Gore Fetes Kennedy; Kennedy Promises Universal Coverage (posted June 13, 1999)

Vice President Al Gore came to Rhode Island on June 11 to praise Congressman Patrick Kennedy and express his support for "making Jim Langevin the next Congressman from Rhode Island." Speaking about the second congressional district race, Gore said "we want to keep that seat." That announcement, combined with Kennedy's comment that "I think Jim Langevin is going to make a great candidate for Congress" signals a strong start to Langevin's campaign.

The support of Gore and Kennedy is noteworthy because although Langevin is a Democratic Secretary of State, some progressive voices in the party have been cool to him due to his right-to-life position on abortion and weak support from labor in past campaigns. The positive comments from Gore and Kennedy signal trouble for the liberal candidacies of Kate Coyne-McCoy and David Cicilline. Indeed, according to party sources, Cicilline has rethought his bid due to lack of support from the party establishment and is not going to run for Congress.

Both Kennedy and Gore praised the U.S. Senate candidacy of Democratic Congressman Robert Weygand. Kennedy, who has had major past differences with Weygand over a proposed Narragansett Indian gambling casino, Weygand's pro-life abortion position, and President Bill Clinton's impeachment appears to have buried the hatchet with his former adversary. Weygand made a noticeable effort to praise Kennedy's stewardship of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Kennedy returned the favor following his introduction by Weygand, saying "Thank you Bob Weygand. Let's hear it for Bob."

But the most profuse admiration for Kennedy that day came from Vice President Gore, who praised the young man as a "remarkable leader." In his public statement, Gore noted how unusual it was for someone who has only served a few terms in Congress "to be placed in charge of the national effort to win back the Democratic majority." Kennedy's colleagues, the Vice President said, understood that he had "the fire, passion, drive, and dedication to make that goal [of a Democratic House] a reality."

For his part, Kennedy commented that "if we get a Democratic majority, we'll be able to fight for jobs in this state, we will be able to get universal health care coverage and hopefully with Tipper [Gore's] help, it will include mental health coverage in that universal health care coverage." Kennedy's pledge on universal health care was surprising because it was that very issue in 1994 that is thought to have played a major role in Democrats losing the House of Representatives.