Posted on 07/14/2005 5:52:08 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Those embittered 2004 John Kerry supporters had it right: A movement is afoot to bring back the draft. Only it’s a different draft than the one they were fixated on. The comeback has to do with luring reluctant presidential candidates into the 2008 horserace.
The last real draft movement to take a private citizen to the White House was inspired by Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. After Eisenhower’s historic military career, a groundswell of support emerged for him to run for president. But even then, it took Republican emissaries traveling to his NATO headquarters near Paris to convince Eisenhower to run. It could even be said that George Washington was “drafted” into becoming our nation’s first president. Recent candidates, such as Wesley Clark, have been less reluctantly "drafted." But it’s a practice that is usually not necessary as ambitious politicians are not exactly a rare commodity. Nonetheless, still more than three years out from the next presidential election several draft organizations are already at work on behalf of figures including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Condoleezza Rice, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator Russ Feingold, and others. And a select few have real muscle and money behind them.
The first 2008 draft group to get attention was Amend for Arnold, which formed before last year’s election. Their stated goal is to change the U.S. Constitution so that naturalized citizens like Schwarzenegger can serve in the nation’s highest post. Amend for Arnold recently broadened its reach to include Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, but Schwarzenegger remains their more immediate focus.
Amend for Arnold co-founder Lissa Morgan Thaler-Jones tells NRO that the group has at least temporarily changed focus to Schwarzenegger’s initiative drive and pushing him towards reelection. “My opinion is that he will run if Maria says yes,” Thaler-Jones said. “At the same time, we have volunteers in all 50 states. A lot of people have called from outside states wanting to hold rallies on behalf of Arnold’s July 30th birthday.” A freelancing political novice, Thaler-Jones meets with state officials and fundraises on behalf of Schwarzeneggar's agenda, independent of the governor and the Republican party.
Despite her commitment to a Schwarzenegger White House run, Thaler-Jones seems to understand that the scenario isn’t happening in time for 2008. Meanwhile, another draft is at work with multiple groups organizing in support of a run by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Rice has never sought elected office and brushes off speculation about a 2008 run. However, U.S. News and World Report’s Washington Whispers recently reported an unnamed associate of Rice’s saying she could be drawn into running under the right conditions.
The Wal-Mart Grassroots
Americans for Rice was founded shortly after the 2004 election by a group of relative political newcomers. The group’s co-chair Richard Mason tells NRO his group has roughly 3,000 registered members and 35 “core” members. Their stated goal is to register Rice as a Republican on as many state primary ballots as quickly as possible. “To get her on as a Republican in primary states will show this is a serious draft effort,” Mason said.
With their own money and volunteered time the group has already raised nearly $20,000 selling t-shirts and bumper stickers. “We’re very lucky amateurs,” Mason said. In fact, Mason’s first encounter with political exposure caught him and his wife off guard. Mason had placed a Rice bumper sticker on his car before shopping at a local Wal-Mart in Miami. When Mason and his wife returned to their car, they found about a dozen people standing around it. “My wife pointed them out to me and my first thought was, ‘Oh no, what happened to the car?’ So, we got store security to escort us out. But when we got there, the group of people standing around my car wanted to know how they could get Condi 2008 bumper stickers.” Mason paused before declaring, ”I don’t think you’d ever get that kind of response from a Bill Frist sticker.”
Another website, Rice2008.com functions more as a business than a campaign-in-waiting, raising Rice’s profile through the sale of assorted Rice merchandise. Website founder Matthew Reid tells NRO that Rice’s experience puts her above the field, “but she also has empathy, credibility, and believability as well as a compelling personal story to tell. She possesses the intricate knowledge of a policy wonk who can effectively communicate complicated matters with average Americans.” Reid says his website members are “prepared to 'activate' on a grassroots level on a moment's notice.”
The funding for Americans for Rice goes to pay for radio ads and producing more Condoleezza Rice merchandise. Group volunteers like co-Chair Crystal Dueker pay for travel and work expenses out of their own pockets. Dueker has put her full-time job in North Dakota on hold while spending thousands traveling the country in her Mini Cooper all in support of an undeclared candidate. As testament to their sincerity the group will attend events in North Carolina, Las Vegas, and Florida in the next few months alone.
Dueker says she was drawn to support Rice because of her experience in foreign affairs along with the lack of a clear GOP frontrunner. “If Dick Cheney were running, I would support him. He has the most qualifications. But since he is not running, that leaves Condi as the most qualified candidate. Diplomacy. Her work in Iraq, Afghanistan and even Kuwait has made dramatic improvements already. Condi’s fingerprints are all over that.”
Mason describes Rice as something of a fusion candidate: one with conservative principles and the ability to win friends across the globe while satisfying American interests.
“This is really a chance for Republicans to change perceptions of the party both at home and globally. The Washington insider knows Republicans have a much more diverse roster than they get credit for. But for the casual political observer, this could change everything. People like Dr. Rice are the future of the party,” Mason said.
Mason insists his group is a collection of neophytes that started with nothing to lose. But should Secretary of State Rice allow herself to be drafted into pursuing the nation’s highest office she might want to consider drafting Americans for Rice into her effort. At a recent event, Bill Frist was scheduled to speak before a group of Republican constituents. Outside the speaker's hall volunteers set up a table and distributed Rice 2008 polo t-shirts. More than enough were purchased to catch the Majority Leader’s eye. Mason seemed mildly embarrassed telling the story. “None of us wanted to distract Dr. Frist. We all like him and respect his views. But we heard he didn’t want his picture taken or reported that he walked past a table of Condi supporters before walking into his own event. So, instead of coming in through the front entrance, they had him walk into the room through the kitchen. He told his staff he wanted to know ‘who the hell all those Condoleezza Rice people were.’”
Whoever gets the nomination is going to have to go out, get their hands dirty, and earn the nomination by proving he or she has the right stuff.
And they will need to be able to stand up against a hardball attack from Hillary (aka the beast) like we've never seen before. This will be an ugly, ugly election.
I'd love to see an Allen/Rice ticket in 2008.
I no longer support Condi Rice for anything.
She's part of the CFR which is planning the merge of Mexico, Canada and the US into one big pig slop.
PING!
Whats her position on illegal immigration? I know she supports the LOST treaty that takes away our sovereignty.
If she does, it will only be for political expediency. Would you really believe her?
Yes, I'd believe her. :(
Really? I don't actually think she'd make such a move - I think she has too much integrity for that.
The last Republican to move pro-life to secure a nomination was 41. Do we really want that sort of pandering again?
Better, I think, to have a person of integrity with whom we can have honest differences of opinion (such as Condi) than a politician who says all the right things to us but doesn't believe them.
Right here, I'm one of those Condoleezza Rice people!
Excuse us? Is this just another free-for-all dreamed up and orchestrated by the losers in what used to be the Democrat Party?
Oh yeah... Like ol' Bob Dole and W did *that*... what universe are you living in??
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