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The Morning Grind / DayAhead |
Dialing Democrats
Pols calling to nab endorsements, fend off a spoiler
By John Mercurio
CNN Political Unit
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Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa hasn't taken sides in the Democratic race, but some supporters of U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt say they worry that the senator may be considering endorsing Howard Dean.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats are dialing these days.
U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt's labor friends are calling Iowa's Tom Harkin, this year's most popular senator, urging him to resist the urge to endorse Howard Dean. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe is calling Ralph Nader, apparently on a regular basis, lending an ear and, we assume, an olive branch.
Harkin isn't taking sides in the 2004 race, at least not yet. But that hasn't stopped Gephardt's labor allies, who increasingly hear rumblings that the Iowan is moving toward Dean, from mobilizing on the Missourian's behalf.
Harkin got a call Thursday, for example, from Teamsters President James Hoffa, Gephardt's most active and influential ally in the labor community, and the senator is expected to hear this weekend from other labor bigwigs, including Terry O'Sullivan of the Laborers' International Union and Joe Hunt of the Ironworkers union.
In his conversation with Hoffa, sources say, Harkin didn't deny he was mulling a Dean endorsement.
Aides say Harkin is the target of a 360-degree lobbying effort, drawing appeals from all four major Democrats still competing in his home state -- Gephardt, Dean and the Johns (Kerry and Edwards). But while sources say Gephardt's labor allies are good at making their voices heard, Harkin is increasingly moving toward the former Vermont governor.
Sources say Harkin told labor groups in Washington and Iowa, as recently as last month, that he would remain neutral or endorse Gephardt. This week, however, he apparently has cited Dean's fund-raising success, and former Vice President Al Gore's endorsement, as key reasons his loyalties are shifting.
Such reasoning irks some Gephardt allies. "It just sends this message, that if an endorsement as important as Tom Harkin's is going to be decided by who has the most money, then let's just forget about the voting and declare the best fund-raiser the winner," one of Gephardt's chief labor strategists told the Grind.
"They [Gephardt's people] view it as a real slap in the face. This sense that it's all about money, it's the kind of thing that really drives people away from politics."
Labor split?
Labor leaders also are talking, more broadly, of the growing split within the movement that the Democratic primary season has brought about, and the political headaches that split could cause the AFL-CIO's president, John Sweeney.
One Gephardt ally warned of a scenario in which Dean, as the party's nominee, leads Democrats to a Mondale-esque defeat in the White House, gubernatorial and congressional races. Six months later, in his re-election campaign, Sweeney could face a serious challenge for failing to unite labor against Bush.
"[Sweeney] will be screwed," the labor strategist said. "This split is terrible. There's a real sense of unease."
Reaching out to Nader
Tending to another trouble spot these days is McAuliffe, who sources say has opened up a steady line of communication with Nader over the past three months. The two had lunch in Washington on November 5, the day after Democrats lost gubernatorial races in Mississippi and Kentucky, and spoke most recently Tuesday, shortly before the debate in New Hampshire.
Democrats said McAuliffe, who might speak with Nader again this weekend to talk about his Thursday night fund-raiser in New Jersey, is trying to avoid the mistakes made in 2000, when Nader complained Democratic leaders largely ignored him.
"My assumption is that Nader is running [in '04]. The working hypothesis is that he's running," one party insider said. "But you don't want him to run and then air these claims that no one from the party ever talked to him."
'Small Town' politics
Also this weekend, John Edwards is set to hold a small reception with John Mellencamp. Mellencamp's 1985 hit, "Small Town," has become an anthem of Edwards' campaign, played at introductions and official events.
Mellencamp will perform for a small audience of Edwards supporters. The campaign also wanted us to know that Edwards' hometown is Robbins, North Carolina (population 1,900), while Mellencamp was born in Seymour, Indiana (population 18,000). In other words, Edwards is from a much smaller town than Mellencamp.
The event takes place at 8 p.m. EST in Le Roy, Illinois, population 3,400.
