Something sneaky may be happening in New Hampshire.
When the American Research Group asked older, independent voters whom they planned to support in the Jan. 27 primary, many said they had been told they could not vote because a deadline to register as a Democrat had passed. But when one woman said she was supporting Howard Dean, the caller from an anonymous campaign told her she would be eligible.
None of the callers could identify which campaign had been making the calls. New Hampshire allows undeclared voters to cast a ballot in either party’s primary.
Dick Bennett, who operates the research group, said he planned to report the suspicious calls to authorities, even though he said they do not seem to violate the state’s law prohibiting “push polling,” or negative attacks on rival candidates under the pretense of a poll.
The poll discovered that Wesley Clark’s campaign is gaining strength among undeclared, older voters, while Dean excels among younger voters.
The calls spurred allegations between the Clark and Dean campaigns.
“If this is true–that a campaign is trying to discourage independent voters from coming to the polls–it is a sad day,” said Clark spokesman Mo Elleithee.
Dorie Clark, a spokeswoman for Dean, said: “Our campaign is absolutely not making these phone calls. … We’re encouraging as many people to come to the polls as possible.”
— Jill Zuckman.
WHOLE LOTTA LOVE FOR DEAN
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has teetered on the edge of endorsing Howard Dean’s presidential campaign for days. By design, his stewing has unfolded under the watchful eye of a media horde camped out in Des Moines.
On Friday, with a Led Zeppelin song blaring, Harkin declared Dean “the Harry Truman of our time.” It was only a year ago, during a televised party, that Harkin mistakenly referred to the former Vermont governor as “John Dean.”
“In a very strong field, Howard Dean started at the back of the pack and today he leads the pack,” Harkin said. “This says a lot about his vision, his conviction and his capacity for leadership. It shows his ability to motivate and organize people.”
But what about Dean’s occasional penchant for stepping on his tongue?
“I believe most Iowans and most Americans would rather have an occasional mistake by someone who speaks openly and forthrightly,” the senator said, “than a practiced, nuanced, measured emptiness of today’s political chatter.”
Hours later, endorsement fever continued when Al Gore arrived in town to tout his endorsement of Dean last month. He had three words of advice for a boisterous rally of Deaniacs: “Organize, organize, organize.”
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— John McCormick