Sunday, January 25, 2004

POLITICAL ROUNDUP
Note to Dean: Stop complaining:
It is almost a week after Iowa and Howard Dean is still complaining about his treatment in the Iowa Caucuses: ["Dean says Iowa should clean up negative attacks if it wants to keep the nation's first caucus"].
Dean said his rivals "had their folks really beating up on the people who went in, trying to get them to change their minds in caucus. I think Iowa is going to have to change the way it conducts its caucuses if it wants to continue to be first," he told reporters in an interview on his campaign bus in New Hampshire.
Dean needs to stop complaining about Iowa. He was the first candidate to go negative in Iowa, attacking Dick Gephardt and John Kerry, for their invasion votes and for being "Washington insiders." His campaign mailed out the first negative mailer in the history of the Iowa Caucuses. In polls, Gephardt fell from first, to second, to third, and then ended up coming in fourth. Gephardt and Kerry fought back and Dean slipped to third. So for him to go on and on, complaining about the rough and tumble world of political tactics now, rings hollow. Move on Howard, move on.

Kucinich: How much change do you want?: Good question: ["Kucinich makes his pitch in Nashua"].
Also, in a story in the Union Leader, Kucinich was also the only candidate to appear at a Catholic voters forum hosted by former-Boston Mayor Ray Flynn. Flynn complained at the forum:
"Democratic candidates are ignoring Catholic voters. Why don't they show up here and face the voters of New Hampshire? When are we going to be heard? Why are we being ignored?"
Note to Flynn: Why should any Democratic candidate take you seriously? You abandoned almost everything you stood for when you openly endorsed George W. Bush in 2000.
As a Catholic leader [and former-Ambassador to the Vatican], you ignored hundreds of complaints against Catholic priests about the molestation of young boys in the Boston area - reprehensible crimes - that later proved to be true. You openly criticized the parishioners who made the charges. You defended the Boston Archdiocese and Cardinal Bernard Law, over and over and over again, the man and organization, who covered up these allegations. Law also attacked those parishioners complaining about being sexually attacked by priests. You were an apologist for Law up until the day he stepped down. On your radio show on WROL that day, at the top of the hour, at 3 p.m., you stated that it was "a time for forgiveness" of Law.
Where was your outrage? When were you going to allow those boys who were raped by priests to be heard? As a Catholic leader, why did you ignore those boys who were begging for help and justice? You obsess about the unborn and do nothing for the living.
Why should any Democratic candidate take you seriously? Why should any Catholic take you seriously?

Braun stumps for Dean: ["Braun stumps for Dean at student event, Kucinich talks draft"].

Lieberman draws crowd: ["Lieberman draws his largest crowd yet"].

Edwards does too: ["Edwards focuses on economy, tax policy"].

Kerry, umm, plays hockey: ["Kerry Takes to Ice with Hockey Greats in N.Hampshire"].

Sharpton transforms: ["Sharpton's transformation to Presidential candidate"].

Other stuff:
Kerry endorsed by League of Conservation Voters:
"John Kerry is a man whose unparalleled record on environmental issues has earned him an extraordinary lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters, and he is clearly the strongest environmentalist in the field," said Deb Callahan, president of the League of Conservation Voters.
Kucinich has four full-page ads in the Manchester Union Leader this morning in the front book. The first page has the Fear Ends, Hope Begins, message, with two inside pages of policy positions. The back page blares U.N. IN, U.S. OUT.
The Union Leader also has a page sampling NH state and local officials and which candidate they are backing. The Kucinich campaign, however, reportedly didn't submit a list to the newspaper. Although, any primary watcher knows that Kucinich has been backed by the NH Green Party and Doug Bogen of Clean Water Action.
The back page of the Local & State section of the Concord Monitor has an issues comparison page.
Profiling Arizona: ["Arizona primary holds key for candidates"].
Democratic insider Dan Payne gives his take to the Globe, limiting the choices to four: ["So, who's electable?"].
Holly Ramer writes about Charles Brereton and his new book, "Primary Politics": ["Past primaries have made lasting mark"].
Only in England: Need $$$ for college? Sell your virginity!: ["Student is selling her virginity on the internet for £10,000"]. Check out this editorializing line: So far more than 400 men, many of them sickos, have placed bids offering 18-year-old Rosie Reid up to £10,000 for sex. Hah, I love the Brit papers sometimes.