WSHU: Chris Dodd’s spending more time campaigning in Iowa than in US Senate
Suggested host intro: Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Dodd is spending more time campaigning than he is on his duties in the Senate. While other senators are running, Dodd is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee at a critical time for financial and housing markets. Critics back in Connecticut say he’s shirking his responsibilities. Matt Laslo has this report from Washington.
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“One two three”
That was Senator Dodd getting his picture taken with his office’s interns in the US Capitol.
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The interns haven’t been seeing much of the senator. He doesn’t have enough campaign cash to fly in a private jet like Senators Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton, so he get stuck in commercial like everyone else. That means more time traveling and less time back in Washington. Dodd has been known for confronting the Bush administration, especially on banking issues. But he hasn’t been around much this year. Democratic leaders recently gathered to pressure the White House to tackle the subprime mortgage crisis. The most noteworthy part of it was Dodd’s absence.
DURBIN1-CRISIS :08 “This administration likes to talk about tax cuts, but they are cutting the value of people’s homes by failing to address this problem.”
That’s Illinois Senator Dick Durbin who’s been filling in for Dodd. Still the Democratic Leaders publicly embrace Dodd’s campaign. Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was glad Dodd missed last week’s press conference so he could attend the presidential debate in Las Vegas.
REID1-NV :03 “I’ll tell you one thing; he’s where he should be today – he’s in Nevada.” (laughter)
Reid admits Dodd has had to delegate his responsibilities but says he’s satisfied with his leadership.
REID2-COMMITTEE 08 “Dodd has been involved with what the committee has done and I think he has done a good job on the committee.”
Dodd’s committee deals with issues ranging from disaster insurance to predatory lenders and the housing market. And that’s where he gets most of his money. Of the eight million he has raised for his presidential campaign, five million is from the insurance, credit card and housing industry. Just look on the Federal Election Commission website – you’ll see Dodd gets a lot of money from familiar names, like JP Morgan, American Express, Morgan Stanley, and National Realty. Travis Plunkett is the Legislative Director for the Consumer Federation of America. He says that’s normal.
PLUNKETT2- MONEY :14 “Its hard for me to get into the mind of a committee chairman or any member of congress. All I can tell you is in the past that – everyone who serves on a financial services committee gets money from the financial services industry.”
Plunkett says Dodd has been an advocate for consumers in the past. Dodd was one of the first in Congress to tackle abusive lending practices by credit card companies. So Plunkett says he’s waiting for Dodd to tackle the emerging consumer issues. But he says Dodd’s run for president has hamstrung him.
PLUNKETT1-UNFATHOMABLE :06 “To do both is unfathomable to me – it’s a very difficult thing to do. To give proper attention to both a presidential campaign and to running a key Senate committee at a crucial time for American consumers.”
With Dodd gone the House has taken the lead on the sub prime mortgage crisis. A bill was passed in that chamber that forces residential mortgage lenders to become licensed. It will also protect renters if the property they are on is foreclosed. But the Senate has yet to act.
Dodd is not polling well, but says he’s staying in the race. In fact, he’s even moved his family to Iowa.
DODD1-NH AND IOWA :17 “Things are going very well for us in Iowa, very well in New Hampshire and I’m optimistic about what’s gonna happen in the next few weeks.”
But back home polls show Connecticut voters want him to drop out. Michael Morrell teaches political science at the University of Connecticut. He says constituents had a similar response when Senator Joe Lieberman was Al Gore’s running mate in two thousand.
MORRELL1-US :06 “There’s often a come home and take care of us attitude on the part of the public.”
Morell says Dodd may not be in the race just to get in the Oval Office. He could be eyeing a cabinet position or a vice presidential nomination.
MORRELL2-WHY RUN :18 “Its possible that one of those scenarios is applicable to Dodd, and so he wants to continue the run, possibly for something other than getting the nomination, where as the people back home are looking at this purely in terms of getting the nomination or not.”
And Morrell also cautions that it’s still early in the presidential race. He says Dodd could catch on yet. Until then his Senate committee will continue to be led by his staff and senators from other states.
Matt Laslo, WSHU News
