March 2004
Groundbreaking poll provides blueprint for defeating Bush
Right is Wrong
"If 1994 was the year we stopped thinking like a permanent minority, 2004 is the year we start thinking like a permanent majority...." -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay at the Republican retreat in Philadelphia (Roll Call, 2/2/04)
"The Lord has blessed him.... It doesn't make any difference what he does, good or bad, God picks him up because he's a man of prayer and God's blessing him." -- Pat Robertson on George W. Bush's chances for re-election in 2004 (The 700 Club, CBN, 1/2/04)
"I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president...." -- Walden O'Dell, CEO of Diebold, Inc., manufacturer of touch-screen voting machines used across the country and a "Pioneer" who has raised more than $200,000 for President Bush's re-election (The New York Times, 12/2/03)
"The argument ... is, ‘Well, that's only two percent ... of Americans likely to have to pay [the estate tax].' I mean, that's the morality of the Holocaust: ‘Oh, it's only a small percentage. It's not you; it's somebody else.'" -- Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist ("Fresh Air," NPR, 10/2/03)
"We tell our kids not to smoke and not to do drugs but we are encouraging a behavior that kills homosexual men 10 to 20 years earlier than their heterosexual counterparts? ... We're talking about a serious medical problem." -- Sandy Rios, president, Concerned Women for America (Human Events, 1/27/2004)
"There's plenty of compassion in the budget...." -- OMB Director Joshua Bolton ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," CNN, 2/2/04)
"The duck hunting was lousy." -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia after a private trip with Vice President Cheney, who is the defendant in a case before the Supreme Court (The Los Angeles Times, 1/17/04)
"I like him. I'm going to give him a pass. I take care of my friends." -- Comedian Dennis Miller on President Bush as a potential target on Miller's CNBC show (AP, 2/4/04)
"In 1973, a handful of judges subverted the Constitution and the principles of democracy by inventing the right to abortion." -- U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint (R-SC) (DeMint press release, 1/22/04)
"For the first time in human history, mature women by the tens of thousands live the entire decade of their twenties -- their most fertile years -- neither in the homes of their fathers nor in the homes of their husbands; unprotected, lonely, and out of sync with their inborn nature." -- Leon Kass, MD, Ph.D., a University of Chicago bioethicist and head of the President's Council on Bioethics (The Nation, 3/8/04)
Primary elections underway
As the presidential primary election season comes to an end, the contests that determine party nominees for every other office -- House, Senate, governor, state legislatures, etc. -- are just beginning. And to ensure victory for pro-choice Democratic women, EMILY's List is in full primary mode: raising money for candidates, recruiting volunteers for get-out-the-vote activities, and unleashing WOMEN VOTE! efforts in key states and districts.
Our experience over the last nine election cycles clearly shows that helping women win primaries is the key to increasing the number of women elected to office," says Joe Solmonese, chief executive officer of EMILY's List. "So, in addition to raising contributions from members and providing strategic advice, EMILY's List is on the ground in key states now, identifying and mobilizing the primary voters who will make the difference for women candidates today, and collecting data and building infrastructure that will help our women candidates and Democrats across the board in November -- especially the presidential nominee."
EMILY's List candidates engaged in contested primaries for the Democratic nomination include Allyson Schwartz in Pennsylvania's open 13th congressional district (April 27); Betty Castor in the race for Florida's open U.S. Senate seat (August 31); and Christine Gregoire, who is running for governor of Washington state, also an open seat (Sept. 14).
South Dakota: same day special and primary elections
On June 1 in South Dakota, voters will go to the polls to select nominees in the primary election and to choose a candidate to serve out the remainder of U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow's term in a special election.
Republican Janklow resigned in January after being convicted of manslaughter in the death of a motorcyclist. Attorney Stephanie Herseth, who came astonishingly close to defeating him in 2002, is the Democratic nominee in the special election to serve out the remainder of Janklow's term. If Herseth wins on June 1, she will be sworn into Congress within days, making her EMILY's List's first winner of the 2004 cycle.
This special election has enormous implications for both parties, notes Karen M. White, EMILY's List's national political director. "Republicans were just handed a stinging defeat in a special congressional election in Kentucky," she says. "They're desperate to keep this seat from falling into Democratic hands. They'll spare no expense when it comes to negative ads and distortions of Stephanie's positions."
A victory for Herseth June 1 will give Democrats momentum nationally and demonstrate Democratic strength in the home state of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who faces the toughest election of his career against former GOP Rep. John Thune.
Pennsylvania: early primary, open House seat
Currently held by a Democrat, Pennsylvania's 13th district is one of only nine competitive open seats up for grabs in 2004. Schwartz faces former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Joe Torsella, who has strong ties to Gov. Ed Rendell (former mayor of Philadelphia) and extensive fundraising contacts, in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side, wealthy physician Melissa Brown, the 2002 nominee, faces a surprisingly tough challenge from state Rep. Ellen Bard.
EMILY's List is mounting an aggressive, innovative WOMEN VOTE! effort to educate primary women voters on issues like education and health care. WOMEN VOTE! canvassers are going door-to-door in Philadelphia to speak directly with voters, taking note of vital information on Palm Pilots which are synchronized against the voter file at the end of the day. WOMEN VOTE! is also communicating with voters through direct mail and phone banking.
"We are covering every inch of this congressional district, either on foot or by telephone, to turn out voters on election day" says Solmonese. "And we're using this opportunity to develop an incredibly rich body of data on Democratic women voters that will leave us well-prepared for the general election."
Florida: heated primaries on both sides
Both parties are engaged in competitive primaries in the campaign to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham, ensuring that Florida remains in the political spotlight in 2004.
The strongest candidate to hold Graham's seat for Democrats is Betty Castor, former two-term commissioner of education. Polls indicate that Castor, the only candidate of either party who has been elected statewide in Florida, has the most broad-based appeal among voters.
Generous support from EMILY's List members is helping Castor compete with her main Democratic opponents, Rep. Peter Deutsch and Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas. These two men, who share a base in south Florida, have developed a bitter rivalry that has largely allowed Castor to stay above the fray. Given the negativity of their campaigns, it's clear that neither will hesitate to turn their ire towards her as the Aug. 31 primary nears.
On the GOP side, a colorful cast of right-wing characters is competing for the nomination, all of whom make the Democratic nominee more attractive to swing voters. The White House convinced HUD Secretary Mel Martinez to resign from the cabinet to run; he faces former Rep. Bill McCollum, one of the managers of the Clinton impeachment; state House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, a right-wing firebrand who has raised $1.6 million; Larry Klayman, founder of a group that repeatedly instigated frivolous lawsuits against the Clintons; and former Sen. Bob Smith, who relocated from New Hampshire to Florida after his primary loss in 2002.
Recent changes in Florida law make it easier for voters to cast absentee ballots. EMILY's List is using our expertise in vote-by-mail programs to take full advantage of this law for 2004, the first election year it is in effect. WOMEN VOTE! is currently testing strategies that will prove tremendously helpful in the general election.
Washington: open governor's seat
Washington voters have distinguished themselves by electing a higher percentage of women to office than any other state. In 2004, they have a chance to put a pro-choice Democratic woman in the governor's office: Christine Gregoire, one of the most successful state attorneys general in the nation, is the leading candidate to replace retiring Gov. Gary Locke (D).
Gregoire is competing with King County Executive Ron Sims and former state Supreme Court justice and senator Phil Talmadge in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary. The winner will face anti-choice Dino Rossi, a former state senator.
Gregoire is observing the fundraising freeze imposed on state elected officials during Washington's legislative session and for 30 days before and after. However, Rossi resigned his seat, giving him the freedom to raise money during the session -- a tremendous fundraising advantage shared by Gregoire's Democratic opponents.
Bush, Cheney, and other administration officials are making frequent trips to Washington state in a bid to win its electoral votes and boost Republicans up and down the ticket, including Rossi and GOP Rep. George Nethercutt, whom the White House hand-picked to challenge Democratic Sen. Patty Murray's bid for a third term.
"EMILY's List has been an important partner in Washington state since 1996. We've helped develop and execute one of the most effective tools in the Democrats' turnout strategy: the absentee ballot program in King County," says Solmonese. "Our continued investment will keep Democrats viable in a year when the White House has promised to fight for Washington's electoral votes."
White notes that EMILY's List has never shied away from getting involved in primary campaigns. "Given our mission -- to increase the number of pro-choice Democratic women in office -- we can't afford to be shy," she says. "Sixty-two percent of the women we've helped elect won competitive primaries. We know how important it is to get in early and help women get through what is sometimes the most difficult election -- and to use this opportunity to identify and initiate contact with the women voters who will make a difference in November."
Training the next generation
Campaign Corps and POP celebrate victories, tap new recruits
Pro-choice Democratic women who received assistance from EMILY's List's Political Opportunity Program celebrated victories in Houston and San Francisco. Democrat Annise Parker trounced her Republican opponent, 62 to 38 percent, in the December 6 run-off election for Houston controller. This is the second-highest ranking post in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country. Parker, the city's first openly gay city council member, received financial and strategic support from POP. She also had help from five EMILY's List Campaign Corps staffers, who executed an aggressive get-out-the-vote operation and helped her raise $230,000 in the 25 days leading up to the run-off election.
San Francisco attorney Kamala Harris was sworn in January 8 as the city's district attorney and the first African-American D.A. in the state of California. Harris defeated eight-year incumbent Terence Hallinan by a solid margin, backed by financial and strategic support from POP.
In January 2004, the Political Opportunity Program embarked on a cross-country spring training swing, holding 13 training seminars for potential and current pro-choice Democratic women candidates in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Vermont, Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, California, Washington state, and Florida.
POP goes to Hawaii
Once reliably Democratic, Hawaii elected a Republican governor in 2002, and the GOP is targeting several Democrats in the legislature for defeat. To help Democrats fight back, EMILY's List organized a training seminar for candidates in early January.
"We're the first Democratic organization to offer training in Hawaii, which has a long tradition of electing women and huge potential for growth," says Britt Cocanour, EMILY's List's deputy political director, who oversees both POP and Campaign Corps. "Turnout was great: 80 people attended the training, ranging in age from about 30 to 82. We also met individually with 16 women who are either thinking about running for the first time or are already in office and ready to move up in the leadership."
The Hawaii training coincided with one of the first events held by the Patsy Mink PAC, a new political action committee named after the late Rep. Patsy Mink, who represented Hawaii in Congress from 1964–76 and 1990–2002. EMILY's List is providing technical assistance and guidance to PMPAC, which is dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to state and local office in Hawaii.
Campaign Corps mini-camps
To recruit the best of the best for the 2004 Campaign Corps class, Campaign Corps is holding five mini-camps in key regions of the U.S. this spring.
Mini-camps are two-day versions of the week-long Campaign Corps campaign school, which is held annually in July. About 50 students participate in each two-day camp, which give students a chance to check out Campaign Corps, meet the staff, and learn basic campaign skills. Participants learn voter targeting, field organizing, fundraising, and press strategy, and have a leg up on admission to the full Campaign Corps program in the summer.
An added benefit of mini-camps is that they help create a pool of political operatives who will be well-prepared to work on progressive campaigns in this critical election year.
Camps are being held at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, University of Texas-Austin, Northwestern University in Chicago, Seattle University in Washington, and Florida A&M in Tallahassee. The sites were chosen to achieve geographic and ethnic diversity.
"We had lots of people from the northeast in our 2003 Campaign Corps class," says Robert Jones, Campaign Corps director. "We went to USC and Texas because we knew that we could achieve geographic diversity and tap into the Hispanic community. Florida A&M is an Historically Black College, and within driving distance of other Historically Black Colleges in Alabama and Georgia. And, of course, it just makes sense to be active in Florida in 2004."
Campaign Corps and POP work hand-in-hand to bring new people into politics and support pro-choice Democratic women just starting their political careers. For more information about the Political Opportunity Program, visit the "Campaign Training and Jobs" section of www.emilyslist.org; for more information about Campaign Corps and mini-camps, visit www.campaigncorps.org.
What's Cooking
Political news from Washington and around the country
Somehow Washington Cong. George Nethercutt (R) managed to find a way to be on the wrong side of the mad cow disease controversy ... Nethercutt, the White House's pick to challenge Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, voted against a ban on slaughtering "downer" animals (those that cannot walk) for food ... Nethercutt also voted against increased funding for food inspections ... Nethercutt is among the top five House recipients of contributions from the meat packing industry ... Republicans are devoting considerable resources to help Nethercutt beat Murray, sending in a parade of high-level GOP officials, including two visits from Vice President Cheney in less than a month ... all this support helped Nethercutt put more money in his Senate account than Murray in the last quarter of 2003.
First the Bush administration kept mum about the true cost of the Medicare prescription drug plan, allowing Congress to believe it would cost $395 billion when White House estimates said $534 billion ... then they decided to spend $12.6 million of taxpayer money on an ad campaign to promote the bogus bill ... then they hired the Bush-Cheney campaign's media firm to make some of the media buys ... media buyers typically earn a 10 percent to 15 percent commission on the cost of air time ... that's a nice election year bonus for Bush's consultants.
A million here, a billion there ... pretty soon we're talking about real money ... Halliburton, the oil conglomerate Vice President Dick Cheney headed up for five years, has more than $8 billion in consulting deals in Iraq ... we did the math ... that's ten percent of the total $87 billion appropriated to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan ... now the Justice Department is investigating a Halliburton subsidiary for overbilling $61 million in fuel ... earlier Halliburton had to refund $6.3 million to the government to cover kickbacks employees received from Kuwaiti subcontractors ... and another $27 million dollars for overcharged meals ... but no worries: Halliburton has its own "Tiger Team" (their words) of investigators looking into these problems, the company told the Pentagon ... maybe that Tiger Team can also look into reports that Halliburton mess halls are, well, a mess ... NBC News reports that the Pentagon inspections revealed "filthy kitchen conditions" in four facilities, including the one President Bush ate at on Thanksgiving.
Apparently Education Secretary Rodney Paige knows where the terrorists are hiding: in the classroom ... in a private White House meeting with the nation's governors, Paige called the National Education Association a "terrorist organization" ... startled governors assumed Paige was joking ... "whatever the context, it's inappropriate," said Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm ... Paige got in hot water less than a year ago for saying private Christian schools are better than public schools ... "In a religious environment, the value system is set. That's not the case in a public school, where there are so many different kids with different kinds of values" ... sometimes education secretaries say the darndest things.
Kudos to Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who has kept Delaware in the black despite the Bush recession ... Minner announced that Delaware is $242 million ahead of revenue projections for the 2005 fiscal year ... under Minner, Delaware's financial health has been singled out for praise by Governing magazine, Standard & Poor's, USA Today, Moody's Investors Service, CNN, and others.
Anti-choice forces descended on Washington to protest the 31st anniversary of Roe vs. Wade ... President Bush rallied the troops via phone, telling them they were fighting for "a noble cause"... Missouri Sen. Kit Bond (R), meeting with protesters from his home state, said enactment of the late-term abortion ban was proof that the marchers' message "of care and respect for human life" was heard in Washington ... Bond is being challenged by Missouri Treasurer Nancy Farmer, an EMILY's List candidate ... Farmer's been endorsed by the United Auto Workers, Council for a Livable World, the National Women's Political Caucus, and Planned Parenthood ... she ushered in the New Year with a fundraiser headlined by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, which pulled in about $200,000 for her campaign.
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently vetoed a bill that would have tightened a law requiring girls to receive a judicial waiver for an abortion if they do not have parental approval ... Granholm issued a tough-as-nails statement with her veto, saying "the bill would shield child abusers, including the worst kind of sexual predator -- a parent or guardian who rapes his own child -- behind legal presumptions."
MSNBC was eating some crow after a pre-mortem obituary for Vice President Dick Cheney was found on the network's web site ... "Cheney dead at age 62," said the obit ... "Dick Cheney, the stalwart conservative and unflappable Washington insider picked by George W. Bush to be his vice president, died day TK in city, state TK"... TK means "to come" ... the obituary was written on the day the Senate voted for Bush's $35 billion tax cut ... MSNBC insists there is no correlation between the two.
A KELOLAND-TV/ Sioux Falls Argus Leader poll shows South Dakota attorney Stephanie Herseth with 58 percent of the vote to 29 percent for anti-choice state Sen. Larry Diedrich, with only 13 percent undecided (2/5-7; 800 likely voters; margin of error 3.5) ... political analyst Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report cautioned Democrats not to relax, however ... "With the election four months away, Diedrich can still make it a close race," Walter told KELO.
Candidate Spotlight: Stephanie Herseth
Democrats have an unexpected and extremely promising opportunity to seize a GOP-held House seat in a special election in South Dakota June 1 -- and the strongest possible candidate to win it: attorney and teacher Stephanie Herseth. Herseth narrowly lost the race for this at-large seat in 2002 to Republican Bill Janklow. Now she is running to replace Janklow, who resigned from the House in January after being convicted of second-degree manslaughter.
Herseth faces Larry Diedrich, the conservative state senator whom Republicans chose as their standard-bearer in the special election. The winner June 1 will be sworn in immediately -- and immediately begin running for re-election. Win or lose in June, both Herseth and Diedrich have said they will seek a full term in November. This gives Herseth just a few months to prepare two campaigns: one to serve the remainder of Janklow's term and another to serve a full term in the 109th Congress.
Herseth talked with EMILY's List recently about her campaign.
You almost won in 2002 against a four-term sitting governor. Your performance surprised many, including the GOP. How does knowing that national Republicans are scrutinizing your every move affect your campaign strategy?
Republicans understand that the voters of South Dakota know me, know my family, and are familiar and comfortable with what I stand for. Voters know that I am a moderate Democrat and that I bring a common-sense, respectful approach to the political process. The scrutiny doesn't bother me because I know why I'm running and what it is about my background that's good for South Dakota, and I feel confident about my training and ideas for the future. Our voters listen to the candidates and people that they know -- not to the people outside of South Dakota who want to make this race about Democrats vs. Republicans. It's a lot more than that.
Voter turnout in South Dakota in 2002 was over 70 percent. Can it go higher? What is your campaign doing to get to 50 1 in June and November?
I don't know that it can go higher in June, but it can go higher in November. We have limited resources for the special election, so we're analyzing how I performed across the state in 2002 to target our message more effectively. I especially want to build on the groundwork we laid with Native American voters and increase turnout among younger women. We want to make sure we get them the information they need to be more familiar with me and my positions. They will be a core of my support in June and in November.
What does it mean for you, relatively early in your career, to be running for Congress?
I feel that the perspective of women in my generation should be a larger part of public political debate. We have a lot to offer to the dialogue on a host of issues, from education and economic growth to agriculture, health care and national security.
In my last campaign, because South Dakota has never elected a woman to the U.S. House, we started the process of political socialization of younger women and girls, which we have continued after we lost. They are one of strongest motivating factors for me to try again -- to show that young women who work hard and are able to achieve professionally early in their careers can have confidence and build a network to run for public office and serve their state and country.
Talk about the legacy of public service in your family and the effect that's had on your campaign.
I would start with my grandmother, because she gets short shrift in the media attention paid to my family. She was the first one to run for public office. She ran for superintendent of county schools in Brown County in the 1930s and helped put her nieces through college. She was a very strong first lady when my grandfather was governor, and was elected secretary of state in the 1970s after my grandfather passed away.
My father got involved in politics when I was four, so I have vivid early memories of being in the state house and observing the process and my father's role. He's been a mentor to me since I was very young. And he completely supports my endeavors. It took some convincing when I ran in 2002 because, while our family has enjoyed success, we've also experienced losses. So his fatherly instinct was to protect me. As soon as he saw me out on the campaign trail, engaging people in discussions of what's important to them, he was proud of me and wanted to be that mentor.
It's nice to have someone seasoned and grounded who understands the dynamics of a statewide campaign in South Dakota to have as a sounding board and a mentor. And he is well-respected on both sides of the aisle. I've tried to emulate his approach: respectful and open-minded and centrist about what we can achieve through effective public policy.