Would you rather have Gephardt or Dean win Iowa?

[the populist]

(This is my first thread, so forgive me if it's not high-quality stuff. I'll get better at writing threads as the days progress).


Since my discovery of this board through a friend of mine I've seen not one person express support for Gephardt. Why is this? Gephardt happens to be my candidate of choice, and I plan to vote for him when the primary comes down here. I think we should look at issues other than the war. Gephardt is more liberal than Dean on every issue other than the war and has proven himself to be the candidate of the unions.

I like Dean's way of speaking and his speeches, but when I look at the issues important to me (trade policy, worker's rights, among others) I find Gephardt a better candidate.

I hope Gephardt wins Iowa. On top of my support for his campaign I'm starting to feel sad for him. I saw him on C-SPAN last night practically begging Iowans to vote for him. He almost had tears in his eyes.

Gephardt spent his whole political career to help people of humble backgrounds like himself. He deserves to win Iowa.

Are there any non-Gephardt supporters who want to see him win Iowa just to get Dean out of the picture?

PS For the purpose of full disclosure, here is my list of candidates from favorite to least:
1. Gephardt
2. Kucinich
3. Moseley-Braun
4. Clark
5. Kerry
6. Dean
7. Edwards
8. Sharpton
9. Larouche
.
.
.
.
.
.
10. Lieberman

[dorktv]

1. Dean by a mile. I want someone with a proven record of

budget balencing who has no problem doing the hard stuff.

[liberalnurse]

2. Dean......

I'm going to Iowa on the 16th through the 21st to support the Dean campaign.

[dorktv]

6. I am so jealous...Can you come to AZ?

I have a floor for you to sleep on!

[jmaier]

3. Dean

The sooner we can get the race focused down to 2 to 3 candidates, the better.




Wes Clark. He will make an extraordinary American President.

[Closer]

4. Dean of course

Gephardt squeaking out a win would only delay the inevitable.

[dorktv]

8. And Dean is going to win New Hampshire, Arizona, and every other state.

[CalebHayes]

5. Edwards!

[Lefty48197]

7. Gephardt

I've been following him for years. Decades even. He's always been there for me. He's always stood up for working people and their families. Workers rights, wages and benefits, protections etc. Gephardt has always been there fighting for working people.
I'd never heard of Howard Dean until about one year ago.

[adamrsilva]

11. Dean all the way

Though I'll give this to Gephardt, thought he voted for the war, his other positions are better, or at least, more brave than Kerry's. He would repeal the tax cuts, institute universal healthcare, repeal NAFTA...

[the populist]

14. Same here.

Dean doesn't have a record like Gephardt's of standing up for the American worker. I've never heard of him till March '03 where I thought he was the leftist that the media makes him out to be (as though that's an insult) because of his great speech. Then I researched him and found that he was fiscally conservative. I didn't support the war, but I'll be damned if the war is going to define my vote. As far as I know Dean's and Gephardt's plans for post-war Iraq are identical, and I suspect Dean will shift to the right like hell when nominated to prove himself centrist whereas Gephardt doesn't have much shifting to do.

[KaraokeKarlton]

28. Just because you hadn't heard of him doesn't mean he isn't for workers

Did you know that he stood up for the nurses at Fletcher Allen hospital (Vermont's biggest) to help them form a Union? He won an award named after Paul Wellstone for doing that. He's always cared about workers. Frankly, repealing NAFTA might prevent jobs from going overseas but it would also prevent US products from going overseas, too. That would hurt just as many workers as it would potentially protect. As NAFTA stands right now, you can lose jobs because it's cheaper for businesses to move production out of the US or you can lose jobs because the product you offer can't be sold overseas. It's a no-win situation. That's why the trade agreements have to be renegotiated to include protections for foreign workers, the right for them to unionize, a fair wage, environmental standards and human rights. That's the only way to handle the problem so that it doesn't hurt US workers.

[Bombtrack]

9. Gephardt, definetly

Although Gep bores me and comes off as a typical politician, Dean comes off as a typically aweful politician.

[Fleshdancer]

10. undecided

just kidding :) Dean.

[w13rd0]

12. Dean...

...I live in Gephardts district, enuf said.

[Kathleen04]

13. Go, Gep, Go...

But, if he doesn't pull it off, it doesn't effect my scenario any.

So, either or really...let the chips fall where they may.

[Merlin]

15. Gephardt is a really good congressman.

I trust that when he loses Iowa, he'll resign himself to remaining a congressman.

[dorktv]

16. He should work to get other Dems elected to congress.

[w13rd0]

19. I was under the impression that he wasn't going to run for re-election...

...to the House. I believe our local has already decided on a few possible replacements.

[sandnsea]

17. Gephardt

Way better on traditional Democratic issues like labor, education, welfare, health care, than Dean could ever hope to be.

[kymar57]

18. Dean

IMO If Gephardt wins it will only encourage him to stay in the race. I honestly think this thing is down to Dean or Clark.The sooner the others get out of the way and move on to ABB the better.
Personally I LIKE WES:dunce:

[Lefta Dissenter]

20. Definitely Gep

I think he's my #4, just as Clark is your #4.

Dean is my #8 1/2.

I do have one question for you, though... Just when did Gephardt start sounding so much like John Wayne? I've noticed it more and more each time I see him, especially in situations in which he's just casually yacking with supporters.

I was watching his daughter on C-Span last week - she seems just GREAT, too (though she does not sound like John Wayne...

edited to say: don't apologize for your posting! You're doing just fine! :)

[the populist]

21. I guess he does sound a little bit

like John Wayne. I never really noticed that though as much as I noticed how we swallows in mid-sentence.

I also notice that Howard Dean stutters a lot.

EDIT: thanks for the compliment!

[dorktv]

22. And generally says things right off the top of his head.

[Cocoa]

33. when he started calling Dean "pilgrim"

:-)

[Lefta Dissenter]

36. I just can't tell you

how much I needed that laugh tonight! THANK YOU! :)

[blm]

23. I have defended Gep quite often here.

He has been unfairly tarnished with the "Bushlite" brush when in reality he has carried Dem water for the left for almost 3 decades. Way longer than the 1 yr. old populism of Howie Dean.

[One Taste]

24. Gephardt eom

[BobbyJay]

25. Gephardt

My ideal scenario:

1. Gephardt
2. Dean
3. Kerry
4. Clark

[elfin]

26. Gep - I just like him better

but not as much as Clark.

[in_cog_ni_to]

27. Gep. n/t

[JohnKleeb]

29. I dont know

populist I dont have the best feelings about either Dean or Gep but I think of the two I prefer Gep, I like what he does for the unions, and hes a labor dem just like me. Its a tough way to look at it really but I think Gep for sure.

[incapsulated]

30. I would think

If you are for Dean, you want Dean to win.

If you are for anyone else, you want Gephart. Just makes political sense, at this point.

:shrug:

 
 

[cally]

31. Gephardt

I want him to win Iowa to show that the traditional Dem base still has power. I think it helps the traditional blue collar unions if he wins.

Plus, I don't want to Dean to win and Gephardt winning helps others in NH.

[iowapeacechief]

32. In one Iowan's mind...

Call me fickle or terribly responsible--my own contemplation about Gephardt goes something like this.

War and peace are my overriding concerns, followed by economic justice. I'm a Kucinich supporter, committed since April, who still finds Gephardt very attractive. I've attended two of Gephardt's three visits here during this campaign. (Also saw him here in 1988 and elsewhere in between.) However, until I decided Dean was not the "antiwar candidate" he was cracked up to be, I thought Gephardt was my fourth choice behind Dean and Gephardt. Kerry is my Number 2 today, but that's not solid. I'll have a clearer sense of Dean's rank after breakfast with him tomorrow. Gephardt could become my Number 3 or even Number 2.

Fifty or 60 neighbors witnessed my exchange with him in October when I spoke in favor of Kucinich's Department of Peace proposal. He had been recounting about all the things he had been "telling" President Bush about Iraq (build a broad coalition, go to the UN and NATO, etc.), and he talked about being with Bush on 9/12/01. I said the president needs the voice of a Secretary of Peace at a time like that, and he responded warmly. He spoke of needing to invest in the "software" of peacemaking so that it can be called upon to expand the range of options in a moment when the standard voices are calling for war. He said there's a lot of merit in the DoP proposal.

One on one, he thanked me for my question and told me he really likes and values Dennis and is acquainted with Dennis's bill, H.R. 1673 ( http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:h.r.01673: ). I said he should sign on as a co-sponsor. He said it's a good bill, and he would actually want to build on it, expand it. Then he turned to someone else. (Yeah, deft politician, I thought.) However, before he left, a staffer introduced himself and said the congressman REALLY appreciated my being there and the question I asked. (Yeah, sharp staffer, I thought.) But THEN, literally on his way out the door, Gephardt stopped and reached for my hand and thanked me for being there. Stepping close, I met his gaze and said, "Co-sponsor Dennis's bill." "I will," he said. Firm voice, firm gaze, firm grip of my hand.

Later that week I was with Kucinich and told him this story. He grinned and made big, round eyes. "He did? He said that?" That was his reaction. What to make of all this? Yeah, slick politicians, all of 'em...

Invest in "the software of peacemaking"? I love it! Do I want to encourage Dick Gephardt? Yes!

By the way, I asked Kerry about DoP and got back an answer like this: "With the right leadership in the White House, we would have a peace president who valued his secretary of state, so we wouldn't need another government bureaucracy." I countered with needing a peace plans as well as war plans at the cabinet table in crisis, etc. Like Gephardt, Kerry then thanked me for my question and presence. I'll see him here again next week.

As I was writing this, I stopped to take a call from a Gephardt canvasser and told her what I was writing and the inquiry I was answering. She said she believes "Mr. Gephardt" did all he could to slow the president's unilateral rush to war but did his duty and presented a united front when it was clear the president was going to war anyway. She said she thinks "we in the heartland" aren't as fearful as folks on the coasts, that "Mr. Gephardt" is one of us and understands us and also understood the limits of what he could do for peace when most of the American people wanted a war.

Anyway, yes, we think about Gephardt in Iowa!

(Larouche is nowhere on my list, but, if he were, Lieberman would place well ahead.)

[ozone_man]

34. Gephardt is a has been.

I think he should drop out after Dean wins Iowa. His voting for the IWR and that Rose Garden ceremony puts him in the Lieberman bag for me, a notch below Kerry.

[Lobo_13]

35. Gep is irrelevant already.

He has to blow Dean out in IA to slow Dean down. Gep was always expected to run away with IA because of his previous support and unions.

If Dean even comes close, the race is over.

[Scott Lee]

37. Gephardt lept to the front of the war appeasers line

He couldn't wait to get that picture taken with Bush. I guess those who support him have spoken on the issue of the Iraq war.

[arewethereyet]

38. da Gep

of course ABD