On the spot

Even as they set a brisk pace for courtship of labor groups, Democratic White House hopefuls are not ignoring the ballot-box clout of MoveOn.org. The anti-war group, which began in the 1990s as an effort to tamp down calls for former President Clinton’s impeachment, will host Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for an April 10 online question-and-answer session on Iraq.

But the Big Three, as the presumptive front-runners are informally known, will not be MoveOn’s only guests. Any Democratic candidate receiving more than 10 percent support for MoveOn members answering their Web poll will be invited to participate — meaning Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is a virtual lock.

After the “town hall” meeting on the war, MoveOn members will be surveyed again on which candidates’ approaches to the war they prefer, with the results announced two days later.

— Elana schor

King endorses Clinton   

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) picked up a key endorsement from the gay and lesbian community yesterday, as tennis legend Billie Jean King backed her presidential campaign.

The King endorsement comes in the wake of disappointment from gay and lesbian groups after Clinton and her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), offered what some characterized as insufficient criticism of comments by Gen. Peter Pace that homosexuality is immoral.

“Hillary and I both believe strongly in equal rights and opportunities for all people,” King said in a statement.

— Elana schor

Draft Newt founders claiming big mo’

The campaign to draft former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) into the 2008 presidential campaign is rolling, according to the group’s new campaign manager.

Steve Parkhurst, Draft Newt’s incoming campaign manager, said in a release this week that the group had surpassed its fundraising goals and hired new leadership.

“Every dollar helps win the future,” Parkhurst said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to lead this fine organization and continue to build the support network needed to make a Gingrich candidacy possible. Gingrich has the experience and solutions that our country needs right now.”

Gingrich told The Hill earlier this month that he won’t consider a run until after Sept. 30.

—  Sam youngman

Brownback garners support of pro-life groups

Though recent polls show the front-runners continuing to dominate the Iowa electoral landscape, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) has made substantial inroads with an important constituency in the Hawkeye State: social conservatives. GOP activists in several key counties said that Brownback’s support from prominent conservative groups is stalwart, a factor that could give him the organizational strength necessary to pull off a win in the state caucus.

“Brownback had dinner in December with the Christian Alliance,” said Barbara Smeltzer, a Republican activist from Dubuque who has yet to endorse a candidate. “He has a lot of conservative, real right-wing, core believers.”

Linn County Republican National Convention Chairman Dan Abolins, who is also uncommitted, said that Brownback had received endorsements from board members of the Iowa Christian Alliance and the Iowa Right to Life.

“Those are some really heavy-hitting organizations,” Abolins said. “That Christian-values thing is really tough out here.”

Republican Party of Iowa State Chairman Ted Sporer, who cannot back a candidate until after the primary, said, “[Brownback]’s garnered several prominent supporters in central Iowa — really in Iowa overall.” Sporer mentioned the endorsement of M. Kevin McLaughlin, president of Iowans for Discounted Taxes and former co-chairman of Steve Forbes’s Iowa campaign, as a major coup.  

The Brownback campaign website lists Kim Lehman, the executive director of Iowa Right to Life, as a supporter, as well as Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center; Michelle Howe of Iowans for L.I.F.E.; Ellen Markham, executive director of Dubuque County Right to Life; and Luana Stoltenberg, Iowa director of Operation Outcry, a project that aims to end legal abortion.

Statistics from George Washington University’s Democracy in Action Project showed that Brownback visited Iowa more than any candidate other than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) from 2004 to January 2007. Many of these visits were paid to socially conservative organizations, such as Legatus, a Catholic networking group, and Cross Trainers, a Des Moines-based men’s ministry frequently compared to Promise Keepers.

 “If the candidate who’s pro-life and conservative is believed to be sincere in his support,” Lehman said, “I think you’ll see an overwhelming electoral response here.”

—  Heidi Bruggink