Jackson Free Press

After all the talk-show babble of the last couple days about Howard Dean being such a "far-left" candidate, it's a relief to see a New York Times story today that actually explores his hard-to-define independence—which may well be drawing much of his surge of support: "But in Vermont, whose political center of gravity lands left of the nation's, one of the secrets to Dr. Dean's success was keeping the most liberal politicians in check. Over 11 years, he restrained spending growth to turn a large budget deficit into a surplus, cut taxes, forced many on welfare to go to work, abandoned a sweeping approach to health-care reform in favor of more incremental measures, antagonized environmentalists, won the top rating from the National Rifle Association and consistently embraced business interests."

Previous Comments

ID

136047

Comment

For the record, I have not decided to support Howard Dean for president--more substantive water under the bridge needed for me--but I sure do love this grass-roots campaign he's waging. And he is responding to criticism on his blog and elsewhere that he has not done enough to attract voters of color by ... drum roll! ... unabashedly reaching out directly to voters of color, and diversifying his staff. And he told the Urban League (to a standing ovation) that he is determined to talk about important race issues like affirmative action not only to black audiences, but to white. There is something so refreshing at play here. At the very least, maybe he will force more of the other candidates to stop tiptoeing around real issues and to speak up. Conventional political wisdom (big oxymoron) could be a thing of the past as a result. I'm prayin'.

Author

ladd

Date

2003-07-30T14:48:28-06:00

ID

136048

Comment

Lieberman's name isn't even mentioned anywhere in the linked article as a serious challenger to Dean. Kerry is mentioned, Gephardt is mentioned, John McCain is mentioned but Joe Lieberman, he's not in there. Can't help but wonder why, out of the 8 other candidates to choose from who are challenging that darling Howard Dean, did the JFP political desk take out after Joe Lieberman with that headline? Is it because Joe Lieberman is mildly conservative, or Jewish, or pro-Israel, or for a strong defense, or because Lieberman's positions could be attractive to conservative white Democrats in Mississippi? (Second to GWB, of course.) Or is it because the Congressional Black Caucus hammered Lieberman, or because Kweisi Mfume and the NAACP aren't going to back Lieberman regardless of how well he shows? Mighty curious headline, mighty curious. Reader The Jackson Free Press: Always interested in your opinion. Even more happy to tell you what it should be.

Author

Reader

Date

2003-07-31T00:48:33-06:00

ID

136049

Comment

Joe Lieberman and his team have been leading the attack on Howard Dean, who is also pro-Israel. The headline is a not-so-subtle reference to recent national headlines. (Note: I edited the annoyance out of my earlier posting. I'd only had one cup of coffee then. )

Author

ladd

Date

2003-07-31T09:20:45-06:00

ID

136050

Comment

Yes, Lieberman's new strategy seems to be to take up the DLC's mantle in busily criticizing Democrats for anything less than hawkishness on Iraq. In fact, Lieberman is in such a pickle about the war (much less on whether or not he should actually BE a Democrat) that his own Joein2004 Web site has these two links within spittin' distance of once another: Lieberman Denounces Bush, Rivals Over War Lieberman Assails Bush, Dems On Iraq Views The suggestion being, I suppose, that Joe knows exactly what everyone else is doing wrong. And, hell, maybe he does. (I'm not sure he should be reposting Washington Post stories to his own site but, hey, he's the senator, not me.) Actually, Dean is married to a Jewish woman and his children are raised in both traditions; he's an Israel hawk and he -- like most Democrats -- is more interesting in Homeland Security than is Dubya, who has severely underfunded support to the states. Dean is for a strong defense and is pro-business, and his tax-cutting, balanced budget, NRA-touted record in Vermont would probably offer significant appeal to conservative white Democrats in the south. Therefore, it's incumbent upon anyone opposing him to scream "he's liberal!" at all junctures, just to make sure no reasonable discourse regarding the potential of a centrist, populist candidacy occurs. God forbid. In fact, while I'm not yet sure I'd vote for him as president (I'm a little concerned that some of his bluster won't play nationally and I'm not game for another Perot-ish meltdown), given his record and stances in Vermont, I can say that it'd be cool if Dean was in the governor's race in Mississippi.

Author

todd

Date

2003-08-01T11:56:23-06:00

ID

136051

Comment

You might want to do a little checking on Dean's position on taxation. He might have cut taxes in VT but he is on record as stating that as President he would roll back 100% of the Bush tax cuts -- an increase of $2 trillion in taxes over 10 years. Think that will win him the White House? Not a chance.

Author

Reader

Date

2003-08-01T16:49:59-06:00

ID

136052

Comment

Well, so much for any misguided notion that Mr. Dean is anti-tax, or a tax cutter, cause he's not. He may not have increased the personal income tax in VT but he had a real hankering for a whole slew of other means. Give Dean credit though for being honest. He's staunch about rolling back all of the recent tax cuts and for increasing the ceiling under which Social Security is collected from paychecks. Voters will have a very clear choice if Dean gets the nod for the Dems. We'll see if the vote is for higher taxes. "What Mr. Dean does not say is that he raised a lot of taxes, too, to help pay for his social welfare programs and to balance the books: sales taxes, cigarette taxes, property taxes, corporate taxes, and hotel and meal taxes, among others." Howard Dean the tax machine Reader The Jackson Free Press: Always interested in your opinion. Even more happy to tell you what it should be. Count on us to know just a little about everything!

Author

Reader

Date

2003-08-13T10:52:49-06:00