Gephardt Counts on His Longtime Loyalists

Other Democratic presidential candidates have their loyalists. But Rep. Dick Gephardt’s die-hards stand out in Iowa as caucus day arrives.

They wear buttons that declare: “I gave my blood for Gephardt.” They wave signs that praise him for a “Backbone of Steel.” They come from his native Missouri, from Capitol Hill, from union towns across the country.

Whether Gephardt ekes out a victory here tonight or finishes a step behind, there is little doubt his followers will have knocked on every door possible and dialed every conceivable phone number in an effort to propel their man to the White House.

Some identify with Gephardt’s background as the son of a Teamster of modest means from St. Louis. Some value his steadfast opposition to free-trade deals they believe have cost American jobs. Many, too, just like a 62-year-old guy who says his favorite song is “Hip to Be Square” by Huey Lewis & the News.

Here on Sunday, in a morning rally at United Steelworkers of America Local 310, were people like Tom Hendershot, 59, a county councilman from New Carrolton, Md. He flew to Iowa to canvass for a man he met in the late 1970s as an aide on the Ways and Means Committee after Gephardt first won election to the House.

“Dick Gephardt’s a lot like me,” Hendershot said. “He’s the son of a milk-truck driver. I’m the son of a coal miner.”

Now that so many years have passed since their time together on Capitol Hill, Gephardt “wouldn’t know me from Adam.” But Hendershot wants to help him compete.

Here, too, were Mona Morton, 61, and Kathie Petrovich, 70, who drove 16 hours from Sharon, Pa., a factory town near Pittsburgh. They were part of a group called “Women of Steel” that is backing Gephardt in an effort led by the steelworkers.

Gephardt comes “from the bottom up,” Petrovich said, and stands in sharp contrast to the privileged upbringing of President Bush. “Bush is sitting there with his millions, and what do we have? No pensions, no nothing.”

The loyalists most in evidence are, of course, the leaders and members of the 21 unions that have endorsed him.

James P. Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, campaigned side by side with Gephardt on Sunday in Des Moines and Newton, a small town to the east.

Joe Hunt, president of Ironworkers International, stood behind Gephardt in Newton. The candidate noted that he had been in grade school, high school and the Boy Scouts together with Hunt in St. Louis. “He knows things about me my wife doesn’t know,” Gephardt said.

Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Assn., who was also on stage in Newton, said Gephardt’s pro-labor record in 27 years in Congress was unequaled. Labor leaders especially admire him for fighting President Clinton on the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993 and on the China trade accord of 2000.

“Dick Gephardt was a Rock of Gibraltar for the working families of America,” Woerth said. “He never, ever forgot us. This is really a reciprocation of that loyalty.”

Gephardt’s campaign brain trust also shows this phenomenon. His advisors are devoted to him, and he to them.

Pollster Ed Reilly, media consultant Bill Carrick, campaign manager Steve Murphy and campaign vice chairwoman Joyce Aboussie are all veterans of Gephardt’s 1988 White House run who signed up for a second tour of duty.

Most of those on the campaign staff who didn’t serve him here 16 years ago -- when Gephardt came from far back to win Iowa -- are drawn from his stint as House Democratic leader from 1989 to 2002.

“There aren’t a lot of newcomers here,” said Steve Elmendorf, a top advisor for the last 11 years. Explaining Gephardt’s appeal, Elmendorf said: “He’s not weird. He comes from a middle-class background. He watches sports. He’s a normal guy.”

To be sure, there are risks in having such a veteran staff, especially for a candidate often dismissed as a relic of bygone years. Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, in contrast, fired his top advisors and shook up his campaign late last year. In the last days of the Iowa campaign, Kerry has been surging in the polls.

But Gephardt is sticking with his message and his loyal team. In an interview with reporters, he said such consistency would pay off at the caucuses. “We have the most steadfast supporters of any candidate,” he said. Their minds are “made up.”