Word: gramm
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Dole's real problem in Iowa is that his core support isn't any deeper than the rigged straw poll revealed. Internal Dole campaign surveys have found that among "likely caucus goers," Gramm and Dole tie with about 26% of the vote. The reason, again, is message. The respondents to Dole's poll were asked if they had been contacted by the various Republican campaigns. Many had. Those reached by the Doleites mostly recalled being asked to contribute money to the campaign. Those contacted by the Gramm forces remembered Gramm's hard-core conservative message. In a contest where activists...
...even with his huge lead in the polls, a wholesale change in strategy and theme seems remote. The reason is simple: while everyone else thinks Dole's nomination is inevitable, Dole's campaign staff members don't. Of the other contenders, they are particularly worried about Gramm, whom most pundits and political consultants view as too crass to present a serious challenge to Dole for the nomination...
...dead by any means," says Reed, who fears a strong Gramm showing in next February's Iowa caucuses, the first significant contest of the long primary season. "Whoever wins or is said to do better than expected," he explains, "gets a bounce from Iowa" as the media demands an alternative to the front runner...
...Gramm unexpectedly tied Dole in the Iowa straw poll last Aug. 19. It was a fake contest, because participants had to pay $25 to attend (and therefore to vote), and anyone from anywhere--even outside Iowa--could play. Many did, as Gramm's campaign, especially, bused in hundreds of its faithful from out of state. "I spent $30,000 on the 1980 Iowa straw poll," Dole recalls, "and I came in third. I know all about buying that thing, and I should have bought it this time." What Dole didn't say is that the Doleites didn't want...
With time to improve their prospects, the Doleites are indeed sharpening their pitch. "We'll take Gramm's bark off in Iowa," says Reed, confirming that a series of negative TV spots have been tested before focus groups. One of them, a Dole staff member says, highlights Gramm's 1974 investment of $7,500 in an R-rated movie titled Beauty Queens. (It never actually got made...