Posted on 03/12/2002 5:23:24 PM PST by GraniteStateConservative
Results as of 9:11 EST:
Wieczorek leads Kacavas... With Manchester, Hooksett, Candia, Auburn, Londonderry, Hudson, Bedford and Litchfield in Wieczorek leads Kacavas by over 3,000. Wieczorek appears to be headed for victory.
National parties watching Executive Council race
By KATHARINE WEBSTER
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The issues are local, but the national political parties are watching a special election in New Hampshire on Tuesday as a harbinger of the November congressional elections and even the 2004 presidential primary.
"What spring training is to the baseball season, a special election like this is to the November elections," said John Dowd, chairman of the state Republican Party. "You get to see how things are going, how strong your organization is."
The election is for one of the five seats on the state Executive Council, a vestige of colonial government that approves state contracts and appointments. The annual salary $11,916.
Dowd said New Hampshire also is important to the national GOP "as a bastion of Republicanism in the Northeast." He noted that President Bush narrowly won the state in the 2000 presidential election, his only win in New England.
Tuesday’s election is between former Manchester Mayor Raymond Wieczorek, a Republican, and freshman state Rep. John Kacavas, a Democrat. The campaign has drawn high-profile political figures from both national parties.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards have campaigned for Kacavas while testing the waters for possible presidential races.
On the Republican side, national party Chairman Marc Racicot and Elizabeth Cheney, the vice president’s daughter, came to support Wieczorek.
The seat opened up in December when Republican Thomas Colantuono was appointed U.S. attorney for New Hampshire. The other four councilors also are Republicans.
"If we as Republicans lose this race, I think it would give the Democrats a real head of steam," Wieczorek said Monday. "But we’ve worked very hard to make sure that Representative Kacavas stays in his law practice."
Last week, Gephardt called the race competitive.
Wieczorek, who served five terms as mayor in a city dominated by Democrats, says he has proved he can work across the political spectrum. However, he was defeated by Democrat Bob Baines in 1999 and Kacavas, a former state prosecutor, is now his state representative.
Kacavas downplayed any national significance to the race, which he said is about ensuring that judges and state agency heads are "competent, qualified people." Voters also want a councilor who will balance development with environmental protection, he said.
"It’s the fastest growing region in the state, which is the fastest growing state in New England," Kacavas said. "That’s really what the race is about."
The council can be a stepping stone to higher office. Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, a former councilor and governor, agreed with Kacavas that the race has no national implications.
"All politics is local, and certainly governor’s council races are local," he said.
But of course he disagreed with Kacavas about who is best qualified for the job.
"You’ve got in Ray Wieczorek a person who has an extremely strong background in local politics and who understands the community," he said.
The district encompasses Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Derry, Hooksett, Hudson, Litchfield, Londonderry, Manchester, Pelham and Raymond.
That's quite a bit of firepower (to still lose a local race).
When ever their is a war and/or economic problems, the public tends to support a president. A president will enjoy strong support as long as he appears to be trying to win the war and fix the economy.
Only in periods of peace and prosperity do the people tend to stop supporting the presdident's party in the house and senate. In periods of peace and prosperity presidents who want to enact an agenda do poorly. In good times people don't want change. They will elect people who promise to fight a presidents plans to change things. When times are good the voters don't want change. When times are bad they want change.
The only time presidents have coatails is in times of war and economic down turn. With things are less than good, the public will tend to give a president the people he needs to implement his plans. They will elect his party to congress.
That is why Daschles attacks and obstructionist tactics have proved a disasters. Now is not the time to fight a president. What Democrats who are out of power in bad times should do is give Bush all he asks for. Then scream it is not working. The best strategy is give Bush what he wants. Declare it a failure and keep saying that if Democrats were in power they would fix the problems.
To take down a popular president in bad times, you have to prove he is wrong about stuff. To do that you have to give him his way, and then trash him for his plan not working.
Umless Daschle and company figure it out, they are going to be toast come november.
The only time a presdident gets in political trouble in war time, is when the president is losing the war or failing to try to fix a down economy. Thus Truman in Korea and LBJ and later NIXON in NAM.
Someone once said there is no substitute for going for total victory.
Bush is going out to win in the war, and is going for fixes of the economy. That doesn't leave much of a way for Democrats to win.
In economic downturns, people throw the President's party out of the House & Senate, whether he wants change or not (witness Reagan in 1982, republicans lost 30+ house seats, and Clinton in 1994, when the dems got creamed).
On the other hand, when times are good, people are more willing go with the president's party, especially if the other party has no vision or agenda to offer (Democratic sweep in 1998).
War is not a president's salvation either. It will not win the election for Bush. Remember that FDR's closest election was in 1944. Before Sherman took Atlanta, Lincoln was almost certain to lose in 1864.
In Bush's case, the economy is going to be good this summer/fall, and Bush is doing well in the war. He's popular enough that a lot of people are more willing to consider voting Republican--and that includes a lot of hispanics. Pubbies will do well this fall. 2004, though, is another matter. Anything can happen.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
OK, you got me.
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