MPR: Campaign 2004: Richard Gephardt

Candidate Bio

Political affiliation:
Democratic Party

Born:
January 31, 1941
St. Louis, Mo.

Personal:
Married to Jane Byrnes. Two daughters, one son. Baptist.

Occupation:
Attorney. U.S. congressman

Education:
B.S. from Northwestern University, 1962. Law degree from University of Michigan, 1965

Experience:
Lawyer in private practice, Missouri Air National Guard, 1965-71; Democratic committeeman, St. Louis, Missouri, 1968-71; St. Louis city alderman, 1971-6; Congressman from Missouri's Third District, 1977-present; unsuccessful candidate for president, 1988; House Majority Leader, 1989-94; House Minority Leader, 1994-2003.

On the Issues

	Gephardt on power sharing in Iraq (9/4/03)
	Gephardt on anti-terrorism (1/4/04)


	Gephardt on the economy(6/20/03)

	Gephardt on foreign trade (9/4/03)

	Gephardt on energy(6/20/03)

	Gephardt on gun control(6/20/03)

	Gephardt on health care(6/20/03)
	Gephardt on education(6/20/03)

Audio Highlights

	Gephardt speaks to farmers in Moorhead (1/4/04) During a campaign swing to Moorhead and Fargo, Gephardt stressed farm and labor issuesThe governor discusses the budget and the session during a speech to the Society of Professional Journalists' meeting in Minneapolis

Links and Resources

Web site:

dickgephardt2004.com

Campaign contributors:

Political Money Line

Candidate Pages

Richard Gephardt

	SNAPSHOT

   Richard Gephardt dropped out of the race for president on Jan. 20, 2004 after a poor showing in the Iowa
  caucuses.  He was one of the founders of the 
  Democratic Leadership Council, the group of Democrats (they called themselves 
  "centrists") who wanted to pull the party back to the middle of the political 
  spectrum. In the 1980s, he opposed many Democratic causes such as abortion rights, 
  busing and the raising of the minimum wasge. That began to change in the mid-1980s 
  when he was elected chairman of the Democratic Caucus. He ran for president 
  in 1986, and signalled his shift, according to the Almanac of American Politics, 
  by doing little to advance a tax reform proposal he helped author, and changing 
  his stand on abortion to pro-choice. During the Clinton administration, he was 
  a vocal opponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While Gephardt 
  is widely known for his ability to build consensus, he was often shut out of 
  negotiations on Capitol Hill in the '90s as the Clinton White House often negotiated 
  directly with Republican lawmakers. In his home district in Missouri, there 
  is some rumbling that Gephardt spends too much time on national issues, and 
  not enough time in the district. Gephardt has a strong network of supporters 
  and high visibility, thanks to his 8 years as leader of House Democrats. He's 
  also a prolific fundraiser for other candidates.Gephardt stepped down as House 
  Democratic Leader in November 2002, after failing to lead the Democrats in four 
  elections back to majority status in the House. No sitting House member has 
  been elected president since 1880, however.

	
	

Gephardt quits presidential race
Dick Gephardt, the former House Democratic leader and 14-term congressman, said Tuesday he was abandoning his second bid for the presidency after a poor, fourth-place showing in the Iowa caucuses. (01/20/2004)

The Iowa caucuses: results and analysis
After the blizzard of ads, the blanketing of the state by most of the Democratic candidates, Iowans caucused and made their choices. What's next for the following important primary, New Hampshire. ( 01/20/2004)

Kerry shakes up race and staggers Dean with decisive win in Iowa
Democratic presidential candidates vied for victory Monday across the chilly precincts of Iowa, the first step in the battle to face President Bush this fall. John Kerry was leading in preliminary results of an Associated Press survey of Iowa Democrats taken as they entered the caucus sites. (01/20/2004)

Practicing politics at an Iowa caucus
More than 100 people crammed Decorah's City Council chambers Monday night to participate in the Iowa Democratic caucus. For this precinct, in a small northeastern Iowa college town, it was the best-attended caucus in recent memory. (01/20/2004)

Variety of issues drive Iowans to caucuses
On Monday, Iowa Democrats will meet in close to 2,000 precinct caucuses around the state. Because Iowa gets to go first, some political observers say the views of Iowa residents play a disproportionate role in choosing a candidate for president. But the issues Iowans are concerned about --the war in Iraq, jobs, and education-- are the same ones on the minds of many Minnesotans and other Americans. (01/16/2004)

Democratic challengers meet in radio-only debate
Howard Dean accused President Bush of pursuing a policy that will "allow North Korea to become a nuclear power" on Tuesday, as a Democratic presidential debate turned into an all-out assault on President Bush's foreign policy. (01/06/2004)

Democratic presidential candidates debate
Seven of the nine democratic presidential candidates debated in Des Moines, Iowa, Sunday night in the first official event of the election year. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean was sharply criticized by his rivals on taxes, health care, and terrorism. Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford discusses presidential politics. ( 01/05/2004)

Gephardt tells growers he's top candidate to change trade policy
Democratic presidential hopeful Richard Gephardt said he's the best candidate to change trade policy, telling a group of Red River Valley sugar beet growers that a new deal with Central America would hurt family farms. (01/04/2004)

Rivals target front-runner Dean in first debate of the election year
In a feisty, first debate of the election year, Howard Dean drew fire from fellow Democrats on Sunday over trade, terror and taxes, then calmly dismissed his rivals as "co-opted by the agenda of George Bush." (01/04/2004)

Rivals gang up on Dean, Gore in debate dominated by endorsement
Eight of the Democratic presidential candidates ganged up on front-runner Howard Dean and former Vice President Al Gore, hoping to take the luster off Gore's newly minted endorsement of Dean. (12/10/2003)

Local political leaders selecting presidential favorites
The 2004 presidential election is still 11 months away, but the presidential campaign is well underway in Minnesota. Three Democratic candidates recently kicked off their Minnesota campaigns, and some are mobilizing Minnesotans to travel to Iowa in advance of next month's caucuses. Meantime, Republicans are working to sign up a record number of Minnesota volunteers for President George W. Bush's re-election campaign. (12/09/2003)

The 2004 race for president
President Bush is stepping up the pace this week, packing in four sessions with wealthy Republican donors in as many states. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidates are building their paid staffs and paying frequent visits to Wisconsin, before the Wisconsin primary in two months. ( 12/01/2003)

Bush TV ad answers criticism over Iraq
Democrats are reacting strongly to an ad running in the crucial early election state of Iowa that talks about Bush's stand on the war on terrorism and Iraq. The ad, sponsored by the Republican National Committee, signals a strategy for addressing criticism of the administration's efforts in the Middle East. ( 11/25/2003)

Gephardt, Kerry take shots at Dean policies on health care in Democratic debate
Rep. Dick Gephardt and Democratic rival Howard Dean intensified their war of words on Monday, attacking each others' records in the latest in a series of Democratic debates. (11/24/2003)

Dean regrets pain of Confederate flag remark
Howard Dean said Wednesday he regretted the pain he caused by saying that the Democratic Party must court Southerners who display the symbol of the Confederacy in their pickup trucks. (11/05/2003)

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