INTEREST GROUPS BIRD-DOG CAMPAIGN

National Groups Grab Attention Of Candidates At Their Accessible Stage

KEENE, N.H. - At a retirement home here on a recent morning, a young
man asked presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., about
federal drug raids on people smoking marijuana for medical purposes.

Two hours later and 80 miles away on the campaign trail, another
concerned citizen waited patiently to ask former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean that question at a town meeting in Exeter.

That evening in Concord, the state capital, 10 protesters picketed the
local Comcast cable television office because the company refused
their ads outlining each presidential candidate's position on
marijuana issues.

One might think a full-blown marijuana movement had sprung up in
famously conservative New Hampshire. And that is exactly the point,
said activist Aaron Houston of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy
Project.

"Everyone is paying attention now, and it gives us the opportunity to
get our message out," he said.

As the Jan. 27 presidential primary here nears, Houston's crew has
plenty of company along New Hampshire's other campaign trail.
Capitalizing on media attention -- and the unrivaled access to
candidates the political culture here affords -- interest groups are
waging a parallel drive to push their issues to the top of the
national political agenda.

Employing the same grass-roots tactics used by presidential campaigns
in this state -- and in Iowa, where Democrats caucus one week earlier
- -- they distribute pamphlets door to door, advertise on television and
turn up at events to make sure that whenever and wherever the
presidential hopefuls appear, certain issues are discussed.

"The vast majority of people who show up are regular voters who want
to hear what (the candidates) have to say, but there is a vocal, and
very organized, subset, who are there to push an agenda," said
Jennifer Donahue, a political analyst at St. Anselm College's New
Hampshire Institute of Politics. "This has exploded in the last two
election cycles."

"You know you're going to get asked about some things over and over
again," said Colin Van Ostern, Edwards' New Hampshire press secretary.
"You just get used to it."

This year, interest groups with paid staff in this state are more
sophisticated and involved than ever, veteran observers said. Most are
locally run branches of national organizations.

Perhaps most prominent are the ubiquitous, purple-T-shirt-clad
activists of New Hampshire for Health Care (and its affiliated
organization, Iowa for Health Care). Funded by the Service Employees
International Union, which claims 750,000 health-care workers among
its members, the group has placed signs in the Manchester Airport that
greet every arriving candidate with "Running for President? Health
care better be your priority."

New Hampshire for Health Care, which wants its issue to be preeminent
in the primary, says it has signed up close to 50,000 supporters here
and a team of 1,000 volunteers. They have succeeded in passing a
resolution at 121 New Hampshire town meetings calling on elected
officials to offer solutions to help solve a national "health care
crisis."

Then there is the New Hampshire chapter of the Sierra Club, which
favors decreasing U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. And the American
Friends Service Committee's Granite State chapter advocates for peace,
fair trade and affordable housing.

The Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, which opposes the
proliferation of atomic weapons, has two paid staffers in the state
and aired television ads this fall. Every Child Matters, which
promotes preschool health and social programs, held candidate forums
at the University of New Hampshire in October and November.