RESEARCHING HOWARD DEAN, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Governor Dean Has a Conniption Over New York Times Article
by Jeffrey Pascoe

Two days after award-winning author Dr. Elinor Burkett published her article on Act 60 in the Sunday New York Times Magazine (4/26/98), Vermont Public Radio reported that Governor Howard Dean called the article "garbage." Gov. Dean went on to say,

"I was shocked. The New York Times is, I've always thought of, as the best newspaper in the world let alone in the country. That was a piece of trash to put it charitably. It was awful journalism. It was opinionated, it was poorly researched, people weren't talked to. It was just nonsense. I mean that's the kind of thing you'd expect on the editorial page of some right wing newspaper, certainly not the New York Times. I was absolutely flabbergasted when I read that piece. I thought the reporter basically wrote the story before she came up here, and didn't want to be dissuaded by the facts, nor did she talk to anybody who knew anything about the subject."

Gov Dean is entitled to his extremist views, but in fact, Dr. Burkett DID speak with MANY people who know A LOT about Act 60, including many staunch defenders of Act 60, such as school Superintendent William Mathis (quoted in the story) and State Senator Cheryl Rivers. In any event, the story was about the reality of Act 60, not the official spin. The latter is all too often repeated in local newspapers anyway.

Regarding the local newspapers, we agree with the president of Vermonters for Educational Choice Libby Sternberg who commented, "it is outrageous that the Vermont media are not doing more with this story. The New York Times is a national newspaper of record -- "the gray lady" -- not a two-bit scandal sheet devoted to hyperbolic stories..." Indeed, as of this writing, to our knowledge neither the New York Times story nor Gov Dean's comments have been reported locally except on Vermont Public Radio as described here. This is typical of the selective reporting (censorship?) on Act 60 that Vermonters have had to put up with for all too long.

According to Vermont Public Radio, Gov Dean also reportedly wrote in a letter to the New York Times that he was upset because the article did not mention the income sensitivity portion of Act 60. In fact, however, the article did mention income sensitivity, adding, "But that relief was denied to small businesses and, even more pointedly, to second-home owners, who fuel the state's economy but wield no political power."

Perhaps more upsetting to Gov Dean was Dr. Burkett's observation that Gov Dean's approval ratings "have plummeted from 62 to 47 percent over the last year."

Dean's reaction to the New York Times piece was uncharacteristically passionate, attracting the attention not only of VPR, but also Gubernatorial candidate Bernard Rome, who penned a letter to the editor of the New York Times congratulating them for a great article (read his letter here). Rome said that he wrote the letter for two reasons: "I know that Vermont is host to many out-of-towners who might have heard Dean's unfortunate remarks, and I wanted to correct any misperceptions he may have left about our state. And, secondly, I wanted to thank the Times for the respectful treatment they afforded opponents of Act 60."

Mary Barrosse also responded to Dean's outburst, writing, "Thank you Governor Dean for making a one day story into a three day story. Now people are going to wonder - well, "What did that newspaper actually say about Vermont?" and they may actually read it. All she [Dr. Burkett] did was tell the truth. Act 60 is not about education."

One wonders: when will Gov Dean, along with Rivers, Shumlin, Racine, Frieden, Ready, and the rest of that far left wing group realize that the New York Times is not wrong, the Wall Street Journal is not wrong, the people of Vermont are not wrong, Education Revenue Sharing is not wrong -THEY ARE WRONG!!! Act 60 opponents and the national media are not right wing. Act 60 opponents are the moderates. Act 60 opponents are the center. These democratic honchos are the extremists and the majority has no further use for them.

Jeffrey Pascoe
South Burlington

Vermont governor signs civil unions bill Advocate.com
Wednesday, April 26, 2000 / 08:42 PM
Vermont governor Howard Dean on Wednesday signed the civil unions bill passed by the state legislature, making the state the first in the nation to grant legal recognition to gay and lesbian couples. Vermont governor Howard Dean on Wednesday signed the civil unions bill passed by the state legislature, making the state the first in the nation to grant legal recognition to gay and lesbian couples. "I think it is a courageous and powerful statement about who we are in the state of Vermont," Dean said. "I also believe that this legislation speaks to the heart of this state and certainly to my heart." Under the law gay and lesbian couples will be able to register their relationships with the state. In return they will be granted the same rights and responsibilities as married couples. The effect of the measure is limited to state law and will not affect federal statutes on such matters as taxes and immigration. The law is the result of a state supreme court ruling last year mandating the state to grant gay and lesbian couples the same status as married couples under state law.

Interview with Gov. Howard Dean

Dean appeared confident and focused during the interview. DEMOCRACY IN ACTION sought to fill in some biographical details of Dean's life before politics (PART I), touch on his political career and ascertain his views on leadership and politics (PART II), and raise a few issue questions (PART III). The opening question concerns the 1999 Champion land deal, the largest multi-state conservation project in U.S. history, through which 133,000 acres in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont were set aside, although the issue continued to be hotly debated in the General Assembly during 2002.

Dr. Who? For President
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By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 25, 2002; Page C01

Quote:
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 17, 2003; Page A24


Former Vermont governor Howard Dean will offer a broad and blistering critique of President Bush's policy toward Iraq today -- and sharp criticism as well of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination -- in a speech asserting that Bush has not made the case for war and calling for United Nations weapons inspections to continue "as long as there is progress" toward disarmament.

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Reiner Endorsement Boosts Dean in Hollywood

Thu Feb 20, 7:45 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, among the least known and worst funded in the field of Democratic White House hopefuls, found a big bucks Hollywood backer on Thursday in liberal activist Rob Reiner.