Howard Dean

excerpts from the Iowa Daily Report

October 16-31, 2003

·        … 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.)  (10/16/2003)

… 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?" (10/16/2003)

… 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. (10/16/2003)

… Howard Dean met Thursday in Washington, D.C. with editors and reporters from the Gannett Company – the nation’s largest newspaper group in terms of circulation. The company's 100 daily newspapers in the USA have a combined daily paid circulation of 7.7 million and include the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY, the nation's largest-selling daily newspaper. Dean told the Gannet people he opposes the $87billion Iraq reconstruction proposal by the Bush Administration, saying Bush had not shown how he would pay for it. The article, in today’s Register, quotes Dean as saying, “Harry Truman increased taxes 26 percent when we were in Korea - he paid for it. This is a credit card president. This is insane what he's doing. I'm not going to let him run a war on a credit card." Here are more excerpts from the Dean interview, carried in today’s Register: “…Dean said he would eliminate all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts approved by Congress and signed into law by Bush, freeing up $3 trillion. … has not yet decided whether to forgo public financing … asked what sustains him in times of crisis, he said, "My family and prayer." … has received advice on his campaign from two former Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton … said his image as an angry anti-war candidate is incorrect and mostly spin from other candidates.” (10/17/2003)

… Howard Dean outlined proposals yesterday that have raised hackles on both sides of the political arena. A FoxNews.com AP story today shows wannabe Dean catching it all the way around the political block. Excerpts: “Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean offered several new proposals to help the economy during a speech at Georgetown University but it was his renewed pledge to repeal all of President Bush's tax cuts that grabbed the most attention. The pledge to roll back all of the tax cuts brought immediate criticism from the GOP national chairman and Democratic rivals John Edwards and John Kerry. Dean's pledge to balance the federal budget was at odds with another rival — Dick Gephardt — who said this week that improving the economy was a more pressing concern than the deficit. … "Governor Dean misses the point," said Edwards, a North Carolina senator. "He is right to note that this president is shifting the burden from wealth to work. Unfortunately, instead of addressing the problem he makes it worse by raising taxes on the middle class families that work." … Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, said Dean is repeating his pledge to repeal the tax cuts for middle-class families "at a time when middle-class families are taking too many hits already." … "I think their [Republicans] principal motivation is to undo the pillars of the New Deal, particularly Medicare and Social Security, by making the budget deficit so big that those programs can't be sustained," Dean said. A GOP spokeswoman, Christine Iverson, called Dean's remarks "disturbing." She said fighting terrorism has fueled the deficit. (10/17/2003)

… Television ads for the Democratic presidential contenders have cost $6 million so far. And it’s still three months before the first votes are tallied in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, FoxNews.com reports today. The Associated Press report on FoxNews.com detailed spending. Excerpts: “Howard Dean leads the Democratic field in fund raising and ad buys, about $2 million. He is trailed by John Edwards and John Kerry, two senators struggling to show much for their investment. Dick Gephardt has spent less than $800,000, most of it in Iowa, and yet Dean has erased his lead in the Jan. 19 caucus state.” (10/17/2003)

… Targeting three of the Dem presidential candidates, -- Senator John Kerry, Senator John Edwards and former governor Howard Dean --  and blunting a fourth (Wesley Clark), U.S. Senator John McCain took the Democratic presidential candidates to task yesterday for not supporting the $87B Iraq reconstruction funding. The Union Leader’s senior political reports, John DeStaso, reports today that McCain had ‘harsh words’ for Dean, Kerry and Edwards. Here are some excerpts from today’s article: “…I’m not surprised that Governor Dean would oppose this,” McCain told The Union Leader. “I’ve lost confidence that he has any understanding of the national security responsibilities of a President.” Dean has said he would support the expenditure only if it was paid for with a repeal of $87 billion in Bush tax cuts — an unlikely scenario. McCain, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, accused Kerry and Edwards of “pandering” to Dean and the liberal base of the Democratic Party by opposing the package after voting a year ago to authorize force in Iraq. “I’m very disappointed in my friends John Kerry and John Edwards,” he said, “because they know better than that. McCain also targeted the newest Democratic contender, Gen. Wesley Clark, who has taken no position on the package. “It’s very unfortunate, and I’m disappointed in General Clark,” McCain said. He said that “anyone who wants to be considered a serious candidate is obliged to express an opinion.” McCain, however, said he was “impressed with and grateful to” Rep. Richard Gephardt and fellow armed services committee member Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who voted last year to authorize the use of force in Iraq. McCain said they are now acting consistently in supporting the $87 billion package. “I’m sure this will cost them with the far left,” McCain said, “but I also believe they are acting correctly in placing America’s national security interests first.”  (10/17/2003)

… Dr. ‘Cocky’ Howard Dean offered his apology and regrets for his Congressional cockroach statement, -- see IPW report. IPW highlighted Dean’s comments in a cartoon, titled “Dr. Cocky.” In a strange twist of logic, Dean accounted for his statement by saying, “”I was thinking of Tom DeLay.” DeLay, Republican majority leader in the House of Reps, is a former pest exterminator. Today’s Des Moines Register carried the Dean apology. (10/17/2003)

… Dick Gephardt is working hard to win back Iowa, according to today’s New York Times. Gephardt was the 1988 favorite in Iowa. But the 2004 presidential race has him battling with rival Howard Dean to win the hearts and votes of Iowans. Excerpts: “… supporters admitted, they feel anxious about how he [Gephardt] will fare. Nowhere is the political challenge more important for Mr. Gephardt than in Iowa, the state that put his career on the national stage and propelled him to the leadership of the Democratic Party in the House. Then, as now, his aides believed he had to win here to win the Democratic presidential nomination. But after spending months at the top of local polls, Mr. Gephardt is now running neck and neck with former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, and his future is hanging in the balance. … The state he has cultivated for more than a decade is a place he cannot afford to lose. It will either catapult him toward his party's nomination or toward retirement. (He says he will not run for re-election to the House of Reps.) … Joe Trippi, Mr. Gephardt's deputy campaign manager in 1988, is now the strategy chief for Dr. Dean and he criticizes Mr. Gephardt for relying on what he describes as the same Iowa-dominated strategy the campaign pursued in 1988. Even so, Mr. Trippi says, it would be a grave mistake to take his former boss lightly. Mr. Trippi pointed to Mr. Gephardt's penchant for working until his body gives out. "I would never underestimate him," Mr. Trippi said, sizing up the challenge Mr. Gephardt poses to Dr. Dean. "They're both going to fight with everything they've got."  (10/18/2003)

… Dem rivals Howard Dean and John Kerry were both in Iowa Friday, repeating their stances on taxes and continuing their verbal sparring, according to today’s Des Moines Register. The article quotes Dean as saying it’s unlikely he’ll raise taxes. However, Dean has stated that if elected he will repeal all of the Bush tax cuts – something Dean does not consider ‘raising taxes.’ Semantics aside, the net effect of repealing the Bush tax cuts has not been lost on rival John Kerry. Kerry is vehemently opposed to a blanket repeal of the tax cuts. Excerpts from the article: “Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has called the proposal to roll back the tax cuts on all income levels the equivalent of a tax increase for the middle class. Campaigning in Des Moines on Friday, Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, said Dean's proposal would hurt those who can afford it least. "It would have a disastrous impact on families with children," Kerry said after addressing the Polk County Democratic Party's annual fall dinner. "Howard Dean thinks the middle class has too much money." Both men were in Iowa courting Democratic activists in advance of the lead-off nominating caucuses set for Jan. 19. … Recent polls in Iowa show Dean and Gephardt in a statistical dead heat with Kerry solidly in third place.  (10/18/2003)

Des Moines Register feature cartoon shows Dean imitating the “Terminator.” Check it out: http://desmoinesregister.com/duffy//.  (10/19/2003)

The Washington Times is predicting the race is already winnowed to two. "This race is still wide open," comments Opinion Dynamics President John Gorman. "While Clark has a resume advantage and Dean has a money advantage, the majority of Americans and of Democrats simply does not know these people well enough to make a choice." There is unexpected agreement in this prediction from Pat Buchanan who knows first hand about Iowa Caucuses.  (10/19/2003)

While the Arab community booed and hissed Lieberman they clearly are backing Dean in the presidential horse race according to The Washington Post. An assemblage of politically active Arab Americans gave former Vermont governor Howard Dean repeated ovations Saturday at the windup of a two-day meeting that marked a clear shift of allegiance from President Bush to his Democratic rivals. Dean got by far the warmest response of any of the seven presidential hopefuls who addressed the 300 people attending the national leadership conference of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington-based advocacy group. But every Democratic speaker was applauded for criticizing the administration's policies in the Middle East and especially for the anti-terrorism tactics of Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, condemned by participants in a morning panel as targeting immigrants from Muslim countries and routinely violating their civil liberties. The political tilt of the nominally  (10/19/2003)

A major fault line developed over the weekend between Dean and the unholy alliance of Gephardt and Kerry. (Iowa Presidential Watch has reported in the past regarding the unacknowledged agreement to gang up on Dean.) Dean touched the third-rail of American political fault lines and stated that he would consider slowing the rate of growth of entitlements. Can you say Social Security cuts? He did so while discussing balancing the budget this weekend on Iowa Public Televisions program, “Iowa Press.” "We don't know what numbers are going to fall where," Dean said in an interview Saturday. "The only thing I can tell you is we'll balance the budget faster than any other candidate, and we will not make any cuts in any major programs." Rival presidential candidates Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts were quick to reframe Dean as being wrong not to take Medicare off the table. Dean said he wants to balance the federal budget within five years and admitted disagreement within his campaign staff over whether it can be done as quickly as he would like, he said. "We're having a big internal fight about it. I want to do it as soon as possible," Dean said during "Iowa Press." "My goal is five years. Some people say it can't be done for six. Some say seven." Dean has already been taking flack on Medicare because as chairman of the National Governors Association in 1995, Dean endorsed a Republican-led effort in Congress to reduce Medicare spending in order to balance the federal budget and save the federal health insurance program. His current statement can only be causing huge internal. Dean did receive some cover from the AARP political director Mike Naylor. Reducing Medicare's rate of growth doesn't necessarily mean cuts in benefits, said Naylor. When you talk about cuts and slowing the rate of growth, there are a lot of ways you can do that," Naylor said. "In fairness to Dean, leaving Medicare on the table covers an awful lot of options." Iowa Presidential Watch predicts Gephardt will pull ahead of Dean in the next Iowa Caucus poll. We also predict that Dean will very soon be running an add showing that seniors in Vermont have prescription health coverage. (10/19/2003)

Today’s Washington Post article, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50652-2003Oct19.html, by Thomas B. Edsall outlines the current debate among top Democrats regarding what Dean’s campaign means to the future of politics. The story outlines that there are two camps. One camp believes Dean is a sea-change in politics and the other believes Dean is the ghost of George McGovern, Walter F. Mondale and Michael S. Dukakis. Samuel L. Popkin, a political scientist at the University of California at San Diego, who has worked in a number of Democratic presidential campaigns, said win or lose, the Dean campaign may well prove to be significant. "New blood is important whether it wins right away or not. There are 'new blood' losers and bad losers," he said. Goldwater lost by a landslide in 1964, but he helped start the conservative revolution within the Republican Party that culminated in the election of Reagan in 1980, Popkin noted.  (10/20/2003)

Howard Dean is taking a separate road in defiance of the Democrat National Committee according to a story in http://www.theunionleader.com/prez_show.html?article=27862. The Democratic National Committee has asked each campaign to sign a letter to Florida Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox promising to boycott the convention if a straw poll is held. Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said his candidate is interested in showing muscle at the Florida convention, with or without a straw poll. The proposed Florida poll would only involve the approximate 3,000 Florida Democrat Party delegates to the state convention. Bill Clinton used the event to spark his campaign for President in 1991. “The reason the situation is getting worse is that George Bush has absolutely no interest in solving the problem whatsoever,” Dean said, as he responded to a question regarding affordable housing. “This President is running the country for the benefit of multinational corporations, and those who give $2,000 checks to his campaign.” Dean gave the response to a question regarding affordable housing in New Hampshire yesterday. “What I’ll do is stop the Bush tax cuts for those making over $200,000 a year,” Edwards said. “I’ll raise the capital gains tax in the highest bracket from 15 percent to 25 percent and close corporate tax loopholes, including the one that let corporations relocate to Bermuda to avoid paying taxes.” Concern exists by top Democrats that the Florida straw poll would take needed resources away from the key strategy of defeating Bush. (10/20/2003)

Howard Dean on last weekend’s Iowa Public Radio program, Iowa Press, said that he was unsure whether he would take public funding of his campaign and thereby limit his fundraising. He also said that he was going to ask his contributors on line whether to forgo campaign spending limits. A visit to his website did not find him asking his supporters. Dean outlined the problem of accepting the limits as being unable to compete with Bush till after the National Convention. Dean said that one of the reason Democrats should support him is that he is the only one who could raise the money to compete. However, he pointed out that he would suffer a cash-flow crunch in Iowa and New Hampshire if he did not take the public funds. Dean will have to decide at some point if he is going to abide by the spending cap that will be set somewhere in the range of $38 million with the possibility of as much as $18 million coming from public funds. In order to receive the full $18 million all contributions would have to be at the $250 level or bellow. This is the amount of contribution authorized for matching funds. Dean is unlikely to go for the public funds as he has already raised $25.4 million. With approximately three months till the Iowa Caucuses he would have to stop his fundraising in order for the matching funds to be worthwhile. Otherwise, he would not be able to collect anywhere near the maximum amount from the public funds. The Federal Election Commission that oversees the funds allows 20 percent to the expected base amount of $38 million. This would put the maximum with the amount raised at $45 million. This means that Dean only needs to raise a few million more to qualify to meet his total amount. Another reason for Dean to not abide by the limits is the fact that it would not hold him to spending limits by state. This would enable him to have a big advantage, despite adjustments made to the other campaigns when a candidate does not abide by the campaign limits. (10/20/2003)

A new Des Moines WHO TV poll of Iowa Democrats shows Dick Gephardt taking a decisive lead over Dean among Iowa Democrats. Gephardt increased his lead by 4 points to 27 percent to Deans 1 point loss to 22 percent. The poll shows Gephardt stopping his previous slide in the polls and gaining ground. These results also come before the statement by Dean that Medicare is not beyond the slowing of increases to entitlements in order to balance the budget. The percentages of the other candidates in the field are: Kerry-15; Edwards-11; Clark-11; and Lieberman-7. The other candidates did not rank high enough to be reported. (10/20/2003)

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. (10/21/2003)

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. (10/21/2003)

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. (10/21/2003)

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. (10/21/2003)

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.  (10/21/2003)

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.  (10/21/2003)

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.  (10/21/2003)

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.  (10/21/2003)

Howard Dean must love a pun -- because they made it to the 99^th county in Iowa last night when Dean arrived in Cresco, Iowa , which is in (are you ready for this?)… Howard county. Dean is the first Presidential campaigner to make it to all of the 99 Iowa counties. The last candidate to achieve that mile marker was Dick Gephardt, when he last ran for the Democrat nomination in 1988. (10/22/2003)

Howard Dean used a northern Iowa wind farm in Joice on Tuesday as a backdrop for announcing a national renewable energy plan calling for greater reliance on wind energy and ethanol, according to a Des Moines Register story. Dean’s alternative energy proposals include:

* Requiring that the nation generate 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

* Requiring that corn-based ethanol and other biofuels constitute 10 percent of American motor fuels.

* Improving wind energy production by removing regulatory barriers, eliminating deficiencies in transmission capacity and looking for new investment opportunities.

* Creating a solar power tax credit.

* Expanding a production tax credit to cover more types of renewable power generation.

* Encouraging states to use part of his proposed $100 billion economic investment fund for renewable energy.

To read the full text of his release visit Dean’s website. (10/22/2003)

It was announced that Dean would receive the endorsement of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. The union represents about 140,000 painters, drywall finishers, wallpaper hangers, glass workers, floor covering installers, sign makers and convention and show workers in the United States and Canada.  (10/23/2003)

Inside The Beltway, in the Washington Times, gives an account of Dean’s Deal with Vermont’s archivist to keep much of Dean’s correspondence secret for 10 years. "Opposition researchers have been frustrated by the discovery that more than half his gubernatorial papers have been placed off-limits. Now we know why," said Holman W. Jenkins Jr. writing at www.OpinionJournal.com.  (10/23/2003)

Dean’s lead in New Hampshire is causing him concerns and he is going back up with television ads. The newest commercial is critical of the other candidates’ record on the Iraq War, according to an Associated Press article. The front-runner hasn't been on the air in the first primary state for nearly two months and one recent opinion poll showed the race tightening between Dean and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, with a margin of 6 percentage points. Other surveys show Dean with a double-digit lead. In the 30-second spots, the sweater-clad former Vermont governor talks directly into the camera, highlighting his own record on each issue and assailing the positions of his foes, which he does not name. Dean says: "The best my opponents can do" is question the wisdom of the Iraq war only after supporting it and talk about fixing the prescription drug problem instead of actually changing the system. Dean also has another ad that is on prescription drugs and a Dean campaign aide said that the two ads would rotate and the Iraq ad would phase out. As Iowa Presidential Watch predicted, Dean has come out with an ad on his performance in Vermont with prescription drugs. The ad states: "For years, the politicians in Washington have talked about health insurance and a prescription drug benefit, and all you got was talk," he said. "But we did it in Vermont." However, Dean should understand that you should not brag about something that leaves you open to criticism. This is just where the Gephardt campaign is launching their rapid response, according to a Gephardt quote in today’s Des Moines Register: "I have continually led the fight for a prescription drug benefit under Medicare," Gephardt said. "While Governor Dean counts the Vermont prescription drug program as an accomplishment, the truth is he put it on the chopping block four separate times." In Iowa the media buys have heated up With Gephardt buying another $200,000 to Dean’s $170,000 in the last 11 days. John Edwards remains the biggest purchaser of television spots by nearly $200,000 over Dean and Gephardt in Iowa with a total of around a $1 million with the purchase of $250,000 in the last couple of weeks contributing to that total. Edwards is at 7 percent in the latest poll.  (10/23/2003)

Sen. Joe Biden (Del-D) indicated that his party’s candidates don’t have an adult approach to foreign policy in an Associated Press story. Sen. Joseph Biden, who once flirted with the idea of seeking the party's nomination, said the candidates have to "demonstrate that they have a foreign policy, a security policy, that is coherent and is grown up, that we can handle the bad things out there in the world." "If it's only 'I voted to go in (to Iraq)' or 'I thought we should've gone in, but now we shouldn't spend any money there,' that is not a particularly coherent policy. And I think it will maybe work well in the primary, but I don't think it works very well in the general (election)," the Delaware lawmaker told reporters. Biden’s criticism comes at a time when Dean is once again trying to gain more distance between his campaign and the Washington insiders of Kerry (in New Hampshire and Gephardt (in Iowa)   (10/23/2003)

DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe exercised party discipline over his nine candidates yesterday. He achieved a unanimous letter to Florida telling them that candidates will not show up if they hold the straw poll. The letter conveys the following:

“We urge you not to organize, or conduct, a straw poll at your December 5-7 State Party Convention in Lake Buena Vista, as it would violate National Party rules. Should a decision be made to hold a straw poll, it would make it impossible for us to attend the state convention and any potential straw poll therefore would not be competitive.”

Dean wound up signing the letter a week after he sent e-mails to his supporters in Florida urging them to gear up for the straw poll. Wednesday, his campaign stressed it's behind the boycott. (10/24/2003)

 New Hampshire Zogby’s latest poll shows Dean earned 40%, compared to Massachusetts Senator John Kerry’s 17%. None of the other candidates have exceeded single digits in the polling. Retired General Wesley Clark and North Carolina Senator John Edwards are tied for third with 6% each. Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt received 4%, followed by Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman’s 3%. Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, former Illinois Senator Carol Mosley Braun, and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich each received less than one percent. More than half (57%) feel the Democrats should nominate someone with a political ideology closer to that of former president Clinton, while 24% feel the party should take on a more liberal leaning. Zogby International conducted interviews of 500 New Hampshire likely Democratic primary voters, chosen at random statewide. All calls were made from Zogby International’s headquarters in Utica, NY from October 21-23, 2003. The margin of error is +/- 4.5%. Margins are higher in sub-groups. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, religion, and gender to more accurately reflect the voting population. (10/24/2003)

The Dean website is going strong. They are asking for 10,000 letters to the editors to be sent on Dean’s behalf. The website is keeping a running total of letters sent. It reports 830 for Iowa and 1706 for New Hampshire when last checked late this morning. Dean is also recruiting 5,000 “boots on the ground” to come into Iowa and New Hampshire the week before the caucuses and primary. It is still a movement with enough passion to stir the troops. But the question still remains whether they can play well with others. )10/25/2003)

Howard ‘The Mouth’ Dean strikes again – this time he’s calling Washington lobbyists ‘pigs,’ according to an article in today’s New York Times by reporter Jodi Wilgoren. Excerpts: “As Howard Dean walked over to pet the 600-pound hogs on a visit to a family farm here [in Iowa] on Wednesday morning, he blurted out his imaginary headline, "Governor speaks with Washington lobbyists." … Last week, even friends criticized him for seeming to compare members of Congress to cockroaches. … He started running negative advertisements this week, has recently beefed up his opposition research team and is supported by a group of Washington lobbyists that meets biweekly to court Capitol Hill. Still, many party regulars inside the Beltway and in state party offices fear that his liberal antiwar views and brash outspokenness could be toxic. "It's a temperament issue," said former Senator Gary Hart of Colorado, who ran for president in 1984 and 1988. "Part of what makes him exciting is this coiled tension. But you also get a sense that he could snap your head off if you looked at him cross-eyed." Many elected officials are fascinated by Dr. Dean's fund-raising prowess and impressed with the crowds that greet him at each stop. Some officials salivate at the prospect of tapping into his Internet database if he wins. Others theorize that a Dean candidacy would risk not just the White House, but also a series of seats in Congress. "They don't like him personally, and part of why they don't like him personally is the way he campaigns," said one Democratic consultant who is unaffiliated in the race. "But what is at bottom is they think he's bad for the party. They think he's unelectable and can bring the party down with him."  (10/25/2003)

Zephyr Teachout, an energetic wunderkind who is currently the Howard Dean campaign's director of Internet outreach and organizing, is wildly popular in the Dean blogosphere world. There's even a nascent movement to nominate her for vice president, according to ABC’s embedded reporter Marc Ambinder. (10/26/2003)

The New York Times is running a story concerning Dean’s opening of his new campaign headquarters in New Hampshire: "You don't know what you signed up for," he warned. "You're going to work harder than you've ever worked in your life, you're going to carry a stronger message than you ever thought you could carry and you're going to do more and reach more and make more happen." They whooped and hollered and with that. But Deanies, take note -- General Clark also officially opened his New Hampshire campaign and vowed to take the state by storm. (10/26/2003)

Washington Times has a story indicating that Dean could draw support from Blacks: Democratic candidate Howard Dean's medical degree and opposition to the war in Iraq are attracting black politicians to his presidential campaign, even as analysts say he lacks the political network to win the black vote. Among would-be black voters, Dr. Dean, a licensed internist, has an advantage over his Democratic rivals on health care issues, said David Bositis, chief researcher for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank specializing in issues of interest to blacks.  (10/26/2003)

Dean’s campaign manager Joe Trippi pushed back against the charges of Dean’s attack ads. "We know the American people understand the difference between results and rhetoric, and when other candidates distort Governor Dean's record of results — as they have for months — we're going to set the record straight," Trippi wrote. (10/26/2003)

The issue of military service is explored in an Associated Press story. The story explores the generation shift from elected officials of World War II to the Vietnam generation. Today’s candidates for President all came of age in the Vietnam era. Twenty-five of the 43 U.S. presidents have served in the military. The high-flying popularity of Wesley Clark is due to his four star military service; while Howard Dean’s popularity is due in no small part to his opposition to the Iraqi War. Pat Towell, a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said, "Big surprise, the kids that were in the kinds of universities where you grow up and become a senator and run for president weren't drafted." Dean was assigned No. 143 for 1970 — a number that was called up — but he was rejected after a physical in February of that year. In an interview with the AP, Dean said he had known since he was in high school that he had an unfused vertebra, a condition called spondylolysis. For further details use the Associated Press link above. (10/26/2003)

The Manchester Union Leader reports on a Union rally in New Hampshire yesterday where Democrat candidates tried to outbid each other in their loyalty to the union cause. Sen. John Kerry, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Richard Gephardt, and Gen. Wesley Clark faced the union delegation in separate appearances, answering the same set of questions on trade, jobs and health insurance. Gephardt participated by telephone. More than 100 vocal union members cheered relentlessly yesterday as five Democratic Presidential Primary candidates pledged to create jobs for the nation’s millions of unemployed and to keep American jobs from going overseas. (10/26/2003)

Even top Democrat operatives are suggesting after last night’s debate in Detroit that the Democrats are too shrill to win. However, it is clear that the Democrat candidates are finding a welcome audience among the primary going party faithful for the vitriolic invectives. Some top Democrats are arriving at a consensus that the Democrats’ hatred of Bush is greater than Republicans’ hatred of Bill Clinton. Jerry Crawford, a general in Iowa Democrat Party politics, commented on Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Press that all you need to do to fire up Iowa Democrats is say John Ashcroft -- and it doesn’t matter which candidate says it. With just two months before Iowa’s Jan. 19^th caucuses, many top Democrats are hoping to hear more about offering Americans hope and a vision of how they will lead America. Others are concerned that the Democrat candidates’ focus on the War on Terror is misplaced. "There's a huge credibility gap our party has on national security — not because we don't have enough military medals, but because we have no plan of action," said Democratic strategist Donna Brazile in an Associated Press story about the debate. The Democrat candidates are trying to buck the historical trend of Americans believing that Republicans are better in foreign policy and Democrats are better at domestic policy in focusing on Bush’s handling of the War on Terrorism. American soldiers continuing to die in Iraq combined with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein whereabouts still in question could be like the shifting sands in Iraq if anything changes -- including another terrorist attack. Still criticism of the war and each other was the centerpiece of last night’s debate. Here is some of what the candidates said regarding the war:

John Kerry: "Our troops are today more exposed, are in greater danger, because this president didn't put together a real coalition, because this president's been unwilling to share the burden and the task. And I will tell you, the American people understand that."

Wesley Clark: "I didn't believe last year we should have given George Bush a blank check in Iraq. He said he was going to go to the U.N. Instead, he started a war. Now we're trying to give him another blank check. There's no telling what's going to happen."

Howard Dean: "I don't think service men and women do view my position as short of supporting the troops. I've made it very clear that we need to support our troops, unlike President Bush, who tried to cut their combat pay after they'd been over there and he'd doubled their tour of duty."  (10/27/2003)

“There are three tickets out of New Hampshire,” says Republican strategist Tom Rath. “No more than three. Howard Dean probably has one, and the others will have to fight for the other two.” “In effect, Clark is saying to the voters of New Hampshire that I’m skipping Iowa and I don’t care how I do in New Hampshire. And his campaign should know by now that voters here are too sophisticated for that type of message,” said Dennehy, a New Hampshire Republican and past McCain supporter and worker in the Granite state.(10/27/2003)

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) today became the first international union to endorse Howard Dean in the 2004 campaign. The Army of Black and Gold, as the 140,000 members are known, was named by the AFL-CIO as the most effective political organization in the labor movement in 2001. Their motto, “feet on the streets,” reflects how you will defeat George W. Bush in this election. "My commitment to the right to organize has deep roots," Dean said. "President Bush is the most anti-union President in modern history. As President I will vigorously enforce worker protections in federal law, reverse the policies of Enron Economics, and make job creation a top priority," said Dean. Dean should check his history and contact someone in the PATCO Union about Ronald Reagan about the “most antiunion President in modern history. I guess we can’t expect original lines all the time. Speaking of endorsements. Dean picked up Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. According to an article in the New York Times: Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. said Monday that he would soon endorse Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination, telling a mostly black audience on the South Side of Chicago that Dr. Dean had "the best chance to be the next president of the United States."(10/28/2003)

The Hill on-line has a story about President George W. Bush and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the two leading fund-raisers in this election cycle, have taken vastly different approaches to getting people to support their campaigns financially. Their methods are as different as night and day, according to a detailed examination of their respective 10,000-plus- page financial disclosure reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). (10/28/2003)

In a poll done for the Boston Globe and Boston CBS affiliate WBZ, Dean continues to lead in New Hampshire with 37 percent of Democrats and independents supporting him. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is 13 points back at 24 percent. Trailing Dean and Kerry are Sen. John Edwards at 9 percent, retired Gen. Wesley Clark at 8 percent, Rep. Dick Gephardt at 7 percent, Sen. Joe Lieberman at 5 percent, Rep. Dennis Kucinich at 3 percent and Rev. Al Sharpton and former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, both at less than 1 percent. The survey was taken by KRC/Communications Research from Oct. 20 to Oct. 22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus five points. Lieberman in trouble: In the latest survey, 28 percent reported having a favorable opinion of Lieberman and 42 percent said they regarded him unfavorably. That's an almost complete reversal from six weeks ago when 46 percent viewed him favorably and 25 percent did not.  (10/28/2003)

Clark’s numbers are fading, Dean moves back to front, Gephardt moves up and Lieberman is in free fall according to the poll. The numbers are: Dean-16; Clark-15; Gephardt-12; Lieberman-12; Kerry-10; Edwards-6; Sharpton-6; Moseley-Braun-4; Kucinich-1. The other startling find was that the Democrats are going more liberal. Democrats are 39 percent in favor of a liberal up from 27 percent in August. Those wanting a moderate are now at 53 percent. (10/28/2003)

Dean’s weapon of mass destruction

Howard Dean’s campaign upset a leading senate Democrat with its press operation. Senator Carl Levine, ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, accused Dean of shooting-from–the-hip. The flap is regarding the Senate Armed Services Committee’s approval of the promotion of Maj. Gen. Robert Clark to lieutenant general. It seems the gay community has lobbied against Clark’s promotion because of the handling of a murder investigation at Fort Campbell in 1999. Subsequently Dean has tried to take political advantage of the situation by issuing a release dated Oct 23 on his website asking supporters to contact their senators to block the promotion. There were substantial errors in the original release. The first release by Dean said that Gen. Clark was being promoted to the 2nd highest rank. That would have been a promotion to Army’s Vice Chief of Staff, not Lieutenant General. The second mistake was saying that Clark never met with the parents of the murdered victim, which was not true. The Dean campaign has put up a new release, which omits these factual errors, but has failed to post the fact that the release is revised or the date of the revision.(10/29/2003)

Dean’s rapid response

In a campaign style reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s rapid response team, Dean fired back against Al Sharpton’s charge that Dean stated in 1995 that he did not favor affirmative action. Dean is quoted as saying, "You know, I think we ought to look at affirmative action programs based, not on race, but on class and opportunities to participate." Dean excused away the comments as being about people who don’t have money and insisted that he is for affirmative action. Sharpton continued to push the issue by suggesting that Dean should just say that he has changed his position rather than “accusing someone of not talking straight. The accusation by Sharpton against Dean came after the announcement that Jesse Jackson Jr. planned to endorse Dean. Jackson’s office also became part of the mix by saying that Sharpton was inaccurate in saying that Dean was against affirmative action. All of this is important on Feb. 3 when the South Carolina primary is held. It is expected that half of the voters in that primary will be black voters.(10/29/2003)

Dean’s anti-war drum beat

Howard Dean stepped up his anti-war drum beat with intensified criticism of President Bush’s handling of the war.  Dean also used veiled language in his press release indicating President Bush is a liar regarding the banner on the USS Abraham: "…We heard him [President Bush] try to walk away from the USS Abraham 'End of Major Combat Operations' announcement, absurdly claiming that the White House was not responsible for the 'Mission Accomplished' banner that decorated the flight deck. He tried to argue that our actions are supported by the Iraqi people, when poll after poll suggests that more and more Iraqis are becoming fed up with the American occupation. And he was adamant that the US will remain in Iraq, but failed to offer any insight as to what he would do to address the increasingly dire situation. This President appears to lack the leadership skills required to do what is necessary to successfully stabilize and reconstruct Iraq before the window of opportunity closes. Instead, President Bush seems content to pursue the current flawed plan, unwilling to do what is necessary to encourage our friends and allies to assist, incapable of taking the steps necessary to expedite the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis, and content to direct billions of dollars to special interests like Halliburton. And US troops and taxpayers are suffering as a result,” said Dean. (10/29/2003)

The War

The Iraq War continues to take center stage between the Democrat candidates. Dean remains in position to dominate that subject much to the consternation of Dennis Kucinich. The other three who seem to be in a quagmire over the War in Iraq are John Kerry, Wesley Clark and Joe Lieberman. Edwards and Gephardt have strategically placed themselves on a different track by focusing on the trinity of Social security, health care and trade. They also are focusing on Iowa more than New Hampshire. Ronald Brownstein, of the Los Angles Times provides an analysis of the issue of the war and its effect on the Democrat candidates: "The drift has been to accommodate what the other candidates think are the positions that helped Dean prosper," said Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute, a centrist Democratic think tank. Just as important, the continued prominence of Iraq is making it tougher for Dean's rivals to focus attention on other issues that might cause problems for him and undercut his support.  (10/29/2003)

Can’t we all just get along?

Drudge is reporting a developing story over a Dean staff member who attended a Gephardt meeting and was shoved and verbally abused by a Gephardt staff person. ``I urge you to find the staff member responsible and fire him, and send a strong signal to the rest of your staff that behavior of this kind will not be tolerated,'' Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said in a letter sent late Tuesday to Gephardt campaign manager Steve Murphy. (10/29/2003)

Marijuana

The Des Moines Register carries an interesting story regarding Democrat candidates’ position on medical marijuana: On medical marijuana. The candidates' positions on medical marijuana, according to their campaigns:

JOHN EDWARDS: Science is still unclear. There needs to be a high-level Food and Drug Administration commission to determine right away whether medical marijuana is the best way to treat pain.

JOHN KERRY: Supports the use of real science to determine the effectiveness, safety and need for the controlled medical use of marijuana. If scientifically warranted, and studied by an objective commission, the use must be closely restricted to prevent abuse and illegal trafficking.

HOWARD DEAN: As a doctor, he believes marijuana should be treated no differently from any other drug. It should be evaluated by the FDA for its safety and then approved if it is safe and effective, rejected if it is not.

DENNIS KUCINICH: Disagrees with President Bush's methods of "harassing medical marijuana patients" and instead favors medical marijuana being used to relieve the suffering of seriously ill patients.

JOE LIEBERMAN: Is aware of reports that marijuana may provide therapeutic relief for some individuals, but isn't aware of any reputable studies to support this. He opposes legalizing a drug that many health professionals believe has greater health risks than therapeutic benefits.

CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN: Is in favor of medicinal marijuana use.

Campaigns for Dick Gephardt, Wesley Clark and Al Sharpton did not respond timely to requests for information about their position on this issue. (10/29/2003)

Gay bashing?

Dean staffers say an openly gay campaign worker was pushed by Gephardt's Iowa campaign manager and called a "faggot" by someone else on Gephardt's national staff. The confrontations allegedly occurred Tuesday afternoon, following Gephardt's speech on health care at an east-side senior center, according to a Des Moines Register article. Iowa Presidential Watch reported on this story yesterday as it was beginning to break on Drudge. The current Register story goes in depth over the nuances of what is known and what is not known. So far, no one has the name of the staff person who allegedly did the shoving and name-calling. The Register reports the following response from the Gephardt campaign: Smith said Murphy, Gephardt's national campaign manager, conducted an internal investigation, interviewing campaign workers, and concluded the name-calling allegation was untrue. "However, it's important to say that if anyone on this campaign used any kind of slur like that, they would be fired," Smith said. He also declined to identify the staff member accused of confronting Allen. "These are McCarthyite tactics," he said. "I'm not going to offer up somebody's name for a totally unsubstantiated rumor," he said, adding that the Dean campaign" should be ashamed of itself." (10/30/2003)

Maybe not

Dean is poised to receive the endorsement of the largest, 1.6 million-members, union in the AFL-CIO. The Service Employees International Union board members are set to ask the question of whether they endorse Howard Dean for President. The Associated Press reports that no one else is under consideration. The question is whether they endorse Dean or take a pass for now. (10/30/2003)

Then again

In what appears to be an unusual lack of perspective by major media outlets the NY Times is running a story that questions the electability of both Howard Dean and Wesley Clark. Clarks profile dominates the story because about the only thing Clark has going for him is the claim he can beat Bush. However the story points out how electability has doggedly followed Dean. It takes a quote from Iowa Public Televisions’ Iowa Press’ interview with Dean: "It's possible that I am the only Democrat who can get elected," he said. "And let me tell you why: Every other Democrat in this race believes that the way to beat George Bush is to be like George Bush. I believe the way to beat George Bush is to bring a lot of new people into this process."  (10/30/2003)

Dean flip-flop?

The NY Daily News is running a story about Dean’s ventures into the big apple and it appears he made it his way: Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean's foray into New York City politics backfired yesterday when he appeared to take conflicting positions on whether party primaries for local offices should be dumped.  (10/30/2003)

Gephardt & Dean tied in Iowa

Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt each drew the support of 26 percent of Iowa Democratic voters surveyed, while Sen. John Kerry had 15 percent, according to the poll released by KCCI-TV, Des Moines. Eighteen percent of those questioned were undecided. The remaining candidates were in single digits. The telephone survey of 400 registered Iowa Democrats who said they were likely to vote in the Jan. 19 precinct caucuses was conducted Oct. 26-28 by the polling firm ‘Research 2000.’ The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points. (10/31/2003)

Lesbian daughter defends campaign

Chrissy Gephardt, a self acknowledged lesbian and daughter of Congressman Dick Gephardt, attested to her father’s zero tolerance of homophobic epitaphs. Chrissy is campaigning in Iowa for her father’s Presidential campaign. The Des Moines Register story covers her reaction to the accusation by Dean campaign staff that one of Gephardt’s campaign workers pushed a Dean worker and called him a fagot: "I know that my father, just based on what he stands for and his stand on equal rights, he would not tolerate anything like this," said Chrissy Gephardt, following a meeting with about two dozen Drake University students and others. "If something like that were to have happened, that person would be fired. There's a zero-tolerance policy on the Gephardt campaign for stuff like that."

IPW reported on Tuesday that Joe Trippi, Dean campaign manger, sent a letter to the Gephardt campaign asking that whoever the person was that called Dean campaign worker Hunter Allen a faggot be fired. It has since been learned that the Gephardt staff person accused is Mike Kelley. Chrissy in Des Moines defended Kelley and said that he was a friend. The Register quotes Chrissy: "Mike would not say that," Chrissy Gephardt said. "Being a gay person, I've been on the receiving end of a lot of hate crimes in terms of verbal attacks, letters in the mail that I've gotten. I know just from knowing Mike that he would not have said that." Chrissy attributed the incident to campaign dirty tricks by the Dean campaign and urged voters to stay focused on the issues. The reaction from the gay community has been mixed. Some have discounted the incident because it involves staff and others feel it needs to be taken more seriously. Dean and Kerry are both recognized supporters of gay and lesbian rights. Dean, while Governor of Vermont, signed into law legislation recognizing gay unions.(10/31/2003)

He said; He said

While Iowa Democrat Party Chairman Gordon Fischer wants the gay bashing story to go away, Dean and Gephardt staff don’t seem to agree. In a separate story the Des Moines Register explores the strong feelings about the incident where Gephardt staffer Mike Kelley is accused by Dean staffer Hunter Allen that Kelley pushed him and called him a faggot. Fischer is reported to have called the two campaign staffs and urged them to get back to focusing on beating Bush rather than continue to propel the gay bashing story. However, both campaign staffs are heated in their resentment of the other campaign’s response to the incident.

Steve Murphy, Gephardt's campaign manager, responded to Joe Trippi, Dean’s campaign manager, calling the allegation false. Part of the Gephardt stance on the incident is there is no video or audio recording of what was said. They point to the fact that Allen had a tape recorder to tape Gephardt’s remarks. So, where’s the tape? The accuser Allen was at the Gephardt appearance to tape record Gephardt’s speech for the Dean campaign. It is reported and agreed to by Allen that he disrupted the Gephardt meeting by taking a phone call and was dressed down by the Gephardt campaign. He also irritated Gephardt staff when he participated in the press conference following the speech. The incident between Kelley and Allen occurred outside, and even though there were press and others passing by no one can substantiate either side in the incident. "You are an astute enough political practitioner to know that making unsubstantiated allegations of this nature is one of the lowest forms of political dirty tricks," Murphy wrote to Trippi in response to Trippi’s call to fire Kelley, according to the Des Moines Register.

The Register reports Dean’s campaign reaction:

Sarah Leonard, Dean's spokeswoman in Iowa, responded: "It's outrageous for someone to question the honesty of our staff person. This is an openly gay young man who was a victim of hate speech. "No, it was not caught on tape. Hate speech is rarely caught on tape. That doesn't mean it is rarely used." News organizations including Fox News, Sunday Times of London, ABC News and MSNBC have all fairly consistently filled reports or made comments that Allen is the least accurate in his account of what happened. Quoted in the Des Moines Register:

But a newspaper reporter, who says he was standing next to Allen, described Allen's behavior as "clearly very provocative," and said he understood why Gephardt staffers sought to remove him. "If anything transpired, for my money, it was Allen who started it," said Tony Allen-Mills, the Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Sunday Times of London. Leonard, representing Dean, said: "We're not backing off of this. We realize that the Gephardt campaign has chosen to deny and attack rather than deal with this serious situation, so we've decided to move on," quoted in the Register.

Chairman Fischer believes that this will now die down. We will see. (10/31/2003)

Dean’s a union guy?

The Manchester Union  Leader story covers the state angle on the battle for union support by interviewing New Hampshire Service Employees Association President Paul Stokes. The union is the largest in the AFL-CIO organization and is meeting next week to consider endorsing Howard Dean. If Dean receives the endorsement, it will be a big setback for Gephardt. The Union Leader reports: “Stokes said that three months ago, “I’d have been very surprised” to be told that Dean appeared to be the front-runner for the SEIU endorsement. He said that a Gephardt endorsement, “three months ago, was the common wisdom. “But Dean seems to be changing that,” said Stokes. “Either that or those making the endorsement have decided we have to look at a broader spectrum than traditional labor issues.” (10/31/2003)

Minority health care

Dean pledged that as president, he would launch a multi-pronged attack to ensure that all Americans--regardless of race, geography, gender, or income--would have access to quality health care. “As access to health insurance has declined for all but the wealthiest, it's tempting to define America's health care crisis only in economic terms. However, our healthcare system isn't plagued only by costly insurance premiums, but also by the lingering impact of institutional racism and other assorted biases,” from Dean’s policy page. (10/31/2003)