THE DAILY REPORT for Thursday, October 16, 2003

... QUOTABLE:

• “Our campaign is going to be the surprise of the 2004 season. We're prepared to surge right on time.” – Dem candidate Dennis Kucinich, in Des Moines yesterday.

• "The truth is, there is a distinct difference between me and everybody else on this stage. I believe what we need in this country is someone who is going to put aside what's gone on in Washington the past 15 or 20 years and get something done." – Howard Dean, during AARP forum in Des Moines.

• “Some of the candidates are saying that they are the outsider, that nothing good has ever happened in Washington on health care or the other issues that are in front of us. I'm proud of the fight for Medicare and Social Security.” – Dick Gephardt, during AARP forum in Des Moines.

• “Ultimate panderer: Dean. The former Vermont governor once referred to "us rural people" during his remarks. Right. (Born to a wealthy family in small-town New York City, Dean attended that one-room prep school, St. Georges in Rhode Island, before donning his manure-caked boots and heading to that great land-grant college, Yale.)” – DSM Register columnist, David Yepsen, scrutinizing the AARP forum.

• “Spending more than they raised, while preaching fiscal responsibility, seems a poor way to campaign.” – IPW comment on over-spender candidates John Kerry, John Edwards and Dick Gephardt.

… Among the offerings in today’s update:

• Dean bests Bubba’s fund-raising record

• Kucinich ends 11-state tour in Des Moines

• MoveOn.org launches assault on $87B Iraq money

• Six Dem wannabes woo Iowa seniors

• DSM Register columnist Yepsen sifts through the squabbling at the AARP forum

• Running in the red – Kerry, Gephardt & Edwards

• Congress and Medicare

• Leaving the campaign trail to vote

• Bush: ‘No more leaks’

• U.N. Security Council: unanimous ‘yes’ to Iraq reconstruction resolution

* CANDIDATES/CAUCUSES:

… The U.S. Senate may be ready to vote as early as today on the $87 billion request by the Bush Administration for the reconstruction of Iraq. Campaigning senators will be abandoning ‘Wannabe Trail’ and heading back to Washington, D.C. to cast their vote. Notable, is yesterday’s report concerning the yea or nay inclinations of the 2004 presidential contenders: John Kerry is his usual ‘no, yes, …uh, I mean… no,..well…’ And John Edwards seems closer to a semi-firm no vote. Joe Lieberman will cast a yes vote on the proposed amount.

… Presidential candidate Howard Dean has broken Bill Clinton’s fund-raising record, set back in 1995. According to an article by Jane Norman in today’s Des Moines Register, Dean has raised $14.8 million in the last quarter. That compares to the $10.3 million raised by Clinton in ’95. Excerpts from the article: “Other Democrats didn't come close but also touted their fund-raising success as the deadline for filing campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission loomed at midnight Wednesday. … …[Dean’s campaign manager] Trippi said the average donation during the period was $73.69, and during the period 79 percent of the donors were new to the campaign. … Trippi said Dean took in $93,000 from Iowans during the quarter. The Bush campaign reported contributions of $312,130 from Iowans from June 1 through Sept. 30. In New Hampshire, Trippi said Dean received contributions of $243,000.

… Website MoveOn.org has launched an intense drive against the U.S. Senate approving the $87 billion for Iraq reconstruction, according to the TalonNews. Headline, “MoveOn Embarks on Aggressive Campaign Against Iraqi War Funding,” excerpts: “Anti-war liberal political activist group MoveOn.org is aggressively campaigning against the $87 billion supplemental package requested by President George W. Bush for the war in Iraq. MoveOn.org, which has long been an opponent of Bush and the war in Iraq, sent an e-mail to supporters asking them to contact their federal lawmakers and encourage them to vote against the additional funding for the Iraqi war. "Members of Congress need to know that if they take a leap of faith here and do the right thing, we'll be behind them," the e-mail states. "With the vote scheduled for [Thursday] in the House and Friday in the Senate, it's critical that they hear from us today." The left-wing political action committee, which acts as a voice for the Democrat Party, believes they are single-handedly responsible for changing the minds of many members of Congress on their vote. "Just a week ago, it appeared that President Bush would get $87 billion for the Iraq war and occupation in a landslide vote," the e-mail said. "But thanks to hundreds of thousands of emails, tens of thousands of calls, and constituent visits by thousands of Americans, more and more members of the House and Senate are declaring that they will vote no." … "Over the next 48 hours, we're working with Working Assets and True Majority to deliver a flood of phone calls and emails to Congress telling them to take a stand," the e-mail continued. "Let them know that you expect them to vote against Bush's additional $87 billion request for Iraq." The e-mail provides the names and telephone numbers of the supporter's two Senators as well as their representative in the U.S. House. The goal of MoveOn.org is for their supporters to make 100,000 contacts to members of Congress by Friday afternoon. … In addition to the telephone calls and e-mails from MoveOn.org supporters, the group recently released a television and newspaper advertising blitz to get out their message about Bush and the war in Iraq. The television ad is called "Misleader" and is extremely critical of Bush's request for $87 billion to continue the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. It begins airing Thursday in New York, Washington. and on cable.

… Dennis  Kucinich’s 11-state whirlwind tour made it’s last stop in Des Moines, Iowa, yesterday. Kucinich has used the tour to formally announce his candidacy for president. According to the Des Moines Register today, Kucinich appeared at the Willkie House (a Des Moines community center). Excerpts: “The final stop on Dennis Kucinich's three-day tour to officially announce his candidacy for president drew an eclectic mix of supporters, ranging from an actress to a Muslim imam recently elected to the Des Moines school board. Actress Mimi Kennedy, from the television show "Dharma & Greg," was there. So was Ako Abdul-Samad, the former Black Panther who founded the Creative Visions community center. The crowd of about 200 did not appear discouraged that Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, has placed dead last among nine Democratic presidential candidates in five recent national polls. Neither did the candidate himself. "Our campaign's not going to go away," Kucinich said "It's in for the long haul. Our campaign is going to be the surprise of the 2004 season. We're prepared to surge right on time. It's not necessary to be up in the polls right at this moment."

… Taxes and Medicare dominated the AARP forum yesterday in Des Moines, as six of the nine Democratic party candidates sought to differentiate one from the other on the issues. Candidates attending were: John Kerry, Dick Gephardt, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun. Today’s Thomas Beaumont article, Des Moines Register, gives the details. Headlined, “Candidates at D.M. forum disagree on Bush tax cuts – Three Democratic presidential candidates renew Medicare dispute.” Excerpts: “… Democratic presidential candidates disagreed sharply during an issue forum in Des Moines Wednesday over whether repealing all of President Bush's tax cuts would hurt middle-class Americans or help them by providing money for expanded health care. The forum, hosted by AARP and attended by more than 700 people, was the first event in the nominating campaign to focus specifically on senior-citizen issues”  Here are some quotes from the article:

·        Dean: "The truth is, there is a distinct difference between me and everybody else on this stage. I believe what we need in this country is someone who is going to put aside what's gone on in Washington the past 15 or 20 years and get something done."

·        Gephardt: "Some of the candidates are saying that they are the outsider, that nothing good has ever happened in Washington on health care or the other issues that are in front of us. I'm proud of the fight for Medicare and Social Security. I will never back up on those programs."

·        Edwards: "To get this economy moving again, I can't tell you how strongly I disagree with Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt, who want to raise taxes on the middle class. I think that's an enormous mistake." 

·        Gephardt: "Why would we want to keep a tax cut that's failed? Why would we not want to go back to the Clinton tax code? And why would we not want to help every family more with a health-care plan like mine? Let's help average people in this country. Let's be Democrats."

·        Dean: "I'm tired of waiting for Congress. That's why I'm running for president. I got tired of waiting."

·        Kerry: "He's [Dean] not the only person who's delivered health care. The fact is, in 1995, when we were trying to hold on to Medicare, Gov. Dean was supporting Newt Gingrich."

·        Gephardt: "It was, in my view, wrong to agree with a Republican suggestion in 1995 for a $270 billion cut in Medicare to make the budget come out. We cannot cut Social Security and Medicare to get the budget straightened out."

·        Dean: "I'm not going to have a debate with Dick Gephardt about who said what eight years ago. The question is: Who is going to do what now?"

 … DSM Register columnist David Yepsen sifts through the squabbling at yesterday’s AARP forum in Des Moines. The bevy of six candidates (Dean, Kerry, Edwards, Kucinich, Gephardt, M-Braun) attended a 2-hour forum on senior issues, sponsored by AARP. The Yepsen column, headlined, “Pandering to old folks is center stage at forum,”…AARP's own poll of caucus-goers finds the single most important issue to a 50-plus caucus-goer is strengthening the economy and creating jobs. Which is why the candidates should have spent even more time detailing how they'd pay for their promises. Panders have price tags, and in the federal government those are too often charged to our kids …Two other observations from Wednesday's event:

·        Winners: Gephardt and Kerry. The two were forceful, informed and presidential- looking.

·        Ultimate panderer: Dean. The former Vermont governor once referred to "us rural people" during his remarks. Right. (Born to a wealthy family in small-town New York City, Dean attended that one-room prep school, St. Georges in Rhode Island, before donning his manure-caked boots and heading to that great land-grant college, Yale.)

… By golly, here’s a big surprise – some of the Dem candidates have (gasp) OVERSPENT their campaign funds. Which three? According to Thomas Edsalls’ article in today’s Washington Post, it’s (1) John Kerry (2) John Edwards (3) Dick Gephardt. And Senator Joe Lieberman just barely escaped going into deficit spending. Spending more than they raised, while preaching fiscal responsibility seems a poor way to campaign. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post article: “Three prominent contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination - Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.) and Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) - spent more than they raised during the last quarter, depleting crucial resources as the Jan. 19 Iowa caucus and the Jan. 27 New Hampshire primary fast approach. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) barely stayed out of the red for the quarter, raising $3.63 million and spending $3.59 million. The third-quarter struggles of the four candidates, all members of Congress, sharply contrasted with the performance of former Vermont governor Howard Dean and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who are campaigning for their party's nomination as outsiders. Both raised substantially more than they spent in the three-month period ending Sept. 30.”

* ON THE BUSH BEAT:

… According to an article in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, President Bush put a firm grip on his top official, telling them to “stop the leaks” to the media – or else! Excerpts from the article: “Concerned about the appearance of disarray and feuding within his administration as well as growing resistance to his policies in Iraq, President Bush - living up to his recent declaration that he is in charge - told his top officials to "stop the leaks" to the media, or else. News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately. Bush told his senior aides Tuesday that he "didn't want to see any stories" quoting unnamed administration officials in the media anymore, and that if he did, there would be consequences, said a senior administration official who asked that his name not be used. … Bush's attempt to assert himself extends beyond the executive branch. Late Tuesday, in a brief, brusque arm-twisting session with nine senators, the President made it clear that he was not there to answer questions or debate the merits of his $87 billion Iraq and Afghanistan aid package. He demanded that the aid to Iraq be in the form of grants, not loans, as some of the senators have urged. Present at the session in the Roosevelt Room of the White House were Republicans Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania; Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine; Saxby Chambliss of Georgia; Sam Brownback of Kansas; Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; and John McCain of Arizona. Democrats Maria Cantwell of Washington and Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana also attended. At one point, as he discussed the question of providing some of the money as a loan, Bush slammed his hand down on the table and said: "This is bad policy." When Collins tried to ask a question, the President replied: "I'm not here to debate it." One participant told The Inquirer that some of the senators, particularly those who have never been on the opposing side of an issue with Bush, were "surprised by his directness."

* WAR/TERROR:

… The U.N. Security Council has passed the Iraq reconstruction proposal unanimously. According to FoxNews.com, all 15 of the Security Council members gave thumbs up to authorize a multinational force under United State’s command. The proposal also calls for troops from other countries and monetary pledges from the 191 U.N. member states to help pay for the reconstruction. The U.S. rejected a call by France, Russia and Germany to abide by a set timetable for turning over control back to Iraq.

* FEDERAL POLITICS:

… So what is Congress doing about Medicare? The Washington Post has the answer in an article today headlined, “’Means Test’ Deal Near on Medicare – Wealthy Seniors Would Be Charged More Under Plan.” Excerpts: “House and Senate negotiators, struggling for accord on a plan to redesign Medicare, have agreed in principle that wealthy older Americans should pay more for doctor visits and other outpatient care, reprising an idea that has proved politically explosive. According to several sources familiar with the negotiations, the core group of lawmakers trying to resolve separate House and Senate versions of the Medicare legislation has reached consensus on the basic strategy of charging higher insurance premiums to recipients with comparatively high incomes. The negotiators, however, have not worked out crucial questions such as how many of Medicare's 40 million recipients would pay such a surcharge, when it would begin and how the government would administer it.”     

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