Dean’s liabilities on the left…
[This was posted to one of my lists by Green Party activist Owen Broadhurst. Haven’t really looked into the details of each posting, but it is an example of the liabilities Dean has on the left, and with folks in the Green Party. -Thomas]
Howard Dean is Detestable
1)Flip flops on Iraq!!!
On January 31, Dean told Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times “if Bush presents what he considered to be persuasive evidence that Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction, he would support military action, even without U.N. authorization.”
On Feb. 20, Dean told Salon.com “if the U.N. in the end chooses not to enforce its own resolutions, then the U.S. should give Saddam 30 to 60 days to disarm, and if he doesn’t, unilateral action is a regrettable, but unavoidable, choice”.
On Feb.25, on PBS’s News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Dean said United Nations authorization was a prerequisite for war. “We need to respect the legal rights that are involved here,” Dean said. “Unless they are an imminent threat, we do not have a legal right, in my view, to attack them.”
Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-geraghty032803.asp
“Dean has won cheers from Democratic audiences by saying he would not have voted for the war resolution his congressional rivals helped pass, saying it is “the wrong war at the wrong time”. However, he has said he would support military action if it was proved Iraq had nuclear weapons and refused to disarm within 60 days.
“Axelrod said Dean has not always been clear about his own position, pointing to his refusal to say whether the troops should be pulled out of Iraq at a Wednesday night appearance in Boston. Last week, Dean told reporters in Washington the troops must stay and finish the fight now that they are on the ground. ”
Source: http://www.primarymonitor.com/news/stories2003/nh__war_democrats2003.shtml
FMR. GOV. HOWARD DEAN: Sure. Look, I don’t have a problem with the second r=
esolution because the United Nations will ultimately make the decision about=
how Saddam is to be disarmed. My own preference is that we give the inspect=
ors some more time– we’re making some progress there– but that if Saddam r=
efuses, for example, to destroy the missiles as the United Nations has deman=
ded, then I think the United Nations is going to have an obligation to disar=
m him. I think our role in this has been pretty awful. We really have made i=
t more difficult for the United States to carry out its policies by alienati=
ng practically everyone, including our friends, in regard to this matter ofI=
raq, and I think that’s a mistake. I think it would have been a lot easier f=
or us had the president not last July essentially declared that we were goin=
g to go in, and if people didn’t like it, that was too bad for them. That wa=
s the wrong way to handle it.
GWEN IFILL: It sounds more like you disagree with our approach to this war =
than to the idea of waging war.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june03/dean_2-25.html
2) Sprawl and Act 250
Q: What about C&S Wholesale Grocers and their decision to expand in New Ham=
pshire? Critics would perhaps blame the lengthy Act 250 process several year=
s ago that may have soured the company on Vermont.
Dean: That was the local residents that did that. Ten years ago they had a =
big fight with C&S. You know Act 250 gets the blame and a lot of times it’s =
local zoning and all that stuff. The local residents had a big fight in Brat=
tleboro about whether they wanted C&S to expand. And they chose not to do th=
at. Well,
obviously that does set a bad tone. But for every story like that there are=
10 stories of people who get their plants up and running and get going and =
it’s not a big problem. But those stories never get in the paper because the=
y’re not controversial.
Q: If you had your druthers, how would you streamline the permit process fo=
r Act 250?
Dean: I would limit party status and really make sure the parties are reall=
y contributing something to the process. They really have to live next door.=
Right now, the party process is such that pretty much anyone who wants can =
come by with a little dough and a lawyer can throw a monkey wrench into a pr=
oject. And I think that’s a mistake. But other than that I think Act 250 wor=
ks pretty well. And it’s important who you appoint (to the local commissions=
). The coordinators stay on too long in one place and they should be rotated=
in some way. The problems oftentimes are because the coordinators have more=
power than the local boards. I don’t get a lot of complaints about Act 250 =
any more, except from two districts with very long-serving coordinators.
Q: OMYA has had some major difficulty in expanding its business. It’s lost =
several appeals to increase its ability to haul marble ore from Middlebury t=
o Florence and there is strong opposition to its plans to build a new quarry=
in Danby. What do you say to a company like OMYA that wants to expand and h=
as hit a stone wall?
Dean: You have to work through the local process to get your expansion. OMY=
A has not applied for any permits for Danby as far as I know. Of course, the=
y have local opposition. Everybody has local opposition. I’ve been traveling=
all over the country for the last year and a half. You pick up any local se=
ction of the paper and somebody has a lawyer that’s suing somebody else beca=
use they don’t want something in their backyard. That happens everywhere in =
the country. The question is how you moderate through that process.
Source: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/deanspeaks/
“”EP under Governor Dean meant Expedite Permits, not Environmental Protecti=
on,” proclaims Annette Smith, the director of Vermonters for a Clean Environ=
ment. Smith is no stranger to Dean’s environmental record, having tangled wi=
th the Dean administration on everything from the OMYA Corporation’s mining =
to pesticide usage on Vermont’s mega-farms.”He’s destroyed the Agency of Na=
tural Resources, he’s refused to meet with environmentalists while constantl=
y meeting with the development community, and he’s made the permitting proce=
ss one, big dysfunctional joke.” .
“Stephanie Kaplan, a leading environmental lawyer and the former executive =
officer of Vermont’s Environmental Board, has seen the regulatory process un=
der Dean become so slanted against environmentalists and concerned citizens =
that she hardly thinks its worth putting up a fight anymore.
“”Under Dean the Act 250 process (Vermont’s primary development review law)=
and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) have lost their way,” contends Ka=
plan. “Dean created the myth that environmental laws hurt the economy and se=
t the tone to allow Act 250 and the ANR to simply be permit mills for develo=
pers.”
“Kaplan points to the “Environmental Board purge” in the mid-90s that allow=
ed Dean to set the pro-development tone. In 1993, the Board issued an Act 25=
0 permit to C&S Grocers in Brattleboro with conditions that restricted the d=
iesel emissions from its heavy truck traffic. After C&S execs cried foul and=
threatened to move to New Hampshire, Dean broke gubernatorial precedent by =
publicly criticizing the Environmental Board for issuing what he called a “=
non-permit.”
“”After the post-C&S purge,” says Kaplan, “the burden of proof for Act 250 =
permits switched from being on the applicants — where it’s supposed to be -=
to being on the environmentalists. That’s why 98% of the permit requests ar=
e approved and only 20% ever have hearings.”"
Source: http://www.counterpunch.org/colby02222003.html
Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman report:
“Mark Sinclair is an senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation i=
n Vermont. Sinclair was dismissed in 2001 from Dean’s Council of Environment=
al Advisers because of his criticisms of the Governor.
“Dean lured a major Canadian plastics company — the Husky Company - to Ver=
mont. Governor Dean allowed them to build on farmlands outside the town of M=
ilton north of Burlington. “Instead of telling that developer to build in an=
industrial park, he showed them a greenfield and allowed them to build in a=
greenfield,” Sinclair said. “Convert farmfields into pavement. Once again, =
when there was a conflict between sprawl and big development, the Governor D=
ean sided with big development.”
“After Dean’s tenure, the Green Mountain State came to look just like the r=
est of the country. “He doesn’t believe in land use planning, and provided n=
o funding for Vermont’s towns to do the planning they need,” Sinclair said.
“Elizabeth Courtney of the Vermont Natural Resources Council also had her r=
un-ins with Governor Dean. Dean dismissed Courtney in 2001 from the Governor=
’s Council of Environmental Advisers because of an article she wrote for the=
Burlington Free Press. In the article, Courtney was critical of Governor De=
an’s plan to bring a coal-powered electric generation plant to northern Verm=
ont. The coal powered plant never materialized.”
Source: http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2003/000167.html
3) Gay marriage
“Dean, however, does not support gay marriage, as he believes the concept o=
f marriage is a religious issue. As he recently told the Advocate magazine, =
“the issue for me is not marriage but equal rights under the law. If the Cat=
holic Church doesn’t want to marry gay people, I think that’s the Catholic C=
hurch’s right.”"
Source: http://www.baywindows.com/news/407444.html
[Dean does not venture to say why religions that DO marry gay people should=
not have those sacramental bonds recognized as sacramental bonds in other c=
hurches are.]
4) “Preventive” War
“Iraq does not have a nuclear program. It does not possess nuclear weapons =
and there is not really any evidence they are giving weapons to the terroris=
ts. If they were we would have the right to defend ourselves,” said Dean.
“On the other hand, North Korea has nuclear weapons, has a nuclear program =
and is selling missiles to people who mean us harm. And for the life of me, =
I can’t understand why the president won’t even talk to North Korea while we=
have 250,000 troops about to invade a third-rate military country that we h=
ave been able to contain successfully for the past 12 years.”
Source: http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/5414322.htm
“In effect this supposedly ‘anti-war’ Democrat has announced his support fo=
r a policy in which Washington will decide which countries are allowed to ha=
ve nuclear weapons and will reserve for itself the right to forcefully disar=
m those who do not voluntarily disarm by U.S. dictate. In this crucial regar=
d Dean’s position is in close accordance with the Bush doctrine of coercive =
disarmament and preventive war.”
Source: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0414-09.htm
5) Vermont austerity program
“Despite the partisan difference Dean kept Snelling’s team in place. Hogan =
continued to serve as Secretary of the Human Services for another eight-plus=
years. Dean also carried through on the austerity program that Snelling and=
Speaker Ralph Wright had brokered to address the state’s $65 million budget=
deficit. Veteran Vermont journalist Peter Freyne says that, “He [Dean] stoo=
d right up to the Democratic liberals right away… He was never part of the=
tax and spend liberal Democratic wing, ever.”"
Source: http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean/dean0702/deanmain.html
Keith Rosenthal reports: “Throughout the 1990s, Dean’s cuts in state aid to=
education ($6 million),
retirement funds for teachers and state employees ($7 million), health care=
($4 million), welfare programs earmarked for the aged, blind and disabled (=
$2 million), Medicaid benefits ($1.2 million) and more, amounted to roughly =
$30 million. Dean claimed that the cuts were necessary because the state had=
no money and was burdened by a $60 million deficit.
“But during the same period, Dean found $7 million for a low-interest loan =
program for businesses, $30 million for a new prison in Springfield, VT, and=
he cut the income tax by 8 percent (equivalent to $30 million)-a move many =
in the legislature balked at because they didn’t feel comfortable “cutting t=
axes in a way that benefits the wealthiest taxpayers.” By 2002, state invest=
ments in prisons increased by nearly 150 percent while investments in state =
colleges increased by only 7 percent.”
Source: http://kucinichwatch.com/support/Howard_Dean_leader.htm
6) Regressive taxation
“The debate over education funding, which came to the fore with the Vermont=
Supreme Court’s ruling in Brigham v. Vermont in February 1997, has been one=
of the most contentious issues facing Vermont in recent years, and not a fe=
w Vermonters have faulted Dean’s leadership on this matter. For example, Vac=
hon at National Life Insurance speaks admiringly of Dean but expresses disap=
pointment with his handling of the education funding debate. Dean, he said, =
“basically said the legislature has to come up with a proposal.” Rep. John T=
racy (D-Burlington), now House Minority Leader, rebuffs these criticisms sta=
ting, “I would say that he knows the role of the legislature… It was clear=
that he had some ideas as to where he wanted us to go.”
“You knew he didn’t want a straight income tax. He made that clear. Because=
he knew, he looked at the financial stability and the needs of the state,” =
says Tracy. Moving relatively quickly, the legislature passed the controvers=
ial “Equal Educational Opportunity Act”, commonly known as Act 60, which est=
ablished a statewide property tax with an income sensitivity provision. Act =
60 was a significant issue in the 1998 campaign, and, says Gierzynski, the U=
VM poli sci professor, “He [Dean] stood up and defended Act 60 very well bac=
k in 1998. He’s taken a lot of heat for that.” ”
Source: http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean/dean0702/deanmain.html
Keith Rosenthal reports: “The Rutland Herald described how one protestor, H=
enrietta Jordan of the
Vermont Center for Independent Living, “said it would be much fairer to rai=
se taxes on people with expensive homes and cars, children in private school=
and a housekeeper at home than to cut programs that helped the 66,000 Vermo=
nters living with disabilities.” Dean responded callously, brushing
off the pleas of Vermont’s most vulnerable by saying, “This seems like sort=
of the last gasp of the left here.”
Source: http://kucinichwatch.com/support/Howard_Dean_leader.htm
7) Agriculture
“Progressives also find much to fault in Dean’s record on agriculture. Lee =
Light, who with husband Bob runs the Hollister Hill Farm in the Marshfield a=
rea, states, “He’s been governor for 11 years and we’ve lost a lot of farms,=
and we’ve also been a state that hasn’t fought against the bovine growth ho=
rmone factory farms… He has a commissioner of agriculture that hasn’t buck=
ed that trend toward bigger agriculture. The Agriculture Department he never=
fully funds; he’s always cutting the budget.” Likewise Rep. David Zuckerman=
, leader of the four Progressives in the House and an organic vegetable farm=
er, states, “He’s done almost nothing for agriculture.” Zuckerman says that =
slaughterhouses have been closing, and there has been very little money to h=
elp them upgrade; that transition money is needed to help farms convert to o=
rganic; that there is a need for an organic dairy bottling plant; and that V=
ermont should be kept free of genetically modified organisms. ”
Source: http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean/dean0702/deanmain.html
=================
8) Israel/ Palestine
Stephen Zunes reports: “In his major foreign policy address to date, a Febr=
uary 17 speech at Drake University in Iowa, Dean blasted the Bush administra=
tion’s foreign policy regarding Iraq and several other areas, but - when it =
came to Israel and Palestine - the former Vermont governor declared that, wh=
ile the United States should become more engaged, he did not have any fundam=
ental objections with President George W. Bush’s policies. Dean called for a=
n end to Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians, but he did not call=
for a cessation of Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians. Similarl=
y, there was no call for an end of the Israeli occupation, for Israeli compl=
iance with UN Security Council resolutions, or a withdrawal from Israel’s il=
legal settlements in the occupied territories or even a freeze on the constr=
uction of new settlements.
“…Dean also appears to reject the widespread consensus among Israeli peac=
e activists and Middle East scholars that Palestinian terrorism is a direct =
outgrowth of the 35-year Israeli military occupation. Instead, Dean seems to=
argue that terrorism itself is the core issue. He also rejects calls by APN=
and other liberal Zionist groups that Israel’s requested $12 billion loan g=
uarantee be linked to an Israeli freeze on constructing additional illegal s=
ettlements on confiscated Palestinian land, arguing that such aid should ins=
tead be unconditional. Pushing for such a dramatic and unconditional increas=
e in financial support for the incumbent government just before Israelis wen=
t to the polls in January was widely seen as a not-too-subtle endorsement of=
Sharon’s re-election.
“This has raised concerns within the peace and human rights camp that Dean’=
s apparent embrace of such a hawkish position comes not out of political exp=
ediency, but because he essentially supports the Sharon’s perspective that s=
ecurity comes from conquest and repression, not negotiation and compromise. =
In supporting Israel’s rightist government, so it is argued, Dean is taking =
the position that United Nations Security Council resolutions, human rights,=
and international legal principles like the Fourth Geneva Conventions can b=
e ignored when they involved a strategic ally. And while he may not be as re=
ckless as the other major Democratic contenders in supporting an invasion of=
Iraq, he clearly is not the progressive alternative to President Bush for w=
hom so many are searching…”
Source: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0226-04.htm
Ahmed Nassaf reports: “…Last December, Dean told the Jerusalem Post that =
he unequivocally supported $8Billion in US loan guarantees for Israel. “I be=
lieve that by providing Israel with the loan guarantees… the US will be ad=
vancing its own interest,” he said. His unconditional support for the loan p=
ackage, in addition to $ 4Billion in outright grants, went further than even=
some of the most pro-Israel elements in the Bush administration, like Paul =
Wolfowitz, who wanted to at least include some vague restrictions like pushi=
ng Israel to curtail new settlements and accept a timetable to establish a P=
alestinian state.
“On the illegal Israeli settlements, Dean seems to be waffling of late. A p=
ro-Dean blog quotes his campaign as calling for the ultimate removal of only=
“a number of existing settlements.” (The link back to the official site was=
no longer operational as of this writing.) However, in what may signal a so=
ftening of his position to woo progressive voters in the upcoming MoveOn.org=
Democratic “Primary” vote, Dean called last month for “ultimately dismantli=
ng the settlements.” So which one is it?…”
Source: http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000119.html
Howard Dean: “…I cannot leave the subject of terrorism without bringing u=
p a subject President Bush unaccountably neglected to bring up during his re=
cent State of the Union address - and that is the need to end the seemingly =
endless cycle of violence in the Middle East.
“Here, I do not differ with the President’s stated policy; I just wish he w=
ould actually apply it. Since taking office, the Administration has been dis=
engaged from the Middle East, then engaged, and then disengaged once more. T=
his is another example of the President trying to distance himself from Pres=
ident Clinton, even though the Clinton Administration’s approach reflected d=
ecades of bipartisan support for a comprehensive Middle East peace.
“When they have bothered to state them, the Administration’s guiding princi=
ples in the Middle East are the right ones. Terrorism against Israel must en=
d. A two-state solution is the only path to eventual peace, but Palestinian =
territory cannot have the capability of being used as a platform for attacki=
ng Israel. Some degree of separation between Israelis and Palestinians is pr=
obably necessary in light of the horrible bloodshed of the past two years. T=
o be viable, the Palestinian Authority must become democratic and purged of =
corruption.
“But none of this will happen naturally. The United States is the only coun=
try with the ability to give both sides the confidence to move toward a futu=
re of co-existence. Appearances matter, and if we are not engaged, it looks =
like we simply do not care and that we have condemned the entire Palestinian=
people because of their leadership. In my view, this hurts the United State=
s, it hurts Israel, and it makes it less likely the violence and the terrori=
sm will end…”
Source: http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5606
E. J. Kessler reports: “… Asked if his appearance at the Peace Now event =
should be read as a signal of his views on the Middle East, Dean said, “No, =
my view is closer to AIPAC’s view.” He said he was bestowing the award becau=
se the honoree and fellow Vermonter Barr “is a remarkable humanitarian who h=
as served her state and me. I would not turn down an opportunity to honor he=
r.”
“”At one time the Peace Now view was important but now Israel is under enor=
mous pressure,” he continued. “We have to stop terrorism before peace negoti=
ations…. I don’t do things for political reasons. I’m very loyal to my fri=
ends. Nobody should read anything into my ideology.”…
Source: http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.11.22/news3.html
Howard Dean: ” “Israel is a democracy, the only democracy aside from Turkey=
in the region. Israel has incurred severe economic damage as a result of be=
ing forced to fight this war. I believe that by providing Israel with the lo=
an guarantees and thereby enabling Israel’s economy to grow, the US will be =
advancing its own interest,” he said…”
Source: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/abstract/258437741.html?did=25843=
=7741&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&PMID=34400&desc=Democratic+presidential+hopeful+to+%27=
Post:+I+back+loan+guarantees
PITT: Would you say this has been a failure of leadership on all fronts - P=
alestine, Israel and America?
DEAN: I think the biggest failure of leadership has been with the President=
. Other Presidents have succeeded in making significant progress, particular=
ly Presidents Carter and Clinton. Were we to apply that kind of energy to th=
ose discussions, I think we could make progress. Of all the Arab people, the=
Palestinians are most likely to be able to maintain a democratic state. Man=
y Palestinians have lived in democratic states, including a million Israeli =
Arabs. Women among the Palestinians play a larger governmental role than any=
other Arab society.
But we’ve got to stop the terror. You can’t get the Israelis out of the Wes=
t Bank if, all of a sudden, a bomb goes off and kills 26 kids at a bar mitzv=
ah. Of course they’re going to go back. You stop the terror by changing our =
oil policy and confronting those who are funding the terror, and then you be=
gin the process of moving out and ultimately dismantling the settlements, an=
d setting up the states side by side. But the key is the terror, and the key=
to stopping the terror is America.
Source: http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/printer_052203A.shtml
Kareem Fahim reports: “…Jacques Englestein found fault with Dean for “sup=
porting Israel, but not supporting the Palestinians.” He also criticized the=
candidate for not speaking out against the so-called separation wall-the wa=
ll the Israeli government is building ostensibly to deter attacks by militan=
ts. Many have accused the Sharon government of using the wall to annex more =
Palestinian land. Even George Bush, in a joint appearance with Palestinian p=
rime minister Mahmoud Abbas, said, “It is very difficult to develop confiden=
ce [between the two sides] with a wall snaking through the West Bank.”
“”Security is a great thing,” said Englestein. “But this is a land grab.”
“Publicly, Dean has said only that “some degree of separation between Israe=
lis and Palestinians is probably necessary.” He is expected to take a more d=
efined stand on the issue…”
Source: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0336/fahim.php
9) Iran
Ahmed Nassaf reports: “…In fact, Dean thinks President Bush is way too so=
ft on Iran. In a March appearance on CBS’ Face The Nation, Dean even claimed=
that “[President Bush] is beholden to the Saudis and the Iranians,” somethi=
ng that would certainly come as a surprise to the current regime leaders in =
Iran who’ve been labeled as part of the “axis of evil” by the current US pre=
sident.
“Dean even left open the possibility of preemptive strikes against that cou=
ntry in that interview, adding that “we have to be very, very careful of Ira=
n.”
“Once again, sounding very much like President Bush, Dean charged during a =
New Hampshire campaign stop this month that Iran (along with Saudi Arabia, S=
yria, and Libya) was “funding Palestinian terrorists and fueling terrorism t=
hroughout the world.”"
Source: http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000119.html
SCHIEFFER: Well, are you suggesting we take military action against North K=
orea?
DEAN: No, I’m suggesting we start to talk to them.
PRIEST: What happens if that doesn’t work, and they go ahead with their nuc=
lear processing? Can you imagine a unilateral preemptive strike on North Kor=
ea?
DEAN: We could be forced into that. If they develop a missile that could re=
ach the West Coast of the United States, which they are in the process of do=
ing — such a missile has been tested on the ground but never fired — we wo=
uld have a very serious, much more serious problem than we have with Iraq, b=
ecause then they would become an imminent threat to the United States of Ame=
rica and to our people.
PRIEST: Would you say the same for Iran, whose nuclear capability is very s=
ophisticated, much more sophisticated than Iraq?
DEAN: Yes, we have to be very, very careful of Iran. One of my criticisms w=
ith this president is that because we have no oil policy of any kind here, o=
ther than drilling the national parks, he is beholden to the Saudis and the =
Iranians.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/03/ftn/main542530.shtml
10) Welfare Reform
Jim Farrell reports: “…While Wellstone fought for people on welfare, Dean=
said some welfare recipients “don’t have any self-esteem. If they did, they=
‘d be working” and scaled back Vermont’s welfare program, reducing cash bene=
fits and imposing strict time limits on single mothers receiving welfare ass=
istance…”
Source: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030526&s=farrell
Keith Rosenthal reports: “Dean slashed millions of dollars from all sorts o=
f social programs, from prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients a=
nd heating assistance for poorer Vermonters to housing assistance funds. In =
defending his cuts to social programs, Dean said, “I don’t think I have to s=
hy away from that just because I’m supposed to be a liberal Democrat.”
Source: http://kucinichwatch.com/support/Howard_Dean_leader.htm
11) Social Security Flip Flop
Jim Farrell reports: “…Just last year, Dean proposed deep cuts in Medicai=
d, which were blocked in his own legislature. Now he calls Representative Di=
ck Gephardt’s healthcare proposal, which would roll back the Bush tax cuts i=
n order to provide a tax credit for employers mandated to deliver health cov=
erage to workers, “a pie-in-the-sky radical revamping of our healthcare syst=
em.” Dean has said that a constitutional amendment to balance the budget “wo=
uldn’t be a bad thing” and that the way to balance the federal budget is “fo=
r Congress to cut Social Security, move the retirement age to 70 and cut def=
ense, Medicare and veterans’ pensions.”…
Source: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030526&s=farrell
Russert: …calling for that, and this is what Howard Dean said. “The way t=
o balance the budget, [Gov. Howard] Dean said, is for Congress to cut Social=
Security, move the retirement age to 70, cut defense, Medicare and veterans=
pensions, while the states cut almost everything else. `It would be tough b=
ut we could do it,’ he said.”
Dean: Well, we fortunately don’t have to do that now.
Russert: We have a $500 billion deficit.
Dean: But you don’t have to cut Social Security to do that.
Russert: But why did you have to do it back then?
Dean: Well, because that was the middle of-I mean, I don’t recall saying th=
at, but I’m sure I did, if you have it on your show, because I know your res=
earchers are very good.
Source: http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?cp1=1
12) Environmental Racism
Jim Farrell reports: “…Dean advocated sending nuclear waste from his stat=
e to the poor, mostly Hispanic town of Sierra Blanca, Texas. Wellstone calle=
d the proposal “blatant environmental injustice” and fought to delay the mea=
sure in the Senate. It ultimately passed but was later determined unsafe.”
Source: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030526&s=farrell
13) Afghanistan
Howard Dean: “…Let us turn our attention to postwar Afghanistan. I suppor=
ted the president’s invasion of Afghanistan. Al Qaeda was and continues to b=
e an imminent threat to the United States. However, insufficient security as=
sistance and economic investment are opening the door to civil strife and tr=
ibal warfare again - the very conditions that bred the Taliban in the first =
place. Our repeated assurances of aid and reconstruction have resulted in lo=
st hope, empty promises for the Afghan people….”
Source: http://www.cfr.org/publication.php?id=6080
14) Death Penalty
Russert: Another debatable and controversial issue is the death penalty. Th=
is was the headline in your home state paper the other day: “Dean Aligns Wit=
h Bush On Death Penalty. Former Governor Howard Dean appears to be shedding =
some of the liberal tendencies that have won him national attention as he no=
w expands his support for the death penalty…His shift on the death penalty=
…has some questioning his motives.” “`This doesn’t surprise me. I think De=
an’s willing to do what he has to do to win,’” said Frank Bryan, a political=
science professor at the University of Vermont and longtime observer of Dea=
n. `I really believe he’s very ambitious and he wants to win badly. He has t=
o get to the final plateau, and I think he will take risks with his inconsis=
tencies being discovered in order to get to the next step.’… “Eric Davis, =
a Middlebury College political science professor,” also from Vermont, “summe=
d up Dean’s change in two words: South Carolina. …`I think what’s going on=
here is Dean is trying to appeal to electorates in more conservative states=
…’” South Carolina being the third primary after Iowa and New Hampshire.
Dean: It’s a very interesting article, and turned out to be wrong, which wa=
s kind of embarrassing. In fact, I figured I was going to get asked this. In=
1964-excuse me, in 1994, in the very paper that this was printed in, they r=
an a series of articles saying I was rethinking the death penalty. This has =
nothing to do with running for president. It happened while Bill Clinton-bef=
ore Bill Clinton had even run for his second term. I began to rethink the de=
ath penalty in 1994 because of the Polly Klaas case. The Polly Klaas case wa=
s the case of a young girl who was kidnapped from her house, abducted and ra=
ped, and murdered by a felon who never should have been let out of jail. We =
had a very similar horrible case in Vermont a few years earlier, and I began=
to rethink my position on the death penalty as a result of that, and the ar=
ticle was just plain wrong.
Source: http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?cp1=1
Dean: I got life without parole through our legislature. The problems with =
life without parole is that it’s not life without parole. There are always p=
eople who get out.. I don’t beat the drum for capital punishment.but I’m not=
one of those people who is deeply opposed to capital punishment. I think [G=
overnor] George Ryan did the country a huge favor in Illinois by standing u=
p and saying: “Let’s put a moratorium on executions until we get it straight=
.” But I find it hard to blanketly oppose capital punishment on moral ground=
s, because I find that when you do that, sometimes you find out that if you =
had capital punishment, a 12-year-old’s life could have been saved, and that=
’s pretty hard to swallow.
Source: http://www.txtriangle.com/archive/1049/coverstory.htm
Josh Frank writes: “A “technicality” to Dean must be synonymous with “Const=
itutional hang-up.” In the case Dean presented to Russert, a man walked free=
, but should have been put to death instead of challenging his unconstitutio=
nal conviction. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen commented on Dean’s =
statement saying that, “I have never heard a politician admit that he would =
countenance the death of an innocent person in order to ensure that the guil=
ty die.”
Source: http://www.counterpunch.org/frank08122003.html
15) Defense Spending
Russert: Would you cut defense?
Dean: You don’t have to do that either. Here’s what you have to do. You got=
to get rid of the tax cuts, all of them, and then you have got to restrict =
spending….
Source: http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?cp1=1
William Saletan and Avi Zenilman report: “…Defense spending: On June 22, =
2003, after rival candidate Dennis Kucinich proposed cuts in military progra=
ms, Dean replied, “I don’t agree with Dennis about cutting the Pentagon budg=
et when we’re in the middle of difficulty with terror attacks.”…”
Source: http://slate.msn.com/id/2086440/
16) Unilateral War
SCHIEFFER: Well, are you saying, Governor, that under no circumstances shou=
ld we ever take unilateral action? I mean…
DEAN: No.
SCHIEFFER: … do we leave the defense of this country to the United Nation=
s?
DEAN: No, absolutely not. I’ve never said that, and I don’t say that now.
SCHIEFFER: So under what circumstances?
DEAN: If a country is an imminent threat to the United States, I believe we=
have the right to defend ourselves. Had we known five days ahead of time be=
fore al Qaeda blew the World Trade Centers up with planes, we of course woul=
d have defended ourselves and done everything we could to stop it.
If Saddam possesses nuclear weapons, if he has a credible nuclear program, =
if he’s giving weapons of mass destruction to the terrorists, then we have a=
right, I think, to intervene unilaterally. But there’s been no good case ma=
de for those things.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/03/ftn/main542530.shtml
17) Occupation of Iraq
Russert: How many troops would have in Iraq?
Dean: More than we have now. My understanding is we have in the neighborhoo=
d of 135,000 troops…
Source: http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?cp1=1
18) Occupation of Afghanistan
Russert: All right, Afghanistan, we have 9,000. You would bring it up to wh=
at level?
Dean: Well, I believe that we need a very substantial increase in troops. T=
hey don’t all have to be American troops. My guess would be that we would ne=
ed at least 30,000 and 40,000 additional troops.
Source: http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?cp1=1
19) Cuba Embargo
Paul Pederson reports: “…”If you would have asked me six months ago, I wo=
uld have said we should begin to ease the embargo in return for human-rights=
concessions,” Dean told reporters at an August 24 dinner in Seattle, accord=
ing to the Miami Herald. But, “we can’t do it right now.” He cited as a reas=
on the April trials and convictions of 75 individuals in Cuba for collaborat=
ing with and accepting money from U.S. government representatives to undermi=
ne the Cuban Revolution…”
Source: http://www.themilitant.com/2003/6731/673105.html
Jim VandeHei reports: “…Last weekend, Dean shifted his position on the tr=
ade embargo against Cuba. Dean, who had supported rolling back the embargo t=
o foment human rights improvements, said he has become convinced such a move=
would be unwise. Cuban Americans, who generally support the embargo, are an=
important voting bloc in several states, including Florida. Bush won four o=
ut of every five Cuban American votes in 2000, but Democrats are hoping to c=
hip away at that support before the election.
“Dean said his new position reflects nothing more than his pragmatism. He s=
aid Fidel Castro’s recent crackdown on dissidents in Cuba makes it impossibl=
e for the embargo to be lifted anytime soon without it looking as though the=
United States is “rewarding” his oppressive regime…
Source: http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?cp1=1
20) Criminal Defense
Bister, Estrin and Jacobs report: “…Dean’s approach to criminal justice i=
s regressive and draconian. Dean the governor was no friend of the public’s =
right to legal defense. According to various attorneys in public defender’s =
offices around the state, Dean under-funded public defense, pouring monies i=
nto state’s attorneys, police, and corrections instead. According to the Rut=
land, Vermont daily, The Rutland Herald, this meant that state’s attorneys w=
ere able to round up ever-increasing numbers of criminal defendants, but pub=
lic defenders were not given comparable resources to respond. This, too, hel=
ped to fill the prisons. Its not that crime increased, but that police had m=
ore laws that they could arrest people for (and more resources with which to=
do so). As an illustration of his opposition to a fair defense for all, Dea=
n once stated at a meeting of criminal defense lawyers that he believed his =
job as governor was to make the defense attorneys’ job as tough as possible.=
He also tried to block a $150,000 federal grant aimed at assisting defendan=
ts with mental disabilities.
“Why would someone want to do that unless he had doubts about the validity =
of the 6th amendment to the US constitution? Is he motivated by a need to ap=
pear tough on crime? As Governor he claimed the legal system unfairly benefi=
ted criminals over prosecutors. According to his own words, he wanted to “qu=
ickly convict guilty criminals,”(so much for the presumption of innocence), =
and opined that the US needs a “re-evaluation of the importance of some of =
our specific civil liberties.” John Ashcroft, perhaps there’d be a job for y=
ou in a Dean administration…”
Source: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles8/Bister-Estrin-Jacobs_Dean.h=
tm
The Rutland Herald editorialized: “Dean chose not to reappoint Appel for a =
third four-year term as defender general, the state official who heads the s=
tate’s public defender program. In appointing Valerio, of Proctor, the new d=
efender general, Dean had kind words for Appel. But Appel had clashed with D=
ean on numerous occasions in his efforts to secure for his office the resour=
ces necessary to fulfill his duties conscientiously.
“Just two years ago Dean tried to prevent Appel from accepting a $150,000 f=
ederal grant aimed at assisting defendants with mental disabilities. For Dea=
n to block a government agency from receiving federal money was unusual in i=
tself. But Dean’s openly expressed bias against criminal defendants provided=
a partial explanation.
“Dean has made no secret of his belief that the justice system gives all th=
e breaks to defendants. Consequently, during the 1990s, state’s attorneys, p=
olice, and corrections all received budget increases vastly exceeding increa=
ses enjoyed by the defender general’s office. That meant the state’s attorne=
ys were able to round up ever increasing numbers of criminal defendants, but=
the public defenders were not given comparable resources to respond.
“The problem with giving a disproportionate share of state resources to pro=
secution and enforcement is that it throws the justice system out of kilter.=
A just result occurs in court only when the prosecution and defense both ar=
e ably represented.
“Thus, Appel felt compelled two years ago to notify the court that the Rutl=
and public defender’s office would take no new cases unless the defendant wa=
s in jail. The Rutland office was so short of staff that case backlogs threa=
tened to overwhelm the public defenders.
“Vermont is not Texas, where the public defender’s program is notorious for=
signing up incompetent, inebriated, or sleep-deprived lawyers for indigent =
clients. But lawyers who are short of resources cannot serve their clients w=
ell. Thus, Appel found himself in a bind five years ago when the court order=
ed him to provide expert testimony on behalf of Ruth Lizotte, a Rutland woma=
n who was charged with murder by arson.
“Appel noted that the public defender didn’t have the money to pay for expe=
rt witnesses. Thus, the burden is on the legislative and executive branches =
to make sure the judiciary has the resources it needs. And the judiciary inc=
ludes the system as a whole - police, prosecution, defense, and courtroom pe=
rsonnel.
“Making the case for adequate funding of the criminal defense system will b=
e one of the principal jobs of the new defender general. Valerio, an experie=
nced criminal defense lawyer and the incoming president of the Vermont Bar A=
ssociation, will owe his appointment as defender general to Dean. But he wil=
l owe it to the people of Vermont to push Dean to include in his budget adeq=
uate resources so the state’s public defenders can do their jobs.
“Public defenders handle most of the criminal defense work in the state. It=
is a thankless task in some ways. But one of the important differences betw=
een democracies and police states is a fair justice system. Without it, poli=
ce round up people and throw them in jail as a matter of routine. Law become=
s, not a guarantor of justice, but a method of intimidation.”
Source: http://rutlandherald.com/Archive/Articles/Article/31792
21) Discrimination Against Native Americans
Bister, Estrin and Jacobs report: “…All Vermont schoolchildren learn abou=
t Vermonts first people, the Abenakis, in their lessons about the history of=
Vermont. Despite this acknowledgement of the Abenakis special status, the D=
ean administration, released a 200-page document in 2002 that was prepared b=
y out-of-state consultants, and without a request from the Bureau of Indian =
Affairs or anyone else, concerning “The State of Vermont’s Response to the P=
etition for Federal Acknowledgment of the Abenaki Nation of Vermont.” This l=
egal opinion asserted that the tribe does not meet the criteria for recognit=
ion. The document has been criticized by local experts — Vermont historians=
and anthropologists — as being “highly biased and wildly out of date.” Bec=
ause the legal opinion would have raised a ruckus among many progressive Ver=
monters, it was released quietly in the final days of his governorship.
“Contemporary Abenakis are currently petitioning the federal government for=
official recognition as a tribe — which would give them legal minority sta=
tus with access to relevant civil rights laws, help them with grant-writing =
for schools, scholarships and health care, and make available cultural grant=
s to help preserve the language and oral traditions. As the aforementioned r=
eport indicates, Dean is opposed to this petition. This type of vehemence to=
wards Native Peoples rights does not bode well for other First Nations withi=
n US borders. Even Vermonters are mostly unaware of this gratuitous and mean=
-spirited attack…”
Source: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles8/Bister-Estrin-Jacobs_Dean.h=
tm
David Gram reports: “…”Abenaki school children had been scornfully told t=
hat they were not Indians … because the government said so,” said Frederic=
k Wiseman, a professor of history and archaeology at Johnson State College.
“He and others said that attitude was the result of the state’s stance that=
the Abenakis do not constitute a formally recognizable Indian tribe, and th=
ey attributed that stance to racism.
“The comments came a day after Gov. Howard Dean told reporters he was urgin=
g lawmakers to be very careful before endorsing a resolution saying the Aben=
akis should be granted limited state recognition.
“Dean said even such a limited government endorsement could lead to much mo=
re powerful federal regulation for the state’s estimated 1,700 Abenakis. He =
said that could lead to extensive legal battles over Abenaki land claims and=
possibly allow the Indians to build casinos in Vermont…”
Source: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/Archive/Articles/Article/40922
22) Cronyism
Scott Huminksi reports: “Twenty five years ago, in Northern Vermont, a life=
long friendship and political alliance was born. Young Howard Dean moved to =
Vermont and became the neighbor of passionate democrat, Esther Sorrell. Mrs.=
Sorrell’s living room had been described as the heart of the democratic par=
ty in Vermont and Howard Dean spent many a long hour in Mrs. Sorrell’s compa=
ny. Mrs. Sorrell took the young political hopeful, Howard Dean, under her wi=
ng and became Dean’s mentor.
“Mrs. Sorrell was so taken with Howard Dean’s political motivation and driv=
e that she introduced him to her son, Billy. Both of the young men had stron=
g political aspirations and shared goals of seeking high office. A life-long=
friendship and alliance was born between these two men under the guidance o=
f Mrs. Sorrell. Howard Dean cherished Mrs. Sorrell’s motherly guidance and d=
eeply valued the friendship and support of her son, Billy. To Vermonters, Bi=
lly is better known as Attorney General William Sorrell.
“In 1992, now Governor Dean showed his appreciation to William Sorrell and =
his family by appointing Sorrell as Secretary of Administration. In 1997 it =
became time again for Governor Dean to thank William Sorrell and the Sorrell=
family by attempting to appoint Sorrell as the Chief Justice of the Vermont=
Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Sorrell had absolutely no judicial experience=
. Dean’s zeal to appoint his long-time friend to the highest judicial office=
in the state hit a roadblock. Noting zero experience, the judicial nominati=
ng board refused to place Dean’s friend on the short list for the top judici=
al spot. Dean became furious. Dean rejected the first list from the judicial=
nominating board that failed to include Sorrell. Again citing a lack of Sor=
rell’s qualifications, the board forwarded to Dean a second list that did no=
t include Sorrell. Press reports noted this “tiff” between Dean and the boar=
d.
“An angry Dean admitted defeat on the Sorrell Chief Justice appointment, bu=
t, he had a plan! To take care of his friend and appease the judicial nomina=
ting board at the same time. He would appoint the current Attorney General t=
o the Chief Justice spot creating a vacancy for Vermont Attorney General. Pe=
rfect. Dean promptly vacated the Attorney General spot and filed it with his=
friend Sorrell. Dean got the job done of appointing Sorrell to a high posit=
ion. All was well with Vermont cronies.
“Now this tale is continuing while Dean run’s for president and his unquali=
fied cronies wait for their payback. Its no secret that Sorrell would be num=
ber one in line for United States Attorney General under Dean. Its also no s=
ecret that Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell has engaged in criminal =
federal civil rights violations. Also in his tenure as Attorney General, Sor=
rell has used the cover-up of: obstruction of justice, extortion, acceptance=
of bribes by lower Vermont Prosecutors and illegal alcohol crimes to suppor=
t his allies and friends. The Department of Justice knows about the Vermont =
corruption, but, why would that agency lodge criminal charges against Sorrel=
l or other Vermont officials prior to the primaries?
“In the fall of last year I ran for State’s Attorney in Bennington County V=
ermont against a 16-year incumbent who was the Democratic and Republican nom=
inee for the office. I ran on an anti-corruption platform pledging to prosec=
ute William Sorrell and other State prosecutors for corruption and acceptanc=
e of bribes. I spent $200 on my campaign. I was a complete political outside=
r. I am not even an attorney. Yet, I received 21% of the popular vote on a p=
latform that would have put Dean’s # 1 appointee behind bars. The people of =
this Vermont County know something about Dean’s corrupt cronies that the peo=
ple of this country need to know.
“After living in Vermont for a decade under the Dean regime, I’ve seen how =
he works and whom he appoints. The oppressive anti-civil-rights environment =
created by Dean’s appointments was complemented by the corruption and cronyi=
sm that epitomizes Dean’s Vermont. With Dean surging in the polls, the ex-Go=
vernor is correct, it’s time to look at his record in Vermont. We must also =
look at the records of those in his Vermont inner circle and of his appointe=
es. ”
Source: http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/09/1646145.php
23) Contempt for Civil Liberties
Scott Huminski reports: “Dean is quite impressed with Vermont Attorney Gene=
ral William Sorrell. He appointed him Attorney General in the late 1990’s to=
fill a vacancy and then Sorrell was his # 1 choice for CHIEF JUSTICE of the=
Vermont Supreme Court. Sorrell was removed from consideration because he ha=
d no judicial experience. Good try Dean. A google search on “Howard Dean Wil=
liam Sorrell” speaks volumes. A vote for Dean is a vote to appoint William S=
orrell to a very high federal position as Dean will take this unusually clos=
e associate with him. US Attorney General maybe?
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean/dean0702/freyneint.html
http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/Story/68525.html
http://www.rutlandherald.com/News/Story/66910.html
http://www.state.vt.us/atg/vtag.htm
http://www.justiceforwoody.org/media/articles/html/casa1.htm
“After Dean’s judges had been enjoined for 2 years from interfering in my a=
ccess to Vermont Courthouses, Sorrell engineered a plan to re-banish me. The=
banishment lasted one month before the federal court woke up and re-placed =
an injunction on Dean’s judicial appointees once again. Google search on “Sc=
ott Huminski First Amendment”. The story is all there from the Associated Pr=
ess, the Freedom Forum, First Amendment Cyber Tribune and many others.
http://www.redressinc.org/Backin.html
“Courthouse access is a first amendment right according to US Supreme Court=
Precedent. See Press-Enterprise cases. Sorrell’s conduct last year constitu=
tes criminal violation of federal civil rights law. See federal law below. T=
hey say birds of a feather flock together. Is Dean a criminal too, or just a=
very poor judge of character. Either way there should be concern.
“By the way, Sorrell is currently busy covering-up the acceptance of a brib=
es by two Vermont Prosecutors, William Wright and John Lavoie. This fact sta=
nds undisputed before the United State Second Circuit Court of Appeals in NY=
C, # 03-7036. Unfortunately it’s not online, but, I will email court pleadin=
gs to any interested parties.
[UNITED STATES CODE Title 18
Sec. 241. - Conspiracy against rights
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate=
any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District i=
n the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by=
the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so =
exercised the same; or
They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years =
.
Sec. 242. - Deprivation of rights under color of law
Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom,=
willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Posses=
sion, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunitie=
s secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or =
to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person bei=
ng an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the=
punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not m=
ore than one year, or both . ]”
Source: http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/09/1646145.php
CASA: “This community continues to be divided over the Dec. 2, 2002, police=
shooting of Robert Woodward. William Sorrell exonerated police in that inci=
dent. But at least two different analyses have found fault with the Sorrell =
report. As governor you resisted calls to intervene. Do you continue to stan=
d by the attorney general’s findings?”
DEAN: “I’ve read one of the analyses of the report and I thought it was ver=
y good, it was by the friends of Woody … It is impossible for me, as someo=
ne who wasn’t there, to know what went on in the church. I have a long assoc=
iation with the attorney general and I have an enormous amount of respect fo=
r the attorney general as a human being and as a really smart lawyer. He is =
not somebody who has ever been afraid of prosecuting the police when it was =
necessary to do so, so that’s why I do have confidence in the attorney gener=
al.”
Source: http://www.justiceforwoody.org/media/articles/html/casa1.htm
Scott Huminski writes: “In a 1997 Vt News Bureau interview, Dean admitted h=
is desire to appoint judges willing to subvert the bill of rights. Now the f=
allout from Dean’s appointments are before the US 2nd Circuit at Foley Squar=
e, NYC in two outrageous cases. Docket #s 03-7036, 02-6150, 02-6199, 02-6201=
One case is being prosecuted by Washington, DC first amendment attorney Rob=
ert Corn-Revere against two of Dean’s judges for their banishment of a Vermo=
nt “citizen-reporter” for life from all state courthouses because he critici=
zed one of Dean’s judicial appointees. The other case features Dean’s judges=
violating Double Jeopardy, First Amendment, State law and the State constit=
ution. See Docket No. 99-445 (Vt. Dec. 13, 2000), aff’g, Docket No. 167-1-99=
WmCr (Windham D. Ct. Aug. 30, 1999) Both cases have been briefed before the=
Manhattan Court awaiting oral argument. Also filing a brief in federal cour=
t against Dean’s appointees is the Thomas Jefferson Center For The Protectio=
n of Freedom of Expression.
“Below are links regarding Dean’s voicing his problem with the Bill of Righ=
ts. He constantly complains about “legal technicalities” (i.e. the Bill of R=
ights) as he did in the June 22 meet the press interview.
http://www.thomhartmann.com/government.shtml
http://www.txtriangle.com/archive/1049/coverstory.htm
A link to a story regarding the courthouse banishment case. [http://www.fr=
eedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=13300 ]
A commentary on Dean’s subversion of the public defender system. [http://ru=
tlandherald.com/Archive/Articles/Article/31792 ]
Dean’s statement on “re-evaluation” of our “civil liberties”. [http://rutla=
ndherald.nybor.com/News/Story/33681.html ]
“Criminal sentences doubled during Dean’s tenure as a result of his appoint=
ments. I wonder how many of those serving these inflated sentences were also=
subjugated to constitutional deprivations at the hands of Dean’s Judicial a=
ppointees leading to their convictions? How many of those serving inflated s=
entences were prejudiced by Deans’ subversion of the public defender system =
mandated by the 6th amendment?
“In the Meet the Press interview with Dean while discussing the death penal=
ty he stated [http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?cp1=1 ]
“”So I just-life without parole, which we have which I actually got passed =
when I was lieutenant governor- the problem with life without parole is that=
people get out for reasons that have nothing to do with justice. We had a c=
ase where a guy who was a rapist, a serial sex offender, was convicted, then=
was let out on what I would think and believe was a technicality, a new tri=
al was ordered and the victim wouldn’t come back and go through the second t=
rial. ”
“Now, according to Dean, the Bill of Rights (ie. legal technicalities) has =
“nothing to do with justice”. In the above quote, is he saying that if someo=
ne was unconstitutionally convicted it is better that the government kill th=
em before they can point out the constitutional problems with their convicti=
on?
A further commentary on Dean’s death penalty stand. [http://www.washington=
post.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A1907-2003Jul2¬Found=
=true ] and, noting the “anti-due-process” Dean message.”
Source: http://bureaucrash.com/blogs/dispatches/000512.shtml
David Gram reports: “Gov. Howard Dean’s call for a “re-evaluation” of some =
of America’s civil liberties following this week’s terrorist attacks was cri=
ticised Thursday by a Vermont Law School professor.
“”Good God,” Vermont Law School Professor Michael Mello said when read the =
remarks Dean made at a Wednesday news conference. “It’s terribly irresponsib=
le for the leader of our state to be saying stuff like that right now.”
“Benson Scotch, the head of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liber=
ties Union, said it was simply too soon after the attacks to engage in the s=
ort of debates Dean called for.
“Dean said Wednesday he believed that the attacks and their aftermath would=
“require a re-evaluation of the importance of some of our specific civil li=
berties. I think there are going to be debates about what can be said where,=
what can be printed where, what kind of freedom of movement people have and=
whether it’s OK for a policeman to ask for your ID just because you’re walk=
ing down the street.”
“Dean said he had not taken a position on these questions. Asked whether he=
meant that specific rights described in the Bill of Rights - the first 10 a=
mendments to the U.S. Constitution - would have to be trimmed, the governor =
said:
“”I haven’t gotten that far yet. I think that’s unlikely, but I frankly hav=
en’t gotten that far. Again, I think that’s a debate that we will have.”
“Mello said Thursday, “the civil liberties Dean seems to be talking about s=
o blithely, that’s exactly what makes us different from the murderers who co=
mmitted these acts.”
Source: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/Story/33681.html
Scott Huminski reports: “Dean had quietly been attacking Vermonters’ civil =
liberties through judicial appointments until a 2001 statement that he belie=
ved that 9/11 would “require a re-evaluation of the importance of some of ou=
r specific civil liberties. I think there are going to be debates about what=
can be said where, what can be printed where, what kind of freedom of movem=
ent people have and whether it’s OK for a policeman to ask for your ID just =
because you’re walking down the street.”
“Although Dean waited until 9/11 to make this statement, his judicial appoi=
ntments in the 1990s make it quite clear that Dean was implementing his plan=
to subvert the bill of rights years prior. Criminal sentences doubled durin=
g Dean’s tenure as a result of his appointments. I wonder how many of those =
serving these inflated sentences were also subjugated to some of the above-d=
escribed constitutional deprivations at the hands of Dean’s Judicial appoint=
ees? Dean was very successful in appointing judges that were not concerned a=
bout “legal technicalities”, a cloud that hangs over the people of the State=
of Vermont. Now Dean wants to appoint federal judges.”
Source: http://toughenough.org/huminski.html
24) Medicare
Thomas Oliphant reports: “Dean will plead guilty to having supported a slow=
down in Medicare’s rate of spending growth (from 10 to 7 percent annually) -=
- an innocuous-sounding, almost accountant-like budget position. In fact, th=
e proposal he supported would have restricted eligibility, called on some re=
tired people to pay more, and used force more than incentives to require par=
ticipation in managed care.
“Gephardt himself might be guilty of excessive force in using Gingrich’s na=
me the way he has, but the Medicare proposal was one-half of the centerpiece=
of the former speaker’s infamous Contract With America (the other was the t=
ax cut), and the fight over it led to the weeks-long shutdown of the governm=
ent at perhaps the most climactic domestic policy moment of the Clinton pres=
idency. Dean’s support was especially important to the Republicans as the Ho=
use prepared to pass its version of the proposal in 1995, but he never pulle=
d it back as the White House-Congress war escalated.
“In the last few days, sensing the political fallout, Dean has come up with=
a fresh explanation: He was doing something that Clinton supported and actu=
ally signed into law. This is even more misleading, an apples and oranges mi=
xture that makes what happened two years later sound like what happened in 1=
995-96.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. What Clinton signed in 1997 was a=
law that finally produced a tax cut for ordinary families (introducing the =
child tax credit, subsequent increases in which Dean now says he wants repea=
led), and containing spending cuts to pay for it. It is often referred to as=
the Balanced Budget Act, but in fact it was the booming economy that produc=
ed the huge surplus at the end of the ’90s. This law, more accurately, produ=
ced a tax cut that was responsibly funded.
“The spending cuts included a large bite out of Medicare but not the same k=
ind of bite the Republicans fought for with Dean’s help in ‘95. This time ar=
ound, instead of attacking the beneficiaries (which Clinton opposed), it red=
uced Medicare payments to providers like hospitals, nursing homes, and physi=
cians. By bipartisan consensus it went too far, especially in its harmful ef=
fect on large teaching hospitals, and much of the money has since been resto=
red.”
Source: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/dean/articles/2003/09=
/30/past_haunts_dean_on_medicare_issue/
25) Sprawl and Favors for IBM
Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman report:
“Mark Sinclair is an senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation i=
n Vermont. Sinclair was dismissed in 2001 from Dean’s Council of Environment=
al Advisers because of his criticisms of the Governor.
“Sinclair says that two utilities in Vermont — Green Mountain Power and Ce=
ntral Vermont Public Service — along with IBM — control the state. “Dean i=
s in the pockets of the utilities and of IBM,” Sinclair told us.
“Whatever the major economic interest, he’s beholden to them.”
“”During his years as Governor, there was a large controversy over our ski =
areas,” Sinclair said. “He supported their major expansion, which has result=
ed in ski mountain sprawl in places like Killington, Stowe Mountain Resort, =
Stratton Mountain.”
“”Dean wasn’t standing up for sustainable development,” Sinclair said. “Dur=
ing his watch, we saw a lot more sprawl and strip development.” Despite his =
professed love of rail transit, Dean pushed development of a
