Launching the Kennedy Draft

...It is difficult to gauge his attitude toward the draft organization that has blossomed here To date, the write-in group has not contacted him, nor do they intend to Their best approach, they feel, is to remain independent from Washington and thereby avoid the necessity for any direct reaction from their candidate From the evidence so far they appear to be pursuing the correct course Despite the extensive publicity in liberal Democratic circles about the activities of the New Hampshire Democrats tor Change, for the time being Kennedy has chosen not to dissociate himself from the group "No news is good news," says Dudley...

...National Reports LAUNCHING THE KENNEDY DRAFT BY BRAD POKORNY Claremont, N H Of the estimated 60 million citizens across the country who watched Jimmy Carter launch his campaign to reverse his political decline on the evening of July 15, probably few paid closer attention to the President's every word and gesture than a small group of liberal Democrats in this state For two weeks earlier, on July 2, they had filed papers with the Federal Election Commission that would enable them to solicit funds on behalf of their party's candidates m the nation's first Presidential primary, to be held here next February 26 And while officially New Hampshire Democrats for Change, as the group calls itself, is "unauthorized"—that is, not personally endorsed by or pledged to any specific White House contender—unofficially it is a self-appointed committee that hopes to pressure Massachusetts Senator Edward M Kennedy into the race by handing him a write-in victory over President Carter A number of factors have combined to bring the committee into existence Foremost among these is Carter's perceived vulnerability The steady erosion of his standing in the national opinion polls, particularly during the last six months, persuaded those who have joined together in the undertaking that he was beyond saving Nothing that has happened since, they declare, including the mixed response to his "say something good about our country" speech, has convinced them he can regain sufficient strength to win in 1980 "We're all committed Democrats," insists Joanne Symons, an organizer of the write-in effort "That's why we're doing this " Carter simply doesn't project the image of a leader, she contends, but Republicans, like Ronald Reagan and John Connally do, and that places the whole party in jeopardy "If he loses, we'll lose Senators, we'll lose Representatives, and I think we'll lose in the state houses, too " The charismatic Kennedy, on the other hand, is seen as having the edge over any potential nominee of the Republican Party Beyond the matter of image, notes Symons, in New Hampshire, where per capita income is low and the number of households with both spouses working is high above the national average, the President's appeal is further diminished by his advocacy of phased decontrol of fuel prices The industrial countryside makes the state's economy extremely sensitive to rising gasoline costs In addition, since three-quarters of the homes here are oil heated, in winter the energy price increases will have an immediate impact on the voter's pocketbooks and cause tempers to flare (Asked about the effect of a snowy primary, Earl Bourdon, a well-known local Democrat, told a reporter "If the primary were held in June, the people might go for Carter But in February, should they find themselves short of gas and heating fuel, Kennedy could beat the President on a write-in, assuming he doesn't disavow his candidacy ") On the strictly political level, Carter also has the problem of still being considered something of an interloper by regular Democrats In the 1976 Presidential campaign, he came to New Hampshire as an outsider and waged a grassroots battle that circumvented the established party machinery Many local politicans have not forgiven the President for that snub Nor have they forgotten his failure to invite the state's county chairmen to last year's Brad Pokorny, a past NL contributor, is the chief political reporter for the Claremont (NH) Eagle White House dinner in honor of New Hampshire supporters This may m part account for the caliber of the Kennedy write-in group Although New Hampshire Democrats for Change has been rather secretive about its full membership—prompting Carter supporters to suggest that it consists of radicals and party renegades—it is known to be composed of approximately 20 individuals representing a broad range of the state's Democratic organization Certainly its organizers are active, well-known and high-ranking local politicians Dudley W Dudley, the group's chairman, is an elected member of the Governor's Executive Council and has been on the state party's executive committee for three years Similarly, Joanne Symons was the state Democratic Party chairman in 1977 and '78 The committee's treasurer is Richard Leonard, a popular state senator who ran against Meldnm Thomson Jr for the governorship in 1974 and lost by only 2 per cent of the vote The group's leaders boast impressive primary campaign credentials, too In 1976 Dudley and Symons each commanded one of the state's two congressional districts for the highly impressive Presidential primary battle waged by Representative Moms Udall (D -Ariz ) But the strongest thing the Kennedy write-in movement has going for it, of course, is the attractiveness of the Senator himself A native New Englander, he is a familiar and well-liked politician in this state In May, Dudley points out, the Boston Globe published a poll that showed Kennedy leading Carter 57-35 per cent in a hypothetical two-way New Hampshire primary Another poll, with California's Governor Jerry Brown in the race and Kennedy listed as a write-in choice, had the Massachusetts Senator still winning with 52 per cent of the vote, to 30 per cent for Carter and 13 for Brown Last September, when Kennedy mounted the podium to address the state Democratic convention, he had to pause while four delegates paraded a large hand-painted "Elect Kennedy for President in 1980" banner before him Many delegates also sported "Ted 1980" buttons on their lapels Buoyed by these signs and its analysis of the political realities, New Hampshire Democrats for Change is now concentrating on finances, strategy planning and some preliminary hiring At the end of June the group engaged two full-time organizers—one was a researcher in the office of the state's steadfastly pro-Carter House Minority Leader, Christos Spirou, the other was an aide in Dudley's re-election drive last fall In June, too, Dudley and Symons traveled to Washington to seek financial support at the Americans for Democratic Action convention While rumor had it that pledges of close to $250,000 were rounded up for the New Hampshire movement, Dudley says that figure is too large But she does not deny that pledges were made, and she has indicated fundraising success in New York as well On Labor Day, the committee will formally decide whether or not to go ahead with its Kennedy write-in campaign The judgment is to be based largely on its assessment of Jimmy Carter s ability to win in November 1980 A positive decision, however, seems a foregone conclusion If New Hampshire Democrats for Change gives itself a green light, Dudley says, it will launch a full-fledged Presidential campaign, including advertising, speech-making, volunteer recruitment, fundraising—everything but a candidate That such a campaign would be unique does not faze committee leaders "We don't have to worry about name recognition for our candidate," says Symons, "and we also don't have a candidate to shuffle around We'll basically just be teaching people how to write in a name instead of pulling a lever " The extent to which Jerry Brown's presence on the ballot might affect the Kennedy write-in is a subject of disagreement here Some observers, citing the Globe poll, feel the California Governor's impact would be slight, they even see Brown aiding a Kennedy write-in because his hammering at Carter's weaknesses would make it easier for voters to withhold automatic support from the incumbent Other observers caution that Brown does have his supporters in New Hampshire Indeed, not only have a group of young state Democratic legislators already announced their willingness to receive a Brown candidacy, but it could have a ready-made constituency in the local, well-organized anti-nuclear movement What does Senator Kennedy think of all this...