2004 Elections: Democratic Party Contenders

I don't think the outcome of the Iraq situation will be known for years, at least not on the part of many US voters. Even if the US pulled off what appeared to be a neat, quick strike, and Fox News carried pictures of Iraqis offering roses to stalwart Yanqui troops in tanks, we'd still need The Rest of the Story. Quite apart from the reverberations, the resentments, the increased membership in Al Qaeda, the Syrians -- etc. etc. -- the outcome won't be known until well after the 2004 campaign. Even putting aside the predicted blowback and concentrating on the military operation itself -- no more than with past US military actions would we know the real motivations for war and the truth of how that war was fought until the documents were declassified and read, the witnesses deposed, and the tapes listened to. But when you add in the CIA's and others' predictions of blowback from this operation, we need to get it through our thick heads that this war will not end quickly and by that time we may have experienced many of the reverberations here on home ground. Remember also the increase in information management and manipulation in the US during the past two years, the degree to which our ability to get accurate accounts from the press or government sources has been curtailed. Bottom line: if Democratic candidates wait to see how it turns out, they're going to be mighty disappointed. That's why I wondered what had happened with Dean. He was supposed to emerge with a shout against war this week.

Asherman
I reminded of that saying." If my neighbor is out of work it's a recession, if i am it's a depression". It is the same can be said about Bush. What was bad and hurt in the past is history what is bad and hurts now is of import. At the moment the hurt and the disaster is being caused by our man from Texas. He is the worst thing to come along in the last 50 years. Each administration had it's good and bad points. However with Bush it's all bad. He will be remembered for a failed presidency.
I should note that I am old enough to remember the depression of the 30's. It was catastrophic for most but time is a great healer. Let us hope that the damage he has wrought can be healed.

Howard Dean stakes out a few positions:

Calling President George W. Bush "the wrong person at the wrong time for the future of this country," Presidential hopeful Howard Dean urged voters to support his bid for the oval office during a campaign stop in Portsmouth yesterday...

"Basically the one reason I am running for President is because George W. Bush is engaged in reckless behavior in terms of our foreign and domestic policies," Dean told the group, adding that Bush is "fighting the wrong enemy."

When asked about the looming war with Iraq, Dean said we need to work with our allies and added that their clandestine activities have not met his definition of an imminent threat. "North Korea is a much bigger threat," Dean said. "I'm not a pacifist ?- I don't think you can run for President without being willing to use the powers of office, but I don't support a unilateral attack," Dean said.

A doctor whose wife took over his practice when he became governor, Dean cited health-care insurance for all Americans as one of his top priorities. He supports a plan that mimics one adopted during his six terms in the Vermont statehouse, which insures everyone under the age of 18 and supports small businesses providing coverage for their workers. "What we ought to be debating is, why is it we can not have health care (for everyone) like every other industrial country on the face of the earth," Dean said...

Dean also supports fully funding special education, and referred to Bush's "No Child Left Behind" initiative as "No School Board Left Standing."

Regarding environmental issues, Dean supports SUVs and trucks having the same mileage standards as other vehicles, and wants to see 10 percent ethanol in "everybody's gas tank."

When asked his position on gun control, Dean said he supports the Brady Bill, the ban on assault weapons and wants to see the gun show loophole close but, beyond that, thinks it is an issue that should be regulated by the states. "Every state ought to be responsible for its own gun laws. What works in Wyoming doesn't work in New York," Dean said. "Different problems arise out of different states."

Citing a quote from President Bill Clinton, who said people will vote for strong people and be wrong before they will vote for weak people and be right, Dean said, "It's time for a real Democrat to become President of the United States again."

The Union Leader

Tar, good point.

Howard Dean sounds like my kind of president. If he stays consistent in his message, he gets my vote. c.i.

ci - Would you call Dean a "liberal"?

A recent American Research Group poll showed Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry leading among likely voters in the Democratic primary, with 27 percent to Dean's 15 percent.

But Dean had a slight edge among the 38 percent of registered New Hampshire voters who identify themselves as independents and the state lets independents vote in either party's primary.

tres, I do not vote by party line. I vote for the individual that reflects my thinking on what is important. Whether he is liberal or conservative matters not one iota. c.i.

Asherman, Your quote: "Do you remember saying that "there has been more suffering during two years of the Bush administration than any other President serving a full term"? I've paraphrased you here, but the paraphrase accurately represents your remark. That was your statement, and it was wrong. If its a "no-brainer" to find as much, or greater suffering, under past Presidents, then why did you say otherwise? Either you didn't bother to think and check your facts before making an extravagant claim, or you intended to mislead. I expect that you let your passions override your brain once again."
Well, Asherman, did you hear about "Patriot II?" It's this administration's Executive Order 9066 that has taken away all rights for Muslim Americans. They are being detained without being charged of any crime. Thousands of Muslim-Americans are being detained for long periods without due process of law; immediate deportations, raids on homes and offices, and INS registrations. What's worse, the powers of Patriot II does not end with only Muslim-Americans, it affects all Americans, because this act does not single out any particular group as it did during WWII against Japanese Americans. As you sit defending this president, he's taking away our rights and freedoms. I hope you are happy in your ignorance. c.i.

Did you mean that to be an answer to my question? (It was not. Is there some reason you don't want to answer it?)

The first debate among the Democratic contenders for the 2004 presidential nomination is scheduled for May 3rd. The debate will be held in South Carolina. Howard Dean, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman have all confirmed.

http://www.politicsvt.com/

If by Dean's statement, "Basically the one reason I am running for President is because George W. Bush is engaged in reckless behavior in terms of our foreign and domestic policies," Dean told the group, adding that Bush is "fighting the wrong enemy." is a liberal, then yes. The Patriot Act was created by executive fiat after nine-eleven, using executive orders, and emergency regulations, outside the purvue of the legislative and judiciary branches. With this new 'tool,' the executive branch approved the detention of thousands of Muslim Americans without due process of law. I consider GWBush to be not only destructive to world peace, but to our freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. c.i.

BTW, We have not heard a peep from this administration concerning the bigoted statement made by Senator Coble of North Carolina, about the detension of Japanese Americans during WWII. As a Japanese American who have spent four years in a US concentration camp, you better believe I resent this president for not speaking out against Coble. c.i.

Gephardt put the wood to Dubya in his announcement speech this morning (unfortunately, CNN pre-empted it to show the rescue of a dog stranded in a frozen river):

Gephardt, 62, sought to distinguish himself from lesser-known Democratic rivals by embracing his long record in politics. "I think experience matters," he said in a text of his address. "It's what our nation needs right now."

"I'm not the political flavor of the month. I'm not the flashiest candidate around," said Gephardt, whose 1988 presidential campaign fizzled after winning the Democratic caucuses in Iowa. "But the fight for working families is in my bones."

While saying he supports Bush's efforts to disarm Iraq, without the United Nations if necessary, Gephardt said the president's go-it-alone rhetoric has alienated allies. "We must lead the world instead of merely bullying it," he said.

"I'm running for president because I'm tired of leadership that's left us isolated in the world, and stranded here at home," he said.

He called White House tax cuts "unaffordable, unsustainable and patently unfair" and assailed Bush's education, environmental, budget and homeland security policies. "Never has so much been done, in so little time, to help so few," he said.

More here.

Yeah, Asherman, Seems many people see this administration in the same light as I do. As PDid provided above from Gephardt, "He called White House tax cuts "unaffordable, unsustainable and patently unfair" and assailed Bush's education, environmental, budget and homeland security policies. "Never has so much been done, in so little time, to help so few," he said. This is what I've been saying all along. c.i.

If I had to choose the thing that's getting the Republicans in my community up in arms against Bush, it's the Patriot Act. Petitions are being signed asking county commissioners and the town council of the county seat to renounce it.

Tartar, Thank god there are people of conscience in this country, but GWBush is not one to "listen" to anybody. He's already told the demonstrators for peace across this globe that he doesn't go by demonstrations or polls. What good will those petitions do in this environment and GWBush? c.i.

And whether you or TK are saying it, it is unsupportable hogwash. Hell, Kennedy wrote most of the education plan Bush signed, and now he's attacking it as a Bush mistake?

Sigh. Beyond time to get active again, and I feel too old to do it again. But again, we must. I liked what Gephardt said this morning. But in South Carolina? Whew! pu. And Iranian plane wasn't civilians, they are now saying, but military.

tres, FYI, President Bush's "Leave No Child Behind" is doing a very poor job. Many new teachers in our area are losing their jobs, because of national, state, and local deficits. When the federal government spends most of the money on Homeland Security and our War With Iraq, no money is left for "Leave No Child Behind." For this, I blame GWBush. Classroom sizes are expected to increase from 20 students to 30. Show me how "Leave No Child Behind" will work without teachers? c.i.