"In 2000, Dean bad-mouthed Iowa caucauses"- Des Moines Register

[flpoljunkie]

http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/23212035.html

In 2000, Dean bad-mouthed Iowa caucuses

By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Register Staff Writer
01/09/2004

Democratic presidential candidates zeroed in Thursday on allegations that front-runner Howard Dean was flip-flopping on tax cuts, and a national news network reported that he had bad-mouthed the Iowa caucuses four years ago.

<>Meanwhile, a national news network aired a segment featuring Dean calling the Iowa caucuses "a waste of time" in 2000, two years before his own long courtship with Hawkeye State Democrats would begin.

The comments Dean made during programs featured on Canadian television in 2000 came back to haunt the former Vermont governor Thursday in a segment aired on NBC Nightly News.

Dean was featured in film clips participating in a political round-table discussion in Vermont in which he said the caucuses "are dominated by the special interests."

"I can't stand there and listen to everyone else's opinion for eight hours about how to fix the world," another clip featured Dean saying.

...more...

[in_cog_ni_to]

1. Dean supporters

think it's a great thing. They want to show the tape at their next Meetup. Dean hasn't done anything wrong. They agree with him. :eyes:

[CMT]

11. ha, ha, ha

but what candidates are skipping it? Lieberman and your own General Clark. Obviously he must think it is a waste of time.

[Bombtrack]

17. if he had been running for 3 years like Dean he wouldn't have had to

I think you know that he didn't have the necessary resources to do iowa, but you'll spin anything against him

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. Of course he knows

Clark didn't have the resources to run in Iowa, but it was just ONE more opportunity to get a bash in.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

14. Yes we do. (See post #5 for the quote in context)

Clark supporters think it's a great thing that Beaumont flat out lied.
:eyes:

[Rowdyboy]

2. In all honestly

The Iowa caucuses are a waste of time. Many people simply cannot or will not have the time required to waste standing around a hall and chatting about politics. We need to make it easier to participate, not harder.

Likewise, the reliance on Iowa/New Hampshire as first in the nation is so outdated as to be ridiculous. Have rotating, regional primaries or have a series of primaries, starting with small states, then medium, then large, then huge.

[trogdor]

9. Even better, have a national primary.

One Tuesday - in APRIL when the goddam weather doesn't suck so bad. Over and done with in a single evening, and all states are equal in terms of impact. No more of this 85,000 die-hards in Iowa (I saw the report on CNN last night), then 300,000 walking popsicles whose cars happened to turn over that freezing cold day in New Hampshire.

We have a saying in the Army - "Train as you fight." The presidential race is a 50-state contest. It therefore doesn't make a bit of sense relying on Iowa and New Hampshire to determine who gets to go after the other party's candidate in a 50-state campaign. "Train as you fight" wins wars, and it keeps people from getting their asses killed.

[Monte Carlo]

3. Eeek...

... I don't know what this would do to Dean's support in Iowa, but it can't be much of a boost for him.

Perhaps these statements are taken out of context, referring to the process of the caucuses rather than Iowa itself, but that may be irrelevant at this point. Dean's campaign would be wise to nip this thing in the bud.

[tedoll78]

4. If Dean were smart..

he'd take this opportunity to forcefully criticize the media for its consistent quotations-out-of-context, distortions, etc. And not just distortions about him, but about all Democrats. I think it may be an issue that voters could appreciate.

Otherwise, this could hurt him and jeopardize a first place finish there.

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. It's on tape.

They have the tape posted on MSNBC. Nothing is taken out of context, or is distorted. I saw it. He said it...pain and simple.

[JaneQPublic]

5. This story doesn't give the full quote

Instead of just printing this:

"I can't stand there and listen to everyone else's opinion for eight hours about how to fix the world,"

They should have given the full quote:

“Here's what happens: Say I'm a guy who's got to work for a living, and I've got kids and so forth. On a Saturday, is it easy for me to go cast a ballot and spend 15 minutes doing it, or do I have to sit in a caucus for eight hours? … I can’t stand there and listen to everyone else’s opinion for eight hours about how to fix the world.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3908334/

It makes a world of difference when you see the full quote, in context.

(Edited to add URL)

[Monte Carlo]

6. Indeed.

You can create whatever story you'd want with proper editing. I remember last year, Drudge headlined that Kerry had said that "I hate going to places like Dubuque" when he had really said "I hate going to places like Dubuque to whore myself for campaign funds". These are the twists that can accumulate, and whether Dean is at fault or not, he needs to address these things ASAP.

[JaneQPublic]

8. Complain to the reporter at the Register about this Hatchet Job!

His name is THOMAS BEAUMONT and his e-mail address is:

[e-mail]

[maxanne]

12. thanks JaneQPublic

for interjecting some reality into the hysteria that has overtaken a number of posters on this board.

This is almost exactly what I told my state party just before Christmas, about our caucus process for chosing delegates.

So, get ready to smear me, I'm running for office in 2004 :

maxanne criticizes NH caucus process :eyes:

[iowapeacechief]

13. So what's with "8 hours"?

His usual hyperbole, right? Or maybe he just didn't know what he was talking about.

It's more like two hours unless you're into platform resolutions; then you might stay another hour. And what's wrong with a process that involves meeting your fellow-Democrat neighbors and discussing what the party should stand for, anyway?

Don't fight this thing. Just acknowledge that Dean didn't understand the Iowa caucus process four years ago, but now he does.

[no name no slogan]

19. Good clarification

In Minnesota, both major parties have typically had caucuses in February or March. Most of the time, they're over and done with in an hour and a half.

If it's a presidential election year and there's a big turnout, it can take longer. But it sure isn't "8 hours" like Dr. Dean said.

The caucus is one of the most small-d "democratic" things left in this country-- a chance when any average Jane/Joe can actually influence a political party by supporting a candidate, or proposing a plank for the party platform. To eliminate it plays right into the big-money, all-image politics that the powers-that-be crams down our throats on their corporate-owned media outlets.

I think if Dr. Dean actually participated in a caucus he'd probably come away with a different opinion.

[blm]

25. They can't. Dean is always right. No matter what.

Fall in line.

Ugh....I refuse to impugn my own integrity by failling in line behind the most deceptive candidate in the race.

[dansolo]

18. The entire meaning changes based on the context

The report made it seem like Dean was referring to himself in the quote, when in fact he was referring to some hypothetical Iowan participating in the caucus. This is a classic example of taking a quote out-of-context with the explicit purpose to try and make a candidate look bad. But, once again, he is 100% correct. I view this as similar to the issue of moving election day from Tuesday to Saturday in order to increase participation. We should be making the process of voting easier for everyone to participate.

[tedoll78]

7. Guess what?

Today, Dean gets back on the campaign trail in Iowa. I'm betting good money that he and Trippi have prepared a good statement on these non-issues. Either that, or they have something up their sleeve with which they will change the topic. An endorsement, a media stunt.. something like that. Like him or not, he's run an excellent campaign thus far; I really doubt they're going to let this issue just sit there and sink in..

[CMT]

10. well if he truly thinks it was a waste of time

he would have skipped it like Clark and Lieberman.

[Hep]

15. BAM!

I heard the when Dean was 13 he said he hated his parents and was going to move away. Of course he didn't. So Dean must be a waffler.

[JaneQPublic]

16. Confession: I have often "bad-mouthed: the U.S. election process

It was back in 2000, after Bush was given the presidency despite Gore getting more votes. I said this whole process of picking presidents by electoral votes was "a pile of crap."

I suppose that will come back to haunt me if I ever run for president.

[shance]

26. Great point Jane**

I think we all have questioned the election process, especially after 2000.

I also think its important to question the process when its not working the way in which its supposed to work.

[andym]

22. Actually Dean was correct in 2000

Actually Dean was correct in 2000.
Caucases are also not particularly democratic.

[helleborient]

23. Do Clark supporters calling the caucuses anti-Democratic count...

As bad-mouthing?

I saw that a couple of days ago.

[KittyWampus]

24. So What About Those Special Interests?

On the Right we have... what?
On the Left we have... what? Labor? Environmentalists?

Dean supporters please try and figure this out.

Dean is a centrist now? Thought he was from the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party?

Just who is Dean referring to as the special interests on the Left?

Labor?

[Lisa0825]

27. new entry on the Dean blog:

TV Editing

All day long we've seen the television news repeating a short edited segment of a single line taken from a Canadian television show. Here's the full transcript. The discussion centered around the pros and cons of caucuses and primaries:

Dean: On a Saturday, is it easy for me to go cast a ballot and spend 15 minutes doing it, or do I have to sit in a caucus for 8 hours?

Guest: This is a good thing, though.

Dean: I don't think so. I don't have the time to do it. It doesn't get people involved. It drives people out of the process, and leaves the people who are left in the process -- the professional people who get paid to be there.

Guest: Let the people in the neighborhoods convince you, say...

Dean: They can't convince me. I've got my kid's soccer game. I've got my second job. I've got all these other reasons that I can't do these things.

Guest: If that's the case, the 15 minutes you're going to devote to politics in your year is a pretty perfunctory involvement in politics.

Dean: Not necessarily. I read the papers, maybe I watch television. I form my opinions, I get to go exercise my opinion. But I can't stand there and listen to everyone else's opinion for eight hours about how to fix the world.

Compare this to the way it is reported on television:
NBC Voice Over: Dean even suggested the caucuses were a waste of time for ordinary people

Dean: “I can’t stand there and listen to everyone else's opinion for eight hours about how to fix the world.”

The power of editing to create a story. Swing the bat.

[Cheswick2.0]

28. and yet Iowans are going to give him the win

ain't democracy grand? Those people can actually think for themselves and they probably don't like their caucus system either. Only a tiny percentage takes part in it.