As of late Dick Gephardt likes to call Dean on his past statements. Statements that may be different today than from what they were eight years ago. Sadly, I guess Gephardt doesn't remember some of HIS statements made in the past. So maybe I'll help refresh his memory and maybe he can finally realize that we should stick to the issues at hand, rather than dissecting the past of one candidate.
This isn't a thread to bash Gephardt. I respect him for his work in congress, and I don't have any hate for the man. It's just to show that EVERY politician is human and as they grow, their political ideology changes.
Gephardt on abortion"He ran as a pro-life congressman for a decade, voting for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion," said John Hancock, a political consultant and former executive director of the Republican Party in Missouri.
"In "86, he changed positions on the abortion issue about the time he ran for president."Gephardt caught political fever while growing up in MissouriDes Moines Register 08/24/2003"President's position on
Abortion, Busing, School Prayer Criticized," the headline said - in a release that reproached then-President Ronald Reagan for not doing enough to end abortion, to block school busing and to promote prayer in school.
Gephardt news release in August 1981 Gephardt Twice Voted To Override President Clinton’s Vetoes Of Partial-Birth Abortion Bills That Did Not Allow “Exceptions To Preserve The Health Of The Mother.” (Walter R. Mears, “Nominees Blocked For Siding With Clinton,” The Associated Press, 11/13/97“My position is and has been that I would vote for a ban on late-term abortions.
But I would insist on an exception for the health of the woman. I think that’s very important, and I would - if I’m president, I would not sign a ban that did not contain that exception because I think that’s vital.”
(CBS’ “Face The Nation,” 6/8/03)“
residential candidate Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) announced that ‘as president, I would not make abortion a litmus test for my judicial appointments.’” (Doug Bandow, “Judicial Litmus Tests,” Copley News Service, 6/18/02)
CBS’ Bob Schieffer: “As president, would you nominate someone to sit on the Supreme Court who was not pro-choice?”
Rep. Dick Gephardt: “I don’t think I would. Because I’d put on people that would have proper respect for the precedents of the court. And the court has said that choice is the law of the land.”
(CBS’ “Face The Nation,” 6/8/03)
As president, Dick Gephardt will continue his advocacy for women's rights, from protecting a woman's right to choose and to care for her family, to safeguarding Title IX programs and guaranteeing equal pay for women in the workforce and equal opportunity for female business owners.
http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/98
Yet, Gephardt's voting record on women's rights does NOT coincide with what he places on his campaign website.
Today Gephardt voted in favor of H.R. 3660, the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2000. Today’s vote represents the fifth time the House of Representatives has voted on banning partial birth abortions. Dick Gephardt has voted in support of the ban every time it has been considered, including two votes to override the President’s veto of similar bills. H.R. 3660 passed the House by a vote of 287-141, and was referred to the Senate where it currently awaits further action.
Press Release, “Ban Partial-Birth Abortion” Apr 5, 2000
...Gephardt Opposes abortion...
Gephardt's Rise Is a Rite of Passage For 'New-Breed' House Democrats. Washington Post December 5th, 1984
Gephardt on gun control
For instance, he had been an ardent foe of gun control during his first four terms in office, and this was reflected in the "A" grades he got from the National Rifle Association.
Democrats.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
Yet.....
In 1986, his grade dropped to D. And since 1994 he has received nothing but F's from the nation's leading gun rights lobby.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
...gun control...
Gephardt's Rise Is a Rite of Passage For 'New-Breed' House Democrats. Washington Post December 5th, 1984
Few things are more fundamental to Americans than their personal safety, and the safety of their family. As President, Dick Gephardt will vigorously enforce gun-safety laws, while respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns.
Dick Gephardt successfully fought to pass the Brady Bill, which requires background checks for handgun purchases, and the 1994 Crime Bill which took thousands of the most lethal assault weapons off the street.
http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/94
Gephardt on human rights
Gephardt was an unabashed abortion critic and a social conservative looking for openings to persuade others. He voted early in his career against extending the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution and for prohibitions on government-backed legal assistance in gay rights cases.
Far cry from this belief:
America has made significant progress in protecting the civil rights of individuals, but we must end discrimination and ensure fair and equal treatment of everyone regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
As president, Dick Gephardt will lead the fight for equal rights for gays and lesbians from the White House. Gephardt's priorities include ending discrimination in the workplace, expanding federal jurisdiction over intolerable crimes of hate and increasing funding for HIV/AIDS research, to develop a cure.
http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/95
Gephardt on religion
He supported a constitutional amendment to legalize prayer in schools and legislation to bar government spending to challenge voluntary school prayer amendments in states.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
Gephardt on Social Security
Common Cause, which accused him in 1979 of doing the bidding of the medical industry. And he took aim at the sacred cows of the Great Society programs, wading into one of the thorniest political debates of American politics - funding Social Security.
Gephardt voted to limit Social Security benefits and argued for making benefits subject to individual need - positions he would later lambaste when Republicans proposed them.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
In 1979, he placed himself in the vanguard of moderate Democrats by asserting that Social Security, Medicare and other "safety net" programs "lack a needs test."
Commonwealth Club speech in San Francisco1979
But....
Part of the answer lies in fixing the weaknesses of the private pension system, improving portability & shortening vesting periods. The other half of the answer involves Social Security, one of the most successful peacetime initiatives in our nation’s history.
Social Security was never designed to be a retiree’s sole source of income. But 2/3 of retirees get a majority of their income from Social Security; for many people, it is all that stands between them and poverty.
An Even Better Placeby Dick Gephardt, p. 78-79 Jul 2, 1999
In 1985, for instance, Gephardt was one of 41 Democrats voting for a budget resolution that would have eliminated cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security checks.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
Gephardt on labor
Soon after, elderly St. Louisans accused him of trying to destroy Social Security. But Gephardt persisted, and his willingness to adjust or delay payments in the name of protecting the future of Social Security also, on occasion, put him at odds with labor unions.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
Gephardt on education
The "big-government liberalism" that defines Gephardt in the eyes of his detractors was scarcely in evidence two decades ago. As a young congressman, he voted against setting up both a Department of Education and a Consumer Protection Agency in the federal government.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
Gephardt's opposition to busing to achieve school desegregation was common among members of Congress in both parties. Busing was an emotional issue in many cities, and that was true for Gephardt's largely white district. There, Gephardt had also fought as an alderman against red-lining, the discriminatory practice by some lenders who refused to approve mortgages in minority neighborhoods.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
In 1982, Gephardt and then-Missouri Attorney General John Ashcroft were on the same side of the busing issue when each asked the Justice Department to end mandatory busing in St. Louis.
The evolution of Richard Gephardt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
Gephardt on environment
During his first three terms in office, he rated only moderately on the scorecard of the League of Conservation Voters. On several occasions he voted favorably toward nuclear power - typically opposed by environmentalists.
As late as 1991, Gephardt raised the eyebrows of environmentalists by saying he might be willing to vote for legislation opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling "if it's done correctly."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
As House minority leader in 1997, Gephardt had an eye on the coming congressional elections when he delayed committing himself to air pollution controls ordered by then-President Bill Clinton.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
But...
Gephardt said blocking drilling in the Arctic refuge was "the most important environmental issue of this Congress, and we will prevail." (Anti-drilling forces did prevail, but only because of a Senate filibuster.)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/2003
Dick Gephardt has fought the efforts of the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress to undermine our environmental protections. As president, Gephardt will renew America's commitment to protection our national resources.
Gephardt will launch an "Apollo Project" to promote safe, renewable energy sources to make America energy-independent in 10 years. Gephardt will also re-engage America in addressing global warming, and he will return the federal government to enforcing the Clean Air and Water Acts.
http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/93
Q: How will you support progressive environmental policies?
A: We need an advocate for the environment in the White House. I'll be that advocate, promoting cleaner, renewable energy - a real investment that will slash air pollution. I will continue to fight against oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and protect our national treasures. And I will get the oil industry lobbyists out of the Oval Office.
MoveOn.org interview Jun 17, 2003
----
The point to all this? Gephardt has been a solid voice for at least 2 decades now. We don't look at what he SAID to define him today. Why should Gephardt do the same with Dean? Hell, Gephardt should heed his own words. "...Over time I came to a different view than I originally had come to..."
Fact is, I respect Gephardt. I respect what he's done for the labor movement, I respect that he's changed his opinion on abortion, gay rights, religion and gun control. I just don't understand why Gephardt must continually bring up Dean's past because Gephardt's past is more conservative.
I say to Gep, let the past STAY in the past. Make this an issue about the policies that Dean has TODAY, not what he had 10 years ago. 'Cause your past isn't nice either.
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