Jackson Free Press

Read about presidential hopeful Howard Dean's remarkable grass-roots blogging campaign. And add your voice at the end: Will this campaign change politics as we know it?

Around 2:40 in the morning on Sunday, June 29, Howard Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, posted a message on the Howard Dean for President Web log, where the Dean campaign had been tracking donations for the second quarter. "$6 million! And 45 hours to go," the message began. At that point, less than two days from the end of the second-quarter reporting period for campaign fund-raising, Trippi had reset the Dean fund-raising quarterly goal from $6 million to $6.5 million.

That one message eventually had 251 electronic comments from Dean supporters, many of them caught up in the most exciting telethon of their lives. For example: "I'm about to make another $45 donation, which will bring me up to $250 total since January. And I've never contributed to a campaign previously," wrote a Deanite named Paul at 6:05 that morning.

On Monday, June 30, one of the blog's managers—the fantastically named Zephyr Teachout—started posting messages every half hour, counting up as the donations for that day went from $68,262 at 10 a.m. to $340,067 at 3 p.m. At 10 p.m., Trippi appeared again on the blog to tell supporters that the campaign had reached $7 million—blowing away his $6.5 million goal—thanks to a single-day total of over $700,000 in online donations. The Deanites took that as high praise and yet another challenge. By the time the blog signed off at 1 a.m., the Dean blog and Web site had raised nearly $820,000 online.

"Blog" is the slang term for a "Web log," which is a Web site comprised of articles posted in chronological order. Generally, blogs are supported by special Web-logging software that's used to give the Web site its uniform appearance and its content-management features. (For instance, the Jackson Free Press uses blogging software to manage its site, http://www.jacksonfreepress.com)

The significance of the Internet in political campaigns has already been well established in the late 1990s and, in particular, with Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) million-dollar day of fund-raising efforts online during the 2000 primary. But if 2000 was the year of the presidential political Web site, 2003-4 may shape up to be the year of the presidential political blog.

While some people use blogging software to create a site that's used like a personal diary (documenting their day and expressing thoughts and desires), blogging is also very common among the politically minded set, with people linking to and discussing news and world events. Perhaps more importantly, however, most blogs make it possible for readers to comment on the entries that are posted—you click a link at the bottom of the entry, and you're able to add your thoughts to the discussion. And it's this commenting capability that has held the key to at least some of Dean's success.

The comments on Dean's blog are almost all from supporters—some regulars, some first-timers. They've created their own online community of Dean fans who regularly discuss issues, cheerlead the governor and click around to online polls, news stories and other related-cause Web sites to sign up, vote, comment or post messages.

And when a non-supporter shows up, particularly one who casts aspersions at Howard Dean or Democrats in general, most of the regulars warn their brethren not to "feed the trolls." (Trolls are bad apples who use forums and comment areas to "troll" for arguments or "flame wars.") Instead, the Dean supporters give small amounts of money to the Troll Fund—a special online fund raiser created by a Dean fan to encourage Dean supporters to donate instead of starting online arguments.

Interestingly, Howard Dean himself posts only every few days on the Dean blog. For a week in July, Dean was the "guest blogger" on Lawrence Lessig's blog—Lessig, a Stanford law professor and author of "The Future of Ideas" is a highly respected member of the "blogosphere." Dean's own entries on Lessig's blog were short and mostly along the lines of "thank you all for the comments."

Writing on Lessig's blog, Zephyr Teachout pointed out that the main difference between Dean's Internet-based (and blog-based) campaigning is the fact that Dean supporters are "self-organizing" through their participation:

"What hasn't been reported is that most of the Dean flyers that people are passing out at farmers markets and summer fairs around the country are put together by grassroots organizers working through the Net," Teachout wrote. He added: "[A] Seattle group thinks of a flyer idea, which a New York group designs, which they circulate through the Dean listservs, which gets stapled to a Bulletin Board in Missouri."

Many of those who comment on Dean's blog say they do so because they feel that their comments are read and listened to by the campaign. Others enjoy reading the blog entries because they feel they're more a part of the "behind-the-scenes" campaign. One recent conversation after Dean's NAACP national conference appearance focused on both the online "digital divide" and Dean's need to reach out to African-American and Hispanic voters. And many of the campaign's ideas are generated in the blog comments—such as a recent initiative to have Dean supporters write personal letters to individual Iowans regarding their vote in the Iowa caucus.

Dean's candidacy was also the first to make wide use of Meetup.com, a service that enables people to find others of similar interests in their locale, and then arrange public meetings to gather and get to know one another. As of mid-July, over 60,000 people had signed up for Dean's Meetup service (in fact, Jackson, Miss. led the list as a growing Dean Meetup city in mid-July); John Kerry, the next most prominent political Meetup participant, had more than 6,500 members. Gen. Wesley Clark, who hasn't even announced himself as a Democrat, let alone as a candidate, has more than 5,000 people in his Meetup group.

No other major Democratic candidate has yet tried the blog approach, but many may in the future. The tools seem ideal for getting young people energized about a campaign—particularly for an effort like Dean's that already appeals to the volunteer ethic of America's younger activists. In particular, few candidates have probably ever encouraged so many of them to donate—according to the campaign, more than 83,000 people donated in the second quarter, making the average donation $88.11. Only 891 donors have donated the maximum of $2,000 to the campaign, meaning that Dean could do well to keep the blog—which, so far, appears to be the most lucrative blog in history—rolling along.

Todd Stauffer is publisher of the Jackson Free Press and the author of "Blog On: The Essential Guide to Building Dynamic Weblogs" (McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2002).

Click here for jacksonfreepress.com/politics for Mississippi candidate blogs.

Previous Commentsshow

There's an interesting story on NPR today (Monday the 28th) on the very topic of Dean and his blog, which raised over $500,000 this weekend as a telethon challenge of sorts in response to a Dick Cheney $300,000 fundraising lunch today. Cheney's lunch consisted of 150 people paying $2,000 per plate; Dean's campaign encouraged bloggers to beat that by raising money over the weekend. Dean's $500,000 was raised by over 9,600 contributions averaging about $52 per. NPR thought that was interesting enough that it might just change the face of politics forever: All Things Considered Scroll to the third story and click it to launch your preferred playback plug-in (RealAudio or Windows Media, assuming you prefer either of those). So, what do you think? Is this a big deal?

Todd

Jul 29 2003

power to the people... GO DEAN GO!!!

JLosset

Jul 29 2003

Yeah, the NPR piece was quite the contrast to the discussion on Chris Matthews last night about Dean, the pro-gun rights, pro-Israel, fiscally moderate candidate. Everyone talking about him was referring to him as "left wing"; it was truly bizarre, making me wonder exactly how one defines "left wing" these daysósimply because you're willing to loudly question the war. Well, Matthews himself has been doing that a lot lately; does he want to be branded "left wing"? And I watched a bit of FOX news last night, too, which I can seldom manage to do. It was so funny; beyond not being anywhere close to "balanced" (which I don't think they have to be, by the way), it was like a caricature of the news. Jon Stewart's Daily Show commentators come across more credible. I shouldn't EVER watch television. Thank goodness for the Internet.

ladd

Jul 29 2003

Also, on Todd's comment: Let's *hope* the Internet changes politics forever. Politics are truly a mess right now where only the most well-financed candidates can break through with expensive television ads. It's truly amazing the questions that corporate media fixate on, which I witnessed firsthand yesterday at a media luncheon where the governor spoke. It's no wonder the rest of us don't know what's going on half the time until the result suddenly slaps us in the face. Sunday the Clarion-Ledger ran its obligatory annual package of glowing stories about the great political stump speeches at the Neshoba County Fair, this year pondering whether they're losing their significance. How about the question of whether the media--especially the C-L's Sid Salter whose family owns a cabin on the pavilion square there--have inflated its importance for years. I grew up in Neshoba County (sans cabin), hearing the speeches of demagogues amid seas of Confederate battle flags to a bunch of people who could afford to take off from work on Wednesdays and Thursdays to hear the candidates speak about "Mississippi's values." How about asking the question: How can those stump speeches be made more relevant to real Mississippians? Why not hold the political speeches on the weekend so more people can attend? That bucks tradition, you say. Good.

ladd

Jul 29 2003

"On the basis of political momentum, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is now the frontrunner for the Democrats' 2004 presidential nomination. And, if history is any guide, he's in the process of leading the party to disastrous defeat." GO Dean! Reader The Jackson Free Press: Always interested in your opinion. Even more happy to tell you what it should be.

Reader

Jul 30 2003

I think where history *isn't* the guide on Dean is that he isn't really a liberal candidate, as opposed to the candidates often mentioned in 1972, 1984 and 1988. Even most of Dean's supporters on the Internet know he's for a balanced budget, he's more hawkish on Israel than Bush and he's got a perfect rating from the NRA. He's against Bush's unilateral approach to Iraq, but he's not "anti-war" at all. He's for universal healthcare for children, but he's also express pro-"tort reform" tendencies. He's for repealing aspects of the PATRIOT act, but he's also pretty hawkish on Homeland Security. That's not to say his rhetoric isn't pretty anti-Bush right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's Far Left. (That's where some of our less intellectually curious TV commentators seem to get him wrong.) And, unless I'm mistaken, being anti-your-opponent is sort of how political campaigning is done. It's only in recent years (very recent ones) that conservatives seem to try to cast criticism of the president as some sort of offense against nature. I don't know that Dean's current level of rhetoric will win over the vast middle, nor is it clear whether Dean can move from the leftist candidate that the media and his opposition paint him to a more centrist candidate. Or if he needs or wants to. That's something that conservative candidates have done in the past (start Right in the primaries, veer Center in the general), but left-of-center candidates seem to have more trouble with that dance step. In addition, I think Dean represents a maverick stance that's different from those other "liberal folly" years. Clearly, one of the main points of discussion on HardBall, et. al. will be "Is Dean McCain or McGovern?" -- at least until Dean wins or drops off the face of the earth. Those are issues he'll need to address if he's to have any luck when he attempts to appeal to the general public. I would avoid the breathless presumption that Dean Equals Mondale '84. Remember, after all, that the Republicans have had their own 1976 and 1992 in the modern era -- both moments when Republican candidates faltered in the face of ecomomic woes and suggestions of incompetency. (And, incidentally, both adminstrations and campaigns that featured Cheney, Rumsfeld and/or a cast of other Bush II Administration handlers and advisors.) If events conspire to make W. appear less that competent in the summer of 2004, he'll probably have an uphill battle, almost regardless of who his opponent is.

Todd

Jul 30 2003

Considering the latent perspective of the JFP political desk, I understand your position. I find it amusing how Dean supporters -- and let's face it, while the JFP hasn't formally come out for Dean you all have provided more hype for his campaign in your print and web efforts than all of the other announced Dems combined -- are working overtime to trot out and remind everyone of his varied positions in order to shout "Dean is not that left" every chance you get. The left tag is either getting uncomfortably sticky (by the rush to spin away from it -- not from Dean himself mind you but from his supporters -- I'm sure of that), or you're savvy enough to realize that it if Dean wins the nomination without shaking the moniker that it will be hard to win the general, or both. To combat the perception problem of the tag does Dean spend precious press cycles playing defense by claiming he is already close to the center or does he remain silent and allow the distinction to remain blurred to keep the momentum kick he's getting from the left in the party going? Ol' Howard is stuck between a rock and a hard place and sooner or later he is going to have to decide which arm he must cut off to save himself. Even if he is already there he'll need to appear that he is returning to the center and Dean is no Bill Clinton. Clinton was a danseur, Dean has two left feet. I'm curious, out of all of the positions of Dean's you noted in P1, why you didn't also include his position on taxation? You know, Dean's strongly voiced, often repeated, over-your-dead-body vow to roll back every single solitary Bush tax cut -- not just a select few, or only those for the rich, but all of them. He's the furthest left of the major players on taxation and this position is both his "liberal folly" and Achilles heel. If Dean wins the nomination and sticks to this position he will be DOA in the general. As for incompetency, or suggestions of, or hopes that it will become an issue. That whole push didn't get enough traction in 2000 and is just emotional baggage now. A complete waste of your bullets. Reader The Jackson Free Press: Always interested in your opinion. Even more happy to tell you what it should be.

Reader

Aug 1 2003

There's a letter posted on Salon that, I believe, really captures the reality of the Dean campaign for many people. I especially like the last paragraph where the writer talks about Dean's "real radicalism," saying that, in effect, it's the campaign, stupid! that is captivating many Americans right now--that is, watching an actual bottom-up grass-roots effort at play after all these years of feeling helpless in politics. As I've said before, I'll have to mull Dean's record much more carefully before I punch out the proverbial chad for him (OK, touch a screen), but I'm going to tell everybody I can about how this campaign is working--because I want to see more such grass-roots efforts out there. Whether or not it lasts, it is so lovely to see so many everyday people feel empowered enough about U.S. politics to send in their $35 checks. Letter excerpt: "Of all the candidates running, Howard Dean is probably closer to the New Democrat concept epitomized by Bill Clinton than anyone in the race. Our ex-president himself recently said as much. "I live in upstate New York near the Vermont border. We get Vermont TV here and I can assure you the Dean portrayed in the DLC's vaporings is nothing like the Dean who was governor of Vermont. Dean emphasized economic development, balanced budgets and manageable, workable programs to help families and kids. Sound like anyone we knew in the '90s? Much of the Vermont left -- and remember, Vermont has the nation's only socialist congressman -- disliked and opposed Dean in the end. Furthermore, he did not go looking for the gay domestic partner dispute; it came to him. "What Dean did not do was line up to drink the neocon Kool-Aid and vote for the Iraq War like so many feckless congressional Democrats. Does that make him a radical? Ask angry and just-plain-scared service families who are wondering when their kids are coming home, if at all. Kerry, et al., have a choice of saying the war was right, they made a mistake, or they were duped. There's no conceivable winning strategy in any of those. That's why Dean's ahead. (more)

ladd

Aug 2 2003

Last paragraph of letter: "The real radicalism of Dean -- and I think this is what really upsets the inside the Beltway types -- is the kind of campaign Dean is running. It is a deliberately conceived ground-up, not top-down movement that empowers average Americans to actually act like citizens, not passive subjects. The last thing the Beltway bunch wants to hear is that the government belongs to the people, not the insiders." -- Larry Dudley http://www.salon.com/opinion/letters/2003/08/02/phony_dlc/index.html

ladd

Aug 2 2003

Seems like the JFP isn't the only publication on the planet writing about Howard Dean: "The main piece of evidence adduced for Dean's unelectability is his leftism--he's an antiwar McGovernik who will lead his party to a crushing defeat. It's a distinct possibility, but it seems less probable than it did just a few weeks ago. Dean claims to be a centrist, and he may in fact have an easier time moving to the center after the primaries than any of his rivals. The key to this claim would be his budgetary record. Specifically, Dean balanced eleven budgets in Vermont, a state without a balanced-budget amendment. While his Democratic rivals hem and haw about how they didn't really support Bush's tax cuts, Dean has actually promised to undo them, raising taxes across the board to combat the deficit. With the exception of Gephardt, none of the candidates has spoken out as passionately as Dean on this score." Source? That lefty muckity-muck rag called The Weekly Standard. I recommend the whole article -- it certainly has a strenous point of view, but I think it's interesting analysis that hits on some of the key points that have made Dean the current lead story on the presidential politics front.

todd

Aug 2 2003

I don't care what he did in VT. Dems sure losers if they select Dean and his vow. "Liberal Democrats such as Mr. Dean have opposed Mr. Bush's tax cuts from the beginning, saying they largely benefit the rich. In fact, when measured as a percentage of incomes, the bulk of the tax rate reductions are aimed at workers who are far from rich: middle- to-upper-middle-income swing voters who have been moving into the Republican column. " Tax rift among Democrats

Reader

Aug 4 2003

C'mon Reader... You can do better than cite the Washington Times. If you want to make some serious headway in your arguments in this blog, you'll need to use other sources such as this Newsweek article.

Ex (ne? Ex Libris)

Aug 4 2003

I have no intention to make headway, as you put it, in any direction. Its a marginalized audience, I already know that.

Reader

Aug 4 2003

Dean's blog today shows that he has hired an experienced African-American political strategist as deputy campaign manager. It seems he talking the advice of many of the bloggers on the need to really reach out to the black community very seriously. There was serious discussion about how he should do that last night at the Dean meetup in Jackson, but we'll probably have a story about the people and talk at the meetup in the next issue.

ladd

Aug 7 2003

Our AAN sister paper the Philadelphia Weekly has a much more compelling read about Howard Dean than you'll find in the national new mags. It includes a Q&A with Dean.

ladd

Aug 7 2003

Looks like some other Democratic presidential candidates are catching blog fever: John Kerry: http://www.blog.johnkerry.com/blog/ Bob Graham: http://www.grahamforpresident.com/blog/

todd

Aug 11 2003

Interesting Atlanta Journal-Constitution column about Dean's appeal in rural communities and his "electro-pop" approach. "Rather than pandering to traditional Democratic power groups such as trial attorneys, unions or urban bosses, he is focusing on rural America and the thousands of towns and smaller cities that serve it as centers of daily life. Small-town life predominates Vermont, and Dean is promising to help restore rural communities. "He has tied positions on virtually every issue -- from the economy to the environment -- to the development and growth of rural areas, where he contends that President Bush's policies had little positive impact." http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0803/14towery.html

ladd

Aug 14 2003

If rural America believes in a policy of higher taxation, and supports giving back to the government all of the recent federal income tax cuts -- a promise that Mr. Dean has made one of his clarion calls, then yes, indeed, Howard Dean may very well be their candidate. "After 11 years under Mr. Dean's governorship, Vermont now ranks in the top tier of high-tax states ..." Dean's budget-balancing act left taxpayers in red Reader The Jackson Free Press: Always interested in your opinion. Even more happy to tell you what it should be. Count on them to know just a little about everything!

Reader

Aug 14 2003

Dean isn't left wing at all. he's a moderate. the President gets political mileage if he can say: dean is liberal, he wants gay marriage legal nation wide, and he supported Saddam. all of these are untrue, but who cares. karl rove WORE a dean for Pres. t-shirt in a july 4th parade, quoted as saying "that's the one we want". i say Hubris! while i'm not convinced yet, i will say this. He's no McGovern.

Jason Pollan

Aug 15 2003

I guess I'm missing what's so damning about the Washington Times piece. A few quotes: [quote]"In 1999, (Dean) sought and won support for an across-the-board income tax cut to make the state more competitive. He was dead right on that score: Vermont has one of the highest income taxes in the nation and loses jobs and businesses to its income tax-free neighbor, New Hampshire," the Cato report card concluded.[/quote][quote]...At the outset of his governorship Mr. Dean did cut spending aggressively, fighting his party's liberals in the General Assembly who wanted to raise income taxes and boost spending.[/quote][quote]...But in the late 1990s, Mr. Dean shifted sharply. In 1997, he signed an education funding bill called Act 60 that raised property taxes in wealthier communities to redistribute money to poorer schools.[/quote][quote]...Higher taxes were in part the legacy of Mr. Dean's predecessor, Gov. Richard Snelling, a Republican who died in office in 1991 after substantially raising taxes or implementing new taxes. In 1994, Mr. Dean allowed income- and sales-tax increases to fall back to their previously lower levels (25 percent of the federal tax rate and 4 percent for sales). But he called the legislature back into session and raised the sales tax to 5 percent, retaining other increases, including a 9 percent tax on hotel rooms and restaurant meals.[/quote][quote]...In 1998, with revenue pouring into the state Treasury, Mr. Dean promised to cut income taxes.[/quote] (Go read the whole piece because I cut quotes from the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the Cato Institute, Vermonters for Tax Reform and the Ethan Allen Institute that were used by the article's author to give context to these statements. Note that everyone quoted is basically from an anti-tax group or libertarian thinktank -- tons of "balance" there, eh? ;-) Indeed, the weakest link in the Washington Times piece is that it only alludes to what the tax burden was in Vermont before Dean took office -- it sounds like it was higher and that Dean came out of office with healthcare reform, a balanced budget, education funding and the same basic tax burden. (I don't have those numbers.) It seems like he both angered and pleased every person in the entire state at some point in his tenure. Although headlined somewhat audaciously, the story appears to come to the conclusion that Governor Dean was a centrist Democrat, sometimes bucking the left-leaning status quo in a liberal state while funding universal health care for children, etc. Faint condemnation, yes?

todd

Aug 16 2003

Doesn't matter how it is collected. It is still about money. "Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean backed away from his pledge to adhere to spending limits, saying some advisers want to explore opting out of the Watergate-era public financing system because of his sudden fund-raising success. Dean said he still intends to accept taxpayer money and spending restraints, and suggested he has discouraged his staff from considering alternatives right now. But he left open the possibility of following President Bush's lead in rejecting public financing. "Could we change our mind? Sure," he said. One rival campaign accused Dean of hypocrisy. Just five months ago, Dean committed to accepting taxpayer money and vowed to attack any Democrat who didn't." DEAN TO BREAK CAMPAIGN SPENDING LIMIT PLEDGE

Reader

Aug 17 2003

I read an AP story about this yesterday. I haven't decided what I think about Dean changing his mind about spending limits. He certainly seems to be considering an about-face, and that will bring him deserved questions. The unfortunate truth is that Bush with his "rangers" and "pioneers" will have endless corporate money to try to stop any opposing message from getting through, so I can see why Dean might change his mind, in order to have a real shot at winning. But, certainly, changing his mind means that he would be perpetuating the vicious big-money cycle--taking us back to the proverbial rock and hard place of party/big media politics today. The statement that "It's still about money" is certainly true -- and that's a damned shame. I do wonder what "rival campaign" accused him of hypocrisy -- and why that accusation can't be attributed by the San Diego TV station linked in the above post. Perhaps because most every campaign and candidate can be accused of hyprocrisy for one thing or another? Personally, I'll be watching to see how he handles changing his mind if he does; if there's anything I'm ready for in politics, it's straight talk, and a willingness to change one's mind and explain why honestly and face the consequences ... rather than lying and pretending you didn't say or promise something that you did. And it may well be that enough Americans are fed up with Bush's regressive policies and fiscal irresponsibility that they will accept Dean's explanation. It remains to be seen.

ladd

Aug 17 2003

Another interesting blog...surprised I haven't seen this one before; it started in March. Gary Hart is a blogger... Gary Hart News What's interesting about this one is not just that Gary Hart has a blog but, unlike most of the pols, he actually blogs on it. It's all him and those who comment. Today's entry: Where's Bobby?.

todd

Aug 17 2003

Political suicide. "As president, my economic policies will be focused and clear. I will begin by repealing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and using the revenues that result from the repeal to address the needs of the average American, invest in the nation's infrastructure and, through tax reform, put money in the hands of those most likely to spend it." We Can Do Better: I will begin by repealing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. BY HOWARD DEAN

Reader

Aug 22 2003

I guess Dean is lucky you aren't editing his op-ed pieces. ;-) Actually, it seems pretty clear, if you keep reading that same piece, that Dean is trying to stake out a position on tax reform that paints Bush as reckless and beholden to corporate and wealthy interests. "...Average Americans pay their taxes through withholding or quarterly estimates. Meanwhile, corporations and multinational enterprises take advantage of elaborate tax shelters, and billions go uncollected. The need for reform is obvious and compelling, and I will give tax reform a top priority in my administration. But unlike the tax initiatives of the current president, my program of tax reform and relief will be targeted to the average Americans who are struggling to make ends meet--not those whose needs are well provided for...." (emphasis added) I smell populism. Presumably, Dean will flesh out a fiscal program as the primaries draw near, but the current statement seems to be a clear "I'm not Bush" while trying to pound home the notion that a balanced budget would be a panacea for economic growth. That might play. Do Americans really care about the budget deficit and the economy? Check Gallup last week: - 49% say the employment situation in the US is poor (a total of 89% rate it "only fair" or "poor") - 59% say the condition of the Federal deficit is poor - 75% say the financial well-being of the average America is "only fair" (49%) or "poor" (26%) - 48% say the economy is the biggest problem facing the country (a few ticks up from last month) If this economic trend continues then Dean is positioned to take advantage of it. If the economy gets better and people perceive it, i imagine it would be tough to beat any sitting president regardless of party unless there's scandal or massive foreign policy mistakes.

Todd

Aug 24 2003

I smell election death. "The concept, however, disguises the fact that babies are being thrown out with the bath water. Specifically, the "complete repeal" Dean and Gephardt favor includes increases in the child tax credit, the establishment of a new bottom tax rate of 10 percent, and the substantial broadening of the base for the 15 percent income tax rate. Give or take a detail, that just so happens to be the tax cut for ordinary Americans that Al Gore advocated three years ago. The amounts involved are huge by ordinary Americans' standards -- more than $1,500 annually for a household with $40,000 in income, and proportionately more and less as one goes down toward the working poor and up toward the upper-middle class. Dean and Gephardt may argue that in the long run everyone is better off if the tax cuts are repealed and health insurance made universal, but John Maynard Keynes famously observed that in the long run we are all dead." Democrats split on tax-cut issue

Reader

Aug 26 2003

A sad commentary, really, about our (collective) spend first approach. But, understanding how its unlikely that everyone will 'see the light' and pay down their personal debts within the next 15 months, when average Joe and Jane walk into the voting booth to push the button for President on that Tuesday in November 2004 will they vote for the candidate who has next to guaranteed that he will take more money out of their pockets? All of the other folderol about the deficit and national health insurance is great but those issues won't trump taxes. If the Dems nominate either of the two candidates who have been unyielding about their plans to roll back the entirety of the GWB tax cuts, this upcoming election will boil down to a very simple decision for a large majority of voters. Press Button A to keep taxes at current levels, press Button B to increase your taxes. "In 1946, just after World War II, consumer debt amounted to 22 percent of household after-tax income, reports the Federal Reserve. (That is, for every $10,000 of income, there was $2,200 of debt.) Now debt is almost 110 percent of income." "Although people worry about rising federal debt, the true debt bomb may be closer to home." A 60-Year Credit Binge

Reader

Aug 27 2003

I think the political landscape is different now --what with the huge deficit numbers that came out from CBO yesterday. It's not just about "keeping more of your own money" it's about the staggering debt that we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. We got an $800 check this summer but I suspect my children will be paying 10 times that per year in either higher taxes or reduced services once they become taxpayers. In 2000 it would have been suicide for a Democratic nominee to talk about rolling back a tax cut -- or raising taxes, for that matter. It's pretty clear that that the tax cuts are one of a few things responsible for the growing deficit. I think it's also arguable that the tax cuts were not fair and are structured to benefit small parts of the electorate. I think Reader makes some good points -- the A button would have won hands down in 2000. But, I think the landscape is not so simple any longer. The B button is not a choice for higher taxes, but fiscal responsibility, economic growth in the near to mid-term (and long term), and fairness/reform in our tax-code. I still have this vision of Bob Dole in 1996 pounding on a podium during the run up to the election proclaiming "it's your money, it's your money..." It was more complicated than that phrase. Same thing now.

Matthew Dalbey

Aug 27 2003

I tend to agree with you, Matthew. The voters are being forced to look at "raising taxes" rhetoric more closely nowadays, and not just taking it at face value. And Americans are smart enough to see that dramatic tax cuts clearly designed to mostly benefit the rich, with some crumbs thrown in for other folks, are helping strap the economy for many years into the future. That's going to affect everyone of us negatively in far greater ways than we benefitted from the cuts. (And Lord help our state and local economies.) Obviously, not all tax cuts are wise, and they don't happen in a vacuum. And more and more Americans seem to be stepping back and saying, "maybe them were some really dumb tax cuts"; perhaps we should repeal them, get the country back closer to a decent and balanced economic base and then consider smarter changes in the tax system that don't strap the economy and pile financial burdens on our children and grandchildren. Obviously, "fiscal responsibility" has many components to it, and the Bush administration has not scored well thus far. The truth is: not all tax cuts are good, and most people know it. And "tax," in and of itself, is not a four-letter word. As Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said: "Taxes are the price we pay for civilization," and the truth to that phrase is becoming clearer every day.

ladd

Aug 27 2003

The taxcut is a shell game. States and municipalities have been forced to raise fees and taxes in response to dwindling federal funding. What the feds giveth the states/cities taketh away. This doesn't bode well with other trends. Lots of companies are re-examining their compensation schemes--cutting salaries when possible and cutting medical benefits for employees. The costs of higher education have skyrocketed this year (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2003-08-27-college-tuition-usat_x.htm). In light of these trends, the tax cuts don't amount to much. It remains to be seen whether the stimulus promised by tax-cutters occurs. Does a jobless recovery raise all ships?

kchilton

Aug 27 2003

The "baby with the bathwater" point is valid -- I think it's likely you'll see Dean or Gephardt back away from a pledge to repeal *all* tax cuts if they get closer to the nomination. (All they have to say is "I WILL REPEAL ALL OF BUSH'S TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY!" And then talk about keeping marriage-penalty and child credit stuff on the books.) The rhetorical point is to paint Bush as extreme and incompetent in fiscal matters. When either candidate elucidates a fiscal strategy, it will likely include adding payroll tax cuts (if the economy is still in trouble; if it's not, then the point may well be utterly moot), education tax credits, etc. and a focus on repeal of capital gains and dividend tax cuts If not, I think they'd have trouble pleasing "moderate" Democrats. Dean makes the point in his stumping that the Bush tax cut, combined with No Child Left Behind and other unfunded mandates, has caused a rise in state and local-level property taxes, tuition, state healthcare costs and so on. If he effectively makes the case that Bush has simply transferred the tax burden to the states (after all, he's got some "Governor cred" and it wouldn't take much to convince some voters that their states are in crisis) then he may well win some "centrist" voters who swing according to tax policy and their wallets. For blue collar and faithful Dems, he makes a lot of noise about rebuilding infrastructure, broadband, keeping people working in the US and subsidizing small business. For someone like me (small business owner, no children, double taxed on Social Security) the Bush plan has appeared to been worth exactly squat. Bush plus a dollar buys me a Coke. There may be quite a few folks -- small biz owners, contractors, younger professionals -- who might consider themselves fair-weather Republicans (for fiscal responsibility, interested in pro-business and quasi-libertarian market politics) and who thought Gore was mushy last time. This time, thought, they might vote against the "Bush economy" if it's still the top-down "jobless recovery" that it appears to be today.

todd

Aug 27 2003

Dean's point about No Child Left Behind is welcome to my ears. The train wreck that is a-comin' is the cost to the states of the largely unfunded federal mandates contained in NCLB. Of course, some ideologues hope that snatching federal money away from public education and then forcing the states and locals to fill in the gaps will help convince more Americans that public schooling is not worth it and to just let them go rather than pay the costs. But I suspect that this is a theory that is about as naive as the neo-cons' "shock and awe" myth: that is, Americans like public schooling, and we're going to fight back rather than see it go (and that includes some private-school parents who aren't going to want all the kids now in public schools going to their kids' schools). The full impact of NCLB is yet to come, but when it does, it's going to be very obvious where Bush's burden-shifting is going to fall (right on the home front), and it's not going to be popular. So I'm happy to see Dean get in front of the train, so to speak. People don't like to think of the politics of education nearly enough, in my view, but mark my words that public education is going to become an important campaign issue in the next year as the ironically named No Child Behind Behind becomes better understood and people discover that George W. Bush is not the "education president" that he claimed to be.

ladd

Aug 27 2003

Glad to see the Gay and Lesbian community rallying around Dean. OUT For Dean is a good resource and we do have an OUT For Dean Mississippi group. Check them out on the web at http://www.outfordean.com

Jody

Sep 16 2003