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BS: Howard Dean's Blog
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: LadyJean Date: 30 Jul 03 - 01:23 AM I picked up some Dean literature this weekend. I am leaving it in local laundromats, buses, and other places where people have a lot of time on their hands. When I'm done stuffing rats (It's a long story.) I'm going to offer my services to the cause. LadyJean is for Dean! DEAN CAN'T WIN THE ELECTION UNLESS YOU VOTE FOR HIM!!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: NicoleC Date: 30 Jul 03 - 01:39 AM I'm not sold on Dean -- his record is FAR more centrist than he's pitching himself as, particularly to groups like MoveOn and other grassroots organizations that will work to get his campaign going, and that pisses me off. If he gets the nomination, he'll suddenly start with the moderate spiel. It's a familiar pattern and one that I am deeply suspicious of, because the folks that work hard on the campaign early on inevitably get shut out by the end. I hope I'm wrong. Which is not to say that I don't support a relatively centrist candidate as the most likely guy or gal to get the job done, and Dean seems to have a strong direction compass without being unable to compromise enough to get the job done. I just don't want to be lied to about it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 30 Jul 03 - 10:21 AM Hi, NicoleC, Vermonters will tell you that Dean is a straight talker. He says what he believes and thinks, even though it may not be popular. The manipulation you describe is not his behavior pattern. Interesting that you think he is too moderate. The Democratic Leadership Council is trying to shoot Dean down because they don't think he is enough of a Clinton-clone centrist. They are putting out words like "extreme liberal" in the press. ---- Announced today, a new organization in the campaign Environmental Voters For Dean: Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 19:37:23 -0500 From: "Dean for America" To: alice@aliceflynn.com Subject: Thank you for your action on the environment The response I've received from Americans concerned about Bush's anti-environmental initiatives has been extraordinary. There are so many in our country who feel that our natural resources are in danger, but are worried that they lack the power and influence to compete with the lobbyists writing the Bush administration's energy policy. That is why I am proud to announce the launching of a new grassroots organization dedicated to making sure the Bush administration does not do four more years' worth of harm to our natural resources. Environmental Voters for Dean is made up of Americans who believe that it is time to take our country and our resources out of the hands of the special interests and give them back to the people. Click here to sign up for Environmental Voters for Dean: http://www.deanforamerica.com/environment CLICK We must undo the damage this president has done to our land, our air, our water and our communities. The power to do so is in your hands, not mine. By working together, we can unseat George W. Bush and take back our country in 2004. Sincerely, Governor Howard Dean, M.D. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 30 Jul 03 - 10:26 PM Alice, so far you've told us that Dean is "fiscally conservative," "middle of the road" and "not too liberal." Could you not try to paint him just a little bit blander? I'm with NicoleC (again). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Bobert Date: 30 Jul 03 - 10:34 PM Like compared to the rest of the field, Bush very much included, who else stands out as something different? Hey, believe me, I'm no Democrat, but the fact that Dean had the *courage* to oppose Bush's order for the US military to attack a country with a third rate army, makes him a lot moreattractive than the rest of the field. You gotta start somewhere... Bobert |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 31 Jul 03 - 12:04 AM Ha, ha, Fionn. Thanks for making me smile. Dean is probably getting the "too liberal" label because he opposed the way Bush went in to Iraq, and because while he was governor, Vermont established legal civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. The criticism of Bush's Iraq policy is the big one that irks the Demopublicans. Dean "got the job done" in Vermont, with Republicans opposing him. He created jobs, got health care coverage for those previously uninsured, took the leadership to help family farms and organic farming, revitalizing the centers of rural towns... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: NicoleC Date: 31 Jul 03 - 12:30 AM I don't think Dean is too moderate -- I favor moderates for high offices. I just don't think he's as liberal as he wants progressives to believe right now. Why progressives? Because they're mostly the only non-career Democrats paying much attention to the primaries this early in the game. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 31 Jul 03 - 09:55 AM Dean will be giving an environmental address in San Francisco today. Here is a bit of a quote from two articles today regarding the speech: The San Francisco Chronicle previews Howard Dean's major environmental address there today. Jane Kay writes: Howard Dean is calling for an environmental policy that relies more heavily on wind and solar power, cracks down on pollution from older factories and pushes automakers to improve fuel efficiency standards... "Environmental issues are economic issues," he said in the prepared text. "The right-wing radicals want us to believe that we must choose between having a healthy environment or a healthy economy. I believe that a healthy environment will support a healthy economy." Ross Sneyd at the AP also offers a preview: One day after presenting his economic plan in Iowa, the former Vermont governor planned to lay out his 100-year vision for the environment and criticize President Bush's record in a speech Thursday in San Francisco.... In his speech, Dean called for livable communities, something he pushed while Vermont governor. He signed a law that targeted incentives and a variety of grants to developments that were established in the state's downtowns and village centers. "Doing so will help protect our wild and open spaces and will help reduce energy consumption,'' Dean said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 31 Jul 03 - 09:58 AM Hi, Nicole, I am interested in knowing what you have heard Dean say that gives you that impression. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 31 Jul 03 - 10:22 AM The other Democratic candidates may have only progressives paying attention to the primaries, although since so many want Bush out, I'm not sure if that is true. I think a wide spectrum of people are paying attention, just because of the Bush record as well as the mess of the last election. Dean has a wide spectrum of supporters because of his message, his personal character (courage to speak out against Iraq for example) and his ability to energize people with his ideas and populist appeal. Here are some examples of people paying attention to the Democratic primaries who are not Progressives. There is even a Music for America (Muscicians for Dean) web site. From the Republicans for Dean web site: Weicker Goes for Dean: The Dean Nation blog reports today that former Republican Senator and Independent Governor Lowell Weicker is endorsing Howard Dean. Weicker was a marverick Republican that many moderates looked up to. The fact that he is endorsing Dean as well as former Republican now Independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, shows that Bush is losing the moderate vote. But I don't think I needed either Weicker or Jeffords to tell me that. In the past few days, I have been astounded by the response from moderate Republicans who, like myself, no longer thinks Bush represents the values of the Party of Lincoln. We are a "sleeping elephant" that is starting to awake. We need to find ways to organize and get other disenchanted Republicans on board to take back our country and stand up for America. From the Independents for Dean web site: Over on Third Party Watchblog, David Remer has a thoughtful article on what will be required to really get campaign finance reform (or stop political bribery, or stop the evolution of America from democracy to "corporacracy"). Follow the link for the full article. Click "Continue Reading" below for a short excerpt. Most of us probably realize that another means of attack is re-inventing the grassroots campaign, raising money in small amounts from a very large number of regular Americans who want to take their country back. Who can do that? Seems to me that getting behind someone like Dean, who can do that, would be much more effective than supporting a third party, as Remer suggests at the end of his article. On the web site Geeks For Dean: from AP, via yahoo 07.28.03 Many members of the Democratic Leadership Council are convinced that Dean's opposition to the war in Iraq makes him too liberal for middle America, and they worry that if he wins the nomination it could undo years of work to persuade the country that the Democratic Party isn't controlled by its left wing. let me just rephrase that for you so it's a bit more accurate: Many members of the Democratic Losership Council are convinced that Dean's willingness to say what he thinks makes him too pro-active for the lazy politicians, and they worry that if he wins the nomination it could undo years of work to persuade the country that the Democratic Party should never be expected to actually do anything at all. hrmph. really. ------------------ These are the web sites that people around the country have set up ON THEIR OWN, not as part of the official campaign, to support Dean. There are more than just Progressives involved in this activity to get Dean elected. I set up the Montana For Dean site. I, like many others, spent my own time and money to take the initiative. This enthusiasm is repeated in every state of the country. There are well over 300 Yahoo discussion groups of people supporting Dean, many of them, like ours in Montana, are for organizing those of us who meet once a month and plan ON OUR OWN to do community events. UNOFFICIAL Sites for Dean Regional Sites: Alaska for Dean Montgomery for Dean Arizona for Dean Arizona for Dean Blog Arkansas for Dean Brooklyn for Dean California for Dean So. California for Dean Bay Area for Dean Beach Cities for Dean Chabot College for Dean CSU Long Beach for Dean East Bay for Dean Inland Empire for Dean Los Angeles for Dean North Bay for Dean NE Los Angeles for Dean Marin County for Dean Orange County for Dean Sacramento for Dean San Bernardino for Dean San Diego for Dean San Francisco for Dean SF for Dean Santa Cruz for Dean UC Berkeley for Dean UCLA Bruins for Dean UC Santa Barbara for Dean Valley for Dean Ventura County for Dean Colorado for Dean Aims College for Dean Connecticut for Dean Connecticut forDean.org Fairfield for Dean New Haven for Dean Florida for Dean Florida for Dean 2 Broward County for Dean Jacksonville for Dean Miami for Dean Sarasota for Dean Seminole County for Dean Tampa for Dean Georgia for Dean Hawaii for Dean Illinois for Dean Chicago forDean.org Indiana for Dean Iowa for Dean Drake Bulldogs for Dean Kentucky for Dean Kentucky for Dean 2 Lexington for Dean Maine for Dean Maryland for Dean Baltimore for Dean Prince George's County for Dean Massachusetts for Dean Western Mass. for Dean Berkshires for Dean Michigan for Dean Minnesota for Dean UMN for Dean Missouri for Dean St. Louis University for Dean Montana for Dean Montanans for Dean UNN for Dean Nevada for Dean No. Nevada for Dean New Hampshire for Dean New Jersey for Dean New Mexico for Dean New York for Dean Albany for Dean Central NY for Dean Cornell University for Dean Long Island for Dean New York City for Dean North Carolina for Dean UNC Chapel Hill for Dean Ohio for Dean Oregon for Dean Central Oregon for Dean Lewis & Clark for Dean Pennsylvania for Dean Bucks County for Dean Lehigh Valley for Dean Centre County for Dean Philadelphia for Dean Rhode Island for Dean South Carolina for Dean South Dakota for Dean Tennessee for Dean Tennessee for Dean 2 East TN for Dean Knoxville for Dean Tri-Cities for Dean Texas for Dean Texas forDean.org San Antonio for Dean Sudeep forDean.org West Texas for Dean Utah for Dean Rutland County for Dean Virginia for Dean Washington for Dean Kitsap County for Dean Pierce County for Dean Seattle for Dean Vancouver for Dean DC for Dean Wisconsin for Dean Madison for Dean Wyoming for Dean Grassroots Dean Graphics Dean Defense Forces Dean Media Team DeanTalk Forums Independents for Dean People-Powered Graphics Republicans for Dean Rick Klau Blog Links: Ack Ack Ack Eric Alterman Alternet Angry SAM Annatopia ArchPundit Articulate Babble Atrios' Eschaton Backup Brain Matt Bailey Bay Area Man for Dean Berkeley Progressive Best of the Blogs Bradley's Almanac Jim Brayton CalPundit Carl with a K Conclusive Evidence Counterspin Central Daily Kos Deaniacs Blog DemoLiberal Blog-O-Rama Betsy Devine Easter Lemming EP Rants Esoterically.net Brian Flemming The Hamster Hey Joe Intern for Dean John P. Hoke InstaPundit Interesting Times Jimlog 2.0 Rick Klau Lean Left The Left Coaster Left Leaner Lawrence Lessig Liberal Oasis Loco Parentis Mediaburn Medley Meta Filter This Modern World MyDD Noho-missives Not Geniuses Orcinus Opinions of Ed Points West Political Parrhesia Political Punk Political State Report Political Wire Politics in the Zeros Rapid Dissent On Lisa Rein's Radar Raise Your Hands The Rittenhouse Review Seeing the Forest Skippy the Bush Kangaroo TalkLeft Talking Points Memo Unmedia Untelevised Value Judgment The Vicini Network Oliver Willis Matthew Yglesias Unofficial Dean Sites: Action a Day Americans for Dean Clean for Dean Dean 2004 Blog Dean 2004 Portal Dean Archive Dean Defense Forces Dean for Deaf America Dean Independents Dean Netroots DeanPix DeanTalk Forums Dean Volunteers Dean Watch Dean Web Portal Deaniacs Dean's the Real Deal Dr. Dean the Fighting Machine Gays for Dean Geeks for Dean Grassroots for Dean Grassroots Graphics Hack 4 Dean Howard Dean Goes to Washington Netroots Howard Dean Med Students for Dean Music For America One Father For Dean Out for Dean People-Powered Graphics Progressive Christians for Dean Quotes about Dean Republicans for Dean Rock for Dean Students for Dean Tabling for Dean Translate for Dean Two Uncles for Dean Unemployed for Dean(org) Unemployed for Dean(com) Volunteers for Dean Vote Dean We Want Dean Women for Dean |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 31 Jul 03 - 10:25 AM Clorrecting my comment on Music For America. It is a Democratic PAC, not just a group specifically for Dean. http://www.musicforamerica.com/ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 31 Jul 03 - 10:26 AM Correcting (not clorrecting... sheesh). Typing too fast.. I'm on my way out of town to Spokane for the weekend. I should have checked to see if there are any Mudcatters in Spokane! Leaving in a couple of hours. alice |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: NicoleC Date: 31 Jul 03 - 10:59 PM To respond to your question, Alice, you might ask Dean himself. In the May issue of the Progressive, he said he considered himself a moderate. "But while Wellstone spent his life fighting his party's creeping centrism, Dean only recently took up his position as a left fielder. He considers himself a moderate, and he has often crossed swords with Vermont progressives--including a challenger from the state's Progressive Party who won 10 percent of the vote in the last gubernatorial election. "It's a pathetic thing that I'm the most progressive candidate" among those considered to have a serious shot at the nomination, Dean says. Progressives in Vermont don't disagree. "Few people would have accused him of being a progressive governor in Vermont," says Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (one of the network of consumer and environmental advocacy groups founded by Ralph Nader). "It was not by accident that a strong progressive party was formed while he was governor here as an alternative to some of the positions he was taking." July 9, 2003, he told Roger Simon in an interview, "We need to move this country back to the center... We're not talking about the left; we're talking about the center." In Vermont, his rhetoric on supporting small farms is at odds with his record of supporting policies that favor factory farming. On almost every issue, including gun control, he takes a strong state's rights position. (The NRA has been a strong Dean supporter and gives him an "A" rating.) He supported using Yucca Mounting as a nuclear waste dump. He is extremely (rabidly) fiscally conservative. He's against medicinal marijuana. He's not against mandatory school prayer -- as long as there isn't a federal law requiring it. Conservation lands in Vermont are open to hunters, and he supported IBM's corporate desires to build a road despite a critical environmental impact report. Dean describes himself "to the right of Bush" on issues of budget and homeland security. As governor of Vermont, he supported concealed weapons, and at the time told everyone he was legalizing gay civil unions because the Vermont Supreme Court forced him to do it. He supports the death penalty. He doesn't completely support the Kyoto Treaty. I'm not saying I disagree with all these things. Dean strikes me as the Democrat version of McCain who doesn't toe the line either way. That in itself would be a plus for me, but this sudden "born again liberalism" is a bit nauseating given his record. To be fair, a lot of it is coming from his supporters, not the official campaign. If you are looking for a die-hard leftie to vote for, Dean is probably not your man. All of which makes the DLC's attempts to portray Dean as a raging liberal and forward Lieberman as a "moderate" all the more ironic. The fact that he's driving about Iowa in a Ford E-350 doesn't say much about his environmental credentials, either. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: GUEST,Alice at a library in Spokane Date: 02 Aug 03 - 01:55 PM Well, to be electable as president and get Bush out, one cannot be a die-hard lefty candidate. Leaving gun control up to the states, I believe, is a wise decision. Each local community has different needs when it comes to crime and guns. Dean has said a state like Vermont (as in my state, Montana, as well) are very different than localities like Chicago, LA, Miami, and NYC. I agree with him that gun policy needs to be designed to fit the needs of each state. It really isn't Dean, at all, who is saying that Dean is a far left liberal - it is the DLC and other Dem candidates, as well as the Republicans, who have labeled him lefty liberal. So, he isn't putting out a "born again" at all... it is media from other sources that have come up with that label. I like the fact that he is more fiscally conservative than Bush. Reagan and Bush both used the destructive concept of 'trickle down', which is not a fiscally conservative idea. It is a borrow and spend and give away idea. One can be socially progressive and fiscally conservative at the same time. I have read and heard Dean's statments on medicinal marijuana. He has not said he is against it. What he did say is that he wants it to be studied by the FDA and the scientific evidence of its efficacy established for its use. Thanks for responding, Nicole. I like being able to read your point of view. Alice |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 02 Aug 03 - 07:09 PM You've lost me now Alice. Rather than qualify to the nth degree the precise extent of his fiscal conservatism, could you say what his policy is? I've tried looking through that weblog, but like you say, he manages to avoid taking a position on just about everything. anything. Is that what it takes to get elected? And why you're so spooned on him? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: NicoleC Date: 02 Aug 03 - 09:40 PM Dean is the only candidate that has successfully killed legislation (H645) in Vermont that would have protercted patients with cancer, AIDS and MS from arrest and imprisonment who use marijuana on a doctor's recommendation. Now he claims it only would take 60 days to get FDA approval for medicinal marijuana -- which is hogwash, as any pharmeceutical company will tell you. Of course, no drug company will sponsor it for FDA approval, because they can't patent it. Ergo, no FDA approval. So what DOES Dean think? And how much is he whitewashing the issue now when 80% of Americans support its use in terminally ill patients? Or as Dean says, he's "clarifying" his position, which looks like "clarifying" himself into a position that will offend as few people as possible. On another note, while Dean was lobbying for ordinary Americans to match the contributions to Cheney's big fundraiser dinner, on Thursday he had his own $2000 per plate dinner fundraiser in SF for "ordinary" Americans. The more I read about Dean, the more he looks like just another politician. Better that Bush? Probably. But hardly the straight-shooter he claims to be (don't all politicians say that?) Then again, I don't have to worry about which Dem to vote for in the primary, since none of them will be appearing on my ballot. :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 04 Aug 03 - 11:53 PM From tonight's CNN Larry King live and Dean's response to the marijuana question: KING: Santa Cruz, California, hello. CALLER: Hi Governor Dean. My question to you is, given your medical background and your view on states rights, in your opinion, what should the federal government do about medical marijuana? DEAN: I don't think they should throw people in jail in California, but I think do think -- here's what I think. I think the process by which medical marijuana is being legalized is the wrong process. I don't like it when politicians interfere in medicine. It's why I am very pro-choice. Because I don't think that is the government's business. So what I will do as president is, I will require the FDA within first 12 months to evaluate marijuana and see if it is, in fact, a decent medicine or not. If it is, for what purposes -- for certain purposes, and I suspect it will be for cancer patients and HIV/AIDS patients. And it should be allowed for that. But I suspect it will not be allowed for things like glaucoma. But we have to do the FDA studies. I think marijuana should be treated like every other drug in the process and there shouldn't be a special process which is based on politics to legalize it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 05 Aug 03 - 12:10 AM Fionn, here is the statement on economic policy: Governor Howard Dean, MD RESTORING FISCAL SANITY Long-term vision – As Governor of Vermont, Howard Dean based his budget policy on the sound principles of keeping spending growth in check, avoiding long-term structural fiscal drags, relying on conservative revenue forecasts and paying down the state debt. From shortfalls to surpluses – Dean inherited a $70 million deficit – 11% of the budget. By 2001 Vermont enjoyed a $10 million surplus. So when other states fell deeply into debt in recent years, Vermont (the only state not required to balance its budget) remained in strong fiscal health. Paying down the debt – Dean paid down Vermont's debt by 29% in 5 years. As a result, VT's bond rating rose from the lowest in New England to the highest. Resisting the sirens' call – Vermont economic expert Jeff Carr notes that Dean "resisted the sirens' call of fiscal irresponsibility." Vermont's Republican Governor Jim Douglas said of Dean, "He's been a good partner fiscally." LOWERING TAXES RESPONSIBLY Taming the marginal rate – When Howard Dean took office, Vermont had the nation's highest marginal tax rates. During his tenure, Dean cut income taxes twice, bringing the top marginal rate down from 13.5% to 9.5% Cutting taxes fairly – Dean made sure that all Vermonters, not just upper-bracket earners, enjoyed tax cuts. He also eliminated the highly regressive sales tax on clothing and shoes and removed thousands of low income Vermonters from the income tax rolls entirely. While many states have a regressive state tax structures, Vermont has one of the most progressive state tax systems in the nation. Cutting taxes responsibly – Howard Dean believes in long-term fiscal prudence. That's why when President Bush passed his huge tax cut for the wealthy, Dean decoupled Vermont's income tax rates from the federal rates – ensuring that Vermont would not be dragged into deficit by Bush's short-sighted fiscal policy CREATING JOBS Putting Vermonters back to work – When Howard Dean became Governor, Vermont's unemployment rate was 6.9%, slightly higher than the national average. By the time Dean left office, Vermont's unemployment rate was 3.7%, far below the national rate of 6.0%. Creating jobs – Under Dean's tenure, Vermont added an astounding 56,000 new jobs, a 20% increase in the workforce. Better wages – Governor Dean worked to create higher paying jobs. In 2001 the average income in Vermont grew 8th fastest in the country. High tech jobs – Dean understands that technology will help drive the 21st century economy. That's why he focused on bringing high tech jobs to Vermont. The state now ranks 5th in high tech jobs per capita, with 3500 such jobs created between 1993 and 2000 alone. A RECORD OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Attracting business to Vermont – Howard Dean implemented, as he put it, "the most advanced package of economic development incentives in the country." The package was designed to bring 8,500 jobs and $1.5 billion in economic activity to Vermont by 2004. 80 businesses and 12 municipalities have taken advantage of the package so far, helping to expanded business in Vermont. Revitalizing downtowns –Dean developed incentives to bring businesses back to Vermont's downtowns, creating jobs and activity in Vermont's cities and towns and controlling sprawl in Vermont's suburbs and wilderness. Renewing manufacturing – New England manufacturing was hit hard by the 1991 recession. Under Dean, Vermont established policies encouraging Vermont manufacturers to invest in new capital in Vermont. The results: hundreds of new quality manufacturing jobs. Northeastern Dairy Compact - Governor Dean was the driving force behind the Northeastern Dairy Compact (NEDC). He has been called that program's "champion." The Northeastern Dairy Compact brought about $60 million to Vermont farmers and about $180 million to Vermont's agriculture economy overall. (This information was produced by Dean For America.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: zanderfish3 (inactive) Date: 05 Aug 03 - 06:24 AM What's a Blog |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alba Date: 05 Aug 03 - 07:07 AM ZF3. I asked myself the same question. Its a personal website that updates frequently...according to Google, being a real newbie to the Tech world (only 8 months on the Comp) I looked it up myself on Google when this thread started. Maybe there are other definitions out there also! JD. NB: Dean is appearing on the Today show this Morning. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: GUEST,Alice without cookie Date: 05 Aug 03 - 11:01 AM Blog = Web log It can be a personal journal of one person's writing or a public one (like Dean's) with many people writing in the log. It looks very much like Mudcat, with a place to type in your name and then a box to type in your comments. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: zanderfish3 (inactive) Date: 05 Aug 03 - 02:32 PM What is a Blog? is it another word for biog |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 05 Aug 03 - 08:15 PM zanderfish, the answer to your question is in my message. A blog is short for web log. It is a journal on the web (internet); a log of written entries made by one person or many people. It can be personal, or it can be open to the public the way Mudcat is. Some would call the Mudcat a blog. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: zanderfish3 (inactive) Date: 06 Aug 03 - 02:56 PM muchas grassyarse Alice |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: John MacKenzie Date: 07 Aug 03 - 12:25 PM I don't know too much about US politics, and wouldn't want to intrude on private grief as far as having G Shrub as president is concerned. However somebody suggested Howard dean adopt Clinton as running mate, for what it's worth from this side of the pond, I don't even think he should even be seen talking to Clinton. The impression I get from here is that Clinton has done for the Democrats, what Maggie Thatcher did for the Conservative party this side of the pond. Shafted it! Giok |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 08 Aug 03 - 10:27 PM The August Dean meetup, the first Wednesday of the month, was this week. There were two of us returning from the last meetup; the rest of the folks were all newcomers. It was interesting once again to hear the personal reasons why people were there. One person voiced how angry he still feels that the Democrats rolled over without a whimper when the Florida vote recount was not completed. In attendance was the local Democratic Party head, there to see what was happening with the Dean supporters. We wrote letters to New Hampshire voters (for the upcoming caucus) and discussed how we can motivate young folks who will be 18 a the time of the 2004 election to register and vote. It really is amazing to see strangers coming together to take charge of the political process. The number of people signing up at Meetup.com to meet once a month to support Dean has passed 80,000. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 10 Aug 03 - 01:09 PM When I was at the Irish Festival in Butte yesterday, one of the other performers came up to me and said, "I like your Dean button." I had a Howard Dean button pinned to my cap visor. The performer was from Portland, OR. In our discussion, he said he had donated to a campaign for the first time because of Dean. The last meeting we had here in town brought home to me again how private citizens in large numbers are being inspired by Dean to get involved in the presidential campaign. Here is a news article from today on the same subject: -- Dan Gillmor at the San Jose Mercury News posts his column today on his visit to Dean HQ, and examines how the net is helping to restore the American community: The profound insight in the campaign's Net-working -- which raises huge risks along with opportunities -- is in trusting people out at the edge to become the campaign, too. The campaign tries to give them some additional online tools, but the people out at the edges are not under anyone's orders but their own. "What's going on in Austin?'' Trippi asks rhetorically. ``We don't have a clue. We're just assisting....' "To enable and promote commitment, you have to start with trust,'' [volunteer Ka-Ping Yee] says. "And trust is tremendously enhanced by the power of human contact.'' In the end, that notion is at the core of Dean's rise to prominence. His campaign has used the tools of communications and collaboration to assist more human contact, bringing together people who have a cause and want to take it to others. Will Dean take this all the way to the White House? Who knows, but maybe this kind of conversation can spread into the governing part of the process, not just the electioneering. At the very least, the Dean effort has brought back into the process some people who'd given up, and these tools will inevitably find their way into other campaigns and causes. "If we win,'' says Trippi, "we'll have done something for democracy.'' Win or lose, they've done a lot already. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Peg Date: 11 Aug 03 - 10:40 AM Giok; why do you think Clinton shafted the Democractic party? And I think it is rather inappropriate to compare him to Thatcher, since their ideologies and the resulting policy changes from their actions are completely different; she's a lot closer to Reagan than to Clinton. Also she was P.M. a lot longer than Clinton was president. Personal difficulties aside, and I did not agree with every foreign policy decision he made, but other than that I think he did a lot of good, economically and for social programs. The welfare reforms were a mess but the intention was a good one. Maybe Dean should get Hillary as his running mate? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: John MacKenzie Date: 11 Aug 03 - 12:59 PM I'm not talking politics, I'm talking personalities, the actions of a man or woman reflect on the party to which they belong. Thus Maggies intransigence, and Bill's "I never inhaled/impaled" tarnished the reputation of their respective parties. Giok |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 14 Aug 03 - 11:33 PM Here is a bit from a speech given today by Howard Dean, addressing President Bush's decision to cut soldier's pay because Bush has given away so much in tax cuts. quote: "...we are now facing a ludicrous situation in which Vice President Cheney will reap a $116,000 per year tax windfall, and yet our soldiers--on extended deployments and tragically dying every day--are facing pay cuts of $225 a month...." Full text of speech here: Soldier Pay Cuts, Dean Condemns Bush Administration You tell 'em, Howard. - alice |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 15 Aug 03 - 07:28 AM Peg: a message from your cyberspace admirer... Giok is speaking for a fairly narrow segment of UK opinion. Clinton in his visits over here - Oxford, Birmingham, Belfast, Labour party conference, etc - has been hugely impressive and made an enormous impact. Any comparison with Thatcher (or Blair who's as bad) is frankly absurd. If Giok went just the few hundred miles to Paris he would find himself in a world where dalliances and indescretions on a scale far eclipsing anything we know about Clinton or - to mention some UK tories - John Major, Tim Yeo and David Mellor, are treated as personal and private matters. The indiscretions of Joe Ashton, erstwhile Labour MP for Bassetlaw, were of a different order, but the puerile UK tabloids are incapable of judgment and merely fuel popular over-reaction with their hysterical, hypocritical rants. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 22 Aug 03 - 01:36 PM Well, as I posted in July, Dean's grassroots movement donated small donations to more than match Cheney's fat cat luncheon. Now they are at it again, with a drive to match Bush's Million Dollar dinner in Portland, OR. There were more people outside lined up protesting Bush's policies than there were inside at the dinner. This morning the Dean blog started another baseball bat campaign, a graphic of a bat turning red like a thermometer as donations come in. The average donation has been about $50; they plan to match or exceed Bush's million on Tuesday. They have already reached $144,915.41 with over 2,000 donations in a matter of hours. I also mentioned in a July post in this thread that there were over sixty thousand Americans all over the world meeting the first Wednesday of the month to be active for Dean for president. That number at www.meetup.com is now almost 89,000. People are coming to Dean's campaign in droves because of his message and his character. It is an amazing thing to watch. The Dean blog link has the basball bat million dollar challenge to Bush. The link is in the first message of this thread. Alice |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 22 Aug 03 - 01:44 PM As I was writing the last message, the numbers went up. The "bat" challenge to Bush - 3,083 people have contributed $166,431.05 as of 1 pm EDT. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: GUEST,CarolC Date: 22 Aug 03 - 04:23 PM Hey Bobert and Alice. I've been off line for a while and couldn't respond to you way up the list until now. Where I get that impression about Dean is from his own words to the American Israeli Political Action Committee, which I don't have access to at the moment. Basically, he stated that he sides with the hawks in the Israeli government with regard to Iran, rather than with the doves in the Israeli peace bloc. And he practically came right out and said he'd do whatever the government of Israel wanted him to do. That doesn't sound to me like a man who is intent on finding peaceful solutions to things, or like a man who is much of an independent thinker. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 22 Aug 03 - 05:08 PM Hi, Carol, here is Dean's statement on the issue of the Middle East from Dean's web site. I'll search for the source you referred to. ===== quote Howard Dean is committed to achieving a negotiated, comprehensive, and just peace between Palestinians and Israelis and remains optimistic about the chances for peace. The greatest asset in that effort is that majorities of both Palestinians and Israelis accept a two-state solution which would guarantee security, sovereignty and dignity. Recent developments in the region have created a new sense of opportunity. Any steps that lead away from violence and toward peace need to be encouraged and assisted. Continuing this progress will require the full engagement of the United States at the highest level. US disengagement from the process during much of the Bush Administration has been unacceptable. No other country but the United States has the credibility necessary to facilitate negotiations and to mediate between the parties. Yet, in the end, only the Palestinians and the Israelis themselves can make and keep the peace and work out the specifics of a lasting agreement. Peace cannot be imposed by outside parties. The basic framework for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians is a two state solution - a Jewish state of Israel living side by side in peace and security with an independent, demilitarized Palestinian state. The best approach to achieving lasting peace is a comprehensive one, providing for fully normalized relations, peace, and security as part of an overall negotiated settlement between Israel and the Arab states. To get there, the Palestinian Authority will have to fight terrorism and violence on a consistent basis to create the conditions necessary for a viable peace process. The Israeli government will have to work to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people and ultimately will have to remove a number of existing settlements. These issues and others will all be elements of a final agreement negotiated by the parties. Through it all, the United States will maintain its historic special relationship with the state of Israel, providing a guarantee of its long-term defense and security. And the United States will have to take responsibility with its international partners for helping the Palestinians establish a middle-class democratic society in which women fully participate in economic and political decision-making. The international community must support these economic reconstruction efforts which are essential to the long-term success of any agreement between the parties. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: GUEST,CarolC Date: 22 Aug 03 - 05:13 PM Hi Alice. I saw what Dean has on his website. It doesn't entirely square with what he said to AIPAC. The stuff on his website looks like an attempt to straddle a fine line in order to placate people. I think I'll believe what he says to AIPAC before I believe what looks to me like someone talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 22 Aug 03 - 07:26 PM Hi, Carol, yes AIPAC and the discussion around the Israel/Palestine issue has become quite a hot button and is a topic of heated discussion on the Dean blog. I used a google search of AIPAC and Howard Dean to find some references to the connection, and several blog quotes came up as well as people hashed out their point of view regarding his position. I'm going to read more about it and watch this issue as well. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: GUEST Date: 23 Aug 03 - 12:59 AM Is this Dean Rusk's son? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Nerd Date: 24 Aug 03 - 02:49 AM I think Giok is right that Dean should stay far from Clinton personally, but can cite Clinton's record in areas where he agrees with Clinton, like "I would have a more Clinton-like approach to fair levels of taxation and balanced budgets." Clinton's stigma is not really because of what he did, it is because of the media reaction to it. Many previous American presidents have had extramarital sex in the White House and elsewhere, and the idea that you couldn't be a good president while sleeping around is a fairly new idea. But the media decided at the end of Clinton's term that they had to turn on him in order to ingratiate themselves to the new administration, and you got all kinds of hatchet jobs reported in the press from "he took gifts of furniture and art objects that should have stayed in the White House" to "Clinton's staff removed all the W keys from computers in the White House just spite Bush (whose nickname is W.)" Clinton was essentially chewed up and spit out by the media, and the actual nature of his indiscretions had little to do with it. The result is that a personal connection with Clinton would probably hurt Dean. But most Americans recognize that Clinton was much more successful than Bush in some key areas, and thus a connection on the level of policy in those areas might well help him. Having Clinton speak at campaign events, as long as the speeches are policy-focused, might even work. But having Clinton on the ballot would distract from substance and bring the discourse to a lower level. At this moment, I think Hillary would kill his chances of success too. She needs to build a bigger base of support and more experience in the Senate first. She is otherwise vulnerable on three counts: she failed at health care when Bill was President (for whatever reason, her fault or not), she has very little experience in policymaking, and the right hates her with a rabid, irrational passion. I think Dean's best chance may be the tried and true method: selecting another of the Dem candidates, if they don't kill each other in the primary campaigns. How does Vice President Moseley-Braun sound? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 24 Aug 03 - 12:30 PM Over 4,500 people rallied to hear Dean kick off his tour of cities beginning at Falls Church, VA. You can hear a 45 min 7.5M mp3 here; http://images.deanforamerica.com/media/sleepless/030823va.mp3 He flew on to Wisconsin, then fueled up in Boise where Dean supporters met him at the airport - the speaking tour, labeled "Sleepless" while Bush takes a month long vacation, will go on until Tuesday. The speaking stops are: SLEEPLESS SUMMER TOUR August 23-26 Falls Church, VA 4,500! people gathered Milwaukee, WI 800! people gathered New York, NY Seattle, WA Portland, OR Chicago, IL San Antonio, TX Spokane, WA Check the Dean blog for time and location if you are near any of these cities. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: GUEST,pdq Date: 24 Aug 03 - 02:23 PM I know this is a lovefest for Dean supporters, but here is my two cents worth. Most Americans will only vote to replace a president if the new man is clearly better. The 2000 race was between two wannabes. The 2004 race will pit a successful man against a wannabe. Dean's talk is not enough, and his accomplishments are thin. "The right-wing radicals want us to believe that we must choose between having a healthy environment or a healthy economy. I believe that a healthy environment will support a healthy economy." -Howard Dean Please!!!!!!!! There are no people alive who want dirty air, polluted rivers or toxic waste spills. Sounds like name-calling to me. As far as the war with Iraq, Israel is the main beneficiary. The Israeli people know that they are NOT ingaged in parlor games. They can lose, and if they do, they lose everything. It is easy for candidates to second guess our leaders when they have nothing to lose. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 24 Aug 03 - 04:18 PM I would not call W. Bush a successful man. He is still the appointed, not popularly elected, wannabe, IMHO. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: GUEST Date: 24 Aug 03 - 05:23 PM Oops, Alice. Sorry. I was going to stay out of this thread but the notion that Bush was appointed is pure horse puckey. We don't elect our presidents by "popular" vote, and I'm sure you are well aware of that. DougR |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 24 Aug 03 - 07:36 PM Yes, I am aware of that, and I still wish the votes in Florida had continued to be counted. Thanks for your polite and sincere input, as always, Doug! a. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Amos Date: 25 Aug 03 - 09:00 AM In Bush's case we elect them by buying Spreme COurt judges. Sorry. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 25 Aug 03 - 11:32 AM Last night I was glued to the blog for America (Dean's blog) while the Governor traveled on stump speeches across the country... there were only a few thousand officially signed up to gather in Portland and Seattle. Proof of how much this campaign is a grassroots movement was the numbers that actually gathered - by police estimates, 12,000 to 15,000 in Seattle. Photos here: www.blogforamerica.com, scroll down page to photo threads, including one that is 360 degrees of the crowd. Word of mouth spread the desire for many thousands to gather and hear Dean speak, a phenomenon that has not happened for any of the other Democratic candidates. The fund raising this weekend to match Bush's million dollars is on track to reach its goal Tuesday. The press who have been dismissing Dean are eating their words. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Big Mick Date: 25 Aug 03 - 12:33 PM I haven't read this whole thread, but I pretty well think I know how it goes. Time to chime in on this, given my background. A little setup, though, must come first. For those of us on the progressive side of the equation, there should be only one criterion. That is electability. While I have great respect for diversity of opinion on candidates, this Presidency should convince you of the necessity of defeating dangerous candidates. I believe that at some point, political pragmatism must take precedence over philosophical purity. I am a great case in point. My views of the world would have a Tom Harkin as President in a heartbeat. But what we know of his electibility tells us that it just isn't wise to support him for this endeavor. Nader, while a legitimate candidate, shows us what happens when philosophical considerations take precedence over the pragmatic fact of elecability. I reject those that are angry with him for running (it was his right), as well as those angry at those who voted for him (their arguments for supporting him were sound). But I ask you to look back at that time, and ask yourself if we are better off as a result of it? My answer to that is no. The system is designed to allow these types of campaigns in the primary/party caucus period. Many of those that I have spoken with, that voted for third party folks that are otherwise Democrats, didn't bother to vote in these crucial candidate selection elections. If a candidate cannot carry these elections, it is unlikely that their message will resound with the crucial middle. Like it or not, my friends, it is always a battle for the middle. The party that gets more of these folks leaning right or left, is the party that Now to Governor Dean. I am very interested in this man. He has been unfairly painted by some as too far to the left. The simple fact is that he is a progressive of the first order, who seems capable of drawing the swing voters of both parties. He seems to me to be in the right place on the environment, labor, social infrastructure, business (small to midsize) infrastructure, and Health care. The only question for me remains, is he electable? I have been watching the numbers carefully. As a veteran political campaign director, the rallies and such don't mean a lot. These are, in the main, staged. I want to watch the polling so I can ascertain where the all important middle seems to be coming down. Middle does not equate to middle class, nor is it broken out by ethnicity or income level. It is that great block of average folks that most of you call undecideds or independents. It crosses age, gender, ethnicity, and income levels. These average folks just trying to raise their kids and live their lives are the ones. So far, so good, Governor Dean. If when it shakes out, you are our guy, that will be fine with me. Speak your heart, but think very carefully as you do. You seem to have a plan, and you seem to be enunciating it well. All the best, Mick |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Don Firth Date: 25 Aug 03 - 02:31 PM Dean drew a pretty substantial crowd at Seattle's Westlake Park yesterday (BLICKY1). Undoubtedly his supporters did some "staging," (Standard Operating Procedure in political campaigns, isn't it?) although other than reminding other supporters to be sure to be there, I don't know what "staging" means. That couldn't account for all the people who came, or their enthusiasm. You can't "stage" that many people. And they really resonated with what Dean had to say. And in California, polls show Bustamante (Dem.) well ahead of Arnie (Rep.) (BLICKY2). And someone said that considering his stand on some issues, Arnie is "a Democrat disguised as a Republican." I noted on this morning's news that Bush's approval rating has fallen below 50%. This is not going to be a "cakewalk" for the Republicans any more than the Iraqi war has turned out to be a "cakewalk." If things really get desparate as I'm pretty sure they will, special care should be taken in November 2004 to forestall any Florida-style hanky panky. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 25 Aug 03 - 04:24 PM Dean's support is a completely different phenomenon than "same old, same old" campaign politics. The support is vastly drawn from people who have never been involved in a campaign before, they are from Republicans to Greens and all in between, and are organizing on their own, bottom up, not top down. The way these people have connected through meetup.com and then spread support to their friends and relatives is COMPLETELY different than the typical staged rally. The other candidates don't get this support because, unlike the other Dem candidates, 1) Dean has a message people are excited to hear 2) Dean has a way of delivering the message that is honest and sincere and that resonates with people 3) Dean has an executive record in Vermont that shows result. Time and again on the Dean blog, I have read people say they had given up hope on the democratic process until they learned more about Dean, and that they are participating for the first time in a campaign. The media is finally waking up to the fact that this is a phenomenon that really is action from the people creating these huge crowds from word of mouth, not from being invited by the campaign. Read Joe Trippi's interview (Dean's campaign manager) regarding how the people led the campaign, instead of the campaign leading the people. http://blog.deanforamerica.com/archives/001096.html quote from AUGUST 19 interview... We had, for example, an email list of 481 people in Austin and we emailed them and said "We're coming." We get to the event, and there are 3200 people there. The reason there are 3200 people there is that those 481 people went out, downloaded flyers, leafleted the Latino community, leafleted polling places for a city election that was occurring, made phone calls, and did all those kind of things on their own. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Howard Dean's Blog From: Alice Date: 25 Aug 03 - 07:42 PM I can testify that in my town, in July, ten of us came together as strangers because we signed up for the Dean meetup for our location. We looked at each other and said, anyone here from the campaign? Nope. Anyone here get an agenda of what we are supposed to do? Nope. So, we just started talking to each other where we were in the coffee shop, talking about why we had come to the meeting. There were people there who said they just wanted anyone but Bush in the White House, there were people there from Vermont (tourists) who knew Dean well as their governor, there were people who owned small businesses, a doctor, a teacher, a student... many voices each telling a unique story. We didn't have direction from the Dean campaign, we just met because we saw the time and date and place on meetup.com. We didn't have an agenda, but we all agreed that from our many perspectives, Dean WAS the middle, and he was the one we respected. We decided on our own what we could do for Dean in our town. We figured out our own plan to put together an event to hand out flyers. We printed flyers ourselves, we made our own display, we did our own management of outreach. Now that I've been reading the blog for a couple of months, I find that the meetups everywhere are doing just what we did in my town. Strangers came together, without being "handled" by the campaign, except to get some support materials if wanted, and have volunteered to do what they thought needed to be done in their home town. People have made their own Dean tee shirts, just like we have here in Montana, made their own stickers and buttons, and have gone out and done projects that help their community while at the same time informing the public about Dean. Don't believe the Republcans' spin that Dean is unelectable... that is BAIT to try to get Dems to sabotage each other. Dean is the MOST electable of all the candidates. I can't wait for Dean's debate with W Bush. |
