Washington, D.C.

Kerry skipping debate for Medicare filibuster

John Kerry plans to be a no-show at the Democratic presidential debate in Iowa on Monday.

While campaigning in New Hampshire on Saturday, Kerry announced that he’d be returning to Washington to help his Senate colleagues filibuster the Medicare bill.

The measure narrowly passed the House in the early hours Saturday.

Kerry called the legislation “a boondoggle for the pharmaceutical industry and a raw deal” for the nation’s elderly.

“That is why I am going to join Senator Ted Kennedy to lead the filibuster of this legislation,” Kerry said. “Unfortunately that means I will miss the debate in Iowa. But I think the people of Iowa will understand that potential harm of this bill is worth the effort.”

A spokeswoman for Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., said he would be leaving Iowa tomorrow to return to Washington to fight the bill. “We hope we won’t have to miss the debate, but we may have to,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri.

Detroit

Dean seeks support from Michigan voters

Howard Dean touted his union endorsements Saturday as he tried to solidify support in Michigan ahead of the state’s Feb. 7 caucuses.

“People used to say my campaign didn’t have much diversity. Well, here we all are — green and purple and black and yellow,” he said to a crowded auditorium of supporters in decked out in union T-shirts.

Union leaders from SEIU, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades promoted Dean’s agenda and bashed the Bush administration.

“I work with families every day who don’t have enough money to pay their health bills, and Dr. Dean is going to change that,” said Ziggy Mersha, a Head Start worker in Saginaw and a member of SEIU Local 517M.