The Progressive Case for Dean

[mzmolly]

It's an older article, but it seems the same ol same ol keeps cropping up. So, I thought I'd repost...

Much worth the read! ;)

http://deandefense.org/archives/000596.html

(snip)

++ Military Spending: Dean has rightfully aroused anger and skepticism from progressives with his claims that he will not reduce military spending. It appears, however, that these statements are a political dodge of sorts to avoid media characterizations of Dean as the "antiwar candidate" and "weak on national security." Dean has told audiences that he would not reduce military spending but rather "redirect" it toward the development and implementation of renewable energy technology (an issue he ties to defense), homeland security measures to fund local first responders, inspect container ships and protect nuclear sites (a move that Alexander Cockburn himself recently called on Bush to make), and the purchase of old nuclear materials in Russia.

++ Military/Foreign Policy: Dean has called Bush's policy of renewed nuclear weapons development "insane" and opposes every significant component of "Star Wars" missile defense, declaring that any missile defense programs he would support will at least remain in compliance with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Dean also supports (with provisions, in some cases) the comprehensive nuclear test ban, the Law of the Sea Treaty, the Biological Warfare Convention Protocol and the International Criminal Court (a website for the United Nations Association of the United States lists Dean as an "outspoken supporter" of the ICC). Dean supports signing the 1997 Landmine Treaty and believes that a similar treaty should be used to ban cluster bombs.

...

++ Trade: Dean has pledged to renegotiate current trade agreements (including NAFTA) and oppose new trade agreements that do not require the enforcement of internationally recognized workers' rights and environmental standards. He will also "oppose any further rounds of the World Trade Organization agreements that do not make substantial progress on incorporating" these rights and standards. When asked about policy toward Africa and the Caribbean Basin at the NAACP Presidential Forum, Dean voiced his support for debt forgiveness and remarked that "we need to get the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank off the backs of these countries. ... he conditions that are attached mean that the whole country depends on a free market system in order to get food to the poorest people in that country. It doesn't make any sense at all. ... ow that we're imposing a Western economic model on African countries, we find there's famine. What a big surprise. We need to work cooperatively with African governments instead of telling them what to do." Dean was awarded the inaugural Paul Wellstone Award by the AFL-CIO in January 2003 for "Exceptional Support of Workers' Freedom to Form Unions," and maintained a 100% rating with the AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education while serving as a state representative. He is also a vocal proponent of workplace democratization, in which employees own the majority of a firm's stock.

++ Gun Legislation: The "A" rating that Dean has received from the NRA is chilling, but it has to be taken in context. As Lance Bukoff points out, "the NRA rating system is actually rather 'passive' in its assessment of politicians. Put simply but accurately, an 'A' rating is 'earned' by not voting for or promoting any laws which would restrict gun ownership. Dean observes that Vermont is not NYC or LA or Philadelphia. Vermont is a state where gun violence does not occur in any way significant enough to warrant restrictive gun control laws, unless you take the deer's point of view, of course. So he says Vermont does not need them, and he did not sign any, and he did not promote any as a governor, and as a consequence he gets an 'A' rating from the NRA, but not because he shares a duck blind with NRA members. He goes further. He says he supports the Brady bill, he supports the assault gun ban, and he supports closing the gun show sale loopholes. And he also tells voters in states like New York, 'We don't need gun control laws in Vermont, but you probably do, and if that's the case you should make them.'"

++ The Environment: Dean's Vermont "has one of the most progressive environmental programmes in America" according to the London Times. As former Vermont radio and television talk show host Jeff Kaufman points out, "During his decade in office, Governor Dean helped protect more land from development than all previous governors combined; ... he administered a 'best practices' agriculture plan that preserves land and water quality; he helped form the nation's first statewide energy efficiency utility (preventing more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 2000); and he championed a commuter rail system to lower traffic congestion and pollution while diminishing urban sprawl (in its last report on sprawl, the Sierra Club ranked Vermont as the second best state in America for land use planning)." Vermont also followed California's lead in establishing regulations on greenhouse gas emissions that go beyond standards set in the Kyoto Protocol. According to the New York Times, Dean "is calling for the auto industry to build cars that get 40 miles per gallon by 2015 and for 20 percent of the nation's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. ... s president he would close the loophole that exempts sport utility vehicles from gas-mileage standards, ... make the Environmental Protection Agency cabinet level and work to re-establish the Clinton administration rules limiting roads in national forests." Even when Dean was judged less favorably on environmental issues, the executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council Elizabeth Courtney recognizes that pressing economic circumstances impacted his decisions ("in the early 90s the rest of the country seemed to be pulling out of the recession and Vermont seemed to be languishing in it") and acknowledges Dean's general qualities as governor: "fresh candor and intelligence. You always know where Howard Dean stands. He is candid and honest in his communications with Vermonters, and he is appreciated for that. He's also very bright, and he has a clear sense of his direction." The San Francisco Chronicle reported that " Pope said that although the Sierra Club had some disagreements with Dean's land-use policies, Dean did 'fabulous things in Vermont.'"

++ Human Rights: Dean not only signed the first bill in the United States recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples, but did it six months before his gubernatorial election when it was opposed by two-thirds of Vermont's population. According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Dean differs from top-ranked Kucinich and Braun only on the issue of gay marriage, and is unique among top-tier Democrats in supporting federally-enforced equal rights legislation and GLBT-supportive education policies (Kerry and Gephardt only support state-based civil union legislation and both voted for "an amendment to the Improving America's Schools Act prohibiting federal funds 'for instructional materials, instruction, counseling, or other services on school grounds, from being used for the promotion of homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative'").

Dean, who sat on the board of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England for five years, is perhaps the strongest Democratic candidate in regard to abortion rights. The New Republic's coverage of a presidential forum on abortion rights mentioned that "Dean took partial-birth abortion, NARAL's most controversial and difficult-to-defend position, and made it the centerpiece of his speech, insisting that the term itself was an artifice manufactured by the right. 'This is an issue about nothing,' he proclaimed to the most boisterous applause of the evening." Dean strongly opposes parental notification and implemented a program in Vermont that provides specialized child care, health services and home visitation to all families, regardless of income. He wants to sign the UN's 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and ratify the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Apart from his platform and its flaws, however, Dean should be commended by progressives for accomplishing what social justice movements so often work toward and only rarely achieve - his campaign is creatively utilizing the internet to facilitate large-scale independent organizing, and drawing significant numbers of new and disillusioned voters into the political process, getting many of them to contribute their time and energy away from the computer screen.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. Why does Dean need a special website to defend himself from his own words?

[LuminousX]

3. Is that Dean's website?

Why don't all the candidates have a defense website to help extinguish lies, rumors, and GOP smears?

I don't think the Dean campaign is run from Billings, MT.

Domain ID: D98206561-LROR
Domain Name: DEANDEFENSE.ORG
Created On:28-May-2003 18:20:32 UTC
Last Updated On:28-Jul-2003 03:57:54 UTC
Expiration Date:28-May-2005 18:20:32 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:R91-LROR
Status:OK
Registrant ID:GODA-03188484
Registrant Name:Matt Singer
Registrant City:Billings
Registrant State/Province:Montana
Registrant Postal Code:59102
Registrant Country:US

edited to get rid of smileys

[brainshrub]

7. And where's Clarks website

As far as I can tell he hasn't proposed his healthcare plan, economic plan, how to deal with Iraq or pretty much anything else.

[JohnKleeb]

8. May I correct you

Fean isnt no Clarkie, hes a Kerry supporter.

[Andromeda]

22. Because of people...

who like to twist his words in order to use them against him. Know anybody like that?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

34. 'Quote' - the word is 'quote'

Twister -- that's that game the Dean supporters have to play to defend his words.

lol

[blm]

2. She credits Dean for Kerry's idea.

Kerry has tied renewable energy to national security for a few years now.

[mzmolly]

4. Who's she, Nico Pitney?

:shrug: And, does Kerry own the issues he and Dean happen to agree on? Nah.

[blm]

10. Dean never said Boo about it until the Defense $$$ issue

came up. Read Kerry's environmental speech and then the one Dean made some time afterwards and make your own call. Kerry actively worked on environmental issues for over 30 years.

[gully]

11. Dean was not in a position to get press until he began his run for the

Presidency. Kerry and Dean share some ideas ya know.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. No!

Dean stole everything good from Kerry! The fact that they're both Dems and might, just might, have a similar outlook on policies is an outrageous, scurrilous lie!

[LuminousX]

31. I agree

I see this as a moot point. If a policy is good, I don't care who is advocating it.

[LuminousX]

5. Renewable Energy = National Security

Sounds like a reasonable and solid position to take. Kerry originated it. Dean copied. Both stand by it.

-------
Renewable Energy Policy and Position regarding national security: Dean = Kerry by my accounting Dean has to surpass a candidate to get credit. Dean has to go above and beyond, so point goes to Kerry on this issue.

[Karmadillo]

6. Here's an essay responding point by point to Pitney's arguments

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0825-01.htm

A Progressive Case for Dean? Not Yet, Kucinich Is Still Our Man
by John Turri

<edit>

Let's grant Pitney's second premise: progressives should only support a candidate that supports public financing and instant run-off voting. In that case, progressives should not support Dean. Dean says he supports publicly financed elections, but he is unwilling to lead by example. Back in March, Dean said he would accept federal matching funds, and argued that all Democratic candidates should do so as well. Public financing is "a huge issue" that "most Democrats believe in," Dean said. Dean also said he had "always been committed to" public financing because it is "just something I believe in." Now that his fundraising is picking up, he's thinking about going back on his earlier commitment. "Could we change our mind? Sure," Dean said a week ago. What's more, Dean has rejected public financing before. In his bid for re-election as Vermont's governor in 2000, Dean "ended up rejecting the limits altogether and helped set what was, up to then, an all-time record level of spending on a governor's race ."

Dean has been less than outspoken in his support for instant run-off voting (IRV). During a Google search and a Lexis-Nexis database search, I was able to find exactly one quote from Dean supporting IRV. "You have to have instant runoff voting," said Dean at an Iowa fundraiser in January 2003. However, a search of Dean's official website yields zero results for "instant run-off voting." Does he really support IRV? If so, is he willing to make it part of his campaign platform? For progressives who share Pitney's penchant for IRV, it would be nice if Dean clarified exactly how committed he is to IRV.

By contrast, Dennis Kucinich is crystal clear about his support for IRV. IRV is part of Kucinich's platform (see the section of his website entitled "Campaign Reform and IRV"). Kucinich also supports "comprehensive campaign finance reform and Clean Money public financing of the public's elections." Importantly, Kucinich has not wavered in his commitment to accept public financing of his campaign. Consequently, if he were to win the Presidency, he could, without hypocrisy, pressure Congress to move on the issue. What's more, Kucinich's support for electoral reforms goes far beyond Pitney's demands. Among other things, Kucinich supports proportional representation (PR). In light of the Texas redistricting debacle, and the problem of gerrymandering more generally, PR is arguably just as important as IRV is for the development and flourishing of viable third parties and achieving fundamental reform.

Moving on to Pitney's third premise, what should we make of the claim that progressives should only support someone with a chance at defeating Bush? There are at least two reasons to doubt it. First, as Jonathan Schell remarks, "Victory does not come through the ballot box alone. It sometimes comes by circuitous paths. Electoral politics should be played to win, yet changing hearts and minds can at times be as important as changing the President.... When in doubt, it's best to err on the side of speaking the truth." Schell points to George McGovern's candidacy in 1972. McGovern lost, but his candidacy helped force an end to the Vietnam War. Second, one might justifiedly believe that supporting a long shot with passion, energy, and a superlative platform is worth taking the chance that he or she will likely lose.

Nevertheless, my guess is that most people will agree with Pitney here. So let's grant that progressives should only support an "electable" candidate. That still doesn't rule out Kucinich. An August 23 Newsweek poll of registered voters indicates that only 44% believe Bush deserves re-election, whereas 49% believe that he doesn't. That's a six-point swing from the previous month, and the worst re-election numbers for Bush yet. According to an August 20 Zogby poll, 48% of likely voters believe we need to elect a new President in 2004, as opposed to 45% who think Bush deserves re-election. Strikingly, 43% of likely voters would prefer any Democrat to Bush, while 43% would prefer Bush. That "any Democrat" is an empty vessel. Progressives should seize this opportunity to help pour progressive contents into that vessel.

more...

[gully]

13. The rebuttal is humerous...

Thanks for the chuckle.

[paulk]

14. it is these sort of posts

that engender so much bad will toward SOME Dean supporters.

You have said nothing.

You have insulted the poster.

You have insulted the intelligence of anyone here trying to make an honest decision toward the candidates.

[gully]

16. Insulted the poster? "SOME Dean supporters"????

You aren't implying that Dean supporters are any different then the supporters of other candidates are you?

What about SOME Clark supporters, SOME Kerry supporters, SOME Kucinich supporters?

When I said I found it humerous, I found it humerous! ~"Dean has been less than outspoken in his support for instant run-off voting (IRV). During a Google search and a Lexis-Nexis database search, I was able to find exactly one quote from Dean supporting IRV. "You have to have instant runoff voting," said Dean at an Iowa fundraiser in January 2003. However, a search of Dean's official website yields zero results for "instant run-off voting." Does he really support IRV? If so, is he willing to make it part of his campaign platform? For progressives who share Pitney's penchant for IRV, it would be nice if Dean clarified exactly how committed he is to IRV."

Thus, when I said the rebuttal was 'humerous' I really meant it.

Look at the positive Kucinich threads, you don't see many Dean posters interjecting their 'rebuttals'?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=550728

[Karmadillo]

19. Not sure it matters, but I wasn't insulted by your post. Your

concern about interjecting 'rebuttals' to positive threads does seem somewhat misplaced. DU is a discussion board, right? If you have something relevant to post on 'positive' Kucinich threads, I doubt anyone would object. They might disagree with you, but that's another matter.

My purpose in posting an article written specifically in response to the original article was simply to give DUers more information as to whether or not Dean is the candidate progressives should support. Perhaps others will find it more helpful than you did.

[mzmolly]

20. Gully aka Mzmolly here...

Trying out a new user name ;) Anyhow, I am glad you weren't offended. I just found the 'rebuttal' to me more of a sales pitch for Kucinich then an actual rebuttal KWIM?

I understand it's related for some who are interested in Dennis...

~Peace

PS Note the title of the piece:

"A Progressive Case for Dean? Not Yet, Kucinich Is Still Our Man." :)

[LuminousX]

18. I'm confused; please clarify

How did that reply to the 'rebuttal' insult the poster? I'm getting really tired of the dramatics. It's like watching a basketball game where every player overreacts to a touch or brush in hopes of having the ref call a foul.

Well, there are no refs.

[Karmadillo]

15. Excellent response. Thanks.

n/t

[AP]

9. I have no idea how a fiscal conservative...

...who worships at the altar of balanced budgets (like Hoover) and says that he doesn't have the zeal for effecting policy through the tax code like every single progressive Democrat ever, and who asks the Cato Institute to like him for these ECONOMIC reasons, can possibly be considred a progressive.

[gully]

12. There's that Cato institute drivel again....

Read the actual article, you'll see why.

You forgot to note that Clinton also 'worshiped balanced budgets.'

In addition, the rainy day fund Dean put aside is surely a help to Vermont today.

I look forward to someone to stop the borrow and spend economics of the Bush White House.

Did you know that with your $350 tax cut, you are paying $1000 plus interest on the national debt. In addition each family will owe more then $50K with in ten years unless we do something about the current budget deficit. The so called tax cut is a sham, sorry if you bought it. I didn't, and neither did Dean.

GO DEAN!!

[dsc]

17. Every time I have seen you say this

I have asked if you have a source for it asside from teh Weekly Standard. Do you?

[Octafish]

21. Ted Rall says "Dean is no Liberal."

Love Me, I'm (Not Really) a Liberal

Liberal Democrats Project Their Desires onto Howard Dean

By Ted Rall

MONTPELIER, VERMONT--Howard Dean, media-anointed Lord of the Left and Prince Protector of Progressivism, is surfing a tsunami of Democratic discontent that could carry him to the White House. But as Vermonters tell anyone who's willing to listen, the former governor they call "Ho-Ho" is at best a leftie-come-lately. "The Howard Dean you are seeing on the national scene is not the Dean that we saw around here for the last decade. He's moved sharply left," says John McClaughry of the Ethan Allen Institute, a rightie think tank, of Dean's campaign rhetoric.

Vermont created proto-gay marriage "civil unions" during Dean's term--but that was the state Supreme Court's doing, not his. Even though Vermont's constitution didn't require him to balance the budget, he was a fierce deficit hawk who vetoed proposed Democratic spending. He sided with ski resort owners over environmentalists. And when big business called, he always picked up the phone. "We would meet privately with him three to four times a year to discuss our issues, and his secretary of commerce would call me once a week just to see how things were going," gushes IBM's John O'Kane.

According to Vermonters, Dean is a shrewd operator who saw millions of anti-Iraq war demonstrators last spring for what they were: untapped Democratic primary voters. A few well-placed verbal broadsides spread his reputation as the only presidential contender willing to go after Bush while other Democrats remained silent or supported his war. His opportunistic Bush-bashing attracted liberal voters tired of being taken for granted and disgusted by do-nothing "Republican Lite" Dems.

Liberals are driving Dean's come-from-nowhere campaign, but they don't share his take on most issues. "If he gets the nomination, he'll run back to the center and be more mainstream," predicts Republican resort owner Bill Stenger. "He was not a left-wing wacko."

Even as Joe Lieberman berates Dean for pulling the Democratic Party too far left, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich attacks him from the left, as nothing more than another Clinton--a Democrat in name only. "If someone wants to be a fiscal conservative, a good place to start is the Pentagon budget and he's already taken it off the table," rages Kucinich. (Dean on the military: "I don't think you can cut the defense budget.") "How in the world can you be for peace when you won't touch a Pentagon budget that needs war to expand, that needs war in order to justify itself?"

http://thomasmc.com/0813b.htm

BTW: A hearty welcome to du, MZMOLLY!

[KaraokeKarlton]

23. Dean has NEVER claimed to be a liberal

He has always said he's a moderate/centrist. The press are the ones calling him a liberal and ANYONE who is a member here and takes what the press says as gospel is a goddamned fool. There, I said it! Every damn person who is pissing and moaning about how Dean is supposedly misrepresenting himself as a liberal SHOULD know full well that it's the press that put that label on Dean and apparently some DU members are so gullible as to think the press is always right. Either that or they choose to believe the press when it's convenient for THEIR candidate.

[Pez]

24. that's not what a bajillion (oh-oh fake number!!!) of his supporters think

maybe they're just uninformed, but everyone i talk to who supports him thinks he is uberLiberal. then i point out reasons why he is not in fact liberal and they are confused. dean welcomes this misrepresentation... by saying things like "democratic wing of the democratic party". what, that isn't supposed to mean "liberal"? and this has nothing to do with the press. well not on my part anyway. (i don't think deanies should be complaining about the press btw...)

you can discount my post because i used a fake number in the subject and i don't have links to my conversations.

[gully]

29. Why do we have to label Dean anything, liberal-centrist etc..

All the candidates are individuals and have issues they are more liberal on then others.

Dean shares my concerns and values, that's why I'm voting for him. I could care less wether you call him a liberal, centrist, or a progressive.

[blm]

25. Dean is not responsible for saying HE represented the Democratic wing

of the party while labeling those whose records were way to his left as Bushlite. Nope, Dean cannot be held accountable for his own words and actions.

[Octafish]

26. Right. That's what his Blog is for.

Dean: Says THIS.
Blog: Meant THAT.
Dean: Says THIS.
Blog: Meant THAT.
Dean: Says THIS.
Blog: Meant THAT.
Dean: Says THIS.
Blog: Meant THAT.
Dean: Says THIS.
Blog: Meant THAT.
Dean: Says THIS.
Blog: Meant THAT.
Repeat ad infinitum per Joe Trippi.

[gully]

28. You saying he's not liberal enough for you?

So be it.

[blm]

32. Been saying so since end of January.

And was attacked for noticing he governed as a centrist back then by the very same people who complained about centrists ruining the party then turned around and praised Dean as a "pragmatist" for his centrism.

[LuminousX]

33. Then we are sorry...

You shouldn't have been attacked. You were right. Dean is a centrist, admittedly left of center, but still centrist.

Now what?

[gully]

27. The title is "The Progressive Case For Dean."

You'll have to determine if his progressive nature is 'liberal' enough for ya.

It is for me.