Chris Dodd Update 12/2-9/07

Like the other Democratic presidential candidates, Dodd spent the week campaigning in Iowa in preparation for the upcoming caucus. Dodd spoke at several events early in the week, and made an appearance on CNN’s Late Edition. On Tuesday, he participated in the NPR Debate in Des Moines.

Dodd reacted to the week’s big news story, an NIE report finding Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program. Dodd was optimistic, stating that “taken together these findings make a strong case for pursuing robust diplomacy to resolve our differences with Iran and for an end to the reckless talk by the Administration and reckless votes by some members of Congress.” The same day, he reacted angrily to reports that the President is asking congress for half of the funding for states and cities to prevent terrorists attacks recommended by the Department of Homeland Security, calling it “astounding that at the same time the President is calling for more money for his war that has made this country more vulnerable, he is proposing to slash funding for the first line of defense here at home.”

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Dodd Continues to Rally Support in Iowa

Chris Dodd's effort to create a voter stronghold in Iowa have not been flagging in these past few weeks. He has remained vigilant over the past few days in his campaigning methods and has even garnered a new support base from the International Assocation of Fire Fighters. The IAFF, which contains 281,000 members, felt that "The candidate that best represents firefighters and what they do to protect the public is Democrat Chris Dodd", an opinion voiced by the group's president Harold Schaitberger. To prove their loyalty, the IAFF has papered Chris Dodd's face on the side of their campaign bus, where the fire fighters plan to live for eight days as they tour 20 cities, rallying support for Senator Dodd.
For his part, Chris Dodd has been holding fast in Iowa, instead of campaigning across the nation like some of his opponents. Dodd decided to skip the Democratic National Committee's meeting on Friday the 29th, deciding to remain in Iowa so that he could "take his case directly" to the citizens. And indeed, he has been doing just that in Iowa; Dodd spoke on Friday to a group of 40 members of the American Legion in Iowa about how he would attempt to reform the laws on bankruptcy. He vehemently denounced the bankruptcy reform bill passed in 2005, scornfully observing "It was literally written to ensure that people would be trapped under financial burdens - either student loans or credit card debt."
Senator Dodd also tried to remain active in his national campaigning strategies, thinking of innovative ways to broadcast his messages. In the Republican YouTube debate, he decided to submit his own question about the difficulty of balancing homeland security with civil liberties.Although Dodd's question was not used in the debate, his idea was creative nonetheless. In his video, he introduces himself as "a resident of East Haddam, Connecticut who spends a little time in Iowa these days." Dodd videotaped himself in his home, asking the Republican candidates, "Many Americans are concerned that the administration seems to be making a false choice, that is, to be safer we have to give up rights...I don't believe that, I wonder if you do. And if you believe that we ought not give up our rights, then what would you do in order to protect our Constitution?"

Dodd Days of Fall

This Wednesday, Chris Dodd and his wife served at a Youth Homeless Center in Des Moines. Senator Dodd served the food while his wife washed the dishes, their daughter did not attend, due to the weather. Some of the served shook Dodd's hand and wished him luck, some discussed issues, most of those being served either simply went through the line or chatted about things other than politics. Thursday, Dodd's Press shop released a list of things Dodd was thankful for- many of the items on the list were related in some manner to Iowa. For example Senator Dodd was thanking and being thankful for the Military and Civilian Service men and women of Iowa. Tim Shriver, the chairman of the Special Olympics committee has announced his endorsement for Senator Dodd. Reason given is Sen. Dodd's history of fighting for children's issues, Dodd's time in the Peace Corps
and Dodd's energy plan. In an appearance at Drake University Sen. Dodd said the the Bush administration was partially to blame for the conflict in Pakistan. Dodd said that the administration has put too much "undue pressure" in regards to finding the Taliban in Afghanistan. Sen. Dodd said that the U.S should keep encouraging Mursharraf to lift martial law, but not to deny military and economic ad to the country. Recently Project Vote-smart released its "presidential courage" test, Sen. Dodd being one of the three presidential candidates who agreed to take the test. Monday, in Sioux City, Sen. Dodd held a forum on his plans for Veterans and the changes he would make for the department of Veteran Affairs.

Chris Dodd 11/11-18/07

Senator Dodd spent the week, like many of his opponents, drumming up support in Iowa. The senator reaffirmed his policies, like an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, but also made sure to appeal to grassroots Iowa voters, talking about taking children to the state fair among other things. As the week started with the Veteran's Day holiday, Dodd, a former member of the National Guard and Army Reserve, took time throughout his tour of Iowa to speak about his veteran's policies, such expediting disability benefits and extending his Family and Medical Leave Act. At a Union Auto Worker's conference on Monday in Dubuque, Iowa, Dodd flaunted his impeccably pro-labor voting record. Despite these efforts, polls consistently show Dodd's support in Iowa at 1%, tied with Dennis Kucinich.

Like the other major Democratic candidates, the climax of Dodd's week was Thursday's debate in Las Vegas. Though the majority of questions were put to frontrunners Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, when the questions did come his way, Dodd came out swinging. He called out the three frontrunners for avoiding questions, and jumped on the bandwagon to attack Clinton and Obama for their muddled responses to immigration questions in this debate and the last debate.

Dodd also picked up an endorsement this week from former New Hampshire senator John Durkin. This is an important endorsement, as New Hampshire is one of the more volatile states. On Friday, Dodd voted against a bill to provide more funding for the Iraq war. Dodd was the only major candidate to vote against the bill, reiterating his pledge not to approve any further funding for the war unless it is tied to ending the war.