunday" program characterized his fellow
congressmen as "spending money like drunken
sailors." McCain said President Bush was also to
blame for pushing the nation toward higher
interest rates and inflation. "Congress is now spending money
like a drunken sailor. And I've never known a
sailor drunk or sober with the imagination that
this Congress has," said McCain.
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