Posted on 09/22/2002 6:12:56 PM PDT by BlackRazor
Thurman chosen to give radio speech
By CORY REISS
Sun Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - The Democratic Party tapped Rep. Karen Thurman to deliver its weekly radio message Saturday morning in response to an address by President Bush. The choice demonstrates the importance to the party of her re-election and a desire by Democrats to recapture ground in the prescription drug debate.
This is the first time that Thurman, a Democrat from Dunnellon who is seeking a sixth term, has been picked for this duty.
She said she believes she was chosen by House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri for several reasons. She's a leader in efforts to force a bill on generic drugs to the House floor and has been vocal in debates about adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
And, it didn't hurt that her campaign is one of a handful considered competitive as the parties battle for control of the House.
"They've thought about me, too, because of the race," Thurman said Friday in an interview.
Thurman is facing Republican state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite in the 5th District contest, where a national Republican official said about a third of voters are seniors.
A recent poll of 300 likely voters distributed by Brown-Waite this week shows a statistical dead heat, with Thurman leading 40 percent to 38 percent. A House race expert with the Cook Political Report considers the race leaning in Thurman's favor despite a redrawn district that has a Republican majority and voters who don't know the incumbent.
The recorded radio speech comes as top Republicans and Democrats are pitching in to help out in competitive races.
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, is scheduled to headline a fund-raiser for Brown-Waite at the Lake Jovita Country Club in Dade City on Sept. 29, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois is expected to do the same in Tampa on Oct. 5.
In the speech, Thurman promotes an effort by Democrats, in which she has played a leading role, to bring to the floor a bill that would change patent laws to ease production of cheaper generic drugs.
Pharmaceutical companies oppose the bill, which the Senate passed but House Republicans have blocked. Thurman said the generic drug legislation, which is estimated to save consumers $60 billion over 10 years, is the next best thing to "meaningful" Medicare prescription drug legislation.
The House passed a $350 billion prescription drug bill, which Thurman opposed as inadequate. The Senate has been unable to pass the House version or a more expensive one favored by Democrats.
Democrats on Wednesday launched a petition drive to force the generic drug bill to the floor. They need signatures of 218 House members. Republicans quickly denounced the effort after the petition began circulating.
"How can Karen Thurman vote against a comprehensive prescription drug plan and then stand on the steps of the Capitol with a Band-Aid bill and claim she's fighting for seniors?" Brown-Waite said in a press release Wednesday. "It's an insult to our seniors and the typical-Thurman political ploy." p>
Democrats are in a tough spot on an issue that used to favor them. House Republicans can say they passed a prescription drug benefit but the Democrat-led Senate has failed to act. House Democrats such as Thurman who have a lot at stake on the issue need to reclaim it, said Amy Walter, a House race analyst for the Cook Political Report.
Walter said Republicans and Democrats have both blurred their positions on the prescription drug bills, with each claiming the other blocked victory for seniors. The generic drug bill gives Thurman and other Democrats a way to show voters they are working against an obstinate GOP.
Brian Walsh, a spokesman for Brown-Waite, said the radio address was politically motivated.
"The party sees her as vulnerable, and they're trying to give her some air time," he said.
Karen Thurman was easily re-elected in 2000, but redistricting took away much of her Democratic base. Although this race is considered a Leans Democrat contest, most experts believe it to be competitive. The poll cited in this article gives Thurman only a 40-38 lead, which is very encouraging news for the GOP. However, I'm not sure when the poll was taken.
Torie: Was it you who said this race was one of your "special projects"?
On an unrelated note: Does anyone know when (or if), the top-line results from the Zogby tracking polls will be made public? The only ones I've heard so far are the Talent/Carnahan results (as posted elsewhere), and the Allard/Strickland results from Colorado. I've been told that Allard and Strickland are dead even at 41-41, but I have not confirmed this. If that's true, it would be a disappointing result, and would signify that Allard might be in serious trouble.
I've been looking for polls on the Ken Lucas/Geoff Davis race (Kentucky 4th district, I think). This is my local race and I've not heard or even seen one word about it.
Basically, I was wondering if Davis has a chance...Lucas was last re-elected with 54%.
I'm not sure what you're saying. Should that occur, the GOP would lose two seats. Then they'd need MN and NJ (both reasonable shots) while holding on to NH to be even. Then the GOP would need to win IA, GA, MT or LA to get back the "majority."
When I said "close races", I meant basically too close to call. The Democrat has the clear edge in all those, although they may not have it wrapped up yet.
I guess I have a gut instinct that the GOP isn't going to do it, because despite all this talk that the campaign is being dominated by national security and President Bush's popularity, I just don't believe it. I also thought those polls showing voters don't blame the GOP for corporate scandals or the stock market are meaningless, since they were taken before the campaigns had really begun and Democrats could start running commercials blaming President Bush/Republicans.
This is going to be a low turnout election, so whoever gets their base and independents more angry/fearful will pull out the close ones. Which party is the master of that? You've got Republicans running these defensive campaigns based on Democrat type issues. I think if there's any late break that the polls aren't picking up right now, it'll be towards the Democrats, kind of like 98. That's why I'm not putting much hope in the races you cited.
It depends on which year you're talking about. 2000 - Dems. 1994 - GOP. Since this is not a Presidential election, that will favor the Pubbies a bit.
It's still too early for us to know what will occur, no matter what anyone says. There are a ton of close races, and a national trend in either direction could make for a blowout for one party. Or we could basically have local races and little change. We shall see. If you look at just poll numbers, I think the Pubbies are in better shape than the Dems. That would mean something if the elections were held today. :-)
You've got that backwards. The "out" party typically does better in non-Presidential years.
But you're right about the off-year White House troubles. However, using that same historical pattern, Dubya's high approval ratings mean the GOP has a decent chance of breaking even or gaining seats.
And if preliminary indicators are correct, it looks as if they'll blame the incumbent governors (regardless of party).
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