W A S H I N G T O N, May 21
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The aftermath of September 11 always has been replete with the kind of unpredictable, hard-to-pin-down dynamics that political operatives hate—particularly those with the macro, multimillion-dollar responsibility of plotting out campaigns.
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The aftermath of September 11 always has been replete with the kind of unpredictable, hard-to-pin-down dynamics that political operatives hate — particularly those with the macro, multimillion-dollar responsibility of plotting out campaigns.
Every new phase of America's war against terrorism brings a new round of halting indecisiveness about who stands to benefit, Democrats or Republicans.
This current phase is no exception.
The White House appears to have batted the Democrats back down, helped maybe just as much by a fresh round of media polls suggesting that Democrats failed to gin up an "X Files"/Warren Commission-type suspicion of the president, as by Vice President Cheney's decrying of partisanship.
Read one way, the polls actually suggest that a not-insignificant minority of Americans just might be thinking anew about the president and the war because of recent disclosures. But Democrats, emboldened last week, have let the weekend "appearance" of timidity become a this-week reality.
Even so, the "September 11 bombshell" did open the floodgates in terms of the press now going back and digging for more "who knew what, when" stories, like the New York Times doozy today about Attorney General Ashcroft and FBI chief Bob Mueller.
And make no mistake: every major news organization has diverted serious resources to looking for the next big scoop in the form of a smoking gun, a bloody knife, or Professor Plum in the conservatory with a candlestick.
Beyond the second-day coverage of Mueller's suicide bomber prediction, the biggest buzz of the day comes from the Times ' lead story that Mueller and Ashcroft learned of the Phoenix memo well before they told the president about it. We are confused, though: is the point that they knew about it too early and didn't pass it on, or that they didn't know about it until too late?
Ashcroft is scheduled to have a closed meeting with the Senate and House Intelligence Committees sometime this afternoon.
All of this in turn has, pretty transparently, caused the administration to ratchet up its warnings about future attacks, aided and abetted, presumably, by an FBI that is trying to CYA because they are the most likely fall guys, as usual ("as usual" meaning both that they are the likely fall guys and that they are masters of CYA).
So the Big Question now (again) becomes, what is the effect of all of this on the political world and on the atmosphere for the 2002 midterm elections? Now that this is all back in the news in such a big way, is it good for Democrats or for Republicans?
Democrats now are trying to get a handle on it all amidst a wash of publicized angst and punditocracy charges over the possibility that they were too aggressive at the start, while the latest ABCNEWS/ Washington Post poll shows that "[d]espite last week's pointed exchanges between the White House and congressional Democrats over the revelations, Bush's approval rating remained essentially unchanged, with 76 percent saying they approve of the job he is doing, down from 78 percent in mid-April. Eight in 10 continue to say they approve of the way Bush is handling the war against terrorism."
Look at the sub-questions and cross-tabs all you want, but that presidential approval number remains the 800-pound gorilla of the otherwise themeless pudding that still is the 2002 elections. And Democrats still are looking for a Braveheart leader they can confidently follow into battle this year.
Still, "The poll found that a majority of Americans want Congress to investigate what officials of the Bush administration knew about terrorist threats prior to Sept. 11, when they knew it and what action they took to respond to those warnings."
We mostly but not entirely agree with this Knight Ridder report: "the overarching reason that Bush won his first brief but intense political skirmish since Sept. 11 was that the American people still trust him to handle the war against terrorism. And they probably will side with him until proved wrong."
"In the aftermath of the short-lived brouhaha, one lesson most likely will prove lasting for those who investigate what went wrong leading up to Sept. 11: They must stick close to the facts, focus on preventing future attacks — and never appear eager to score political points."
"Democrats were mumbling to one another Monday about what they conceded was an overzealous reaction to a sketchy news story last Wednesday night."
"'It was one of those classic Washington days when everyone hears the echochamber inside their own heads,' said one Democratic Senate aide who spoke on condition she not be named. 'It was out of hand.'" (Note the rare female pronoun for the second reference to a deep-background quote provider.)
"Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., the House of Representatives minority leader and a possible 2004 presidential candidate, led the charge Thursday morning. He focused squarely on Bush."
The First Lady popped up on CNN this morning with Paula Zahn, and smiled her way through her (now) usual fervent defense of her husband and September 11.
All that being said, it's clearly open season on the Bush Administration now, by almost any policy weapon of choice. Among Democrats' potential 2004 contenders, Senator Dodd is out there on Cuba; Senator Lieberman yesterday became the first of the top-tier contenders to call for delaying the rest of the tax cut (after the scrappy, lower-tier Gov. Howard Dean); Gephardt is, as noted, out there on the September 11 "bombshell;" and Daschle's just always out there on something.
In fact, don't fail to note that it has been quite a 72-hour period for Joltin' Joe Lieberman, who has shown bushels of gumption in his public remarks this week, flexing his vaunted moral authority and his national security credentials. Not afraid of the polls, Lieberman took on the lot of the Bushies, including the First Lady, in that understated, good-natured style that makes certain Chevy Chasers swoon.
And his move on the tax cut, and his searing indictment of the president's overall stewardship of the country, have been eye-catching.
Read the full text of the Lieberman's important speech to the Detroit Economic Club yesterday. He dealt with the Bush tax issue as clearly as any top Democrat has done to date.
Let's see if any other Dem wannabes try to match THAT.
And that's not all. As usual, some dissent is coming from within certain flanks of the GOP. The Washington Post 's Kessler reports, "Influential lawmakers have begun challenging the Bush administration's handling of post-Taliban Afghanistan, fearing that the administration's reliance on regional military chiefs is undermining security and hindering the establishment of democratic institutions."
"The Republican-controlled House plans to approve a bipartisan bill today providing $1 billion in reconstruction aid to Afghanistan over four years, and Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the International Relations Committee, is backing an amendment that would require President Bush to quickly submit a plan explaining how the administration will address the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan."
"The willingness of leaders in both parties to question the administration's policy on Afghanistan appears to signal a further fraying in the near-universal support President Bush has received in the war against terrorism. Democrats in the past week have raised sharp questions about the administration's handling of intelligence prior to the Sept. 11 attacks. They now appear to view the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan as also ripe for tough scrutiny."
"Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who favors expanding the international peacekeeping force beyond Kabul, has circulated a letter to Bush among other Senate Republicans who have also begun to doubt the administration position, sources said. McCain declined to discuss the letter."
Per ABCNEWS' Shine: House Minority Leader Gephardt will be in the House Gallery at 10:45 am today, and staffers say he will call for Tom Ridge's job to become a cabinet position with all the power, money and authority that goes along with that status.
According to staffers, Gephardt likes Ridge — he just thinks his office should be a cabinet-level position.
Ridge may like Gephardt, but not what goes along with cabinet status — numerous appearances before Senator Byrd to ask for and defend money request and invitations from all those other committees that want to know why the "chatter" wasn't taken more seriously.
Senate Democrats continue today with their message events in honor of the one-year anniversary of Jeffords' switch, with newsers on education and the tax cut. "The commemoration will end with a rally against President Bush's environmental policies on Friday, which is the exact anniversary of Jeffords's speech announcing his decision to leave the GOP."
"Daschle, who became majority leader when Jeffords's switch became official last June, will observe the anniversary with a speech Wednesday to the National Press Club. The speech is titled, 'Making a Difference: America and the Senate One Year After Jeffords' Switch.'"
Today brings the Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Oregon primaries: both parties are watching to see who emerges from the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Pennsylvania, and to see how well vulnerable GOP Senator Tim Hutchinson fares in his primary, given his personal problems.
The most national political reporter and wise-gal attention will be on Pennsylvania, owing to its size and diverse electorate, and its importance as a possible guide to other, like-minded states in 2002 and 2004.
Heading into today, indications are that both Democrats in the Keystone State's gubernatorial primary have been told of late by their pollsters that they will win, which means something has to give, of course.
Whether the victor winds up being state Auditor Bob Casey, son of the eponymous former governor, or former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell (who once upon a time was "America's Mayor"), Democrats will come out of this bruising primary in pretty good shape — surprisingly, since the hot-buttons of abortion and guns have played big here.
Try as they might, it's not clear whether outside groups like NARAL and the NRA will be able to claim to have influenced or determined the outcome.
Watching the debates and reading the coverage, we get the sense that the top issues in the race have been economic leadership — how to relieve Pennsylvanians of their tax burden while maintaining services — and education. Casey's "negative ads" have been about Rendell's alleged mismanagement of Philadelphia and its schools, not about social issues.
See below for more, including vote-counting information.
Also today, Senators Kerry and Lieberman will talk to fellow New Democrats at the New Democrat Network PAC's annual spring conference in DC today. Kerry will speak at 11:30 am, Lieberman at 12:30 p.m..
This morning, Second Lady Lynne Cheney appears on "The View."
From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: Israeli Prime Minister Sharon has dismissed four ministers — all members of an ultra-Orthodox party — from his cabinet. The four ministers from the Shas party and several deputy ministers from the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, another ultra-Orthodox grouping, were sacked when they did not back the government on an economic austerity plan that was before parliament. The dismissal of the ministers leaves Sharon dependent on the left-of-center Labor party to maintain his national unity government.
Treasury Secretary O'Neill and Irish rock star Bono have arrived in Ghana on their four-nation tour aimed at improving the impact of develop.m.ent aid. The unlikely duo's 12-day fact-finding mission will also take in Uganda, South Africa and Ethiopia. Bono is hoping to show the US government that development aid can work effectively and that Africa needs more of it.
ABC 2002: The Primaries
PENNSYLVANIA
Turnout: labor will be out in force in Philadelphia, especially the rank-and-file of the building trade unions. Rendell's team has done a good job of recruiting student volunteers from local high schools to assist get-out-the-vote efforts; school districts canceled classes to make way for polls. High school students were lured by the promise of moolah and a free lunch.
And we'll see if Philadelphia's Mayor Street can turn out the vote.
Casey's base is in the city and suburbs of Pittsburgh; Rendell hopes to get most of his support from Philadelphia. Knowledgeable sources peg turnout at about 30 to 35 percent of registered voters.
Both campaigns lavished attention and promises of economic expansion on the coal mining and steel towns in the center of the state.
When polls close, unofficial counting begins. Like New York state, official counting begins on the Thursday after the election. State certification takes place immediately upon completion of the canvass. All recounts are full and conducted by the county election boards, subject to oversight by the Department of State. There are no automatic recounts. State law has uniform guidelines for punch card and optical scan ballots. Ten counties have punch-card ballot systems; the rest of the state uses a mix of optical scan and direct record systems.
The weather forecast: partly cloudy and a little chilly, with temperatures in the 50s. Polls close at 8:00 p.m.
OREGON
Gov. John Kitzhaber is term-limited, so Democrats will choose between: state Treasurer Jim Hill, Bev Stein, a former county chairman, Ted Kulongoski, a former state Supreme Court justice, and two others. Republicans will choose between lawyer Rob Saxton, state labor commissioner Jack Roberts, former state representative Kevin Mannix, and three others.
Oregon, which votes totally by mail, has instant recounts for margins less than 0.2 of one percent, but neither big race should be that close. As of last Friday, 25 percent of those requesting ballots had turned them in.
There have been a lot of questions about turnout, which of course is a whole different beast in this case, because of the mail-in nature of things.
ARKANSAS
You might not think of Arkansas as a rich state, but its voting systems are among the most modern in the South. Most counties use optical scan machines.
State and local races abound today. Attorney General Mark Pryor should get the Democratic nod for US Senate, and Senator Tim Hutchinson should get the Republican nomination, though he faces an opponent whose lovely, large, and musical family has somehow served to indirectly tease out some voters concern about Hutchinson's divorcing his wife and marrying an aide.
The 9/11 Bombshell
The Washington Post 's Dionne raps both sides: "The conventional wisdom — extending deep into the Democratic camp — is that Gephardt went too far in using the Watergate-era … formulation to challenge Bush on the August memo. Although many in Gephardt's party believe the administration would have attacked no matter what he had said, his choice of words helped create an atmosphere in which even Democrats who had issued the mildest of statements felt obliged to insist they weren't blaming the commander in chief."
"But the White House's rampage against any and all Democrats who dared utter a word was so furiously partisan that it suggested a defensiveness about Sept. 11 no one knew was there."
The Washington Post editorial page doesn't like the idea of an independent commission.
Cuba
We kind of have to wonder whether any Democrats found any irony in this line, given the setting: "'Mr. Castro, once — just once — show that you're unafraid of a real election,' Bush shouted to the crowd of 5,000 packed into a downtown Miami auditorium."
Peter Wallsten writes that Los Hermanos Bush were hits yesterday, rousing just the kind of support they needed.
Miami's ABC affiliate emphasized the mixed reaction among dissidents.
The nation's original "lead-bleed" station plays it "straight": Bush refuses to lift the embargo.
Economy/Budget Politics
The byline in the New York Times says "David Leonhardt," and it's right on the front page, and it could serve as suitable bed-time story fodder for all the children whose parents work in the Bush Administration -- replacing, for now, ": Goodnight, Moon" "Americans... have emerged from the nation's recent turmoil far more optimistic than after any other economic downturn in a generation... In place of the economic malaise that generally plagued the public in the 1970's and from the late 1980's through the early 1990's, polls show that by wide margins Americans now say that the coming years will be prosperous and that today's children will live better than their parents."
Alan Murray's Wall Street Journal column says the Bush-Daschle bidding war to shower pork on South Dakota and build political capital there is just part of a wider problem, including the "emergency" supplemental spending bill, the farm bill, and "then there are the spending bills for 2003, which Congress will need to act on in the months just before the election. The Senate hasn't even passed a budget yet to set limits on those bills, raising the possibility of an unprecedented pork jamboree. The president is asking for a total of $759 billion in appropriated spending, but Congress is talking about $770 billion, and some budget analysts predict the final total could reach as high as $800 billion."
"There's also the possibility Congress will try to rush through a prescription-drug bill before the election to buy off senior citizens angry about the high cost of medicines... Mr. Bush could stop this festival, of course, by vetoing a few of these spending bills, as his budget director Mitch Daniels Jr. has threatened. But the... [South Dakota] example makes clear that the president is far more interested in trying to knock Sen. Daschle out of the majority leader's chair than he is in containing the current spending spree."
Bush Trip
Just in time for take-off, USA Today's Nichols and Page nicely capture Bush's sorta tenuous relationship with Europe, which on the EU's side seems to mix respect with skepticism, and on the President's side seem to entail a little more wide-eyed curiosity about the place than (those perhaps snobby) European leaders would prefer.
Robert Pear and Robin Toner will love the Wall Street Journal's lead story on how the states are going to court to try to bring down prescription drug costs, an issue on which the clock is ticking on the 43rd President of the United States.
Good guy and Bob Dole spokesman Doug MacKinnon writes a lovely op-ed in the New York Times about growing up on welfare and often homeless, and how it informs his policy views.
ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary
Dodd and Lieberman gets snaps today, while Gephardt's coverage is more mixed.
The biggest chessboard move of the past news cycle was Lieberman's call to delay the implementation of the rest of Bush's tax cut, with nice bicoastal coverage by Mr. Balz and Mr. Brownstein, both of whom note in their leads that Lieberman is the first "prominent" 2004 contender -- "prominent" being Brownstein's way of handling Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's earlier statements about this -- to take a clear stand on the issue.
And look what else he worked into that speech. "Lieberman charged that the Bush administration has undermined the economic policies of the Clinton administration," Balz notes.
"Anticipating GOP criticism, Lieberman sought to shield himself from attacks by saying, 'Read my lips: keeping current tax rates is not a tax increase.'"
Dean gets a victory in that he makes it into both stories, albeit as a caveat.
Attacking Bush's Cuba proposals, "Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) said the administration had 'responded in very petty ways' to Carter, including today's speeches 'rejecting President Carter's call for revisions in U.S. policy.' Dodd has invited Carter to Capitol Hill Tuesday to brief House and Senate members on his Cuba trip."
Dodd "called Bush's plan 'a laundry list of actions that the Castro government must take before the United States takes even one step toward modifying U.S. policies.' He said Bush's plan virtually guarantees that the political system in Cuba will remain unchanged. Dodd has proposed legislation that would authorize trade, remove travel restrictions on U.S. citizens, lift prohibitions on the amount of money U.S. residents can send to Cuba and give the president more flexibility in enforcing the trade embargo."
In addition to the coverage up above, Gephardt also takes a hit in George Melloan's Wall Street Journal column, which also includes implicit praise for our former colleague, whom we still miss: "By Sunday, the Democrats seemed to have decided that maybe they hadn't been very smart, probably after hearing from constituents outraged at their assaults on a popular president. Under heavy questioning by reporter Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday, Mr. Gephardt was almost contrite, saying that all he meant was that there should be an inquiry into why information available last summer wasn't acted upon."
"Well, that's much better. But there already is a bipartisan congressional inquiry by duly appointed House and Senate intelligence committees that have been thoroughly briefed by the administration. None of it shows that Mr. Bush was negligent. So Mr. Gephardt's second dog doesn't hunt very well either."
The Boston Globe'sJohnson checks out Senator Kerry's personal financial disclosure report, post-recession. "Kerry reported a significant change declared in the value of a prized political asset. A painting held jointly by the junior senator and his wife, Teresa Heinz, changed in value from more than $1 million in 2001 to between $250,001 to $500,000 last year. The painting, which Kerry started listing after his 1995 marriage to Heinz, is among joint assets the senator used in 1996 to secure last-minute loans for ads during his campaign against Governor William F. Weld. A senate aide said the difference in valuation reported for the painting was due to a change in the way Kerry and Heinz accounted for it, not a drop in the artwork's worth."
"Despite the drops... Kerry again reported a family trust worth between $100,001 and $250,000, while a listing of Heinz's portfolio and transactions last year ran 72 pages."
The picture of a smiling Al Gore that accompanies Dick Morris' New York Post column in the hard copy has this caption, which will get a multi-meaning laugh on 125th Street: "Gore: Mouse on Airport Security."
Politics
Warning: what you're about to read is classified.
Did that get your attention?
If you're a prospective donor, the Republican party hopes it might.
The cover page of a new GOP fundraising pitch is emblazoned with the phrase, "CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT," hinting at some closely-held content inside.
Below it, an instruction key tells surveyees to "Return the Survey with your most generous contribution in the envelope provided."
That classified information turns out to be a standard survey of Republican ideas. A sample question: "Does the national news media accurately report the news without liberal bias?"
It's easy to make too much of this. Stories about aggressive money solicitation tactics rarely impinge upon voters' consciousness. And a Republican party official accused Democrats of reaching here.
But Republicans are quick to pounce on Democrats who dare suggest that classified information, like the text of that August 6th President's Daily Brief, be disclosed, revealed, or scrutinized by the public. Or who suggest that Republicans are using the shield of the government's classification system to protect their president from questions about his pre-September 11 knowledge. And at least one prominent Republican party operative expressed discomfort with the phrase.
During wartime, the word "classified" takes on added meaning. The integrity of the government's four-pronged classification system -- Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret -- Special Compartment Information, is taken so seriously that violators and leakers are subject to criminal prosecution.
And the National Republican Congressional Committee, which took a hit for selling contributors a September 11 photo of President Bush, has taken hits in the media for trying to capitalize on the GOP's wartime popularity.
Carl Forti, the NRCC's spokesperson, said he did not think the choice of words was inappropriate, and called that charge "frivolous."
The Washington Times attempts to offer a "take that!" to the DNC's criticism of Bush and Republicans for the fundraising sale of the Bush September 11 photo. The paper reports on a photo "peddled by the DNC" which "pictured a youthful Bill Clinton shaking hands with President Kennedy in the Rose Garden during the 1963 American Legion Boys' National Leadership Convention. No sooner was it revealed that the DNC was offering the photo in return for a contribution of '$400 or more' that we were contacted by [Rep. Jim] Ramstad."
USA Today'sLawrence uses Bob Casey, Jr.'s run for governor as the peg for a story on relatives of politicians hoping to get some mileage out of the family name in their own runs for office.
Pegged to the New Democrat Network poll, the Wall Street Journal's Harwood continues his burst of visible productivity with a piece about President Bush's gains with Hispanic voters (also known as Matthew Dowd's secret plan): "A new poll of Hispanic voters nationwide... shows that among these voters Mr. Bush has drawn even with former Vice President Al Gore in a prospective 2004 match-up. In 2000, Mr. Bush lost Hispanics to Mr. Gore by more than 20 percentage points. If the Republican incumbent can sustain his current level of support two years from now -- especially in key states such as Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado -- he will drastically steepen the odds against any Democratic challenger."
Tim Burger re-asserts his authorityover the Congress-comes-to-Gotham story: "Congressional leaders have set Sept. 6 for a special session in New York City to commemorate the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I., Brooklyn) said yesterday... Fossella said he expects to have at least one member of the House or Senate from each state, but hopes for more."
"Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan), who has helped Fossella push an idea initially proposed in a Daily News editorial, said Jewish members are angry the session falls on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year."
"A Fossella aide said the likely location is Federal Hall, a Wall St. building that was once the U.S. Customs House. The city hopes to get a $1 million Annenberg grant to pay for security."
The Washington Post's Grove and Martinez report the birth of 7-pound, 6-ounce Peter Lonergan McAuliffe, no doubt soon to be making blanketed, cooing rounds at the Democratic National Committee.
California
The New York Times
checks in on GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon, and doesn't like what it sees, recycling the old "too conservative/too passive" criticism, relegating Gov. Gray Davis' recent problems to "on the other hand" status, and having the original (sigh) idea of quoting Dan Schnur and Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. The signs the story uses to semi-bury Simon: too few reporters are covering his events (twice!), he is down in the latest Field Poll, and Republicans trash him on background.
Gov. Gray Davis signed an executive order requiring competitive bidding on all state contracts over $100,000. The state legislature's joint audit committee meets today to continue its investigation of the Oracle contract.
Gov. Jeanne Shaheen has vetoed her 12th bill, an incentive program for state employees.
Wayne Barrows, a former Good Morning America intern, will announce his candidacy for the First Congressional District. He's bringing with him two former advisors to Sen. John McCain, Tim Lennon and T.J. Crawford.
New York
Rack up yet
another cross-partisan victory for Gov. George Pataki, though admittedly, the Teamsters are known for their willingness to consider both sides. The Washington Times follows up on the AP's Humbert's reporting yesterday that the Teamsters will endorse Pataki today. "The Teamsters' New York City local is organizing the endorsement event, but Mr. Hoffa plans to attend." Check out White House political director Ken Mehlman's spin.
Teamsters "officials said yesterday they may consider at least a half-dozen more Republican gubernatorial endorsements. Among them: Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, who is seeking a second term in Florida; Sen. Frank H. Murkowski of Alaska, who is running to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles; state Attorney General Jim Ryan, who is in a tight race in Illinois; and acting Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who has succeeded Mr. Bush."
Adam Nagourney in the New York Times untangles the unique, always vexing multiple-party ballot quandary facing Empire State candidates and voters this fall.
Consultant Roger Stone, who is working for businessman/spoiler Tom Golisano, coming off his 2000 Trump work (and thus is up for the Bill Knapp Award), is quoted in the piece, as is Liberal Party chief Ray Harding, who has this classic political quote, issued to deflect a query about his strategy: "Mr. Harding declined to discuss his plans. 'These are matters that relate to the ability to walk between the rocks,' Mr. Harding said."
How much will the New York Post's flagrant hostility toward Andrew Cuomo be worth to the Pataki campaign if Cuomo is the Democrats nominee for governor?
Even by tabloid standards, we are surprised at how negative these stories are today.
When will Pataki's supporters learn that anyone touted for ANYTHING in the Bush Administration in the Post gossip column is pretty much eliminated from consideration?
Massachusetts
Pegged, perhaps, to Vice President Cheney's visit tonight to raise dough for Mitt Romney, the Boston Globe reports that the state Democratic party is thinking really big -- $4 million big -- with its plan to win the governorship this fall. But we continue to ask: where will the money come from? "[T]he plan relies on state Democratic officeholders and the Massachusetts congressional delegation to help raise the money. Not all of them have signed off on the effort."
"Party leaders would not discuss the goals in detail. But senior congressional aides told the Globe that, under the plan, the state's 10 US representatives, who are all Democrats, and its two senators will be asked together to raise $1.2 million."
"Those aides said the party is looking for $40,000 each from the members of the House. Senator Edward M. Kennedy would raise $250,000 and Senator John F. Kerry, who is up for reelection but does not face serious opposition, would raise $500,000."
South Carolina
The State's Bandy reports that the "South Carolina Republican Party heads into this year's election deeply in debt and facing a possible hefty fine for violating federal election campaign laws."
"Some GOP members fear the party will not be able to make the maximum $50,000 contribution to its statewide candidates this fall."
"And worse, the Republican National Committee and its subsidiaries could decide not to make large election year donations to the state party to get out the vote because that money could be subject to government fines or be claimed by those who are owed money by the party."
Secretary of State Katherine Harris' House campaign yesterday took after one of her Democratic opponents for an ad featuring Sarasota County firefighters and an "Anybody But Katherine" slogan. "Four county firefighters appeared in a campaign ad for Candice Brown McElyea that aired over the weekend on television and on the candidate's Web site. Harris' campaign condemned the ads, saying the firefighters violated a county policy forbidding employees from political activity on the job."
Before he gets to take on GOP Rep. John Thune, Democratic Senator Tim Johnson faces a primary challenge from Larouchian candidate Hermann Eilers.
Bush Administration Strategy/Personality
The cleverness of the symbolism and substance of the president's "new" Cuba policy (and we still think it is "new," despite the administration playing this game of simultaneously calling it a "new initiative" but also saying it isn't a change in policy) is best explained by:
1) looking at the mixed headlines he got for his speeches, with some saying it represents holding a hard line on current policy, and some say it represents a reaching out; and
2) reading the very nuanced lead editorial in the The Wall Street Journal .
The Washington Post 's Milbank revisits the Bush White House secrecy thing. "By declining to share information in public or with Congress, it gives the impression it is covering something up when the information inevitably dribbles out — thus provoking congressional hostility and disproportionate media attention."
—9:00 am, Senate meets to consider trade legislation, with cloture vote expected in the afternoon
—9:00 am, House meets for morning business
— 9:15 am, homeland security chief Ridge discusses the war on terrorism, US Chamber of Commerce, DC
—9:30 am, White House off-camera morning gaggle
— 9:30 am, Senate Commerce Committee hearing on airline security, with Transportation Secretary Mineta and transportation security czar John Magaw
— 10:00 am, Defense Appropriations subcommittee hearing with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld
— 10:45 am, House Minority Leader Gephardt holds news conference on homeland security, House Radio/TV Gallery
— 11:15 am, Senate Democrats' education event in honor of Sen. Jim Jeffords
— 12:15 pm, White House on-camera briefing
— 12:30 pm, Secretary of State Powell briefs on a survey on global terrorism patterns, State Department
— 1:30 pm, Secretary of State Powell takes Q&A
—2:00 pm, Senate Democrats' event opposing making the tax cut permanent, in honor of Sen. Jim Jeffords
— 2:05 pm, President Bush takes part in photo op with NCAA champions, South Lawn
— 3:00 pm, Gen. Tommy Franks conducts Pentagon briefing
— 6:05 pm, Vice President Cheney addresses fundraiser for Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney, Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston
7:00 pm, Secretary Rumsfeld interviewed on CNBC
Newly listed events are italicized.
— May 22-23: New York Democratic party convention, Sheraton New York, NYC
— May 22: Tom Delay hosts ARMAPC 2002 Reception, DC
— May 22: Senator Tom Daschle speaks to National Press Club on America and the Senate once year since Jim Jeffords resigned from the GOP.
— May 22-23: President and Mrs. Bush visit Berlin
—May 22: AFL-CIO members expected to ratify increased dues levy for political purposes, New York, NY
— May 22: Democratic National Convention site selection committee meets to decide on possible sites and a site visit schedule, DC
— May 23: Senate Democrats rally on Capitol steps in honor of Sen. Jim Jeffords. — May 23: Tipper Gore appears on CBS' "The Early Show." and hosts town hall meeting on "Healing the American Spirit," NY
— May 23-25: President and Mrs. Bush visit Moscow
— May 24: signature deadline for some California ballot initiatives
— May 25: signature deadline for Oregon ballot initiatives
— May 27—30: U.S. Senate/U.S. House not in session
— May 27: Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd's birthday
— May 28: Idaho and Kentucky primary
— May 28: South Dakota pre-primary financial disclosure forms due
— May 28: President Bush attends NATO Summit, Italy
— May 28: Sen. Paul Wellstone kicks off re-election campaign
— May 28-29: New York GOP Convention (Gov. George Pataki's formal renomination)
— May 29: Sen. Joe Lieberman and the Democratic Leadership Council host forum on "The Battle for Latino Voters," Los Angeles — May 29: Vice President Cheney keynotes "Statesmen's Night" for Tennessee Republican Party, Nashville
— May 31: Tipper Gore fundraises for New Hampshire Democratic Party, Concord
— June 1: New Hampshire Democratic Party State Convention, St. Anslem's college. — June 1: Colorado Democratic Party State Convention
— June 1: Colorado Republican Party State Convention
— June 1: Indiana Democratic Party State Convention
— June 1: Massachusetts Democratic Party State Convention
— June 2-3: Senator Joseph Lieberman visits New Hampshire
— July 1-5: U.S. Senate/U.S. House not in session
— June 4: Iowa Primary
— June 4: South Dakota Primary
— June 4: Former Vice President Al Gore holds PAC fundraisers in San Francisco, Los Angeles
— June 5: Congressional candidate Katherine Harris attends GOP luncheon at Valis Associaties, DC
— June 5: Former Vice President Al Gore holds fundraiser for NH Sen. candidate Jeanne Shaheen, Los Angeles
— June 7: President Rudolf Schuster of the Slovak Republic visits Washington
— June 7: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean gives commencement speech at University of Michigan medical school
— June 7: Texas Republican Party State Convention
— June 7: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean keynotes Michigan House Democratic Caucus reception
— June 7-8: Wisconsin State Democratic Party convention
— June 8: Al Gore addresses Wisc. Dem. Convention
— June 8: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean gives commencement speech at Dartmouth medical school, NH
— June 8: Sen. Patty Murray keynotes Tennessee Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Nashville
— June 8: North Carolina Democratic Party State Convention
— June 8: Washington Sate Democratic Party Convention
— June 10: North Carolina Senator John Edwards' birthday. — June 10: President Bush hosts International Democratic Union members, DC
— June 11: Vermont Gov. Howard Dean keynotes Clinton County, NY Salute to Labor Committee celebration.
— June 12-15: National Federation of Independent Business summitt, DC; Karl Rove, Dennis Hastert among the speakers.
—June 13-14: Indiana Republican Party State Convention
—June 13-15: Texas Democratic Party State Convention
— June 14: North Carolina Senator John Edwards speaks to Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame, Polk County, IA — June 14-18: U.S. Conference of Mayors meets in Madison, Wisconsin
— June 14-15: RNC legal compliance seminar, Las Vegas
— June 15-16: Iowa Democratic Party State Convention — June 15-18: Idaho Republican Party State Convention
— June 17: Deadline for proposals from 2004 convention city prospects
— June 19: NRCC/NRSC dinner, DC
— June 20: White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card headlines Voice of Victory dinner for New Hampshire Republican Party
— June 20-22: South Dakota Democratic Party State Convention
— June 20-23: Idaho Republican Party State Convention
— June 21: South Dakota Republican Party Sate Convention
— June 21-23: Montana Republican Party State Convention
— June 21: N.C. Sen. John Edwards celebrates Flag Day in New Hampshire
— June 22: N.C. Sen. John Edwards attends Merrimack County Annual Pig Roast — June 22: Iowa Republican Party State Convention
— June 27: Rep. Jim Traficant's sentencing scheduled to take place
— June 27: Final deadline for California initiative and referenda to be on Nov. ballot
— June 23-25: Election Law Summit, Washington, D.C.
— June 25: Utah primary
— June 25-30: National Conference of Lieutenant Governors annual meeting, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
— June 27-30: Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Charlotte
— June 29: Former Vice President Al Gore speaks to Shelby County Democratic Party Kennedy Day Dinner, TN
— July 3-7: Libertarian Party National Convention, Indianapolis
— July 4: WMUR Statehouse reporter Scott Spradling to wed.
— July 5: last day for Washington state ballot measures to be presented
— July 6: President Bush's birthday.
— July 6-11: NAACP Annual Convention, Houston
— July 9-12: Northwest Regional Election Conference, Portland, Oregon
— July 13: Sen. Joe Lieberman keynotes Louisiana Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner
— July 15: New York periodic disclosure forms due
— July 18-21: Green Party of the United States annual convention, Philadelphia
— July 20: House minority leader Dick Gephardt keynotes Florida Democrats Jefferson-Jackson dinner
— July 20-24: American Trial Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta
— July 26-30: National Association of Secretaries of State annual meeting, Providence, Rhode Island
— July 28: Bill Bradley's birthday.
— Aug. 6: Michigan primary (Democratic primary for governor)
— Aug. 7: last day for Ohio ballot measures to be presented
— Aug. 8-11: Democratic National Committee meets, Las Vegas
— Aug. 14: Lynne Cheney's birthday.
— Aug. 19: Bill Clinton's birthday.
— Aug 19: Tipper Gore's birthday.
— Aug. 20: Georgia primaries
— Aug 26: Jury selection begins in John Walker Lindh trial
— Sept. 10: Florida, New Hampshire, and New York primaries (Florida: Democratic primary for governor; New Hampshire: Republican primary for Senate and primaries on both sides for governor; New York: Democratic primary for governor)
— Sept. 12-14: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 32nd Annual Legislative Conference, DC
— Sept. 17: Massachusetts primary (Democratic primary for governor)
— Sept. 30: Jury selection begins for trial of Zacarias Moussaoui
— Sept. 30: Discovery ends in McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative).
— Oct. 4: Al Sharpton's birthday.
— Oct. 15 (tentative): Zacarias Moussaoui trial begins
— October 26: New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's birthday
— Nov. 4: Laura Bush's birthday
— Nov. 4: Deadline for opening briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative).
— Nov. 5: Election Day
— Nov. 17: Vermont Governor Howard Dean's birthday.
— Nov. 18: Deadline for opposition briefs, McCain-Feingold lawsuit (tentative).
— Nov. 20: Delaware Senator. Joseph Biden's birthday
— Dec. 4: Oral arguments begun in McCain-Feingold lawsuit. (tentative)
— Dec. 9: South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle's birthday
— Dec. 11: Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's birthday
— Dec. 13: Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's birthday
— Dec. 26: California Governor. Gray Davis's birthday
— Jan. 30, 2003: Vice President Dick Cheney's birthday
— Jan. 31, 2003: Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt's birthday
— Feb. 24, 2003: Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman's birthday
— March 11, 2003: Georgia Governor Roy Barnes's birthday
— March 31, 2003: Al Gore's birthday
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