Why won't Dean release his records until after the primaries?

[John_H]

Why does Dean think Dems don't have a right to be fully aware of his record before they select a candidate? Could it be that his record does not match his rhetoric?

Here's a sample of what he may be afraid of: Candidate Dean makes a lot of hay about his free heatlh care initiatives, as governor he proposed adding large "co-payments and deductibles to the medical bills of those who are covered by state-sponsored programs such as Dr. Dynasaur, VHAP and VSCRIPT"

In the same document, Dean used a little code for reduced services, saying that he would "Make sure that physicians, hospitals and other health care providers are aware of the costs of the tests and treatments they order, and are committed in a meaningful way to limiting them."

[maddezmom]

1. link? n/t

[Eloriel]

12. It's up to the judge in the Judicial Watch lawsuit against him

Go lobby him or her. This matter is out of Dean's hands. I've read here, but did not see independent verification, that Dean isn't even retaining an attorney re the matter, just leaving what if anything gets released to the judge.

[SEAburb]

28. No, Dean could have them unsealed at anytime

More disinformation.

[Raya]

44. The Dean Disinformation Machine is Incredible!!! SLICK HOWIE?

I has already been reported that (1) Dean could personally authorize release of documents; (2) the "let a judge decide" maneuver will ensure that no access to the documents will occur till after the early primaries. It is all a repeat of Bush and Rove in 2000.

I should be obvious, that the media attention to the Governors sealed records indicates that the length the Governor continues to go to maintaing secrecy is out of the ordinary.

The lack of candor in the Dean camp scares me. It should
scare all of us.

[Andromeda]

45. You're misinformed...

Dean HAS already had SOME of his records revealed. About 40% of them to be exact. Dean divers (translation: people examining the records) have been going into Vermont in droves to look over Deans files. The judges will decide which ones will go public and which ones will remain confidential.

Dean cannot now take it upon himself to unseal unexamined records. It is out of his hands and in the jurisdiction of the legal system.

[arcane1]

2. Bush has been president for 3 years now...

and HIS records as governor of TX are STILL sealed

why won't Bush release his records, EVER? :shrug:

[John_H]

11. I agree, which is exactly why Dean should release his records

to show that he's got nothing to hide.

[arcane1]

17. "show me yours I'll show you mine"

is what he should say

[ryharrin]

26. I believe he DID say that.

People here called it childish. There's no pleasing them.

[arcane1]

33. no, there is not.. true indeed

I'm a Kucinich guy myself, but I applaud Dean in this plan. Why SHOULD he be attacked for sealing his records, and nobody will even MENTION Bush?


let's put both records side-by-side


as Bush himself said (about Iraq): "we expect there to be transparency. People who have got something to hide make us nervous"

No shit George, no shit...

[Warpy]

35. you may be missing the point.

Holding off on releasing all his records until after the primaries will cause the right wing smear machine to scramble madly to pick out pieces, tell half the truth, and spin it into lies smearing his character, his record, and his dog. We know what those thugs are all about. I think he's doing the right thing, holding off until after the primaries are over.

[DemBones DemBones]

43. Keep up to date, folks, Bush's records are in the Texas Archives

and open to the public. Yes, he hid them in Poppy's presidential library but the state attorney general ruled he had to put them in the archives.

Some people are saying they're not really open because you have to go through lots of red tape to see them. But archives are supposed to preserve documents so they have to control access to prevent theft and/or damage. Are they as open as they should be? Who knows? Somebody should check it out.

Dean's records need to be in the Vermont Archives, and at least as open and accessible as Bush's records are, preferably more so to prove Dems are better than the GOP.

[xultar]

3. Smart move, Dean wants to lock up the nomination first, then

records after the votes are cast just in cast there is something in there that might affect his reputation with democratic primary voters.

If I were in his shoes I'd play it like that also. All is fair in love and war.
GO DEAN!

[blm]

6. So general election voters deserve truth more than Dem primary voters?

That's the resulting message isn't it?

[HFishbine]

14. Baseless

And your basing this on what? Who said Dean is waiting until after the primaries to release his records?

[AP]

20. Nominee will be decided by March 9th (is it?). Wheels of jusitice turn...

....slowly, and Dean needs time. Longer it takes, the less likely people will be able to comb through the stuff and find the answers.

And you have to ask yourself, do judges tend to protect the interests of corporations, or the public these days. In a case like this, I sure hope that the judge wasn't appointed by Republicans.

[AP]

7. Yes. Dean wants Bush to be president for four more years.

Dear Dr Dean,

If you're not going to release your records before the primaries, please don't EVER release them. I still want a Democrat to win in 2004, even if it's you. Releasing your records AFTER the primary, but before the general election will doom us to four more years of Bush. Please don't tell me this is your plan.

Yours sincerely,
A Concernced Voter

[HFishbine]

4. Link?

Since you cite a "document" can we read it?

And, btw, who says Dean won't release his records until after the primary? A source for that would be informative too.

[John_H]

13. I found it cleaning out my files. I'd be happy to e-mail a scanned copy

to anyone who PMs me an email address.

[HFishbine]

15. Use my Yahoo address

[e-mail]

Thanks.

[John_H]

22. HERE'S THE DOC

Lots of people wanted this so I just OCSed it rather than send twenty five emails.

I think I got all the OCS mistakes--any typos are from the scan, not the author of the release.

What's sad is that dean ought to be proud of his moderate, fiscally resposible record outlined in this press release. Why one earth is Dean running away from a record of moderate, bi-partisanism, tax cuts, fiscal responsibility?

Note that moderate Governor Dean is unwilling to mention Civil Union ruling by name in the sentence that refers to it. Now he mentions it every chance he gets.

GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN OUTLINES VISION FOR VERMONT’S FUTURE IN STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

VERMONT SHOULD REMAIN TRUE TO ITS TRADITIONAL VALUES WHILE IMPLEMENTING BOLD PLAN FOR THE NEW CENTURY

Date: January 13, 2000 Contact:
For Release: Immediate

Burlington, VT: Governor Howard Dean outlined a common sense agenda for Vermont’s 2000 legislative session and called on legislators to help him lay a solid foundation that will keep Vermont’s values and promise alive well into the new century.
“The Vermont of 2100 ought to be a place where the lakes still shine; where family farms still form the backbone of our character; where our towns and cities are still distinct, with a strong sense of community; where our schools provide a world-class education, financed fairly so we afford equal opportunities to every child in every town,” the governor said.
Reminding legislators that their bipartisan support has resulted in better schools, the largest tax cut in the history of Vermont, the fewest children in America without health insurance, and the highest bond rating in New England, the governor centered his speech on his vision for education, health care, and equal justice.
Governor Dean believes that controlling health care costs should be the principal goal of this legislative session. The governor proposed improving the financial reviews of hospitals, and enabling the Vermont Program for Quality Health Care to expand its in-depth review of medical procedures, health care costs and, most importantly, outcomes. The governor will also propose legislation to.
· Get the public more involved in cost control efforts.
· Add co-payments and deductibles to the medical bills of those who are covered by state-sponsored programs such as Dr. Dynasaur, VHAP and VSCRIPT.
· Make sure that physicians, hospitals and other health care providers are aware of the costs of the tests and treatments they order, and are committed in a meaningful way to limiting them.

--more--

--2—

Governor Dean pledged to keep Vermont in the forefront of the struggle for equal justice under the law. He asked the legislature to help in preparing schools and communities for the new opportunities offered by Vermont's increasing ethnic diversity by funding diversity training grants for teachers and by supporting the Coming Home Foundation, which will increase leadership potential of students who are Vermonters of color. He also urged all Vermonters to make every effort to comply with a new state Supreme Court ruling, which confirms that all Vermonters are to have equal benefits under the law.

The coming Century will require Vermonters to rethink the integration of the state’s educational system. “We cannot afford to be constrained by the vision of schools as kindergarten through 12th grade. The future requires a wider lens that sees education as preschool through college, post-college, and life-long learning opportunities,” said Governor Dean.
Since higher education will change the most in the future, Governor Dean will focus on preparing Vermont’s students to take advantage of technical education both at the secondary and post-secondary levels, including the Internet and other distance learning technology.
Governor Dean called also called on the legislature to:

· Devote $325 million to preserve and maintain paved roadways and bridges, support Vermont’s 120,000 statewide rail passengers and the 3 million tons of freight which trains carry each year.

· Make sure that the programs put in place can be fiscally sustainable.


###

[HFishbine]

29. Source

Who's the source and is that the complete document?

[maddezmom]

30. see post #21

[HFishbine]

31. Different document

Hmmm.

[maddezmom]

32. hmmm indeed

[John_H]

36. hmmmmm, what ?

One's a speech, one's a press release about the speech. SOP.

Sorry folks, the words I quoted are right out of Dean's mouth according to post 21--he wanted to raise health care costs for low income families and urged doctors to cut services.

You're not going to be able to run from Dean's record on DU--there are many more. In fact, I forgot I had all these press releases until someone challenged me about my opining that he's distorting his record. I appreciate the reminder.

Tomorrow we'll read about Dean bragging about his tax cutting and about a letter from governors' to clinton he signed about the WTO meeting.

[Pastiche423]

5. It is up to the judge

in the case, not Dean.

It might help you to understand what is going on if you kept current on the situation.

[kentuck]

8. Why won't Bush release Reagan's record after 12 years ?

As the law states...

[DemBones DemBones]

42. Is Ronald Reagan running for the Democratic nomination?

Nope. But Howard Dean is and he ought to open his records. Not to do so makes him look like he has something to hide.

We can't call the GOP on hiding stuff if our guys are doing the same.

[stickdog]

9. They might show him to be -- gasp --

a moderate, mainstream, fiscally responsible near left Democrat.

[John_H]

16. Exactly. His running away from that record is exactly why I switched.

[stickdog]

41. To whom? (nt)

[Malva Zebrina]

10. Hmm

I wonder just what does that mean. Doctors order too many tests? Perhaps the doctor has an investment, or even owns, the laboratory that does the tests.:shrug: It may not necessarily mean a limitation , but a criticism of extraneous tests or lab work that is not really applicable or necessary .

[PSR40004]

18. What if...

The records show he's alot more conservative then he's letting on and doesn't want the records on show till he wins the primaries and needs that slide right to win nationally?

[tsipple]

19. Ask the Vermont Attorney General and Sec'y of State

My understanding is that it's out of Dean's hands now. Dean requested ten years' seal on some records just before he left office, and the AG and SoS agreed, but they make that policy. (Dean's no longer in office and has no executive authority in the matter. These are state records in state custody, not personal records.)

There's a lawsuit pending, and Dean has agreed that the judge in that case ought to decide which documents to release, if any. (He's not fighting the lawsuit.)

Do you have information to the contrary in this matter? What else do you want him to do, go hire some burglars to raid the state archives?

Nixon did that.

[Raya]

23. Phony Like Dean. Dean has full rights to release them himself.

These are public documents that are only sealed on the Governor's request. Typically Vermont Govenors were granted 6 year seal. Dean requested 20+.

See Washington Post article (among others).

UNTIL DEAN OPENS THE RECORD, I HAVE TO BELIEVE HE IS DIRTY.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57807-2003Dec11.html

[janx]

25. Actually, his lawyer requested it.

But since Judicial Watch (you seem to like them) has sued, Dean is pretty much letting the judge decide what should and should not be released.

As he has pointed out, this would be the most honest way to go about things. If he, his lawyer, or his campaign decided, people would naturally have objections and suspicions.

[AP]

38. That's lame. Vermonters own those records and Dean shouldn't hide behind

the judge.

He knows the judge will take a while to work through the records. There are thousands of pages. It's a delay tactic that wastes time and public resources.

[murielm99]

24. It is very understandable that Dean would want the records sealed.

Remember Willie Horton? The repubs combed the records to find anything they could to smear Dukakis.

They are probably looking for just that sort of thing to use against Dean. I do not blame him at all. It was a smart move.

He should be telling shrub to hand over his records...first. And we should all be doing the same. Instead of questioning Dean, question shrub. He has a lot more to account for, people.

I am not necessarily a Dean supporter. I will vote for him if he is the nominee, of course. But I am sick of this divisiveness. Save it for shrub and his gang!

[Tinoire]

21. Here's the source. It's from an address

Vermont Governor Howard Dean

Governor's Address
January 04, 2001
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, members of the General Assembly and fellow Vermonters:

<snip>

But the principle issue this year in health care is controlling costs.

I propose improving our financial reviews of hospitals, and enabling the Vermont Program for Quality Health Care to expand its in-depth review of medical procedures, health care costs and most importantly -- outcomes.

We must get the public more involved in cost control efforts.

We must add co-payments and deductibles to the medical bills of those who are covered by state-sponsored programs such as Dr. Dynasaur, VHAP and VSCRIPT.

And we must make sure that physicians, hospitals and other health care providers are aware of the costs of what they order, and are committed in a meaningful way to limiting them.

Finally, we must take responsibility for the costs of our own behavior. Our personal choices have a big effect on our individual health care costs, but they also have a big effect on the insurance premiums for all of us.

There are those who have blamed the large increase in insurance rates on the cost shift in Medicaid. But the largest cost shift by far in the medical system comes from Medicare, a federal program over which the State of Vermont has very little influence. The dramatic decrease in Medicare funding -- along with increased utilization and drug costs -- have created this one-year extraordinary increase in health insurance premiums.

State-passed mandates have contributed about 25 percent of this year's increase in insurance premiums. Many of these I have supported. But this year I ask the Legislature not to pass any additional mandates.

I also ask the Legislature not to enact a legal provision which would allow additional lawsuits against HMOs and employers. Vermont has the strongest patient protection law in the country regarding HMO's, and opening insurance companies and employers to lawsuits will only drive the price of insurance still higher.

We cannot vote on the one hand to expand insurance coverage and increase the cost of liability insurance, and then go out in an election year and point the finger elsewhere for the increase in health care costs.

Most vexing of all is the enormous increase in pharmaceutical prices. I will continue to urge Congress to allow Vermonters to buy medications from Canada at the wholesale and at the retail level. ((GOOD DEAN!)) In the meantime, I ask the Legislature to explore many of the ideas to have been put forward on bulk buying. I applaud legislative leaders for their initiative in putting together a regional effort to deal with pharmaceutical costs.

We have two choices: Health care can be a divisive campaign issue for the 2000 elections. If it is, little of consequence will be done in this legislative session. Our other choice is to work together to deal with increased pharmacy costs, high utilization, and under-reimbursement. I extend the hand of cooperation to every member of this Legislature, regardless of their party affiliation, to work in a constructive way together to bring health care costs back under control, as they have been during most of the 1990s.

<snip>

http://www.nga.org/governors/1,1169,C_SPEECH%5ED_811,00.html

[madfloridian]

34. I don't see much wrong with what he said there.

Most of it sounds very reasonable. He sounds sensible.

This just says don't add additional:
"I also ask the Legislature not to enact a legal provision which would allow additional lawsuits against HMOs and employers. Vermont has the strongest patient protection law in the country regarding HMO's, and opening insurance companies and employers to lawsuits will only drive the price of insurance still higher....."

Thanks for posting.

[John_H]

37. That's my point. I like his actual record. Apparently he doesn't.

[mzmolly]

27. See here...Deans Republican successor defends him...

3) Everyone thinks that Dean should go against nationwide gubernatorial precedent and release the records.

His Republican successor in Vermont doesn't think so, and defends Dean thus:

Governor Jim Douglas says that he doubts that Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is trying to conceal any major secrets in the gubernatorial records that have been sealed for a 10-year period. Douglas says there's a good reason why some records are taken out of public view for a number of years.... Douglas says he's not sure what the appropriate time frame is for a governor to seal their records. He says a six-year period was chosen for Madeleine Kunin because she had been in office for that amount of time.

In other words, since Dean was governor of Vermont for eleven years, a ten-year period is, if anything, short by a year.

http://www.americanpolitics.com/20031204Baker.html

[Padraig18]

39. Everyone should, or no one should!

The double standard is getting disgusting; everyone running has 'records', and if they are not willing to release THEIRS, then they should SHUT THE FUCK UP!

:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:
:grr:

[Myra]

40. Probably because he's the candidate of corporate 'Merka

And his records prove it.

Mind you this is only wild speculation on my part.
But sealed records lead to wild speculation, as former Governor
Dean pointed out when he was criticizing the lack of a 911 commission.