Gephardt 'Enron' Attack Misses the Mark

[dajabr]

He claims Dean aided Enron at the expense of Vermont’s needy. But Enron got nothing special, and the state GAINED revenue.

Summary

Dick Gephardt has been attacking Howard Dean for giving “huge tax breaks” to Enron while cutting aid to Vermont ’s poor. But Gephardt has failed to show that Enron got any special treatment. The inducements that Dean approved for setting up so-called “captive” insurance companies were available to any corporation, not just Enron. And far from hurting the state’s poor, revenue increased. In fact, taxes and fees from from Vermont's “captive” insurance companies more than doubled.

--snip--

Neither Gephardt nor anybody else has produced evidence that Enron got any special favors. And Dan Towle – the state official now in charge of the program – denies that Enron got anything more than any of the other 596 sponsors of Vermont captives. “To my knowledge, all captive programs pay at the rates disclosed in the law without exception,” Towle said in an e-mail to FactCheck.org.

More: http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docid=119

I'm taking this with a grain of salt because I am unfamillar with the source, but it seems to vindicate Dean...

[Melodybe]

1. Ha Ha Ha

[dajabr]

2. Kick!

:kick:

[dajabr]

3. So Gephardt was wrong on this?

:shrug:

:kick:

[quinnox]

4. Gephardt hasn't said what this article suggests

He is simply calling for Dean to release his records on the Enron meetings. Why Dean refuses is the issue.

[RetroLounge]

5. Will you please release your 6th grade diary?

Why not? What are you hiding?

Your refusal is the issue here.

[quinnox]

7. I never kept a diary

but to be serious, there is a key difference that is too obvious to even state.

[SahaleArm]

6. Dick's gone on the offensive...

http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/44/4117

Today on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi offered yet another explanation as to whether or not Governor Dean met with Enron officials before giving the company lucrative tax breaks. Steve Murphy, campaign manager for the Gephardt campaign, today released the following statement in reaction to these comments:

"It has been nine days that Governor Dean has refused to answer any questions regarding his dealings with the Enron Corporation. Howard Dean could put all of these questions to rest if he would simply disclose basic facts and documents related to his time as governor. It is time for Dr. Dean and his campaign to finally come clean with the facts about his dealings with the Enron Corporation."

[quinnox]

8. Yes

This is what Gep's beef is, and it isn't just Gep.

This issue isn't going away for Dean, as long as he continues the secrecy routine more questions will come, unfortunately for him.

[dajabr]

9. Really?

"He really has governed under the Bush model. He balanced the budget by making deep cuts to prescription drug programs for seniors, Medicaid, public education, the blind and the disabled to give a tax windfall to companies like Enron..."

http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/*/3895

"This is the most outrageous example of Howard Dean's doubletalk so far in the campaign. Howard Dean is running an ad critical of Enron tax breaks without mentioning that as governor, he was responsible for handing out a tax windfall to those same corporate criminals..."

http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/44/4049

Was he misquoted in his own Press releases?

[quinnox]

10. No, this is exactly it

First, Dean hasn't even admitted Enron got tax breaks, which is ridiculous enough as it is a matter of public record.

Anyway, those quotes you give are true.

But what I was referring to was the part in the post where it implied Gep was making an accusation of special favors for Enron. He hasn't. That won't be known until Dean releases those records.

If Dean has nothing to hide, then why not release the records?

[dajabr]

11. And Gephardt should know he does not have to poke around in Dean's

Files for this info:

http://thinkvermont.com/captive/stats.cfm

http://thinkvermont.com/captive/index.cfm

[dsc]

12. Oh yes he has

He specificly mentioned Enron and he specificly mentioned cutting services.