Granny D and two others file for U.S. Senate

[FightinNewDem]

http://www.politicsnh.com/archives/pindell/2004/June/6_11grannyd.shtmlBy JAMES W. PINDELL
PoliticsNH.com

CONCORD, June 11 – Campaign finance reform advocate Granny D, along with two others, filed for the U.S. Senate Democratic nomination on Friday one day after the lone Democrat seeking that office suddenly dropped out.

Dorris Haddock, 94, known as Granny D, lives in Dublin and is known nationally for walking across the country in the 1990s in her attempt to bring attention to campaign finance reform.

Haddock and her son spent more of Friday at the state Democratic Party headquarters and left Concord around 5:15pm in her Granny D wagon painted in near psychedelic colors.

Also filing for the seat is former Berlin Mayor Dick Bosa and Concord resident Kathleen Houston. Bosa, who ran as a Republican presidential candidate, in last January's primary is expected to have his candidacy questioned. Portsmouth City Clerk Kelli Barnaby said Bosa is on file as a registered Republican, but this morning he filled out a form as a new voter and claiming to be a Democrat.


My 2 cents: We're screwed. On the occasions when Granny D has discussed issues other than CFR, she has come across as a bit of a wingnut, not someone with a realistic approach to policy. It also doesn't help that from an actuarial perspective, she might not make it to November.

Maybe this will be a wake-up call to the NHDP leadership. When your "new blood" is in her nineties, there is something wrong.

[David Dunham]

1. Not good. Kerry needs a decent Dem Sen candidate to help him.

[Cheswick2.0]

16. not everything is about Kerry.... Granny needs a decent Pres candidate

to help her.

[stevedeshazer]

2. You obviously know little of Granny D

Underestimate her at your own peril.

on edit: your link doesn't work

[loudsue]

3. New Hampshire needs a VIABLE Dem Candidate!!

Isn't there a sharp DUer in New Hampshire that we can run? This is a vacuum that SERIOUSLY needs to be filled.

Granny D is great at a lot of things, but we need a major Dem Party Populist candidate on that ticket!

HELP!!!!

:kick::kick:

[Bluebear]

4. I would love to, thank you.

Unfortunately, I think the deadline was today. Oh yeah, and on top of that I couldn't win.

[Eloriel]

9. What is this hostility to Granny D?

I can't believe it.

Terribly disappointing, I have to say.

[Radical Activist]

18. Granny D isn't populist enough for you?

Who do you want to run, William Jennings Bryan? I'm not sure he would be more populist than Granny D either.

If the Dem party ran people with Granny D's ideals and ability to communicate those ideals in all 50 states we would take back the Senate and actually stand for something as a party again.

[Sean Reynolds]

26. So some hack from DU can step in......

And be more viable?

I don't understand your logic here.

[loudsue]

29. No...I'm NOT against GrannyD....she totally rocks!

That's NOT the point!

She's 93 years old and she's pretty darned unconventional! Yes, she's still rockin' and rollin' and is probably sharper than I am by a country mile. But do you think New Hamshirites are going to vote her in to the U.S. Senate?

Maybe I'm way off base here....maybe she really does have a big following that will actually get her elected in that state.

I apologize if I upset anyone sounding like I was putting her down... though I guess in a way, I was. I just think her age and her unconventional past is going to make her a controversial candidate, when EVERY seat the Dems can take in the Senate is every bit as crucial as who gets elected president!

While I PERSONALLY admire her and her politics, and support her position on things, I just wonder if the voters in New Hampshire will take her seriously enough to elect her!

[loudsue]

5. This REALLY pisses me off!!!

What in the hell is the Dem party THINKING???

Could we possibly get rid of Terry McAuliffe SOON?? Here we have a vacant SENATE slot for a Dem to run in, and NOBODY'S making sure there is a top-of-the-line Dem candidate to run??

How many OTHER races is this happening in around the country?

Do you really think the repukes would allow this to happen to THEM?? The prize is too great! And ESPECIALLY in an environment like we have now, where the bush fans are jumping ship, this is a seat we MIGHT HAVE WON!!!

So.....WHERE IN THE HELL ARE THE DEMS?? And who in the hell is the asshole that jumped ship when it's too late for another viable candidate to sign up????

HEADS NEED TO ROLLLLLLLL!

:kick::kick:

[Joanne98]

6. We need to fire McAuliffe

and hire Howard Dean. He would shake things up.

[loudsue]

7. You can say that again!

Dean would make sure something like this would NEVER happen.

Geeez! ANYBODY with ANY kind of organizational skills would make sure something like this didn't happen!

:kick::kick:

[dmr]

13. I'm with you and LoudSue on that

We NEED to win the Senate back, and nobody is seizing the opportunity here?

We damn sure do need someone to come in and shake things up, and if Howard Dean is up for it, I say we stary lobbying for it!

Speak up! Speak loud and clear!

[loyalsister]

17. ugh!

"We need to fire McAuliffe." How many people have actually been a part of candidate recruitment? The vetting process, etc? In this particular discussion is everyone aware that we are talking about NEW HAMPSHIRE????
It's not an overly populace area. It's ridiculous to assume it's easy to find a candidate. It's not an easy job at all. It's even harder with fewer people.
I've just been through the search and we came up with a rotten list. This in an area where there is a much larger population.
I'm not always thrilled with the DNC, but they can't take the fall over every single thing that goes wrong or it diminshes the complaints over their worst behaviors.

[Forkboy]

20. um,there was a Dem running

his campaign manager bailed with all the campaign funds last week.The guy didn't "jump ship".Big investigation going on now.

[LWolf]

8. uh oh.

I love Granny D. I love everything about her. Whatever she does with the time she has left, it will be for the benefit of causes and issues I support.

A republican, a 94-year-old woman, and a "resident." If this is the case, and there's no time for others to file, I sure hope Granny D can hold on for a term. Or long enough to find someone to run in a special election.

Who was the "lone democrat," and why did she/he drop out? The link doesn't work.

[RoyGBiv]

10. Granny D a wingnut? Puhleaze!

You may, in fact, have a point about the ineffectual leadership of the Democratic Party, but you go too far when you suggest Granny D, for any other reason than her age, is not an excellent candidate. This woman inspires people.

And as for her being a wingnut, think again. She's a self-described peacenik, i.e. against the Iraq War, speaks loudly against the election tragedy in Florida, argues for social justice, for preserving the environment ... I could go on and on and on.

And if you want a practical approach to policy, in this specific case as it relates to Democratic party tactics, read this speech:

http://www.grannyd.com/speech20030430.htm

There are many among us on the peace trail who will not support a candidate unless that candidate is perfect on every issue. Politics is about winning. For us, it is about winning to save lives and raise people up from poverty and illness and loneliness and injustice. Those posturing on the left sometimes forget that. Don't tell me that you can't support a particular candidate because of this or that. This isn't about you and your precious political standards. It is about saving nature and our people. We are coming out to win, so please don't stand in our way. When we have reasonable people in power, let us start our arguments again, for we can not move forward unless we have a decent government underneath us and a Bill of Rights to let us speak freely.

This world needs more Granny D's, of all ages.

[anarchy1999]

11. GrannyD a "wingnut"????

Have you read any of the speeches she has given in the last 3 years? You do yourself no favors by calling her such. "not someone with a realistic approach to policy"........

It is really difficult to hold back on you for what you have posted, but for the sake of staying here at DU, I will refrain.

www.grannyd.com

You might want to do a little more research! Then come back and apologize.

[FightinNewDem]

27. Apologize?

No way.

I appreciate what Ms. Haddock did to advance the cause of campaign finance reform, both at the state and national level.

Unfortunately, this is a statewide US Senate campaign.

Haddock has a way of pushing things too far. i have seen her in action in Concord, and she has a nasty tendency of using vinegar when honey is more appropriate. Even many supporters of CFR and Clean Elections come away feeling as though they have been badgered insulted.

Haddock is also tight with the hard-left fringe of the NH political community. This will be a huge negative in a statewide campaign. With the exception of the academic clusters in the Upper Valley, Portsmouth/Durham/Exeter, and her own Monadnock region, this is political poison. Democrats who succeed in NH do so by appealing to a broad cross section of the electorate, with a message that is positive and moderate, not shrill and scolding. If Haddock receives more than 25% of the vote in Manchester, Nashua, Merrimack and Salem, I will be stunned.

[Voltaire99]

12. Calling Granny D a "wingnut" is pathetic

The woman is beloved by progressives for her knowledgeable, wise, eloquent grace. She'd make a fine senator.

She's certainly no Bush-lite "New Democrat." Thank God for that!

[FightinNewDem]

28. Please...

...and her nomination ensures a landslide victory for Judd Gregg. Yes, I guess we are MUCH better off having that spoiled little creep in office than a nasty old mainstream Democrat like Jeanne Shaheen. Dick Swett or Jim Normand!

[OKNancy]

14. Another story - missing money

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=39072

“There’s apparently some money missing. I hear it’s substantial, and Burt is devastated,” said state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester. “And the campaign manager has left.”

D’Allesandro said: “A friend of (Burchfield) had been trying to reach him, and when he went by his apartment within the past few days, it was empty, and they became concerned.”

[Cheswick2.0]

15. Go Granny!

I am assuming you mean she is a Leftwing nut. But of course you would be wrong.

[sonias]

19. I love Granny D

and I would vote for her in a heartbeat. Granny would be the most independent candidate in the entire senate, absolutely not beholden to special interest money. She is a woman for the people. I'm proud of her for stepping in the race. I only wish we could get other good Americans like Granny D to run in other races.

Go Granny Go!

Sonia

[Forkboy]

21. a "wingnut"?

my list of DUers not to take seriously grows yet again :eyes:

[anarchy1999]

22. this deserves a kick back up. GrannyD for Senator!

I'll volunteer and send many dollars her way. What a presence she could have.

[truth2power]

23. Hmmph...

She doesn't seem like a wingnut to me. Anything but. I have a printout of one of her speeches, made within the past year. I am terrible at organizing stuff, so it would take a long time to retrieve it, but I thought it was brilliant, and it wasn't about CFR.

:shrug:

[anarchy1999]

24. You can find most of her speeches on line at www.grannyd.com

n/t

[truth2power]

30. Thank you. I didn't know that. n/t

[stevedeshazer]

25. Kick for my Granny

:kick: