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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 Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
THE DAILY
REPORT for Tuesday, October 21, 2003 "The one who makes the
most outrageous charges against the president gets
his 20 seconds on the evening news. Hey -- I did
not ride in here on a watermelon cart. I know how
it works," said
the former president George Herbert Walker Bush. "So far, they are a
pretty sorry group if you want to know my
opinion," said
Barbara Bush, the mother of the current President,
in an interview aired on Monday by NBC's "Today"
show. "George Bush is the kind
of politician who would cut down a tree and then
climb on the stump that remains and give a speech
about conservation,"
Kerry said while
announcing his 6-point environment program in New
Hampshire. There's also interesting
evidence showing Gephardt's centrist views on Iraq
are more in tune with rank-and-file Democrats here
than Dean's strong anti-war positions.”
David Yepsen
quote from his column in today’s Des Moines
Register regarding Gephardt pulling ahead of Dean.
He also predicts Dean has peaked in Iowa. "Republicans don't
balance the budget"
and "are
not conservatives; they are radicals,"
said Dean at a
stop in Sioux City while he was filming a
commercial on the economy.
“Howard Dean wants to correct George Bush’s
mistake on the backs of the middle class,”
said Robert
Gibbs spokesman for the Kerry campaign in response
to Dean’s proposal to repeal all of Bush’s tax
cuts. Gibbs also got off this one liner in
response to Dean’s charges that Kerry has changed
his position on Bush’s tax cuts:
“Being called a flip-flopper by Howard Dean is
like being called ugly by a pig.” "George Mills was without
any question the best reporter ever in Iowa
journalism,"
said Walt Shotwell former Des Moines Register
columnist regarding the passing of “Lefty” George
Mills. Mills was a giant in the reporting business
in any state.
New strategy for compressed primary?
Clark and Dean moving on in New Hampshire
Ethanol
Has Dean peaked in Iowa?
Is Gephardt Republicans’ worst fear?
Is Dean Democrats’ worst fear?
Dean films commercial on the economy
Dean & Kerry fight over tax cuts
Iowa Poll
New Hampshire Poll
Dean Divers
Kerry claims he’s “True Environmental President”
Edwards sticking to healthcare issue
Cheney in Iowa
Polls show Bush continued decline New strategy for compressed
primary? John Whitesides, political
correspondent for
Reuters offers a look at whether the strategy
of skipping the early states has a chance.
Lieberman, Clark and Edwards are all counting on
gaining traction after the race is started.
Edwards is counting on a win in South Carolina to
prove that he has the South’s support. Lieberman
is strengthening his campaign in New Hampshire
where he needs to finish at least third in his own
back yard. New Hampshire currently shows a two-way
race with Dean and Edwards. Clark campaign seems
to be hoping for the General’s national poll
popularity to eventually translate into wins. The
reason for the hope in being able to enter the
race latter down the primary schedule is because
of the compression of the schedule. The Democratic
Party accelerated the 2004 primary calendar in
hopes of producing an early nominee and giving the
winner plenty of time to focus on challenging
President Bush. The presumptive nominee of the
Democrat Party is expected to be apparent by March
3. On March 2 thirteen states including California
hold their delegate selection process. Eighteen
states will have completed the process after the
Feb. 27th round. Clearly the hope that the primary
terrain is different because of this compression
is evident in the Clark and Lieberman quotes in
the Reuters article. "The race is going to go far
beyond New Hampshire and likely will be determined
when you get to the multi-state election days,"
said Matt Bennett, a spokesman for Clark, who
entered the race one month ago. "The primary map
has fundamentally changed. Unlike years past where
there were two early states, now there are nine,"
said Lieberman spokesman Jan Cabrera. "We believe
shifting resources to New Hampshire and the Feb. 3
states is a winning strategy." Dane Strother, a
Democratic strategist unaligned with any
candidates, said the compressed calendar might
give the trio a better opportunity to change the
process. "Who wrote the rulebook that says you
have to run in Iowa?" "They are misunderstanding
in a big way the kind of media crush that comes in
Iowa and New Hampshire," a strategist for a rival
campaign said. Clark and Dean moving on in
New Hampshire Steve Bouchard, who recently
joined Clark after directing Florida Sen. Bob
Graham’s campaign, quoted in the
Manchester Union said if Clark finishes in the
top four in New Hampshire, he and Clark campaign
officials believe he will be “competitive” going
into the host of primaries that follow New
Hampshire’s Jan. 27 event on Feb. 3, 2004. The
latest poll of likely New Hampshire voters,
released by the University of New Hampshire Survey
Center last week, showed Clark in third place,
with 10 percent to the vote, compared to 30
percent for Howard Dean and 17 percent for John
Kerry. The Clark campaign refused to say who the
candidate was that was going to pass them in the
current poll numbers. However, they could be
referring to Lieberman given the stories account
of Gore’s former running mate’s campaign.
Lieberman’s New Hampshire campaign announced it
more than doubled the size of its Granite State
field staff with the addition of 16 staffers. The
campaign also announced new campaign offices will
soon open in Berlin, Laconia, Lebanon and Salem,
bringing the total number of regional offices to
10. The campaign says it has already opened
regional offices in Concord, Keene, Manchester,
Nashua, Portsmouth and Rochester. Ethanol The
ABC Notebook has a question about whether
Clark and Lieberman will change their stance on
supporting ethanol. The current energy bill is
held up in Congress. A switch could be helpful in
California where a MTBE gas additive is scheduled
to be banned. Ethanol is the replacement additive
for gas. Before they make the switch they might
consider the repercussions with Iowa’s Senator Tom
Harkin and how eloquently they can make the case
that they are now more enlightened in their
position. Has Dean peaked in Iowa? Nationally respected
Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen
gives the edge in his column to the steady paced
Presidential candidate Dick Gephardt over Howard
Dean. Yepsen cites two recent polls showing
Gephardt moving out front of Dean. He sees
evidence of Gephardt’s advantages in the following
factors: economy not war most important;
California and Clark took the spotlight off Dean;
unions and organization favors Gephardt; and
Gephardt is from the region. Yepsen reports Dean's
campaign appears to have plateaued. The California
recall took much of the limelight away from him.
Then Clark's entrance into the race pulled media
attention away from Dean and gave anti-war
Democrats another champion. Most important, the
economy ranks higher than the Iraq war as the most
important issue for Democrats. That means the
campaign dialogue has shifted from issues that
played to Dean's early strength and moved toward
Gephardt, who has always maintained a focus on
jobs. At the same time, Gephardt has quietly piled
up union endorsements. He doesn't have enough to
get an endorsement from the full AFL-CIO, but he
has 19 international unions with just over 50,000
members in Iowa backing him. And that doesn't
include retirees. Since only about 100,000 people
are likely to attend the caucuses, well, you can
do the math. Is Gephardt Republicans’
worst fear? A
Washington Post article indicates that
numerous high-ranking Republicans fear Gephardt is
the toughest candidate to face. Much of this basis
is because the Midwest is the likeliest
battleground for the needed electoral votes needed
for the presidency. In interviews with nearly two
dozen Republican strategists, lawmakers and state
chairmen across the country, including several
close to the White House, Gephardt was portrayed
by a majority as the Democratic candidate best
prepared and positioned to defeat President Bush
in a head-to-head match-up next year. The reasons,
they said: Gephardt consistently supported the
Iraq war, enjoys unrivaled support among union
leaders and hails from the Midwest, where many
Republicans believe the presidential election will
be decided. They also cited his health care plan,
experience and discipline as key factors. A few
mentioned retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark as a
potentially strong challenger, but every
Republican predicted Bush would win reelection.
Still, their views about Gephardt (and some of his
rivals) highlight the GOP's top concerns heading
into 2004: job losses in key swing states, the
high number of uninsured workers, the fallout from
Bush's steel tariffs and the president's political
standing in the industrial Midwest. With his plan
to lower the cost of health care for most
Americans, "Gephardt has hit on a real Achilles'
heel, and he will get traction on it if he becomes
the nominee," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.). Is Dean Democrats’ worst
fear?
The Hill has a story that shows Democrat
Congressman are concerned about Dean leading their
ticket. The incumbent lawmakers — especially those
from culturally conservative Southern states — are
concerned that if he is nominated, the former
Vermont governor’s antiwar, pro-gay positions will
create a national mood that will make it more
difficult for Democratic incumbents to keep their
seats, let alone win back the House. Dean films commercial on
the economy No one can accuse the Dean
campaign of not responding quickly. At a scheduled
stop in Sioux City Dean’s campaign filmed a
commercial on the economy. Polls have shown that
the number one issue in Iowa is the economy and
Gephardt has been pulling away from Dean in Iowa
because of his strength on the issue. According to
a
Sioux City Journal report Dean focused on the
tax cut in his presentation to approximately 150
people who gathered to meet with him. Dean said
the $350 billion tax cuts enacted last summer
meant little to the average American. Dean said
the bottom 60 percent of Americans got an average
tax cut of $304, while the richest 1 percent got
an average of $26,335. He said he is hoping to tap
into that 60 percent group, whom Dean contended
had lost more than the $304 they got in tax cuts,
via higher tuitions and property taxes since the
federal and state governments have cut back on
services. Although an employment gain was seen in
the U.S. last month, Dean said that was a
temporary blip to bad unemployment numbers. He
cited 3 million jobs lost since Bush took office,
making Bush the first president to lose jobs since
1928. Dean also emphasized that he unlike other
Democrat Presidential candidates favor repealing
all of the Bush tax cuts. He also rolled out his
idea for a small business capital corporation to
expand the secondary market for small business
loans. He said that this entity would evolve over
time from a public to private organization.
Iowans, no doubt, can expect this new commercial
on a local news channel soon. Reports showed early
this month that Democrat Presidential candidates
had already purchased $6 million in television
time. Dean & Kerry fight over tax
cuts Ed Tibbitts of the
Quad City Times reports on the dust-up between
Kerry and Dean. As Democratic presidential
contender Howard Dean pushed his economic plan
Monday in western Iowa, he and rival John Kerry
traded charges that the other had changed
positions in the debate over a middle-class tax
cut. The dispute stems from Dean’s desire to get
rid of all of President Bush’s tax cuts, while
Kerry wants to maintain those aimed at the middle
class, including the child tax credit that
increased by $400 to $1,000. Dean’s campaign says
a quarter of all households got no benefit from
the tax cuts, while half got less than $500. And
the governor says Americans know it is too much to
expect increased services and retain all of the
Bush tax cuts. Iowa Poll A poll conducted by a group of
Democratic political consultants called the
"Democracy Corps" shows Gephardt with 27 percent;
Dean with 26 percent; John Kerry with 16 percent;
John Edwards, 8 percent; Wesley Clark, 6 percent,
and Joseph Lieberman, Carol Mosley Braun and
Dennis Kucinich each with 2 percent. Nine percent
of the caucus-goers were undecided in the survey,
which was taken Oct. 2-13 and has a margin of
error of 4.4 percent. New Hampshire Poll Dean has the support of 33
percent to Kerry's 19 percent in the latest
Franklin Pierce College poll conducted Oct. 13-15.
The results for the other contenders are as
follows: Clark- 7; Gephardt-4; Edwards-4; and
Lieberman-3. The poll has a margin of error of 4
percent and interviewed 600 individuals. Dean Divers The
Associated Press is covering the story of
opposition research into Governor Dean’s record.
They report that opposition campaigns, reporters,
and Dean staff spend hours upon hours going
through Governor Dean’s records from his 12 years
in that post at the Vermont State Archives in
Montpelier. "We've gotten requests for everything,
every piece of paper," Vermont Secretary of State
Deborah Markowitz said. Some searchers have spent
hours at Chittenden Community Television, watching
public access television tapes of Dean's news
conferences and debates. Jess Wilson, channel
director at the station, said one woman from rival
Dick Gephardt's campaign spent the better part of
a summer day watching tapes of news conferences in
the 1990s, when Dean discussed budget cuts and
Medicare. Since then, Gephardt has accused Dean of
changing positions on some issues. The papers from
Dean's time as governor add up to 600,000 pages
and fill 190 boxes. The
Manchester Union reports That Kerry speaking
outdoors at the University of New Hampshire,
accused Bush of sacrificing the nation's natural
treasures in the name of short-term profit.
"George Bush is the kind of politician who would
cut down a tree and then climb on the stump that
remains and give a speech about conservation,"
Kerry said. "George Bush has put pollution ahead
of preservation, campaign contributions ahead of
conservation, special interests ahead of America's
interests." Kerry's plan includes:
·
Creating "green and clean
communities": Kerry would reinvigorate the
Superfund cleanup program, establish a task fore
to identify toxins in communities and coordinate
transportation and housing policies to control
traffic congestion and sprawl.
·
Protecting public land: Kerry would
require thorough evaluation before remote public
lands are opened to new uses, reinstate the
protection of roadless areas in national forests
and put new teeth into requirements that those who
lease public land return it to its original state
after energy, grazing or timber operations.
·
Reducing air pollution: Kerry
proposes reversing the Bush-Cheney changes to
federal Clean Air laws, vigorously enforcing those
laws and plugging loopholes in them.
·
Restoring America's Waters: Kerry
would work with states and cities to tackle water
quality problems, encourage the efficient use of
water in industrial, urban and farming operations
and restore wetlands and watersheds by enforcing
the Clean Water Act.
·
Restoring America's leadership role
on global warming: Kerry would focus on the
development of an international climate change
strategy to identify solutions that provide
opportunities for American technology.
·
Reduce reliance on foreign oil:
Kerry would create an Energy Security and
Conservation Trust to reduce dependence on Middle
East oil. He also wants to increase fuel
efficiency and ensure that 20 percent of
electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020. Edwards sticking to
healthcare issue Sen. John Edwards bragged in New
Hampshire that he has the only plan that will
cover every child in America according to a
USA Today story. Speaking at a New Hampshire
forum on children's issues, Edwards sought to
distinguish himself from his primary foes in a
state where recent polls show him in single digits
compared to front-runner Howard Dean and
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Edwards' $53
billion-a-year plan would require infants to be
enrolled at birth in either government health care
programs or private insurance. Children up to age
21 would be required to sign up when they visit
doctor’s offices or start school. "When I say
every child, I mean every single child," the North
Carolina senator said.
**** Correction: Yesterday’s report that Lieberman
received 7 percent of the vote in the WHO TV poll
was incorrect. He received 4 percent
* ON THE
BUSH BEAT: Cheney in Iowa Vice President Dick Cheney
struck back Monday at Democrats' repeated
criticism of the nation's economy, saying that tax
cuts enacted since President Bush took office in
2001 are having their desired effect. "As you
know, there are some who have suggested they want
to roll back the Bush tax cuts," Cheney said. "I
painfully hear these voices on the nightly news.
But in fact, the Bush tax cuts are bringing us out
of recession. The president and I will not be
satisfied until every person who wants a job can
find a job." Cheney focused much of his 14-minute
speech here Monday outlining steps Bush has taken
since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He
said security of the American people is the
administration's principal concern. "We're rolling
back the terrorist threat to the very heart of its
power. Our war on terror will continue until every
enemy who plots against the American people is
confronted and defeated," Cheney said. Cheney was
in Cedar Rapids to help his longtime friend
Congressman Jim Leach raise money for his
reelection. Cheney recently, Oct 3, was in Des
Moines raising funds for the Bush/Cheney
reelection efforts. Polls show Bush continued
decline President Bush's favorable
ratings continue to slide in the latest Michigan
poll, but he's still more likely to be the voters'
choice than Democratic candidates Howard Dean or
Wesley Clark. Bush got 46 percent of the vote
compared to 36 percent for Dean in a match-up with
the former Vermont governor. Bush also bested
Clark, 45 percent to 36 percent. Are some
Republicans distancing themselves?
Washington Post article says they are.
Although many Republicans are optimistic that Bush
will win reelection next year, all nonretiring
House members (and a third of senators) have their
own 2004 reelection campaigns to worry about. Some
GOP incumbents -- especially those in the several
dozen House districts that Democrat Al Gore
carried or nearly won in 2000 -- are showing an
increasing willingness to vote against key White
House initiatives and to reassure constituents
that they think and act independently of the
president. The article points to a couple of
Congressman including Congressman Jim Leach Iowa
who just had Vice President Cheney in town to help
him raise funds. They site issues like Medicare
and overtime pay as reasons. The Associated Press reported
that the South Carolina Democrats are scrambling
to finance the first-in-the-South Democratic
presidential primary, selling voter lists, writing
personal checks and even considering — briefly —
placing corporate logos on ballots. The
cash-strapped state party estimates that it will
cost $500,000 to stage the Feb. 3 contest, but
three months out, officials say they have only a
third of the amount and are working furiously to
come up with the rest.
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