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The Morning Grind / Political Hot Topics |
Victory planning, union walkouts and 'girlie men'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
VICTORY PLANNING: Democrats will conduct 100 training seminars during next week's convention in Boston to instruct delegates and activists how to run campaigns, raise money and mobilize voters in what planners are billing as the largest effort ever to transform the energy of the party's convention into a victory in the fall. The Boston Globe: Convention to launch grass-roots campaign
HOMESTRETCH: After three years of getting most of the major legislation he wanted through a cooperative Congress, President Bush is coming up almost empty-handed this year as he heads into the homestretch of his re-election campaign. The Los Angeles Times: Bush's agenda on slow track
GOP PROTESTS: Groups planning to demonstrate against the upcoming Republican National Convention will have some unfriendly company on the asphalt and concrete outside Madison Square Garden. Members of a new group of young Republican conservatives plan to protest the protesters. The Washington Times: Protesters plan a face-off
EDWARDS' APPROACH: John Edwards approached the end of his first week of solo campaigning as John Kerry's running mate by hammering economic themes during three stops in Florida and emphasizing the state's importance to the Democratic campaign, promising the snafu's of last election will not be around this time. The New York Times: Edwards scores a few amens in Florida
SECURING A SPOT: With the apparent assistance of the state Republican Party, Ralph Nader appears likely to secure a spot on the Michigan presidential ballot. But Democrats are calling for him to withdraw and are threatening to file a complaint against the Republicans, charging that they contributed illegally to the Nader campaign. The New York Times: Republican help pushes Nader close to spot on Michigan ballot
UNION WALKOUT: Union allies are threatening to walk out of a state panel hearing today should Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino's last-ditch effort to achieve a police union contract before his Democratic National Convention kickoff parties Sunday night be raised. The Boston Globe: Unions threaten walkout of panel
RON REAGAN: Affronted Republicans scramble to discredit Ron Reagan's scheduled speech on embryonic stem-cell research at the Democratic convention. The Los Angeles Times: To GOP, he's dishonoring his father
NAME CALLING: Democrats aren't amused by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's use of the mocking term "girlie men" to describe some lawmakers, although a spokesman for the governor said no apology would be forthcoming. The Washington Post: Schwarzenegger assails opponents as 'Girlie-Men'
LEGAL SAFEGUARDS: Mindful of the election problems in Florida four years ago, aides to John Kerry say his campaign is putting together a far more intricate set of legal safeguards than any presidential candidate before him to monitor the election. Aides to Kerry say the campaign is taking the unusual step of setting up a nationwide legal network under its own umbrella, rather than relying, as in the past, on lawyers associated with state Democratic parties. The New York Times: Kerry building legal network for vote fights
CAMPAIGN ADS: Political strategists and analysts agree there are perhaps 17 battleground states in the presidential race, but Democrat John F. Kerry's spending on TV ads suggest he is especially keen on two, Ohio and Missouri.The Washington Post: Campaign ads flood key battleground states
KEY VOTES: The votes of U.S. citizens living abroad are being courted by the Democratic and Republican parties more aggressively than in any previous election. The narrow outcome of the 2000 election, which George W. Bush won with a 537-vote margin in Florida over Democrat Al Gore, has motivated them to register every voter possible, including the millions of citizens who live abroad and are often overlooked. The Washington Post: Signing up a remote electorate for November
Heather Riley contributed to this report
