Gutierrez, Schakowsky, lend backing to Dean

[goobergunch]

Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean won the backing of two influential Chicago area lawmakers, Democrats Luis Gutierrez and Jan Schakowsky.

Gutierrez said Sunday in a phone interview he will be Dean's senior policy adviser on immigration and will stump for him in Iowa on Jan. 11. Gutierrez chairs the immigration panels for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Democratic Caucus on Immigration.

"I think this will help him field more of the progressive vote,'' Schakowsky said. The endorsements "will help move people who were strongly in the anybody-but-Bush column and move them to the Dean column.''

more...http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-endorse22.html

[shance]

1. Great news** Jan Schakowsky is highly impressive.

n/t

[Debi]

2. Watch the endorsements grow

As more 'establishment' Democrats realized Dean is the one!!

[Cocoa]

3. Great news for Dean

but I'm a little disappointed in their giving up on the fringe candidates. Big blow to Braun, who is from Chicago, Kucinich, who is very close in thinking to Schakowsky, and especially to Sharpton, who got arrested with Gutierrez on Vieques.

[PassingFair]

4. I'm beginning to REALLY like Jan Schakowsky.

Bravo, Illinois, for voting in such a brave legislator!

[arcos]

5. He was also endorsed by 2 WV congressmen...

Reps. Nick Rahall and Alan Mollohan

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=703&e=4&u=/ap/20031222/ap_on_el_pr/lieberman_s_move

[ParticipatoryDem]

6. Luis Gutierrez voted against Bernie Sanders on the Shays Snowmobile ban

Thousands of Vermont snowmobilers and tens of thousands of Union workers that snowmobile in the midwest will not be impressed with this. The newsletters and monthy mailings for snowmobile clubs are starting to make a lot of noise about those that vote to ban their activities.

Bernie has attended many snowmobile club meetings and assured them that the falsehoods and misstated "facts" about pollution from snowmobiles was based on a 1960's two-stroke lawnboy lawnmower. Now that all snowmobile makers are making cleaner four-stroke snowmobiles to meet strict standards Bernie assured snowmobilers that any bans will be reviewed to reflect the reality of newer snowmobilers.

Bernie is an honest congressman.