Democrats' war room fires back
NEW YORK -- No sooner had Band-Aids decorated with mock Purple Hearts appeared Monday afternoon on the floor of the Republican National Convention than the opposition sprang into action.
From a war room on the 15th floor of a Garment District building, the Democratic National Committee's "Convention Response Team" began firing off e-mails to political reporters, calling their attention to what it said was a slight of Purple Heart recipients (chief among them the Democratic nominee, John F. Kerry). Then the team lined up speakers to defend the honor of Purple Heart recipients on television and radio.
About 250 of the Band-Aids, reading "It was just a self-inflicted scratch, but you see I got a Purple Heart for it," had been distributed by Morton Blackwell, a delegate from Arlington, Va.
Representative Charles Rangel, Democrat of New York, led the charge, denouncing the distribution in media interviews conducted inside the convention hall and at a media briefing in the team's headquarters.
"They insulted the United States of America, even though the president belatedly supported the combat record of John Kerry," Rangel, an Army veteran who won a Purple Heart and Bronze Star in Korea, said yesterday at the daily briefing.
At the same time, the leader of an organization of Purple Heart winners objected to the GOP tactic. Robert Lichtenberger, national commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, said members were outraged by the display. Lichtenberger told the Associated Press he was not making a political statement or supporting a particular candidate. Democratic spokesman Jay Carson said Democrats did not solicit the group's protest.
The bandages disappeared by Monday night, after Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, asked the delegate to stop distributing them.
Each party traditionally sends several high-profile members to the opposition's national convention. This year, the Republican National Committee dispatched 30 people from its communications and research shops to offer an opposing viewpoint at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
This week, the Democrats have nearly triple that number in New York, led by party chairman Terry McAuliffe and Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.
"This election is so important, we can't let these Republicans come here for four days, put on a masquerade ball," McAuliffe said. "They've misled for four years; we can't let them mislead for four days."
Vilsack added between radio interviews: "You've got a Republican Party that's attempting to present itself as a mainstream, moderate party, when their policies are anything but."
The activity is coordinated in a conference room dubbed "the war room" by a sign on the door. Inside, about two dozen people sit at laptops, scanning the news wires and websites from across the country, looking for points of attack. In front of them stand eight televisions, tuned to national broadcast and cable stations.
The walls bear a blackboard listing each of the convention's evening speakers, as well as sheets of paper offering pithy rejoinders to any Republican statement. "Billions for Halliburton while troops are shortchanged on body armor and benefits," read one. "Lost 1.8 million private-sector jobs," said another. The response team has also established two websites to spread its message, www.missionnotaccomplished.com," and www.americacandobetter.com.
The war room is responsible for composing the "message of the day," which on Monday pivoted off the Republicans' national security theme, and yesterday hit at their argument they are "compassionate conservatives."
The prominence of the message was evident in the language used by the war room's leader, Carson, who offered comments almost identical to McAuliffe's.
"We're here to point out the Republicans have misled the country over the past four years, and now they're trying to mislead the country over these four nights," said Carson.
McAuliffe admitted that while New York is a Democratic city, his presence has not been entirely welcome.
"Last night, I got on an elevator with a guy. He looked at me, got off, so I said, 'Hey, I don't bite,' " McAuliffe recalled with a laugh. "He got off anyway, saying, 'I can't ride up with you.' "
Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com. 