Washington Wrap

Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Steve Chaggaris, Clothhilde Ewing, Nicola Corless, Smita Kalokhe and Joanna Schubert of The CBS News Political Unit have the latest from the nation's capital. Sign Up for our daily Washington Wrap newsletter.

[In reality, we are just assuming Dean led the Democratic wannabes in fundraising. Frankly, we're not so sure since only two of the other eight campaigns have decided to release official fundraising figures for the second quarter. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina's spokeswoman told the Raleigh News and Observer that Edwards had raised about $5 million in the second quarter. The AP reports that Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut also took in $5 million between April and June. President Bush, of course, released his three-week, jaw-dropping $34.2 million total yesterday.]

But, back to Dean, his money and the Internet.

There are more than 49,000 people signed-up for the Dean in 2004 group on www.meetup.com, the Web site that organizes chat groups and monthly in-person 'meet ups' for people interested in things ranging (wildly) from presidential campaigns to Elvis to witches to anarchy. (Anarchy, in fact, ranks ninth in total membership on meetup.com, just behind Kucinich in 2004 and just above Animal Welfare.)

While all 49,000 Dean meetuppies won't be attending an actual meetup today – slated for over 300 locations ranging from private homes to bars to coffee shops - there certainly should be thousands rallying nationwide for the former Vermont governor, whose once-daydream campaign has been transformed into a 'top tier' candidacy by virtue of his campaign cash kitty and online devotees.

One topic to be discussed by the Dean meetuppies tonight will be the campaign's new "Adopt-an-Iowan" strategy, a nationwide letter-writing campaign from the Dean backers to Iowa Democrats urging them to support their man.

Some Unwelcome Company: The Sierra Club launched an aggressive television ad campaign Tuesday against the Bush administration. According to the AP, the Sierra Club, which has been active in past elections, began running the ads in six swing states, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The spots, with costs estimated to be in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars," question the "cozy relationship" between the Bush administration and corporate executives. The 30-second commercials depict sunny beaches, blue lakes, and emerald forests, while a voice announces, "This summer you could have unexpected company on vacation. That's because the Bush administration is allowing corporations to go everywhere you want to go." Animated corporate executives then pop out from behind trees and try catching a few waves.

Trying to shape the environment as one of the leading issues for the presidential campaign, the Sierra Club's advertisements contend that the administration is "making it easier for industry to drill our national seashore, dump more mercury into the Great Lakes, clear cut more of our national forests…"

Responding to calls forwarded from the Bush-Cheney campaign, Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson refuted the charges saying, "The Sierra Club is far more concerned with protection Democratic presidential candidates than protecting the environment."

Democrats are in fact trying to secure environmental issues but are switching tactics. According to the New York Times, Democrats are now trying to pose the environmental problem in the context of humanitarian and social justice calamities. Hoping to expand their appeal to minorities, independents and suburban Republicans, the Democrats are pointing to evidence that more minorities are living near toxic waste sites than whites and that children are suffering from asthma caused by smog and pollution.

According to John Podesta, former Chief of Staff during the Clinton administration and now president of the American Majority Institute, "The environment will play a different kind of role in this campaign than it has in the past."

Darrell We Hardly Knew Ya: In an effort to oust California's Democratic governor, Gray Davis, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa has found himself confronted by his past. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Issa, who is bankrolling the recall campaign, was arrested twice in the early 1970's for illegal-weapons charges. Nicely timed to the story is a new radio ad from the anti-recall, California Voter Project, mentioning the gun possession charges as well as allegations of car theft, suggesting that Issa poses a threat to children.

One month after leaving the Army, Issa and his brother were arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and auto theft, but both charges were dropped. Several months later, when Issa was at college in Michigan, he was arrested for possession of an unregistered handgun. Pleading guilty, he paid a $100 fine and faced three months probation.

The gun possession arrests have brought criticism from gun-control groups who claim Issa is a threat to assault weapons laws. On Tuesday, one group showed a video of an Issa for Senate campaign booth at a 1998 gun show where high-powered weapons and Nazi memorabilia were sold. In another gun incident in 1998, the Los Angeles Times reported allegations that Issa brought a handgun to the office but he defends himself saying, "Shots were never fired."

"If you are looking at 30-year-old misdemeanors, I think you are missing the point," Issa said Monday. "It's the felonies of Gray Davis that are on trial here today."

But, that's not what the California Voter Project says in their $10,000 ad campaign that will air on conservative radio shows all over California by the end of the week. The spot ends with a warning to potential recall petition signers, "The next time you see Issa or one of his petitions in your neighborhood, lock your car, get your kids in the house, and go directly to www.StopIssa.org."

Is Springer Serious? Talk show host Jerry Springer turned the tables this weekend as he was the one who was fired up, not his audience, when he talked about a potential challenge to Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio.

Springer, who is also a lawyer and former mayor of Cincinnati, has been mulling a Senate run and told a group of Ohio Young Democrats that the state Democratic Party needs a lot of help, reports the Dayton Daily News.

"We haven't offered people anything to get excited about," Springer said about the Democrats who haven't been elected to a statewide position since 1992.

Springer also told the 75 Young Democrats that he'll make a decision on whether to run for Senate by the end of July, once he works through the "clutter of his show."

"If I run, you can rest assured it's because we've figured out how to win," he said, according to the Daily News. He talked about how his supporters are talking to voters about how he can separate himself from his talk show and be a positive force in the Senate.

"I think I could be an incredible voice in the Senate," Springer said. "Why? Because the media will cover me every single day."

On the issues, Springer would push for a payroll tax reduction as well as focus on a "massive commitment to early education." He would also call for mandatory nationwide health insurance, like car insurance is in some states, with the government subsidizing those who couldn't afford it.

Springer, if he decides to run, would have to face former U.S. Rep. and current state Sen. Eric Fingerhut in a Democratic primary. Fingerhut also spoke to the Young Dems and said he'd be a better candidate against Voinovich in 2004.

"I know George Voinovich, I know his record," Fingerhut said. "I know his record better than he does."

As for the Ohio Young Democrats, executive vice president Lauren Worley said she hasn't made up her mind between Springer or Fingerhut, but said she likes Springer's message and thinks he may be what the party's looking for.

"They want a hero," Worley said. "They want someone to take Voinovich to task."

Quote of the Day: "With respect to my sense of humor, I'm going to release a video, 'Spring Break: Kerry Goes Wild,'" - Presidential candidate John Kerry rebutting charges that he has no sense of humor. (Boston Herald)