Does this mean anything?

[Avalux]

There seems to be some question about Clark's allegiances - who he's voted for in the past - whether or not he's a real Democrat.
I have a question....tell me if it matters. Dean's father is described as a staunch Republican. Clark's father was a Democrat; so was his stepfather. Not trying to cause a fuss, just tired of the labels. We all know one Zell Miller who calls himself a Democrat but isn't.

[Cocoa]

1. it matters some

but this is the kind of thing where endorsements matter. You see Charles Rangel endorse Clark and you figure he's not a republican anymore.

[bigtree]

2. that's why issues matter

Rep. Rangel is my hero on most issues, trench liberal, but his advocation of the draft has me looking askance at his recent pronouncements.

Gotta take the General for a General. Not much else to judge him on 'cept his words. Most of his rhetoric at present is Democratic, but most of his words (and some of his actions) in the past have given aid and comfort to Republicans. I couldn't feel confident that he wouldn't provide a sympathetic place for them in the future. At least if he had the full reign of the leadership.

[sandnsea]

3. What does he think

I don't particularly care how he voted. Whatever. Kind of like the war vote. The vote isn't important, the reasons behind the vote and the intentions of the vote are what's important.

I want to know what he thought of the Reagan years at the time and in retrospect. Very specifically. Tax cuts. Military spending deficits. Proxy wars. Air traffic controllers. Cold war. All of it.

I can't imagine a Democrat voting for someone who voted for Reagan without knowing all of that. If he doesn't know what was bad about the Reagan years, how the heck can you expect him not to do the same things???

[Avalux]

4. Good suggestion

I think an email to the Clark campaign with what you've pointed out is warranted.

[sandnsea]

6. I think Clark needs to answer this in public

Under the scrutiny of the media and the other candidates in a debate. I want to hear his words out of his own mouth, not some hashed over campaign policy sheet.

[windansea]

7. Clark has explained his votes

He voted for Reagan because he was "strong on defense"

In a sense you could say Clark, as a General, was voting for his "constituents"....the men and women in the military.

[rhite5]

5. It matters a lot.

Clark has never held a public office. Never been in a situation where his votes on issues were public or where his statements about issues were part of the public record. All we have are his campaign statements wth nothing to back them up. All other candidates (except Sharpton) have a public voting record at least.

It seems quite a reach to decide to walk into a Presidential campaign and run for President of the United States before you have ever sat on a City Council or in a State Legislature, let alone been a town Mayor or a State Governor.

When you add to this his admission of voting for Nixon and Reagan in the past, and his shifting statements about the Iraq invasion before deciding to be a candidate, I get pretty quesy. He and I are about the same age and lived through the same times. He sure did not see things the same way I did. Either that, or he was woefully politically unaware for a lot of years.

Voting for him means taking an awful lot on faith -- with nothing to back it up.

[Printer70]

8. YES, you got it- All we have are Clark's words, not ONE bill

Clark has not signed one bill proving he's dropped his conservative ideology overnight. I mean he praised Bush and Blair for their perseverance over the Iraq war in 2003. He's got a lot to prove and has proved nothing.