Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards Gang Up on Dean
By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
WASHINGTON -- In a rare alliance, strategists for John Edwards, Dick Gephardt and John Kerry discussed whether they could stop the Service Employees International Union from endorsing fellow Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.
The union, the largest in the AFL-CIO with 1.6 million members, announced last week that its 63-member board would decide Thursday whether to endorse the former Vermont governor. "It's Dean or no one," said SEIU spokeswoman Sara Howard.
The announcement prompted top aides to Edwards, Gephardt and Kerry to convene a conference call during which they discussed whether Dean's endorsement could be blocked.
Comparing intelligence from their sources inside the union, the Edwards, Gephardt and Kerry campaigns determined that they still had an outside chance to stop Dean, according to senior officials with the three campaigns.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, differed on minor details such as how long last week's call lasted and what day it was placed. One official said it lasted 12 minutes, another said it was much longer.
They confirmed, however, that the strategists agreed that each campaign should call anybody who might help stop the endorsement. They denied any effort to coordinate the calls or messages, noting that each of the three candidates has a different constituency and appeal inside the union.
The front-running Dean campaign has accused its rivals of coordinating attacks, saying the latest example was full-court criticism over remarks the former Vermont governor made about the Confederate flag.
The criticism leveled at Dean is no greater, however, than what past front-runners have experienced. And the notion of rival campaigns working in concert out of convenience is not unprecedented in American politics.
"No matter how much people might disdain their tactics of working together on this, it does point out how important this endorsement will be," said Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi.
The endorsement of SEIU means a potentially huge cadre of campaigners working on a candidate's behalf and possibly other union endorsements. Should Dean claim the prize next week, it would help him diversify his campaign, which largely has been Internet-driven and has attracted mostly younger, white middle- and upper-class voters.
SEIU is among the most racially and ethnically diverse labor union, representing janitors, health care workers and other service employees. With health care a priority of the SEIU political machine, an endorsement also would help shield Dean from criticism that he has not always supported Medicare.