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Monday, January 31, 2000

Former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley is mounting a strong bid for Democratic primary votes in New Hampshire, a state that has a long history of backing presidential insurgents, such Gary Hart and Paul Tsongas. But Vice President Gore has bolstered his position as the Democratic Party front-runner with a solid win in last week's Iowa caucuses. Who will come out the winner with Granite State voters Tuesday?

New Hampshire State Democratic Chair Kathleen Sullivan joined "Free Media" live Monday, Jan. 31, to discuss what to expect in her party's primary.

Free Media: Good afternoon Ms. Sullivan, and welcome.

Can you comment on the criticism that New Hampshire, a predominantly white state, is not a fair representation of America's voting populace, and that the state's influence is out of proportion to its importance?

Kathleen Sullivan: Certainly New Hampshire does not have the diversity of population that other states have. Having said that, I believe that most Americans have the same concerns on the same issues whatever geographic location or whatever ethnic or racial or religious background they may be from. For example, I believe most voters are concerned about education, healthcare, Social Security, environmental issues and the like. And while certainly there are issues which certain areas of the country may be more concerned about, and while there may be certain issues that certain groups may be more concerned about. Overall we all have the same concerns about the same fundamental core of issues.

Charlottesville, Va.: Much has been made of Gore's lean, mean, fighting machine approach as of late. But how well do you think that will play in New Hampshire? Boiled down to their essences, what is the most important distinction between Gore and Bradley?

Kathleen Sullivan: That's a really good question because both the vice president and Sen. Bradley have made certain issues the center pieces of their campaigns and for the most part they are the same issues. Healthcare is one example. Social Security is another example. Education is a third example. And so for a lot of New Hampshire voters it will come down to a level of comfort that the voters have with the individual as a person.
On the lean, mean, fighting Al Gore, I think that for most New Hampshire voters it's been effective. Most of the Democratic voters I talk to in New Hampshire are unanimous in saying that they would be very proud to have either Sen. Bradley or Al Gore as the party's nominee.

Longbow, N.D.: Were Al Gore's chances in New Hampshire helped at all by President Clinton's speech last week? I thought the President could have done a lot more to help Gore's cause -- his references to the VP and his legacy were awfully tepid.

Kathleen Sullivan: In all honesty when I watched the State of the Union address, I was more interested in what Bill Clinton was doing to lay out a plan for the last year of his presidency. And, I accept that is what the president was trying to accomplish. And he did call attention to the vice president on a number of occasions. I personally would not want to see the State of the Union address used as a vehicle for a campaign speech for the vice president.

Brrrr, Maine: Hi! Could Gore and Bradley coincide on the Democratic ticket? Is it a ticket that either of the two would go for?

Kathleen Sullivan: Well, in all honesty, today it would probably be difficult for our two candidates to say they would be on the same ticket. However, in the past in both the GOP and Democratic parties, candidates have been able to put their differences aside for the greater good of their party's ticket. One example is John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. So, I do hope that our two candidates would be able to do the same thing and put aside their differences -- whether it's to share a ticket or to campaign vigorously for whoever the nominee may be.

Urbana, Ill.: Ms. Sullivan,
I assume that you watched the latest debates in New Hampshire and I was curious what thoughts were running through your head, when Al Gore stated that he has "always" been pro-choice, despite votes for the Siljander and Hyde amendments which clearly were intended to undermine Roe v. Wade and went far beyond issues of funding.

Kathleen Sullivan: The truth is unfortunately I was called out to do an interview with MSNBC during part of the debate so I missed part of it. So I can't tell you what thoughts ran through my mind when I watched it because I didn't see that part.
However, to me the important thing is that both the vice president and Sen. Bradley are the only two candidates for president who today strongly support a woman's right to choose.

Worthington, Vt.: Hi! This is sort of a broader policy question, but I'm interested in what the Democrats will bring to the table for younger Americans -- particularly young families, who have been increasingly dealt out of the policy process in recent years. I've heard some futurists say that they expect the generation gap to widen during the coming decade, as the baby boomers start to retire and the young families who are paying the freight see themselves getting less and less of the benefit of the government's largesse. Do either of these two candidates speak well to younger voters, especially young working families?

Kathleen Sullivan: I believe that both candidates speak very well to younger voters. Both candidates have talked a lot about education and ways in which we can improve public education and make education more affordable for both college and technical school students. In addition to that, the Democratic Party has traditionally been much more supportive of working families in terms of targeting tax cuts toward lower, moderate and middle income families as opposed to the GOP which traditionally has targeted their tax cuts to benefit the wealthiest Americans.
In addition to that the Democratic candidates are committed to securing the future of Social Security with the portion of the projected budget surpluses so that support of Social Security will not be a burden on younger generations.

Washington, D.C.: Everybody knows that Al Gore is going to win the nomination. How many times in U.S. history has a sitting Vice President not become his party's nominee?
Given that Gore is taking a worse bashing from Bradley's questions about his character than the GOP is likely to lay on him, do you anticipate pressure down the road for Bradley to step aside? It doesn't seem to me that it would do any good to send your candidate into the home stretch looking like Rocky Balboa.

Kathleen Sullivan: I can't answer the first question. I don't know. My sense is that typically a vice presidential candidate certainly has an easier time becoming the party's nominee. For example George Bush and two other cases -- somewhat tragically -- Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford who had been vice presidents, but who became president's though assassination in one case and resignation in the other, to receive their party's nomination in their own right.
With respect to the second question, it does concern me that a battle for the party's nomination can become so divisive as to hurt the party's nominee in the general election. I am hoping that after New Hampshire there will be enough time for both candidates to take a step back, regroup and remember that the most important goal here is for the Democrats to keep control of the White House.

Redbow, S.D.: I seem to recall several states passing laws in recent years to try to get their primaries to be the first in the nation. All of this jockeying seems very silly to me. What's the big deal about being first?

Kathleen Sullivan: The reason it's important to me and I think to the nominating process for New Hampshire to be first is that New Hampshire's size, both in land area and population, is small enough so that a candidate -- who may not be as well known as another candidate or who may not have the money that another candidate has -- can still run an effective campaign.
The reason a lot of other states would like to go before New Hampshire is that there are questions as to whether New Hampshire is representative enough of the country. But, the benefits of candidates having to reach out to real voters in coffee shops, on main streets, at a factory gate, outweigh New Hampshire may lack with respect to diversity of population.

Concord, N.H.:
The potential issue of George W. Bush's very limited power he has as governor of Texas has not yet surfaced. The state legislature and the lt. governor pretty much tell the governor of Texas what to do. His Talk Magazine interview confirmed this.

Outside of the Republican Party's desire to elect someone with immediate name recognition, what do you feel is George W.'s greatest strength (other than money) with the New Hampshire electorate and with the national electorate?

Kathleen Sullivan: George Bush's greatest strengths is that he has the support of the Republican establishment. Personally, I believe that George Bush lacks substance, lacks experience and would not be the best candidate in the Republican field to be president. And frankly, as a Democrat, I would much prefer to run against George Bush in November than against John McCain.

Washington, D.C.: It is cold in New Hampshire, and energy prices are at their highest since the Gulf War and Iranian Revolution. What do the Democratic candidates have to say about that? How would they handle OPEC?

Kathleen Sullivan: Ironically, the price of heating oil has not become a major issue in this primary. The only candidate who was asked about heating oil, I believe at the last debate, was George Bush. I don't know why it hasn't become a bigger issue. But, it hasn't.

Arlington, Va.: To your credit, you said that Democrats do not want to hear their President torn down by fellow Democrats. Also, it seemed to me that Gore was making real inroads by fighting for people and getting his populist juices flowing. What's with the recent turning on Bradley just as Bradley went after him? Do you ever feel like you're running an electoral sandbox up there?

Kathleen Sullivan: Sometimes I would like to take both of them and say, "Please remember that the Republicans are the bad guys." Unfortunately, in a two-person race, there is a tendency for it to get testy. And again I hope that after New Hampshire the candidates will spend more time talking about why they are the better candidate and talking about why the Republicans lack the vision to lead the United States in the year 2000.

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