Chris Dodd for President

As part of a longer article about Dodd events in Iowa, John Deeth of the Iowa Independent runs a short interview with Senator Dodd that includes discussions of this past week's FISA fight and how Iowa voters are responding to Dodd's leadership to defend the Constitution.

Deeth: How's the FISA work that you did playing out on the campaign trail?
Dodd: I'm impressed how many people are aware of it, because the mainstream media wouldn't hardly cover it. People wonder whether or not blogs and the internet are having any value, and this story would have been buried away, forever maybe, and they might have gotten away with it. But we had 500,000 emails sent to members of Congress through our campaign office by the way, that was through our office and I respect that people did it. People expressing their concern about this had a lot of influence, I think, on people deciding they were going to pull this bill off the floor of the Senate. So it made a big difference, and people here this morning have certainly thanked me for making that trip back to Washington to be there to defeat that legislation.

Deeth: Some of the other Senators who are doing the same thing you're doing didn't go back.

Dodd: No, and they all went back for the farm bill, because that was good politics in Iowa. But the Constitution is what you swore to uphold when you are inaugurated or confirmed in the Senate, that's what you do when you take an oath of office. To me there's nothing more important, and this administration's had an assault on the Constitution for the last six years, and they continue to do it almost on a daily basis. If you can't come back and defend the constitution, I mean, this is a time when we need people to do that. If you let it pass and exonerate the phone companies who've vacuumed up people's phone messages, emails for five long years without a court order at the behest of the Bush administration, and they want to pretend it never happened, is just wrong. And that's why I stood up for 11 hours on the floor of the Senate and pushed back, and they finally pulled the bill out. That's going to come back in January, so we're not done with defeating that. It's a temporary victory, and I'm hoping next time I'll get some more members to come back to be a part of it. If you want to be President of the United States, you've got to lead, not just talk.

Deeth: You were saying last night at the Knights of Columbus that you were the best able to work across the aisle. So far this week I've heard Senator Obama and Senator Clinton also say exactly the same thing. What makes you more effective at working across the aisle than the other candidates who are claiming the same thing?

Dodd: Because I have. I mean, it's a simple record, it's one thing to say it, it's another to have done it. For 26 years, going back to the very first major legislation I was involved in, all the way up till just a week ago on Darfur. People say they are that way, I've actually done it. On the Family and Medical Leave, child care, all those I've done over the years really dozens and dozens, including fourteen pieces of legislation in the last two weeks that have become the law of the land as a result of my working with Dick Shelby, the Republican from Alabama, to get it done. So other people can say it, it's one thing to say it. But the question you want to ask is, where have you done this? What confidence do I have? Of course everyone wants to say that, but I think I'm the only one who's actually done it.

Deeth: You've been working really, really hard here in Iowa, literally staying in Iowa for a while, yet you're still lagging number-wise. What do you have to do to go on from Iowa?

Dodd: I think polls here don't mean as much as they do other places. It's a question of celebrity to some extent, and I think people are getting much more serious about this with ten or 11 days to go here before Jan. 3, and you need to have a good showing here. I don't know what that showing means, it depends where the others are.

Deeth: What's good?

Dodd: Well, you know, third, fourth, first is best here... and I'm hoping Iowans will recognize that it's important of those of us who've had something to say... I've been the most outspoken on the Constitution, the most outspoken on the Iraq war. I bring military service, Peace Corps service, I'm a person who can actually, with proven results bring Democrats and Republicans together. If that's what people are interested in, I think I'm an ideal candidate for Iowans.

You can read Deeth's whole article, including some great photos from the Dodd event in Iowa City, visit the Iowa Independent.

Lynda Waddington of Iowa Independent: "Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, a Democratic presidential hopeful, won't be campaigning today in Iowa, New Hampshire or any of the other early states. He won't be hosting a fundraiser or on a conference call with campaign staff. Today, Dodd will stand on the floor of the United States Senate, for hours if need be, to defend the Constitution and make good on a promise."

desmoinesdem of Bleeding Heartland: "Today is a big day in the Senate. Majority leader Harry Reid has decided not to honor Chris Dodd's hold on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act....Memo to Senators Clinton, Obama, and Biden, who often tout their leadership qualities on the stump: show us you're a leader by standing with Dodd today."

Stay posted for more coverage, and don't forget to call your Senators!

Douglas Burns of the Iowa Independent says Chris Dodd won the final Democratic presidential debate before the Iowa caucus on January 3rd. Burns writes:

With a command of details on China, foreign policy and education, U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, who also just seemed more alert, on the balls of his feet intellectually, this afternoon displayed a separating statemanship in The Des Moines Register Democratic Presidential debate on Iowa Public Television. It was his day on the stage.
...
In barely a minute, Dodd managed to sum up the United States-China relations, why "we don't have access to their shelves" and the need for more "thoughfulness." It was one of the more impressive substantive -- and eye-opening -- answers I've heard during the debates.

On his A-game again, Dodd had a wonderfully constructed answer about the marriage of security and concern for human rights in our foreign policy.

"It ought to be a part of the seamless conduct of our foreign policy," Dodd said.

Today's debate was sponsored by the Des Moines Register. You can see the final Talk Clock times from the debate here -- Senator Dodd was given the least amount of time to speak off all candidates, which just goes to show how impressive his performance was for him to earn a win.

Adam Burke of the Iowa Independent was at a round table with Senator Dodd in Davenport earlier this week. Burke reports that Dodd spoke about "many of the bills and legislation he has authored for families, women and women's health, children, child care, child protective services and disease research. He also touted his experience reaching across the aisle to enlist Republican lawmakers in his numerous legislative successes." Here's a video clip from the round table, in which Dodd shares his thoughts about the need for a new American patriotism.

In this video, also shot by Burke, Dodd talks about how he's gone beyond rhetoric and produced action for change and results on behalf of America's families. He also addresses the importance of reducing family violence and keeping families together.

You can see more videos and photos from the Davenport event at the Iowa Independent.

In case you haven't noticed it already, the Iowa Independent provides some of the best coverage of presidential politics in the state of Iowa, bar none. Their writers frequently attend campaign events and they provide great on the ground reporting from the state where Democrats will first cast their lots in process of selecting our next President (date to be determined). So basically, if you're not already a regular reader of Iowa Independent, I highly recommend it as a source for news out of the Hawkeye State.

By way of example, I want to bring your attention to this post by the Iowa Independent's John Deeth, who attended an event with Senator Dodd at the Iowa City book store, Prairie Lights. Deeth writes:

Matters turned back to the 21st century and Dodd's campaign during question and answers, as Dodd cited George Bush's remark that the Constitution " is only a piece of paper." He said the Geneva Convention is critical because it protects our own troops in harm's way, and our current policies put them in danger. "The worst info you get is the info you get from torture. There's no better witness to that than John McCain," he said. The world looks at the Nuremberg trials as a high point of American moral leadership, in contrast that to Abu Gharib and Guantanamo.

Dodd argues, in a sense that civil liberties and the rule of law are literally in his blood. "All of you have been asking me a question that you don't articulate. Who are you? What are your beliefs? What's my DNA in a sense? I am a product of my upbringing. My father talked about Nuremberg to his six children endlessly. These views on human rights and the Constitution come from my upbringing, not from a poll."
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I ask Dodd how his father would want to be remembered -- as a Senator, for Nuremberg, or as the father of a president? Dodd laughs at the last and cites his father's remarks from one of the letters. "Nothing I do will ever be really as important as this," wrote the then 38-year-old Thomas Dodd in 1946. "Someday the boys will be proud of it." Six decades later, his son clearly was.

I'd also recommend you to check out this post by Iowa Independent's Lynda Waddington on Rep. Ray Zirkelbach, an Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient, endorsing Chris Dodd for President.

Also, Waddington has posted a series of video clips on her own blog, Essential Estrogen, from the Black Hawk County Democratic Presidential Forum. The videos are on global warming, Iraq, health care, economic security, minority disparities, and Medicare.