Gephardt, in Iowa, assails Howard Dean's Record

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3139323,00.html

by MIKE GLOVER

Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt delivered a stinging criticism of rival Howard Dean Friday, likening him to Republican Newt Gingrich and linking Dean to past GOP policies to overhaul a bedrock program for seniors.

Intent on cutting Dean's advantage in Iowa - as well as energizing his own campaign - Gephardt used a speech to a union audience to assail Dean's past comments on Medicare and Social Security and tie him to one of the Democrats' political boogeymen - former House Speaker Gingrich, R-Ga.

``Howard Dean actually agreed with the Gingrich Republicans,'' said Gephardt, the Missouri congressman and former House Democratic leader who battled with Gingrich in the 1990s.

``It was in this period when Gingrich said Republicans wouldn't immediately kill Medicare. Instead, they would let it wither on the vine,'' Gephardt said. ``And it was also during this time that Howard Dean, as chairman of the National Governors Association, was supporting Republican efforts to scale back Medicare.''

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[Duder]

1. Dean: Gephardt Resorting to Politics of the Past

MANCHESTER--Governor Howard Dean, M.D., issued the following statement this afternoon:

"I consider Dick Gephardt -- a man I campaigned for 16 years ago -- a friend of mine. But I am deeply saddened that he has chosen to resort to the politics of the past by engaging in name-calling, guilt by association and scare tactics.

"It is a sad day for Dick Gephardt when he compares any Democratic candidate running for President to Newt Gingrich and his divisive policies. No Democrat in the presidential race bears any resemblance to Newt Gingrich on any major issue. And for Dick Gephardt to suggest otherwise is simply beyond the pale.

"It is the politics of the past, and attacks like these, that have caused so many people to opt out of the political process. My campaign is about bringing those people back in, by offering a positive vision of the future, real solutions to America's problems, and by restoring a politics of meaning and a sense of community in political discourse."

http://www.blogforamerica.com/

[LuminousX]

2. I agree

A totally uncalled for comparison. A good move by Gephardt though as his campaign has lost its luster, like it has always each and every time he has run from President. This will at least get Gephardt's name mentioned in the press for awhile, but unfortunately the headlines will all read "Dean attacked by rival".

[blm]

3. "name-calling" like "Bushlite" Howie?

Or implying that the other candidates were from the Republican wing of the Democratic party?

You reap what you sow. Gephardt was NEVER going to take the hits for long. He was just holding fire till Dean was big enough to smack down.

[LuminousX]

6. smack down? Gephardt?

This is as rough as Gephardt plays and it isn't rough enough.

[blm]

7. It's early....Gephardt is tougher

than many give give him credit for.

SBNA want to point to compromises he made with a tough White House, but never bother to compare those few compromises with the many Dean made with the less formidable GOP forces in Vermont. Heck...the Biden-Lugar bill was a compromise version of the resolution, but, somehow Dean gets painted as a staunch antiwar candidate.

Disregard Gephardt's metal at your own risk.

[LuminousX]

8. He is a proven loser

Again, I applaud the attack, it is a good move. As a Dean supporter, though, I don't think it will have any affect.

[maxomai_vs_rove]

4. Gep is exaggerating. Again.

It's true that Dean sided with Gingrich on this issue, but with good reason. The Gingrich proposal was to have the government fund several alternatives to Medicare, and leaving the choice of programs up to individuals. Gingrich later commented that given the choice, most people would choose the alternatives, and Medicare would be left to "wither on the vine" from lack of subscribers.

Gephardt and others made it sound like Gingrich was going to simply revoke funding for Medicare, and leave Medicare beneficiaries out to dry. This was never the case. Dean's support of the program came from his own experiences with Medicare as an MD. It's a total mess, and it needs reform -- reforms not unlike what Clinton, Dean, Kucinich, and yes even Gephardt have proposed.

Gep took Gingrich out of context then, and he's taking him out of context now. It's despicable behavior.

[no name no slogan]

12. "free market" healthcare doesn't work. Just look at our current sytem

Gingrich's plan was just a backdoor way to destroy Medicare and replace it with some "free market" system that would leave everyone paying more and getting less, but would fatten the wallets of the for-profit insurance industry.

Beware of anybody who wants to give you "choice" in your basic government services. Chances are, you're about to get screwed.

[sandnsea]

16. So this is TRUE?

I was writing it off as exaggeration. Are you saying Dean promotes privatized Medicare as a personal preference? If so, do you happen to have any resource at all, or any idea where to look, because I would like to read his words for myself. I don't like Dean because of all the worship surrounding him, but this is very different.

[flpoljunkie]

5. More from Gephardt...

In December 1995, Dean, then Vermont governor, advocated making government-run, fee-for-service Medicare a wholly managed health care program, saying savings from the switch could be used to help Medicare recipients pay for prescription drugs. Dean acknowledged that balancing the budget would mean making some unpopular decisions, including changing Medicare.

The Republican-controlled House, following the lead of Gingrich, passed a Medicare overhaul bill in 1995 that would have resulted in savings of $270 billion from the program over seven years. Democrats warned that the move was political suicide and would cost Republicans with voters, particularly seniors.

Said Gephardt Friday: ``We, as Democrats, cannot afford any ambiguity on the question of who will better protect our seniors.''

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. "Kerry, in the Senate, praises Gingrich Revolution"

MR. RUSSERT: But there’s a lot of discussion in the ’90s about you trying to cast off some of the orthodoxy of the Democratic Party, being described as a New Democrat. What caught a lot of people’s attention was the 1994 election, when the Republicans won both houses of Congress, Newt Gingrich became speaker of the House, and this is what you told the Boston Herald: “Sen. John F. Kerry broke from Democratic Party ranks, saying he was ‘delighted’ by the GOP election purge and laying the blame on the doorstep of President Clinton and arrogant House leaders. ...‘I want this change. I’m delighted with seeing an institutional shakeup because I think we need one,’ Kerry said in a Herald interview. ‘The Democrats have articulated in the last two years a very poor agenda. It’s hard for me to believe that some of these guys could have been as either arrogant or obtuse as to not know where the American people were coming from.’ Kerry deliberately set himself apart from Kennedy...He said Kennedy and Clinton’s insistence on pushing health care reform was a major cause of the Democratic Party’s problems
at the polls. When told his calls for ‘change’ did not match Kennedy’s re-election rhetoric, Kerry smiled and said: ‘I’m amazed people didn’t pick up on it.’”
MR. RUSSERT: You were clearly separating yourself from Clinton and from Kennedy on the issue of health care...
SEN. KERRY: I was upset, Tim.

http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/960385.asp

[flpoljunkie]

10. The rest of the exchange between Russert and Kerry on MTP...

By the way, I think Clinton blew it on health care big time, and failed to even put forward the most important thing--public campaign financing--something Kerry has supported for many years!

 MR. RUSSERT: You were clearly separating yourself from Clinton and from Kennedy on the issue of health care...
       SEN. KERRY: I was upset, Tim.
       MR. RUSSERT: ...and delighted by Newt Gingrich?
       SEN. KERRY: No, I was upset at what had happened in 1994. And if you recall, many of us were pressing for campaign finance reform. We wanted to achieve campaign finance reform while we had both houses and the presidency. I, in fact, visited with President Clinton at the time with Bill Bradley and Senator Joe Biden. That agenda we didn’t get. On health care, I did not sign on to President Clinton’s plan. I had a different approach. I thought we should have done something less complicated. We had a compromise which Bill Bradley, Senator Chafee, Senator Dole, a group were working on. Now, you  know, it didn’t work either. Sometimes in politics and in life you take a different course from what’s expected of you. That’s leadership. I expressed a point of view of frustration and anger at the time. President Clinton, amazingly, turned around, did a number of extraordinary things, you know, came back from the 1994—and, you know, if you look at what Newt Gingrich said in his speech and then look at what he did, they were two different things. I was reacting to where, you know, there was a great deal of frustration in Washington. I do believe since then I stood up and fought almost everything Newt Gingrich did because he proved that rhetoric and actions are two different things.

[LuminousX]

11. Interesting Pattern

First supporting someone and then discovering that the agenda isn't quite right and then spending time fighting against it.

I'll be the first to say that two instances don't really make a pattern, but I found it an odd coincidence.

[BrewCrew]

14. ok.

Because of trade stances, Gephardt is my guy, but I really like Dean. The thing I don't get though is his response. It has nothing to do with the issue. Have you guys read the Gephardt speech?

I'm more alarmed by Dean's harsh words toward medicare. He called it "the worst federal program ever" and advocated cutting medicare, medicaid, and social security to balance the budget.

I personally disagree with this. As Democrats those are programs we just don't touch. What I would like to hear from Dean is that these programs are off the table and that he won't cut them if elected.

http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/*/1929

[sandnsea]

17. Supporting a shakeup

I didn't read that he particularly supported Gingerich. Being very frustrated that he thought there was an opportunity to really move forward with a Democratic President and then have them put out a health care plan that he never thought the people would support. Gingerich coming in shook that up. But his actions didn't match his words. That happens all the time. That's why people get voted out of office.

Dean 'evolves' every two weeks, Kerry must say 5 words and stick to those 5 words his entire life.

[LuminousX]

18. So which is it?

Is it okay to evolve or isn't it. If you say it is okay for a candidate to allow his position to change over time, that is great, that is a correct position. But if you say it isn't, then you must chastise Kerry for this. Okay, not chastise because it isn't that big of a deal. More like raise an eyebrow halfway and give a wry smile as you mumble, "Ah, c'mon."

[sandnsea]

20. Dean doesn't evolve

He's just flat wishy-washy. He hasn't taken a clear position on anything since day one.

Kerry, on the other hand, speaks out. He supported a different approach to policy back in 1994, but when he saw Gingerich wasn't getting it done, he spoke out against it. He went to Vietnam because he thought it was his duty, when he realized what was going on, he spoke out against it. He supported confronting the situation in Iraq, but when Bush was more interested in going to war than actually confronting Iraq in a sensible manner, he spoke out against it. He knows his position, when other people don't do what they said they would is when he speaks out. It's as clear as a bell to me and consistent throughout his life.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. That's funny.

Which Kerry to believe? The 1994 Kerry or the 2003 Kerry?

Since you're a supporter, I'll take your advice.

[blm]

15. Well. it's like seeing the silver lining in Bush stealing 2000.

The BFEE has exposed it's world agenda and all its' players, which, if they hadn't taken office may have given them another 4 years to work out their imperialistic plans more thoroughly, and in a way which could have made them unstoppable.

To say good can come from something bad is hardly unusual. He was happy that those Dems who weren't paying attention got a wake-up call. Not the smartest thing for a politician to say out loud, but, understandable in context.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

19. I gotta chew on that one for a while.

.....thinking....thinking....

That's one crafty motherfucker.