McCain, Bradley Doing Event together
aladdinsane
By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain (news - web
sites) and Democratic rival Bill Bradley (news - web sites), both riding a wave of popularity
in New Hampshire, agreed on Thursday to hold an unprecedented joint event in the state,
aides said.
The two political mavericks will co-host an event next Thursday to underscore their mutual
goal of reducing the influence of money in politics, aides said.
McCain and Bradley will highlight unkept promises by both parties to revamp the campaign
finance system, which they charge has corrupted the democratic process. They will again
vow to make such reform a priority if elected president next year.
``They agreed today to make a joint appearance in New Hampshire on December 16,'' one
aide said. ``But we are still working on the details, such as where in the state.''
Recent polls show McCain and Bradley leading in New Hampshire against their respective
party's national front-runners, Texas Gov. George W. Bush (news - web sites) and Vice
President Al Gore (news - web sites).
McCain, who has bucked his party on campaign financing as well as a host of other issues,
also announced on Thursday he intends to file suit against the New York Republican Party
as he seeks to get on the ballot for the state's presidential primary.
``I believe that rank-and-file Republicans in New York should have a real voice in choosing
their party's nominee,'' said McCain. He charged that the state party's current ballot-access
requirements were excessively difficult.
Mccain Surge
A new poll by the American Research Group found McCain leading Bush in New
Hampshire, 37 percent to 30 percent. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4
percentage points.
In July, another poll by the same organization showed McCain trailing Bush, 47 percent to
13 percent. Bush still holds double-digit leads in national surveys.
But this latest poll is another in a series showing McCain rapidly gaining on or passing Bush
in New Hampshire. A Reuters/WHDH poll on Tuesday showed McCain with a slim lead
over the Texas governor.
The McCain-Bradley joint appearance will draw attention to a celebrated 1995 handshake
in Claremont, New Hampshire, by President Clinton and then House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, a Republican, on their vow to revamp campaign finance laws. They failed to
deliver.
In a speech last month in New Hampshire, Bradley said, ''Behind every public handshake,
like the one in Claremont on this issue, there's always been a secret handshake.''
``That tacit, secret handshake signals an agreement among politicians not to upset a system
they use to their advantage,'' he charged.
Undue Burden
Guy Molinari, McCain's New York campaign chairman, charged on Thursday that the New
York Republican Party's ballot-access rules are unconstitutional since they amount to ``an
undue and overwhelming burden'' upon presidential candidates.
Molinari said the McCain campaign's pending suit would seek to ease the rules, which
require candidates to obtain petition signatures in all of the state's 31 congressional districts.
The McCain campaign said in a statement that in the past, ''scores of qualified presidential
candidates have been virtually locked out of New York due to the current law.''
Dan Allen, a spokesman for the New York Republican Party, said Gov. George Pataki had
already helped eased the rules from four years ago.
Candidates still must obtain petition signatures in all congressional districts, but the number
of required signatures now range from only 82 to 890, Allen said.
Recent polls show Bradley with a slim lead in New Hampshire over Gore, his only foe for
the 2000 Democratic presidential nomination. National surveys show Gore with double-digit
leads.
(What this article doesn't say is that at least one poll shows McCain at least 15 points
ahead of Bush in N.H., a precipitous drop for Bush. However, McCain may alienate
the very independents that are flocking to his side by taking in Kenneth Kachigian, who is
from the jihad wing of the GOP. Indeed, while I was strongly considering voting for
McCain if he ended up running against Gore, I absolutely will not now, as Kachigian
is such a pig, even worse than Tony Coelho, who heads up Gore's campaign, and that
is saying something. The Kachigian choice will also alienate hispanics, as him and
Curt Pringle, along with Tom Fuentes, were behind the harrassment of hispanics at
an Orange County polling place. Both Pringle and Fuentes were heavily fined and may
have even been sued civilly (not sure about the latter) over this matter.
Tom Abbott
<aladd...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>McCain, Bradley Agree on Joint Event - Sources
>
> By Thomas Ferraro
>
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain (news - web
> sites) and Democratic rival Bill Bradley (news - web sites), both riding a wave of popularity
> in New Hampshire, agreed on Thursday to hold an unprecedented joint event in the state,
> aides said.
>
> The two political mavericks will co-host an event next Thursday to underscore their mutual
> goal of reducing the influence of money in politics, aides said.
>
> McCain and Bradley will highlight unkept promises by both parties to revamp the campaign
> finance system, which they charge has corrupted the democratic process. They will again
> vow to make such reform a priority if elected president next year.
>
> ``They agreed today to make a joint appearance in New Hampshire on December 16,'' one
> aide said. ``But we are still working on the details, such as where in the state.''
>
> Recent polls show McCain and Bradley leading in New Hampshire against their respective
> party's national front-runners, Texas Gov. George W. Bush (news - web sites) and Vice
> President Al Gore (news - web sites).
Hum. Let's see now, both McCain and Bradley are for stopping the
wholesale selling of Congressional votes, and both are ahead of their
competition. That ought to tell somebody something.
>
> McCain, who has bucked his party on campaign financing as well as a host of other issues,
> also announced on Thursday he intends to file suit against the New York Republican Party
> as he seeks to get on the ballot for the state's presidential primary.
>
> ``I believe that rank-and-file Republicans in New York should have a real voice in choosing
> their party's nominee,'' said McCain. He charged that the state party's current ballot-access
> requirements were excessively difficult.
>
If McCain gets on the New York ballot in all congressional
districts, G W Bush is going to be in real trouble.
> Mccain Surge
>
> A new poll by the American Research Group found McCain leading Bush in New
> Hampshire, 37 percent to 30 percent. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4
> percentage points.
>
> In July, another poll by the same organization showed McCain trailing Bush, 47 percent to
> 13 percent. Bush still holds double-digit leads in national surveys.
>
> But this latest poll is another in a series showing McCain rapidly gaining on or passing Bush
> in New Hampshire. A Reuters/WHDH poll on Tuesday showed McCain with a slim lead
> over the Texas governor.
>
McCain has the momentum now.
> The McCain-Bradley joint appearance will draw attention to a celebrated 1995 handshake
> in Claremont, New Hampshire, by President Clinton and then House Speaker Newt
> Gingrich, a Republican, on their vow to revamp campaign finance laws. They failed to
> deliver.
>
McCain and Bradley have said in the past that if they were both
nominated by their respective parties, soft money would be a thing of
the past.
I never heard of any of this, and have no idea who Kachigian is.
TA