Governor to cast ballot for Kerry
Rebecca Huntington 08/27/04, Jackson Hole News & Guide
Gov. Dave Freudenthal plans to vote for John Kerry in the upcoming presidential election, but that’s not to say the state’s top leader intends to stump for the Democratic challenger, Freudenthal said Thursday.
“It is my intention to vote for Sen. Kerry,” Freudenthal said during a telephone press conference when asked by reporters who he would vote for in November. Freudenthal cited the Patriot Act, federal deficit and Supreme Court appointments as reasons for supporting Kerry.
Freudenthal stressed that he was speaking as a private citizen and voter and not as a politician intending to wield his clout to lure voters to the Kerry-Edwards ticket. Freudenthal, a Democrat in a Republican state, had created a stir by hesitating to endorse his own party’s ticket for the presidential race. He had said he wasn’t sure it would benefit Wyoming to pick a side.
The governor reiterated Thursday that formally endorsing Kerry would be pointless because Wyoming votes won’t make a difference in that race. Underscoring that point, the Kerry-Edwards campaign – focused on states that could swing the election – have not even contacted the governor for his support, Freudenthal said. The state usually votes Republican and has three electoral votes.
“I’m just guessing, but I don’t think Wyoming is in play,” he said. Freudenthal favors Kerry, in part, because the governor does not like the Patriot Act, which goes too far, he said. As a former prosecutor,
Freudenthal said the U.S. government has legal tools to go after terrorists without the act, which critics say erodes civil liberties. Kerry voted for the Patriot Act but now says he would let it expire.
On another legal matter, Freudenthal said he is worried about potential Supreme Court appointments. The Bush administration has fought with Democrats in Congress over conservative judicial nominees.
Freudenthal also said that Kerry appears more poised than President Bush to deal with a growing federal deficit.
“I’ve heard more from Kerry about it than I have from Bush,” he said.
As the government tries to reconcile the deficit, cuts in federal spending are likely and that could translate into less money for states, Freudenthal said. For example, federal spending on highways and other programs could shrink, he said.
Freudenthal acknowledged that he was worried early on about Kerry’s stance on energy policy. But the governor said he is more comfortable with the candidate now because Kerry has endorsed long-term investments in developing clean-coal technology.
Wyoming is the nation’s top coal producing state, and coal is an abundant resource that should factor into the nation’s energy future, Freudenthal said.
The Iraq war, meanwhile, was not a factor in his decision, he said. Freudenthal said both Bush and Kerry have similar stances on finishing the war and bringing troops home as soon as possible.
“As much as people are trying to draw distinctions,” he said, “it seems to me there’s more argument about who owns the flag.”
More than the individual, “events are going to dictate American foreign policy options,” he said.
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