Top local Dems pledge to ensure GOP nominee John McCain won’t win in November. The Move comes as new polls show McCain benefiting from protracted primary battle.
The politicos who gathered in Concord to kick off what the state democratic party is calling UNITY 2008, seemed at pains to show that as the fight for their party's nomination rages one, they won’t be distracted from their larger goal, defeating GOP nominee John McCain. Here’s Hillary Clinton state co-chairman Kathy Sullivan.
"It is time for us to focus on the fact that we cannot have a third George Bush term. John McCain has been a constant supporter of George W. Bush's failed economic policies and his disasterous policies in Iraq and overseas."
And here’s Barack Obama state co-chairman Ned Helms.
"John McCain has at every turn has embraced those polices of the Bush administration in a two armed-grip."
And here’s senate president Sylvia Larsen, a Clinton backer.
"Over the past 8 years McCain has consistently supported George Bush’s failed economic and foreign polices."
And house speaker, Terie Norelli, also a Hillary supporter.
"If John McCain is elected, it will just be more of the same."
The messaging, as they say in the trade, was focused. The only hiccup came when Senator Martha Fuller Clark,who supports Obama, and Senator Peter Burling, a John Edwards supporter, used some of their time at the podium to deride John McCain for supporting for a summer respite from the federal gas tax. Here’s Senator Fuller Clark.
"He has admitted that his proposed gas tax holiday would only provide a psychological boost to the American people."
An odd topic to broach, perhaps, in that a gas tax holiday is a large point of friction between Obama and Clinton. Obama opposes the idea, and Clinton supports it, albeit with the proviso that oil companies should be taxed to make up for the loss in revenue. When asked to weigh in on this intra-party Gas tax feud, the democrats unity was impressive. Some, like Sentor Fuller Clark sought to drop the topic entirely.
"I’m not here to talk about that today."
Others, like Kathy Sullivan and Ned Helms scrambled to reframe the topic in more partisan terms.
"The reason we even have to talk about the issue is the failed polices of George Bush."
"Whatever differences we have and will continue to have they pale, they pale compared to the Republican party."
At this point it's impossibel to know if the demcorats effort to cast John McCain as a political close of President Bush will prove effective, but it is clear that McCain has benefited from the Democrats long nomination fight. In February a UNH poll showed only 33 percent of likely state voters planned to chose a republican for president. The latest UNH poll shows John McCain enjoying a slight edge over either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. UNH pollster Andy Smith says the number that should give Democrats the biggest pause are among the independent voters who will likely decide local results.
"And I don’t mean undeclared voters, but people who consider themselves politically independent. McCain has 53 to 30 percent lead over Clinton among independments. He has an even bigger 61 to 27 precent lead over Obama among Independents.
Such numbers, even 6 months from election day are music to the ears of State GOP chairman Fergus Cullen. After taking in the democrats press conference, Cullen said he likes McCain's chances come November, and also the effect a strong showwing by McCain could have on races further down the ticket. He added that the Demcrats claims of unity seem a bit forced.
"They can’t even agree on things like should be was a gas tax holiday or should we seat the Michigan and Florida delegations. If you just ignore the big gorilla in th room that the Democrats don’t have a nominee yet and are engaged in a civil war, they are in great shape."
Cullen's bluster aside, election day is still very far off, and as Democrats like to point out, their party’s presidential nominee has carried New Hampshire in three of the last four elections.
