Odessa American (Newspaper) - September 23, 1979, Odessa, Texas 47 No. 1 in Basin Sports Page 2A FREEDOM NEWSPAPER Vol. 54 - No. 265 September 23,1979 76 Pages 5 EDITION 40 movement keeps - The movement to draft Sen. Edward M. Kennedy as a presidential candidate has grown by at least 50 percent in the week since the Massachusetts Democrat indicated he might seek the nation's highest Associated Press survey turned up one or more Kennedy efforts in at least 29 states and the District of about equal to the number where there is organized re-election activity for President because of the spontaneous and sudden growth of the Kennedy groups and the complexities of election it may be hard to convert all this support into a campaign obviously a matter of complexity and Kennedy sure there will be situations which will be especially complicated required by Kennedy has formally disavowed any connection with the draft And all insist they are working this means a lot of people are staking claims for themselves as Kennedy's representatives in their states If Kennedy he may be forced to accept the de facto committees as his own or risk their wrath if he displaces them with new hopes that the spirit which is motivating these supporters would also smooth over any transition necessary to form an official It all will go to Sen. Kennedy as soon as he enters the offered Garrett who organized the Ready for Teddy movement in Oregon and is sponsoring chapters in other doing the resource identification so he can use it when he gets said where one of the first candidate tests will come in lowans for Kennedy Chairman Matt said if Kennedy naming the official team entirely up to would imagine that the senator would want to bring in people from outside the state to coordinate his activities once he agreed Richard Kansas coordinator for a Kennedy don't know what our roles would be in his said Mike assistant attorney general of Montana and member of a Kennedy draft in that would hope to take an active but the dedsion would them national a Kennedy candidacy would face other problems with these The question of converting a draft committee to a campaign committee has never been addressed by the Federal Election Commission and is not precisely spelled out in the FEC has ruled that draft groups are not campaign committees and can accept contributions of up to an single compared to the individual gift allowed a candidate's a draft committee which had received contributions would have to return of each But what if the already is is the additional prospect that a draft committee could spend more than the legal limit allowed for a primary campaign in its state If Kennedy should later legitimize such a he apparently would be guilty of violating the limits what of unspent money raised by draft If they do not become Kennedy's campaign they would be allowed to give Kennedy only of the money raised in his the legal limit any political committee can give a could spend the rest on his but only if they remained totally separated from the official a maneuver that rob Kennedy of some of his best campaign busiest Kennedy group at the state level is probably in where group has raised since it formed last summer It has a professional staff of four and volunteer workers in place in all 99 Kennedy supporters claim about 2,000 volunteers The Florida for Kennedy Committee was formed in June and already has raised New Hampshire Democrats for Change plans to open a statewide headquarters in Manchester Oct. 1, but Kennedy draft fund raisers and organizational meetings have been in full swing for In New York a recent Kennedy draft fund raiser netted and more are Edward P. leading one of three groups has said he will run as a Kennedy stand-in in the Rhode Island primary if Kennedy doesn't enter on Page 2A Edward won't determine outcome of 1980 Carter - President Carter says his low standing in public opinion polls will have little for the outcome of the 1980 presidential whose approval rating stands at the lowest point of any president in the 30-year history of opinion said the transient public opinion would count for less in an election than his record and his his political organization and the zeal of his this present political it is almost impossible for any president to rate high with a majority of he said in an interview Friday with out of town editors and The White House released a transcript of the interview said he has not received proper credit for his accomplishments He said news organizations focus attention on his defeats and play down his victories And he said the polls themselves may not be accurately measuring positive feelings toward him because they don't count as a positive I come which is Southwest if somebody says think he's doing a fair that is a high the president the most recent Associated News only 19 percent of the public gave Carter a good or excellent The poll was conducted Sept 10-11 percent of those surveyed rated the president's work and 30 percent said it was poor Two percent indicated they were not exact wording of the question kind of a job do you think Jimmy Carter is Do you think he is doing an excellent a good only a fair job or do you think he is doing a poor would like to have a 75 percent favorable that would be very Carter said of the added polls are guide to how the public 1 think very relatively little significance about the outcome of an election that might be held next year has not yet announced his candidacy for re-election But during a political visit to on Carter said the president had set a date for the She did not reveal the his interview Carter said that of the decisions that have to be made by a president are unpopular ones He cited his signing of the treaties U S. ownership of the Panama Canal and his energy also said he is naturally being held accountable for which he called Another thing is that you have achievements that are not he press without criticizing the press - is not going to emphasize the join GREG THOMPSON 1960 have already been formed and registered with federal Petitions have been drawn Political buttons are being Fund-raising plans are under the candidate - Sen. Edward Kennedy - is is exactly what a rapidly growing group of renegade Texas hopes to change with the grass roots Draft Kennedy organizations sprouting across by President Carter's popularity and the mystique of the Kennedy registered Kennedy organizations have already appeared in San Antonio and El organizations are forming in Austin and Houston where powerful Democratic National Billie acknowledged leader of liberal Texas last week threw her support to the draft National Pat of South one of the earliest Carter supporters in has also joined the Kennedy as have state leaders of the least six of the 62 SUte Democratic members and several former members are actively spearheading the draft movement in Tot is one of at least 19 states with an organized Draft Kennedy While he has given more indications recently that he might be a officially out of the the swelling movement to draft the Massachusetts senator for the 1960 Democratic nomination has some state Democratic officials worried about a possible intraparty battle that could cause a damaging rift and hand the election to the I'm a little concerned about it. Considering the difficulties we find ourselves we don't need anything to compound said Carin Patman of a member of the Democratic National and a staunch Carter a We saw it with Ford and Reagan in the Republican Party in 1976.1 hope it won't Kennedy forces are aware of that possibility and are also hoping to avoid such a fatal competition could be a shot in the arm for the unless we get into a bloody I don't intend to do said Ms. doesn't have to be that draft movement in Texas arose from an informal meeting between several SDC members during a committee gathering July 28 in Corpus members Richard Solo and Don Mason returned to Dallas and launched Texas for Kenned Texas and Louise Caddell and Pat Robards went home to San Antonio and Page 2A inside ON 12 AND 20...................9C most embarrassing You to put on the clothes you wore home from the party lait and there aren't isn't easy being a Davis For they in in Houston and now in Fort they surface wherever Clullen Davis legal woes take him Here is a at the trial a cooperative by The Associated Press and Kurt Worth staffers and Hon Hutcheson By MIKE COCHRAN Associated Press Texas i AP i Being a trial groupie is no breeze The the hours long. as a popular you get Utile make us sound like carnival grumbled whom we'll call Barbie and Penny and their pals have abandoned whatever it is they normally do to follow the trial of millionaire industrialist Cullen are the as opposed to the - those who only when a major witness is on the the latter being a groupie can be One lady got herself up in the scramble for choice seats In Judge Gordon Gray's they opened the door that a reporter it sounded like a ticket sale at a rock come bearing gifts for who turned 46 and his handsome defense team Richard Racehorse Phil Burleson Mike and Steve bounty ranges from pickles to and once Included flowers and a ( hef s salad apple turnovers and zucchini bread are a says hard It s just like having a job I'm so afraid I'll miss something is the stereotype of the Davis groupie At 48. she is a housewife mesmerized bv the defendant lawyers and totally convinced of seldom overlooks an opportunity to touch or talk with Davis and has taken more snapshots of him than many of the news photographers assigned to the proud to be seen him because I don't believe he s said whose album includes a picture of Davis posing with Sheriff Lon would the sheriff let me take his picture with Mr Davis If he were she were more than mildly curious about that Barbie distinguished herself most notably by sticking her fingers in her ears during unfavorable to the I've heard that garbage and 1 couldn't stand to listen to it she told a reporter She also got to explain that one a groupies blame the defendant's troubles on his blonde 38. although prosecutors and the press are not above suspicion When Priscilla appeared in the hallway last it sounded like chow time on a turkey bunch openly cursed the key David and all but cheered during tiis vigorous cross-examination complained prosecutor Jack might be appropriate to instruct the spectators thai this isn't a movie theater said sternly We'll clear the if we don't have quiet surprised they don't have something more productive to do with their Strickland said later don't just mean volunteer but sewing or something they could work in the spaying They flock around probably hoping to get something out of this There is a mystic aura of power they are hoping some of the excitement and attention is going to in some way rub off on I don't have any complaints as long as they are not abusive to it makes them feel better to score go The courts are not closed to those who are fundamentally stupid The courts deal with a lot of fundamentally stupid people who are very bright don't find themselves charged in a defendant Davis says he finds the camp followers glad to see them 1 certainly would rather have a courtroom IT Page
