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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Gephardt faces union battle
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Dick Gephardt -- shown here picketing with California grocery workers Wednesday -- faces union pressure to fire one of his campaign leaders.
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CNN's Bruce Morton looks at the new crop of liberals lashing out at President Bush and explores partisan rage in political history.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
• UNION FIGHT: The presidents of AFSCME and SEIU accused one of Dick Gephardt's senior campaign advisers Wednesday of threatening political retribution if the unions' Missouri members campaigned for Howard Dean, Gephardt's Democratic presidential rival. In a sharply worded letter, the union presidents demanded that Gephardt fire Joyce Aboussie, his campaign vice chair, for suggesting that she would take steps to get a key collective bargaining order for state workers rescinded if the two unions tried to help Dean in Missouri.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch: Two union leaders seek firing of aide to Gephardt
• INSIDERS FOR DEAN: Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who has bashed the Washington establishment throughout his presidential campaign, is increasingly courting Washington lawmakers, lobbyists and political operatives to help cement his status as the man to beat for the Democratic nomination. While Dean has risen to the top of polls in Iowa, New Hampshire and other key states as the anti-Washington candidate, he is adjusting his campaign tactics to appeal to establishment Democrats who can help deliver the money, manpower and momentum he might need to wrap up the party's nomination.
The Washington Post: Dean now courting party insiders
• NEXT UP: A conservative political group that launched the successful recall against Gov. Gray Davis is mulling a new initiative that would create a part- time Legislature and effectively shift greater powers to the governor. Ted Costa says he's currently preoccupied with another initiative to redraw California's legislative districts but warned Wednesday that if the Democratic-controlled Legislature continued to ignore political reforms, he would consider a measure reducing lawmakers' time in Sacramento.
The San Francisco Chronicle: Recall champion floats part-time Legislature
• Gephardt joined striking grocery workers on a West Hollywood picket line Wednesday, calling them heroes who were making sacrifices to protect their families' rights. Gephardt told more than 100 cheering pickets that his health-care plan would level the playing field between the major grocery chains and non-union rivals like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by combining mandatory health-insurance requirements with refundable tax credits for employers.
The Los Angeles Times: Gephardt walks the line with grocery strikers
• John Edwards pledged Wednesday that, if elected president, he would immediately restrict the influence of Washington lobbyists, whom he routinely bashes in his campaign speeches. Edwards, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, depicts lobbyists as half of an alliance, along with President Bush, that has allowed special interests to shape legislation on Medicare, prescription drugs, energy subsidies and tax cuts.
The Charlotte Observer: Edwards bashes Washington lobbyists
• BRIDGE BUILDERS: John Kerry said yesterday he would appoint two envoys to assist Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and to "build bridges" to the Islamic world if he wins the White House next year, and described former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter as "uniquely qualified" for the first post. Kerry said he discussed the idea with both men and he thought they would "welcome it and embrace it." Spokeswomen for the former presidents confirmed the conversations.
The Boston Globe: Kerry touts Clinton, Carter as envoys
• CLARK'S PLAN: Announcing his $70 billion plan to boost early childhood education, Wesley Clark offered few details of his plan, which calls for $20 billion over 10 years to expand Head Start and $50 billion to help states improve preschool programs. The goal is to provide universal preschool access to all 4-year-olds.
AP: Clark offers early plan on childhood education
• SOUTHWEST STAKES: Oklahoma is a new prize in the Democratic nominating process, after moving up its primary to February 3 -- just a week after New Hampshire's -- yet it is proving an unusually difficult state for the presidential contenders to figure out. Unlike Iowa or New Hampshire, no one knows which issue will fire up Democratic voters the most, what voter turnout will be, or whether tools like bumper stickers would help. What is clear, however, are the stakes – Wesley Clark and Joe Lieberman and John Edwards are treating Oklahoma as a must-win state, hoping it will rekindle their candidacies if they are on the ropes after the Granite State primary.
The Boston Globe: Oklahoma proves puzzle to Democrats
• Iowans have never before been bombarded with this many advertisements from this many candidates so early in presidential campaign season, strategists and analysts say. The barrage, they say, underscores the increasing belief by several of the major campaigns that Iowa may be more critical than in the past in determining who ends up with the Democratic nomination. The four major Democratic candidates competing in Iowa have run at least 4,450 spots in Des Moines alone since January.
The New York Times: Early flood of political ads saturates airwaves in Iowa
• NONPARTISAN GOTV: The state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), a network of activist groups, and George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management plan to announce an ambitious plan today to register and turn out thousands of young voters for next year's presidential election. The effort, which organizers called the largest ever of its kind, is designed to mobilize 18-to-24-year-olds -- some of the nation's least likely voters -- in six states: Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin. The groups hope to register 260,000 young people over the next year and to increase their average turnout next November by 5 percent -- or about 100,000 people.
The Washington Post: Grass-roots mobilization effort for presidential election will focus on 6 states
• GILLESPIE'S NEXT ROUND: Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie spoke at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, answering questions from the floor regarding the state of the party and some of the key issues. Gillespie said the party would highlight the successes of President Bush's first term in the 2004 race, but added that whoever emerges from the Democratic party will be a worthy opponent.
The Manchester Union Leader: GOP party chair touts successes at St. Anselm
• DOWNBALLOT: North Carolina Senate hopeful Erskine Bowles will outline today a series of proposals to deal with widespread plant closings in North Carolina, including one to require a trade impact statement on new trade agreements. Patterned after federally required environmental impact statements, Bowles says the president should be required to issue a report detailing how new trade deals will affect communities.
The Raleigh News and Observer: Bowles outlines plan to bolster jobs
Compiled by Mark H. Rodeffer
