Democrat denies alleged election day tricks

The Union Leader, Manchester NH ^ | 3/8/03 | JOHN DiSTASO

[RJCogburn]

Democratic activist Michael Whouley yesterday denied organizing a traffic jam in Bedford three years ago to help former Vice President Al Gore win the 2000 Presidential primary over party challenger Bill Bradley.

The Boston Phoenix reported this week that Whouley, who ran Gore’s campaign in New Hampshire in 2000, had recounted the story of a manufactured traffic jam at a Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics symposium.

The Phoenix reported Whouley, who is now a top aide to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign, told the symposium that the Gore team organized a caravan to clog Interstate 93 with traffic to discourage potential Bradley voters from getting to the polls.

“This is craziness,” Whouley told The Union Leader yesterday. He said Gore’s motorcade may have tied up traffic for “10 or 15 minutes,” but there was no organized effort.

Whouley supplied The Union Leader with a passage from the symposium, which, he said, was held about a year ago, from the book “Campaign for President 2000.”

According to the transcript, he told the symposium, “There was actually a rumor that we would try to turn over an 18-wheel truck on I-93 so the liberal-minded, independent voters in New Hampshire who worked the (Route) 128 corridor wouldn’t be able to get back to vote.”

The transcript notes “Laughter.”

Whouley continued, “If we could guarantee that no one would have been hurt, that would have happened.” The transcript again notes “Laughter.”

Whouley said yesterday, “It was a joke! We certainly did not do that.”

Whouley said he had not spoken with Kerry about the report.

[RJCogburn]

A followup to yesterday's story Gore aide's traffic jam story draws criticism

[LantzALot]

To be fair, it appears it certainly was a joke, and doesn't deserve any attention outside the audience the joke was told to.

But, then, to be completely fair, if a conservative were to make such a joke, he and the pol he worked for would be hounded by the press until he was forced to resign.

So let's be fair about this.

[blackdog]

It does however indicate the mechanics of thinking within the democrat party.

I drive by an accident and think, Oh, I hope everyone is ok and wonder if there is anything I can do?

A democrat party staffer drives by the same accident and say's "There's bread on the table".

And don't tell me otherwise. I experienced it.

[CyberAnt]

"It does however indicate the mechanics of thinking within the democrat party"

You are so correct. The dems think totally different than conservatives.

However, since 9/11 - I have noticed that the public has begun to pick up on the differences of those thought processes and has already rejected a lot of them in 2002 and I expect a lot more will be rejected in 2004.

[blackdog]

The way it illustrates their thinking is based on the dynamics of situations which they are perifally(sp?) involved and their instinctive responses.

Too many potential conservative voters?????? Try to supress them and inflate the liberal votes instead of change their message.

To a conservative, an accidental death is a tragedy, impacting family, community, and so on....To a liberal, such event is a lawsuit, employing Grief Counselors, compensating victims, and an absentee vote which will take years to clear from the rolls.

A demonstration by a group of people to a conservative means an exercise of the first amendment. A demonstration of a random group of people witnessed by a liberal is an interest in a potential block of voters or a bloody street fight, depending on the potential for those votes to swing your way.