" I wonder what my intern is doing later?"
Posted on 03/14/2003 3:00:58 PM PST by Libloather
Edwards heading to Calif. for cash
3-14-03
By ERIC DYER, Staff Writer
News & Record
Presidential hopeful John Edwards heads west this weekend to campaign in California, a state crucial to Democrats' being able to take back the White House in 2004.
Money and message will dominate the itinerary of North Carolina's senior U.S. senator. His schedule includes a pair of private fund-raisers and an appearance before political activists as they size up a half-dozen of the candidates who want to be president.
An estimated 2,500 people are expected to assemble today in Sacramento for the California Democratic Party annual convention, which runs through Sunday. Edwards is booked to speak Saturday morning.
"This is a chance for (the presidential candidates) to introduce themselves to delegates and activists," said state party spokesman Bob Mulholland. "Every visit to California is votes and money in the bank for them."
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun also are on deck.
Three other contenders -- Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt and Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut -- will not attend.
Edwards and his rivals have many reasons for hustling out to California, even when the prospect of war in Iraq has cooled the campaign.
The Golden State, which traditionally held primary elections in June, has scheduled its next nominating contest for March 2, 2004. That is early enough that Californians could realistically have a bearing on which of the many Democrats becomes the party's standard-bearer.
Beyond the nomination process, California will be extremely important for whomever is picked to face President Bush. The state is the biggest prize nationwide, with 55 electoral votes.
California has gone for Democrats in the past three presidential elections. Its voters adored Bill Clinton, who won the state in 1992 and 1996, and gave Al Gore a victory in 2000.
Despite their party's recent success in the state, Democrats seeking the presidency cannot take California for granted and must spend time among the people, said Sky Gallegos, incoming national political director for Edwards' campaign.
"Californians tend to think ... we're a country unto ourselves," said Gallegos, who helped Clinton and Gore campaign on the West Coast.
Before the candidates can count votes, they must rack up money to finance their campaigns. California is a gold mine, with wealthy donors -- those from Hollywood and Silicon Valley included -- looking for ways to invest their cash in the political process.
The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics says Gore collected $4.9 million from California donors who gave at least $200 -- the largest state total to his 2000 campaign. Bush did even better with $9.2 million, second only to Texas' $16.8 million.
Former Gore operative Donnie Fowler said the lack of competitive statewide races in Democratic California means many contributors sink their money into contests elsewhere.
"A lot of people out here consider themselves as an ATM," said Fowler, who heads outreach to Democrats for TechNet in Palo Alto, an association of high-tech industry executives.
Edwards is making his third trip to California since he announced his candidacy Jan. 2, campaign officials said.
The schedule today for Edwards includes a luncheon fund-raiser in the tony Brentwood section of Los Angeles, as well as meetings with potential supporters and city business leaders. After he finishes his duties at the Sacramento convention, he will raise more money at another private event in San Francisco.
When Edwards and others campaign in California, they will encounter a more diverse political terrain than in most states. It is filled with sizable minority voting blocs that Democrats court.
The 2000 Census showed that a third of Californians was Latino. About 7 percent of the population was African American.
"These are ethnic groups that no Democrat can afford to avoid," said Seth Masket, a graduate student at the University of California-Los Angeles who is finishing his doctoral dissertation on California's political parties.
Asian Americans make up 11 percent of the populace, and Edwards' criticism of a congressional colleague from North Carolina could score points among them.
Last week, Edwards released a statement chastising U.S. Rep. Howard Coble of Greensboro for his comments on a Piedmont Triad radio station that supported interning Japanese Americans during World War II.
Edwards said Coble, a Republican, should be stripped of his position as chairman of a House panel on crime, terrorism and homeland security.
Coble has apologized for what he said in early February on WKZL-FM but declined to give up his chairmanship.
An Edwards campaign spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, said the senator issued his opinion because the Japanese American Citizens League in Washington asked for it.
Palmieri said Edwards was not trying to cultivate Asian support just before his trip to California. "It was not a consideration at all," she said.
RATS consider everything...
" I wonder what my intern is doing later?"
The reception Edwards gets will tell us a lot about how far left the Rats will go in the next election.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.