Howard Dean and the press

[Feanorcurufinwe]

The ascendancy of Howard Dean has illustrated many of the peculiar traits of the national press corps and the political system.

The Washington Post in July said Dean "is seen as the most liberal of the major Democratic candidates." Notice here the weasel words "is seen as." This sentence represents a campaign press corps (with the Post's own reporters in the forefront) portraying Dean as liberal and then describing the effect of its portrayal.

Howard Dean is a medical doctor, and in the U.S. a liberal physician is nearly a contradiction in terms, but the portrayal of Dean is flawed in more ways than that. To some extent what we're seeing is projection by both press and public. Among journalists, there is a practice of using litmus tests to determine labels for politicians. For instance, they determine whether a candidate supports women's issues by zeroing in principally on abortion and projecting from there.

Among members of the public, candidates often win support from people who have no idea what they stand for. Before the 1980 Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate George Bush the Elder was in fifth place in national polls with about nine percent of the vote. He beat Ronald Reagan and immediately leaped to a tie with Reagan nationally. This did not happen because people suddenly discovered his position on interest rates. He was just a new face and people were projecting their views onto him. When his position on issues was then subjected to scrutiny, his numbers declined.

Dr. Dean is gaining support from a lot of people who have no idea what he stands for - and would probably be appalled by many of his positions. As governor of Vermont, he was the darling of the National Rifle Association, supported the death penalty, ran amok handing out tax loopholes to business, slashed taxes (a whopping 30 percent in state income tax rates), curbed services to the poor, championed a relatively punitive welfare-to-work program, clashed repeatedly with environmentalists, and was the target of a liberal impeachment effort for cutting social programs.
http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2003/10/29/opinion/myers.html

[tsipple]

1. Let's Post the Punchline to that Article...

Rather than selective quotes. Here's the closing, and note this is from a Nevada newspaper, one of the swing states Democrats must target in 2004:

Nevertheless, Vermont suddenly was plagued with the kind of right wing cultural conservative movement that other states have had. This group mounted a campaign to repeal the soak-the-rich tax, repeal gay civil unions, and defeat Dean. Dean found himself under attack by conservatives for the first time, but conservatives of a new stripe for Vermont. Dean responded by standing up to them, campaigning against what he called the "cultural right." He won reelection, the gay unions and progressive property tax were retained, and the new social conservatives in the state lost influence.

Imagine if political leaders in other states had stood up to their cultural conservatives. Here in Nevada the small band of right wingers who used a minority vote to hold the legislature hostage might never have gained office if state leaders had taken them on instead of cowering before them.

Dean's strongest asset is not liberal views but his willingness to lead at a time when the Democratic Party is starved for leadership.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. Dean is a leader - but he is leading in the wrong direction - rightward.

[wtmusic]

3. Rightward of GWB?

Don't think so.

[tsipple]

5. First He's Too Far Left

Now he's too far right. Whatever.

Frankly Howard Dean defies left-right labels. He's fiscally conservative (biggest bang for the buck on welfare, for example), socially libertarian, moderate in foreign policy and national security, moderate on trade, pro-union, liberal on civil liberties, and organizationally liberal (small donor contributions, grassroots politics, etc.)

That's exactly the combination I want. I don't want a pro-war hawk (Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards, Lieberman, and to some extent Clark). I don't want a fiscal liberal (Kerry particularly). I don't want a social conservative (Lieberman). I don't want an anti free trade candidate (Gephardt, Kucinich, Kerry). I don't want a civil liberties conservative (Edwards, Lieberman, Gephardt, and Kerry, who all voted for the Patriot Act). And I don't want an organizational conservative (Clark, Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman, and to some extent Gephardt). Oh, and I want someone who's been a governor, with chief executive experience and a record of results. Bonus points for being a doctor. And I want someone with a kick-ass campaign.

Pretty simple, really. So here's a memo to the Democratic candidates: convince me on those particulars, and that's how you earn my support. Otherwise you're wasting my time.

[billbuckhead]

6. Rightward of the American people

Every major reputable poll has shown a majority of Americans and a vast majority of Democrats are for sensible regulation of guns, but Howard Dean as been endorsed 8 times by the far right NRA, an organization that has put thousands of good Americans on a blacklist. Even though recent polls show that Americans are dissatified with the present healthcare system, Dean just wants to face lift the old system. And now Howard Dean legitimizes a symbol of terrorism and divisiveness that that hundreds of thousands of Americans of all races have fought and died against. Being against Howard Dean isn't being for GeorgeW Bush, we have other good candidates at this point, including 2 war heros.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. He wants to lead the Democratic party to the right.

And I don't want to follow him there.

[pretzel4gore]

4. don't worry...

the goddam neocons will be on Dean and any tendency to be giving in regards their vicious reactionary agenda will be compromised just by the neocon's grasping brutality.....Dean has shown that he understands the animus that drives the neocons, and 'liberal' isn't just nice and wimpy anymore. And face it: no politician of significant stature in USA today hasn't 'danced' with the fucking devil, unless they exist way off to the side (Kennedy etc)
There's a world of difference between guys like Bob Byrd and say trent lott or Dean and fuckhead bush (man i hate that turkey!)

[FrenchieCat]

7. Worry......Dean my win the nomination,

but he will not win the election...

Bush has the Repug convention set for New York in September...last day of convention is 9/11. He will give a big "I'm your guy" speech...

The speech will go something like this:
(Imagine it with his bad tx southern accent)
We have been fighting this War on Terror. We took it to them. We are safer because the fight is going on there instead of here. The Democrats want to be in charge on this War on Terror. Howard Dean, who has no foreign policy experience, and never saw military service, wants to take the baton from me. He didn't want the terrorist to come to Iraq to fight. He wanted them to stay here and kill innocent Americans, just like they did on 9/11. He also wants to raise your taxes. Yes, raise taxes on each and everyone of you. Now I know that we have to win this war, to give what we promised the the Iraqis...we have to give them freedom and democracy. We have to stay in there until the job is done. Howard Dean will cut and run. He wants to pander to the U.N. just like he panders for everything else. The man comes from a state that has as many residence as this city of New York has people of puerto Rican descent. 600,000 people folks. That's what he calls experience. Maybe if it was at least 1 million! Does Vermont even have a National Guard? I served in the National Guard, and I want to keep serving for you now. The evildoers are on the run. We've got them where we want them. If we stop now, if we lose our resolve, who knows what will happen. Next, Iran will be developing Nukes and threatening us. So a vote for Howard Dean is a very frightening thing. He doesn't know how to keep America safe. We haven't had another attack here in the U.S., and that says a lot about the great team that I assembled. We will win the War on terror for the sake of those innocent lives taken on 9/11. We will win the war on terror for the sake of Freedom. We will win the election because we can make you safe. The economy is looking pretty good. My tax cuts really worked. Howard Dean wants to raise your taxes, and give your money away, once again. God Bless America.

[polpilot]

11. I hope this is the heaviest dribble he'll need to swat down!! Dean will

respond with a force that democrats haven't seen EVER and then those moving vans will be headed for Crawford!!

Dean '04...

[blm]

15. He led the Democrats of the DLC to the center while governor.

Most of you hate that the centrists pulled the party to the right. Why does anyone believe his election year conversion to populism?

[Padraig18]

16. He has always self-identified as a 'passionate centrist' n/t

[dsc]

9. Since he told one flat out lie

and has several, to be charitable, disputable statements in just one paragraph it is hard to take his analysis seriously.

First the lie.

Dr. Dean is gaining support from a lot of people who have no idea what he stands for - and would probably be appalled by many of his positions. As governor of Vermont, he was the darling of the National Rifle Association, supported the death penalty, ran amok handing out tax loopholes to business, slashed taxes (a whopping 30 percent in state income tax rates), curbed services to the poor, championed a relatively punitive welfare-to-work program, clashed repeatedly with environmentalists, and was the target of a liberal impeachment effort for cutting social programs.

The bold statemnt is a lie as I will show below.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=17310


Now to state income taxes. Dean inherited a tax structure that was 28% of the federal taxes of any citizen of Vermont. Using Clinton's tax numbers that would be a three tiered system of 4.2%, 7.56%, and 9.9% of federal taxable income. He changed that to a five tier system of 3.6%, 7.2%, 8.5%, 9.0%, and 9.5% of federal taxable income. My link provides charts to show when each rate kicks in. That is actually a progressive tax cut. Poor people percent taxation was lowered by a greater amount than that of rich people. The rich got 0.4% while the poor got 0.6%. That is the reverse of what Bush did. The poor got 5% while the rich got 6%. I was wrong on one thing in previous threads. State taxes are still deductable. Also if Bush had not been elected Dean would have probably left taxes at 24% of the federal tax (where his 99 tax cut left them) that would be 3.6%, 6.48%, 9.36%. That would be a flat tax cut. This is not the Bush supply side economics that Dean haters pretend it is.

Links from which those figures come

www.state.vt.us/tax/majorvttaxes.htm
www.leg.state.vt.us/reports/tax/vol1-03.htm


end of quote

Now even if you take this as a cut from 28% to 24%, which is what Dean did from 92 to 99, that is not a 30% cut. 28%*30%= 8.4% or over twice as much as Dean really cut them. This isn't an honest error, it isn't ignorance, it is lying plain and simple. Of course, Dean didn't really even cut them the whole 4% since he raised them again to counteract a Bush tax cut. Why should I believe a liar?


Now to the, to be charitable, disuptable statements.

Dr. Dean is gaining support from a lot of people who have no idea what he stands for - and would probably be appalled by many of his positions. As governor of Vermont, he was the darling of the National Rifle Association, supported the death penalty, ran amok handing out tax loopholes to business, slashed taxes (a whopping 30 percent in state income tax rates), curbed services to the poor, championed a relatively punitive welfare-to-work program, clashed repeatedly with environmentalists, and was the target of a liberal impeachment effort for cutting social programs.

end of quote

First, the NRA thing (underlined), Dean was not the, as in one and only, darling of the NRA. Bernie Sanders, Dean, Pat Leahy, and virtually all the politicians in Vermont shared the view that gun control is unnecessary in Vermont. Sanders and Leahy opposed Brady for example. Dean did nothing in Vermont to limit lawsuits for gun manufacturers. He basicly didn't do anything on the issue of guns. He favors the following national gun control measures. Brady, assult weapons ban, closing the gun show loophole, and letting gun manufactures be sued in state courts. None of those are the NRA position.

Second, the death penalty (italics) There wasn't a death penalty when Dean got there, there isn't one now, and he made no attempt to enact one while governor. He is in favor of the death penalty in three cases. Terrorism, killers of cops, and killers of children. BTW Kerry is in favor of the first case which on the federal level is by far its most likely use of the three. So by the standards of this reporter Kerry supports the death penalty too.

Third, impeachment (bold), here he provides no date or anything else to help a person find it. Several google searches came up dry. Given his track record in that paragraph I am betting it was a progressive party thing. Which means he that an oposition party attempted to Impeach him. Go figure, I have never seen that before.

In short this was a very sloppy piece. I am no research expert or Vermont expert. If I could refute this with no real expertease then this man needs a new job.

[mandyky]

10. Dean caught the Natl Press' attention with 2 things

Crowds and money raising. Once he beat Clinton's fundraising record, the press sometimes now thinks he might be the front runner.

Plus, like John McCain, Dean makes himself accessible to the media.

[genius]

12. The trouble is that people need to become educated by the primaries

Bush will certainly arrtange for them to be educated and then most Democrats will stay home embarrassed that their party nominated that kind of person.

[Padraig18]

13. Yeah, a Kucinich nomination would...

... only confirm the RW meme that we are the party of the 'loony left'.

[genius]

14. The best approach for Kerry, Edwards and all the others is

the approach Davis used against Riordan when Davis educated the Republicans that Riordan wasn't that conservative. Actually Riordan is a moderate, though more liberal than Dean. But the liberals weren't voting in the Republican Party. Here it is the pseudo liberals who aren't pay attention to what's going on that need to be educated. Dean flat out lies in his commercials about who opposed the war. Everyone should call him on this. It's better if our side calls him on his lies very publically before the primaries than if Bush proves to all of America that Dean's a liar afterwards. I don't want the party taken down with Dean.