Gephardt Uses Iowa Rhetoric in New England : Pledges to Keep Populist Theme in Robust Region

Fresh from his victory in Iowa, Democratic presidential candidate Richard A. Gephardt began his final drive in New Hampshire on Tuesday by pledging to campaign on the same Midwestern populist themes of trade and agriculture that proved so successful in the heartland.

The Missouri congressman, who flew from Des Moines to Manchester early Tuesday morning with an entourage crowded into seven Lear jets, quickly sought to dispel any doubts that his fire-eating, anti-Establishment rhetoric would be toned down once the campaign moved from the troubled Midwest to booming New England.

Gephardt, a Washington insider who has called on his powerful allies in Congress to campaign for him, was stung by charges in Iowa that he was pandering to voters by espousing a populist message that he had never expressed before he began his long campaign for the presidency.

Begins Airing Same Ads

But at a press briefing and a later rally here Tuesday, Gephardt insisted that he would continue to hammer away on his Iowa message throughout the campaign. Indeed, the Gephardt campaign has already begun airing the same ads here that ran in Iowa.

“I think the message I talked about in Iowa will play well in New Hampshire,” Gephardt told reporters. “The unemployment rate may be lower here, but they (New Hampshire voters) are just as concerned as everybody else when the farmers are going out of business,” Gephardt said. “We’re one country, and that’s the message I’m going to bring here.”

At his Manchester rally, Gephardt used a modified version of the stump speech that he had employed in the closing weeks of the Iowa campaign--broadening the message only to point out that the troubles of Iowa farmers and factory workers are symbolic of a larger crisis in the nation’s economy.

In fact, Gephardt took such pains to talk about troubled Iowa farmers and workers--in order to prove that he was not “flip-flopping” in New Hampshire--that his speech seemed oddly out of place in a shopping mall in downtown Manchester.

“We are going to take our America back from the vested interests, the entrenched, and yes, from the Establishment,” Gephardt said. “In their America, land is something to be traded and speculated on,” he added. “In our America, land is a place to raise corn, and soybeans, and wheat, and most of all a place to raise our children. We will fight the giant agribusiness establishment, and we will win, and save the family farm.”

Talks About Iowa Farmers

Gephardt also tried to make his message seem altruistic to New Hampshire voters. By talking about troubled Iowa farmers in this low-unemployment state, he seemed to be asking voters here to think about other, less fortunate areas of the nation.

“There are some, the cynical among us, who are betting that the people of New Hampshire don’t care about the people in Iowa,” Gephardt said. “They claim that where there are no auto factories, there is no concern for auto workers. They claim that where there are no cornfields, there is no concern for corn farmers.

“They claim that where there is no shutdown of John Deere factories, there is no compassion for shut-out people,” he added.

Gephardt’s speech received a tepid reception, however, indicating just how badly he trails Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis here.

Happy With 2nd Place

Seeking to downplay media expectations in the wake of his Iowa victory, the Missouri congressman said that Dukakis was the “clear front-runner in New Hampshire.” Gephardt said he would be happy with second place here.

Still, there were signs Tuesday that Gephardt does not seem intent on competing very forcefully in New Hampshire.

His campaign has scheduled just a handful of personal appearances by Gephardt for the balance of the New Hampshire campaign. His staff is keeping many of Gephardt’s evenings free to leave the state for fund-raising events in New York and Washington. Gephardt officials admit that they nearly ran out of cash in Iowa and that they need to replenish their coffers.

Many of Gephardt’s top aides, who flew with reporters from Iowa, argue that the Iowa victory guarantees that Gephardt won’t be knocked out in New Hampshire in any event; they say he will be able to remain in the race at least until Super Tuesday on March 8.