Gephardt Rallies Union Supporters in Iowa

AP ^ | 1-18-04 | AMY LORENTZEN

[Indy Pendance]

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt rallied union supporters Sunday, telling them he can provide the leadership America needs.

"I don't need this job; I don't need this title," said Gephardt, who met with about 250 union members. "But America needs a leader who comes from a life experience of the people. Forget about me, I'm unimportant in this, I'm an instrument."

Gephardt told of his childhood growing up poor with a father who drove a milk truck. He then urged the laborers to go door-to-door to build support before Monday's Iowa caucuses.

The effort came as Gephardt dropped to fourth in the latest Iowa Poll, behind Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, respectively.

Gephardt, one of eight candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, insisted the polls don't matter and that he has the best organization on the ground in Iowa - even better, he said, than when he won the caucuses in 1988.

"We didn't have an effort that would hold a candle to what's happening in this room," he said.

Steve Murphy, Gephardt's campaign manager, said there's more than 2,000 volunteers - from as far as Texas and Delaware - helping in Iowa. After Gephardt wins the caucuses "we're going to be a runaway freight train," in other parts of the United States, he said.

"There are a lot of working men and women around this country that are looking for Dick Gephardt to win Iowa so that their public support is validated," he said.

Gephardt has criticized the Bush administration for what he said has been a loss of jobs in the United States caused by unfair international trade deals. That includes 30,000 jobs in Iowa since 1994, he said.

Teamsters President James Hoffa attended the rally to support Gephardt.

"There's a lot of desperation here in Iowa as Iowa really is losing thousands and thousands of jobs," Hoffa said. "There's a lot of fear out there. The man we just heard, Dick Gephardt, really offers a lot of hope.

"It's everybody working together and making sure we regain America," Hoffa said.

Sporting a hard hat, campaign pins and a T-shirt that read "Gephardt: Fighting for My Job," Carla Henthorn, 28, of Woorster, Ohio, braved single digit temperatures to chant and wave a union flag in support of Gephardt.

She hopes Iowans will see that Gephardt has what it takes to turn the economy around, she said.

"If they don't support him on the 19th, I can't vote for him in November," said Henthorn, a steelworker. "If we can put somebody in the White House who can stop the downfall of the economy, then we can stop the free trade of the Americas."

Gephardt's "common-man" approach appeals to Henthron, she said.

"He grew up knowing what it was like not being able to pay every bill every month," she said. "I know he came from where I came from and he's not going to forget me."

[woofer]

"There's a lot of desperation here in Iowa as Iowa really is losing thousands and thousands of jobs,"

Funny, last I heard, employment was up, unemployment down in Iowa. Hoffa must be hallucinating again.

Gephardt is toast. He is the only one of the top four Dems who's polling numbers are exactly the same today as they were in November. His campaign is flat-lining and they know it.