Wednesday, October 01, 2003

It takes a big man to fill a big tent

Well, Gary, it appears that you've been listening to the deceptive Howard Dean and have picked up that "Republican" thing, but the basic concept is right. When you seek to broaden the party, you embrace those who can do so.

Rep. Gary Ackerman of New York said he went to the meeting to see if Clark had the moxie to stand up to people who accuse others of being unpatriotic for questioning current U.S. policy. "We don’t usually have fourstar generals who are Republicans who become Democrats. To some of us, that has a lot of appeal," Ackerman said. "When you search for converts, and you find one, you’re supposed to be happy."

Clark said Tuesday’s meeting was not designed to gather congressional endorsements, but to learn from lawmakers and to give them an idea of where he stands on the issues.

Berry and Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas both said, however, that they suspected he picked up supporters. Berry said two lawmakers approached him after the meeting to let him know they would serve as a Clark campaign chairmen in their respective states. "For him to connect with so many members the way he did on his first official [campaign] visit to the Hill, I thought was just amazing," Ross said. "He got some very tough questions. I mean, you had 70 members of Congress who peppered him with questions on just about every foreign-affairs and domestic-affairs issue you can think of."

No comments: