Dean and Edwards topped SEIU ballot

[CMT]

According to ABC's the Note, SEIU officials told the Note that Dean led the ballot for the much coveted SEIU endorsement with John Edwards coming in a surprising second and longtime labor favorite Dick Gephardt in third position.

I thought it might have been Dean/Gephardt/Edwards or Gephardt/Dean/Edwards but I had no idea that Edwards actually sprung up to the second position. Recent days have seen the Edwards campaign gaining some positive news.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote.html

under heading SEIU

[Brucey]

1. Good for him,

he's a little rough around the edges, but starting to get a feel for things.

[renie408]

4. Do you mean Dean or Edwards?

Cause that is one of the reasons I really like Edwards. He ISN'T rough around the edges. He is sincere and driven and smart, but he has (so far, with fingers crossed) managed to avoid some of the traps that other candidates have fallen into. He is naturally diplomatic and careful in his speech and (this even kind of makes me feel weird to say it), naturally Presidential.

[Hawkeye-X]

5. Then he should have stuck with his Senate seat

where he can be the most help - NC seat is too fragile to give up for Presidential ambitions -- what the hell was Edwards thinking? He can run later when he's more mature, more experienced and perhaps even more statesmanlike.

Edwards is neither.

Edwards' decision to give up his Senate seats does NOT bode well for Democrats to try to keep the fragile balance of the Senate.

He needs to reconsider the decision and if he's down on his polls and doesn't get the numbers he's looking for, he should consider keeping his seat instead.

Hawkeye-X

[renie408]

7. Another county heard from

I, and many others, find him statesmanlike and very mature. I guess he was thinking what a lot of people are thinking...that he would be a great President. What an odd, emotional attack with no substance. If you dislike Edwards on a policy or position, fine, say why and offer some information. What was Howard Dean thinking? Hell, I ask myself that just about every time he opens his mouth. What are any of them thinking?

This, BTW, is exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about in my other posts, if anybody is interested.

[chimpymustgo]

2. Wow. The more people see and listen to Edwards, the more they like him.

He's moving up in every poll. And now voters are starting to pay attention.

[renie408]

3. I will go find it

But I posted an article last night that said that as of yet, there has been no decision but it looked like it was coming down to Dean or Edwards.

And Edwards does not officially announce until next week, when things will hopefully pick up even more.

[Hawkeye-X]

6. Big whoop.

It'll only net 1 or 2% of the polls upward then it's heading down once people realize he's just another Kerry.

Dean will maintain the numbers, and even if Clark announces, he's nowhere near where Dean is at, and will be at a distant 3rd or 4th. Sorry to say.

Hawkeye-X

[renie408]

8. Hey

I have asked this before, but you clairvoyants never seem to answer.

I lost the remote to our XBox about a week ago, could you give me a hint to where it is?? We watch DVD's through the XBox and I would like to watch LOTR: The Two Towers, but can't find the remote. A gift like yours must really come in handy, huh??

[CMT]

9. I agree

I think Dean's support will hold.

[w4rma]

12. "doesn’t eat into Dean’s lead…Dean is the only one who could hold his own"

…
Under the Clinton scenario, Kerry would fall into the second tier of Democratic hopefuls, favored by just 16 percent of voters. All the other Democratic candidates would be relegated to the single digits.

Dean’s support among independent- and reform-minded voters seems intact with or without Clinton in the race while Kerry would find his base of support among traditional Democratic voters threatened, according to Herald pollster R. Kelly Myers.

"If Hillary Clinton suddenly expressed some interest in the race, the biggest potential loser is Kerry," Myers told the Herald. "She doesn’t eat into Dean’s lead at all ... As of today, Dean is the only one who could hold his own (against Clinton)."
…
http://www4.fosters.com/News2003/July2003/July_28/News/reg_pol_0728a.asp

A new Prez Preferece poll
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=190456

Clark V Dean
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=196331

[UnapologeticLiberal]

10. Yeah, this is surprising

I figured Gephardt would be first but Dean and Edwards would have been close enough that they did not feel there was a mandate to endorse Gephardt. I thought that Gephardt was considered the only one who can get the endorsement and the other candidates' goals are just to keep him from getting it.

[CMT]

11. I think it is true

that unions are looking for a winner. Dean has been doing well and Edwards has been coming on strong of late. They may also want a fresh face. Gep as good as he is on labor issues is not a fresh face.

[dean4america]

13. surprised... and not

I've been saying for a while now that Dean would get the SEIU endorsement, so I'm not at all surprised that he finished first in the ballot. However, when I heard Edwards had moved into the top three, I didn't think it was possible that he would have been able to supplant Gephardt for second place. That's a real blow to Gephardt. If he had finished second to Dean, and they put of the endorsement to see if he'd come around with his 3Q $$s, that would be one thing, but now he's not really in the running for it.

Bodes very well for Dean and Edwards.

[BrewCrew]

14. The Truth

These service unions like SEIU, AFSCME, and UFCW don't have the ties to Gephardt like the industrial unions because trade is not their "major issue." And these 3 are actually 5 of the biggest unions in the AFL. So it could get real interesting? People in the media tend to forget that. Given this fact, I'll be surprised in the full AFL breaks for Gephardt.

Now onto SEIU thing. There are some quotes that interest me.

<http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/2003-09-10-service-union-endorsement_x.htm>

From the USA Today article, "Many arrived already enthusiastic about Dean, and after hearing him, "their enthusiasm is unabated," Stern said.

"I think Howard Dean is making a series of statements that are very important and powerful," he said.

Gephardt, who has been plagued with concerns about his ability to excite Democratic voters, increased his support, Stern said,

Gephardt's suport actually increased?? OK. But he's know in 3rd?
I read it as this. Before the convention, the Top tier was Dean, Gephardt, and Kerry. Now its Dean, Edwards, and Gephardt. Gephardt fell, but his support increased. So what does that mean? Edwards must having realy impressed them. I think he probably took most of Kerry's support and a lot of undecideds. Dean held strong and if more than anything strengthed his base.

It doesn't sound like this union will be endorsing anyone soon.