Dean Supporters Endorse Campaign Double Speak on Campaign Finance

[DJcairo]

Ok so your guy is going to Busta Caps according to the AP
He was announcing the results at noon EST in Burlington, Vt., but campaign officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said about 85 percent of the 105,000 supporters who weighed in urged the former Vermont governor to opt out.
http://nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Dean-Money.html

But here is what he said to the AP last March.
Dean said he has already raised the $100,000 from a sampling of states needed to qualify for the public money. The former Vermont governor promised to make it an issue in the Democratic primaries if any of his rivals decide to skip public financing.
``I think most Democrats believe in campaign finance reform,'' he said.
http://www.jsonline.com/election2000/ap/mar03/ap-democrats-2004030703.asp?format=print

The hypocrisy here is absolutely mind blowing. And you all want him to be President??!!

[dajabr]

1. Yep...

We voted to let him "even the field."

Just like Kerry did in 1996:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/09/16/hard_to_pull_for_kerry

[DJcairo]

3. I'd argue that the circumstances here are a bit different

[virtualobserver]

11. sure they are......

how embarrassing.

[dajabr]

15. Kerry is considering opting out as well...

Is he a hypocrite too?

edit: spelling

[dajabr]

21. "poof"

Hey, where'd you go?

[Duder]

2. Yes, Dean for President

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=20266

[sfecap]

4. John Kerry = Hypocrite

Hard to pull for Kerry
By Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist, 9/16/2003


(snip)

But what he's doing, if I'm interpreting him correctly, is accusing Dean of not being a man of his word, and a man who doesn't live up to his word, Kerry is essentially saying, is unqualified to be president.

So let's go back to 1996, to Kerry's reelection campaign against then-Governor Bill Weld, specifically to the night Weld met Kerry at the senator's wife's Beacon Hill mansion. They finalized an unprecedented agreement to limit advertising spending to $5 million apiece, and to limit the use of personal funds in the campaign to $500,000 apiece.

Good government types hailed the agreement as a major breakthrough. Kerry and Weld basked in the plaudits of editorialists the nation over. Kerry described the pact as "a model for campaign reform across the country."

But a funny thing happened on the way to Election Day. Kerry didn't just violate the deal, he pulverized it. Running out of money in the waning days of October, Kerry mortgaged and remortgaged the Louisburg Square house, ultimately pouring $1.7 million in personal funds into his campaign. For those of you keeping track at home, that's $1.2 million more than the agreement allowed.

As he made a mockery of the pact, he did something else distinctly distasteful. He accused Weld of violating the agreement, a charge that seemed specious at best, an outright lie at worst.

At issue was a discount Weld received from the standard fee his media consultant would reap from all ad spending. It allowed Weld to buy about $400,000 more in ads for his $5 million. Every good campaign negotiates a discount, and the written agreement did not preclude them. Kerry claimed it was a violation of a rule that, well, was never written down.

(snip)

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/09/16/hard_to_pull_for_kerry/


Once again, the sanctimonious hypocrisy of a losing candidate.

[wtmusic]

6. Keep at it sfecap

desperation is never pretty...:-)

[artr2]

5. Hey guess what ? We are democrats

We actually think and can modify our positions. We don't march in lockstep like the repukkks. I want Dean to have EVERY advantage he can. Sure let Dean adhere to the spending limits, and bush will have 170 MILLION dollars to smear him from Jan to Nov. Hey, why don't you send in your absentee vote for bush now. I want my man to win and if you can't see the logic in that, screw you

Edit: spelling & remove profanity

[ErasureAcer]

7. Dean flip-flops on everything...we all know this...

up is down
left is right

the guy is living in bizarro world. He has no integrity whatsoever...and as one of my teachers in high school said, "you're nothing without your integrity."

Dean is nothing.

I won't be voting for him under any circumstance in any election.

[sfecap]

9. Kinda like DK's flip flop on abortion?

At least you won't have to worry about voting for Kucinich...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

16. Bush and the Repukes are cheering

every time they hear a Damocrat arguing with another Democrat. Personally, I'd vote for ANY of the Democratic nominees and do whatever I could to support them, even if the nominee isn't my personal favorite. The point is to STOP BUSH and send him back to Texas.

[ErasureAcer]

18. I'm not a Democrat really...

I agree with the Greens' 10 Key points. Which is more or less Dennis' 10 key points.

I consider myself a green, so Dems aren't arguing with Dems here. I will register to the Dems to support Kucinich in the Minnesota Caucus, and will continue to support his candidacy.

You can't blame me for Dean's unelectability.

Blame Dean.

I can't vote for someone with such horrific views on I/P, death penalty, guns, pre-emptive war, social security, campaign finance, etc, etc...

Dean has shot himself in the foot with his own crappy views. You can't honestly blame me for Dean's crappy platform.

[w4rma]

8. Kerry is a whimp who'd rather attack Dean (+ supporters) than Bush. (n/t)

[Eric J in MN]

10. Dean realized that if he's the nominee he can't win without

Dean realized that if he's the nominee he can't win without spending similar amounts of money to George W. Bush.

Ideally, our campaign finance system would give more to candidates whose opponents opt out, but it doesn't.

Whether or not Dean is the best of the Democratic candidates, I don't hold it against him that he changed his mind on how to finance his own campaign.

[asjr]

13. dean

Very well said, EricJ. Thank you. Bush bashing is so much more fun than Dem bashing. Let's focus on the real problem. Whether Dean takes public money or not is a no-winner of a reason to bash him.

[otohara]

12. Mindblowing is 4 More Years of Jr.

I don't care about the hypocrisy frankly. Dean could not come close to the hypocrisy that's dished out on a daily basis from the GOP and BFEE. If it's money we need, then I say go for it.

[dajabr]

14. Well said...(nt)

[ErasureAcer]

19. Shouldn't we demand a little more from our leaders...

take a look at what you're saying...

"I don't care about (Dean's) hypocrisy frankly."

A hypocrit is a hypocrit. If the best fucking candidate we can nominate is a hypocrit...some power save america!

For crying out loud...when we've settled for the lesser evil of 2 hypocrits, there is something wrong with not only American politics, but the American people.

I demand more from my country.

[OrAnarch]

25. and this is where dk lost me...

theres no logical thought involved in many of his policies. just idealology.


that aside, everyone is against corporations and special intrests funding campaigns and influencing politics. Who was ever against PEOPLE funcding a capaign and influencing politics? Its called democracy. There are exceptions to every radical ideaology, even if it is absent from a politicians initial rhetoric. DK is grapsing at straws, as are you.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. Of course Kerry said he would only opt out if Dean did.

"I won't unilaterally disarm."

Once again following in Dean's footsteps.

[bread_and_roses]

20. More politics as usual

from another not politics as usual pretender. Why does this not surprise me? From an outsider (not a Dem, won't be voting in the primary) this would all be hilarious if it were not so dispiriting.

[liberalmuse]

22. To me, it wasn't all about exceeding 'the cap'.

It was about letting the people take this campaign into their hands by funding it themselves and seeing what we can do without the help of government money or limitations. It's also more about sending the message to Bush: You may have the big corporations and the $2,000 checks, but Dean has the average American giving what they can.

I am in an embarrasingly low income bracket this year, but have managed to donate almost $200 to the Dean campaign thus far, and I've pledged to give much more. You really can't compare what Dean is doing by refusing matching funds and seeing if he can get millions of people to give what amounts to $100 bucks a piece, to what W is doing by taking the max in donations from a small, elite group of special interests that he will then aim all his policies towards, ignoring the needs of the 99% of Americans out there. It just isn't the same.

[genius]

23. Dean will say anything he thinks will get him elected

After the nomination, when the media is no longer on Dean's side, they will use this to call him a liar and keep Bush in office fo four more years.

[Jonte_1979]

24. Flame bait

I'm locking this.