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2nd District challenger can win, says former presidential candidatehttp://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=7AFBCE45-D95B-46F0-92C1-E67E3AF84577Storrs — They cheered for Jim Sullivan, they promised him their votes, and some wore T-shirts bearing his name.
Their screams they saved for Howard Dean.
The former Vermont governor and one-time front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination riled up the packed student union at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday, urging the crowd to back Sullivan in his race against U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, and hurling a familiar indictment or two at President Bush and his own party.
“We can blame George W. Bush for everything that's wrong in this country for the next 28 days, and we'll be 98 percent right,” Dean said to cheers from the crowd of roughly 400 students.
But other groups share the blame, he said.
“The first is the Democrats in Washington for not standing up when they should have, and the second is us,” Dean said. “Because we thought somebody else was going to make democracy work in America. Democracy is like every other human creation. It's an extraordinary, beautiful thing, but it is fragile, and if you don't nurture it and take care of it, it dies.”<SNIP> Introducing the guest of honor, Sullivan said the example of Dean, the brickbat-hurling outsider who galvanized the presidential race before succumbing to a late surge by Sen. John Kerry, helped get him into the race against Simmons, an avowed moderate whom Democrats paint as a loyal ally of Bush and the national Republican leadership.
“He inspired us to stand up to George W. Bush and to say ‘no,' ” Sullivan said. “Gov. Dean's campaign inspired me and my campaign to stand up to Rob Simmons and say ‘no.' ”
The Simmons campaign responded with a news release noting that the university has received $55 million in federal funding since he won election to Congress, and that Simmons helped win support for the UConn 2000 development project.
“My opponent today brought a failed Democratic presidential candidate to Storrs for a feel-good photo op,” Simmons said in the statement. “I have brought federal and state resources to UConn to create enormous educational opportunities for thousands of young people.”
The campaign also sought to counter the appearance of a major Democratic attraction with the impending visit of a marquee Republican, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who will campaign and raise money for Simmons over the weekend.
“John McCain is looked up to throughout our district and across America,” Simmons said. “He ... connects with all segments of our society and cuts across party lines. We welcome him to the Second District and Connecticut.”
There was no dampening the enthusiasm for Dean among those who attended Wednesday's rally, however.<SNIP> “I'm pretty confident Jim's going to win, and the reason is right now the incumbent's below 40 percent re-elect,” Dean said, referring to Tuesday's UConn poll, which showed Simmons with only a 39 to 35 percent lead among likely voters.
“They know him, they don't know Jim,” Dean said. “So those are mostly Jim's voters. If you're undecided, and the incumbent's below 40 percent, that incumbent's going to have a tough time.”
Sullivan, too, was guardedly optimistic.
“I think in the last 24 hours a bull's eye has been inserted on my back,” he said, “but it's one that I welcome because it means that this is turning into a competitive race.”Unfortunately, I couldn't make this rally. I had to work, but it was great that Dean came to eastern CT.
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