October 14, 1999
By
Beth Cross
CyberCaucus 2000 News Service
Drake University
DES MOINES, Iowa--Iowa Democrats crowded into the Polk County Convention Center Saturday night to see presidential candidates Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley share the stage for the first time at the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner.
John Mellencamp's popular song "Small Town," which was playing clearly in the background as Democrats young and old took their seats, reinforced the image each candidate has been trying to convey to voters recently. Lines such as "No, I cannot forget where it is that I come from" seemed to call out to the small towns of Iowa, and each candidate began his speech emphasizing his small-town origin.
The dinner this year was the largest in the history of the Iowa Democratic Party and was broadcast nationally on C-SPAN and CNN. Among those in attendance were U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, former U.S. Rep. Neal Smith and comedian Al Franken. And the two candidates kept the guests, most of whom seemed to support Gore, enthused and out of their seats for the hour each of them spoke.
Bradley began his speech saying he was honored to be speaking on the same platform as Gore and sharing his background with those in attendance. He said he first knew he was a Democrat when he played little league in his hometown of Crystal City, Mo., and his team was denied service at a restaurant because some of the players were black. Bradley said what he has learned is the government can't guarantee happiness, but it can provide hope.
"The Democratic Party is a party of justice and a party of trust," Bradley said. "When justice and trust combine, what results is hope."
However, as Gore stepped out from behind the podium during his speech in an apparent attempt to connect personally with his audience, he delivered a proposition not for the people but for Bradley. Gore said he listened to Bradley's ideas about making a democracy and that "the best way to do that is to have regular debates." Gore's campaign slogan, "Stay and Fight," seemed to be directed specifically toward Bradley Saturday night as he proposed having public debates every week.
"I welcome the fact that [this race] is a good, close-fought contest," Gore said. "Our one responsibility has to be to draw more people toward the Democratic Party. ... I'm serious; I think [debate] would be good for the party. I think we ought to have debate."
Gore received no response that night from Bradley, whose view on campaign reform focused less on direct candidate interaction and more on general courtesy in campaigning. He said candidates "don't get around to defining [themselves] positively" in a campaign, rather they focus on the negatives of their opponents. "My challenge for America is to say who we positively are," Bradley said.
Regardless of Bradley's views, Gore did attack his Republican opponents on a few issues, urging the audience to "bear in mind" that Republican candidates "are telling the audience that the next president will appoint three to four" members of the U.S. Supreme Court. "We have to dig in and win this election for November of 2000," he said.
Gore and Bradley have been running a close race lately, with Bradley's funding catching up to Gore's and Gore declaring himself the underdog of the campaign.
Several issues were covered at the Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner, but none of them was covered in great detail. The candidates presented relatively similar agendas, encouraging the audience to support not only themselves, but the Democratic Party as a whole.
Bradley touched on an issue he labeled "common sense gun control." He said a national system of regulation and licensing and the elimination of "Saturday night specials" would be necessary to achieve this.
"I said whoever is the president of the United States should ban Saturday night specials," Bradley said. "Something's got to be done to stop the amount of handguns in this country."
Both candidates stressed their commitments to helping the family farmer and his family. Bradley said public support will help the family farmer, and Gore agreed, arguing that farmers are not sharing in the prosperity. "The potential for young people in Iowa farm families will depend on what we do with farm policy," Gore said. "I want to be able to fight for farmers."
Gore and Bradley also discussed the environment, a topic familiar to Gore supporters. In September, Friends of the Earth, an environmentalist group, endorsed Bradley. However, on Oct. 7 supporters of Gore held a fund-raiser in New York, featuring endorsements from New York environmentalists Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Lawrence Rockefeller.
Bradley talked about one of his more popular proposals to reform health care and raise every American to a higher economic level.
"We ought to be able to reduce the number of children in poverty," Bradley said. "Twenty to 25 percent of family farmers don't have health insurance. ... We can do better." He said a good economy means "an economy that takes everybody to a higher economic ground."
Bradley previously proposed a universal health care plan that would require parents to insure all children at birth. This plan would replace Medicaid with a government-run system.
A corner of the convention hall roared with appreciation later Saturday night when Gore again announced his pro-labor, pro-union position. "I will veto any anti-union bill," he said. "It is time that we level the playing field." Gore was expected to receive an endorsement from the AFL-CIO Wednesday.
Bradley and Gore both ended on a common note: the
2000 presidential campaign. Bradley said a political campaign should be like the
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa home-run race. "They each pushed each other,
and an incredible record was set," Bradley said. "I thought, 'Why can't
Republicans push Democrats and Democrats push Republicans?' It takes discipline
to be positive."
Gore finished by urging the young people in the audience to stay involved in politics and by urging the entire crowd to support him -- and "Stay and fight."