NEW HAMPSHIRE WEEKLY / POLITICAL DIARY / LAURA A. KIERNAN Card from the Doles was the first clueBy Laura A. Kiernan, January 10, 1999 Longtime Republican activist and House member Fran Wendelboe of New Hampton says she knew Elizabeth Dole was going to take a close look at running for President even before she announced last week that she was quitting the Red Cross. What tipped her off? It was the Christmas card, of course, from Dole and her husband, former US senator Bob Dole. Wendelboe says she hadn't gotten a card from them in probably 10 years. "As soon as I opened it I thought, 'Oops, this is serious,' " said Wendelboe, a conservative serving her second term in the New Hampshire House and who worked for Bob Dole's unsuccessful 1988 primary campaign. There were the Doles, standing in front of Washington's National Cathedral. The card noted they were married in the Bethlehem Chapel there in 1975. "It really struck me, she's in," Wendelboe said. For those who make an art of reading the political tea leaves -- or the mail -- the Christmas card list is a goldmine of speculation about who's up to what and who's trying to keep in touch, or renew ties, with potential campaign workers. Wendelboe, who worked on US Senator Phil Gramm's primary campaign in 1996, says she heard from former vice president Dan Quayle, publisher Steve Forbes and conservative activist Gary Bauer. There was nothing from US Senator John Ashcroft of Missouri, even though he had held an ice cream social at Squam Lake for Wendelboe when she ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate nomination last fall against incumbent Ned Gordon, a Bristol Republican. Now, it turns out, Ashcroft has backed out of the presidential sweepstakes altogether. Which is maybe why he didn't waste the stamps. Back to Elizabeth Dole: It so happens she has been booked to be the guest speaker Feb. 8 at the annual Citizen of the Year dinner sponsored by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. "They need to get off their duffs and make a decision," Democrat Armand "Tom" Martel, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said later. "They stall and stall and stall until they are challenged to a duel." The Supreme Court's Claremont decision may have done just that, Martel said, but he added, "I'm still not sure it's going to happen even with the court on their back." Selectman John Goff, also a Democrat, said he doesn't think the 400-member House has changed much since he was a member in the 1960s. He says he saw "25-30 movers and shakers, 150 listeners and 200 who just sit there and say 'no.' " "I'm saying we should challenge them," says freshman state Senator Mary Brown (R-Chichester). She says the state hasn't done enough, but the court went too far. Brown, who served two terms in the House, is standing by her Education Homestead Act, despite those who say it doesn't meet the court-ordered requirements for a solution to the school funding crisis. Simply put, the Homestead Act would have the state pay half of local school property taxes, up to the first $100,000 of the value of a home. Brown says the plan, which would take 10 years to implement, will provide much needed property tax relief and more money for schools. Brown says new GOP state Senators Pat Krueger of Manchester and Arthur Klemm Jr. of Windham will be cosponsors. A footnote on Mary Brown: When you meet this newcomer to the 24-member Senate, she'll give you a copy of a pocket-sized manual she wrote called "The Rule Book." Among other civilized guidelines, she suggests that lawmakers tell the truth, do not speak ill of others and not use their office for their own benefit. On the House floor, where 400 members are squeezed shoulder to shoulder, she advises: Don't wake up the guy next to you if you think he'll vote the wrong way, and always hoot when the OWLS (Organization of Women Legislators) makes an announcement. Brown reveals how she got into politics: She had gone to town hall to register her dog Dixie, and discovered you could pay just $2 and sign up to run for the Legislature. "What a deal!" she wrote. "That's cheaper than registering my dog. So I did!" Q. Do you seriously think you could beat Elizabeth Dole or [Texas governor] George Bush? A. . . . absolutely. Q. I mean seriously . . . what is the most important thing you've done . . . ? A. George Bush and Elizabeth Dole never served in the Senate . . . Plus, Smith retorted, he has been a congressman, a teacher and coach, father and husband. Still seeming to think Smith was pretty nervy to think he had a chance, Press asked how Smith could overcome a poll in his own state that put him eighth among potential GOP candidates. Smith had enough. "No inaugural tickets for you," he quipped. Then it was time for more impeachment chat. Veterans of the way it works in the Legislature caution that while the momentum for change may seem to be growing, there may be no big changes at all in the way the state raises money. The "cafeteria" option of upping existing taxes and fees (and maybe a little expanded video gambling) cannot be ruled out. "It's amazing the number of times I've seen them pull a rabbit out of their hat," one observer said. The rap on Bradley of course is that the former basketball star and Rhodes Scholar is going to have a hard time trying to catch up with Vice President Al Gore when it comes to setting up the all-important New Hampshire campaign organization. Eric Hauser, a spokesman for Bradley's exploratory committee, would only say, "We are beginning to get active." We're waiting. |