ZOT: Dean's agenda isn't radical; it's plain sensible

tallahassee democrat ^ | 1/2/04 | Matthew Miller

[still hungover]

It's one thing for rival Democrats to slam Howard Dean's domestic agenda as some "left-wing abandonment" of President Clinton's centrist triumphs; after all, a little demagoguery in the service of winning is what primary politics are about.

But in reality, the notion that Dean is somehow radically left on domestic policy, or has "dissed" Bill Clinton, is nonsense. To the extent these charges are serious, they prove how little critics grasp Dean's proposals - and how little they recall Clinton's own domestic vision, which Dean largely seeks to fulfill.

To see today's Democratic squabble in proper context, it helps to take a longer view. On domestic policy, Bill Clinton's presidency consisted of two years on "offense" followed by six years on "defense." The meltdown of his health-care plan in 1994 cost Democrats control of Congress and ended the affirmative phase of Clinton's presidency.

Clinton's great achievement on "defense" was to move the country from large budget deficits (which put Democratic domestic ambitions in a straitjacket) to unprecedented budget surpluses. As 2000 drew near, it was clear that Clinton's surreal odyssey of survival would be vindicated only if he were succeeded by a president who would use the surpluses he was bequeathing to pursue the unfinished progressive agenda he never had a second chance to pursue himself.

But Al Gore did not become president. And now, in record time, George Bush has dissipated the surpluses.

Enter Howard Dean. To his critics, Dean's crime the other day was to suggest it was time for the party to move past Clinton's famous 1995 declaration that "the era of big government is over." Dean said Democrats should not "join Republicans and aim simply to limit the damage they inflict on working families."

Instead, Dean argued that Democrats should again raise their sights. But this isn't abandoning Clinton's legacy - it's precisely the opportunity that Clinton's defeat of the Gingrich "revolution" and his surplus-generating survival was intended to create.

What "radical" goals would Dr. Dean urge the party to pursue, in what he now calls a "New Social Contract for Working Families"? Affordable health care for the 44 million uninsured. Affordable child care. Universal preschool for millions of poorer kids who don't have it. A new commitment to make college more affordable. A modest increase in the minimum wage. New efforts to encourage savings for average citizens.

These goals aren't radical; they're common sense. But the conservative movement has so successfully shaped perceptions of where the 50-yard line lies in political debate that they can be plausibly branded as "lefty" -- meaning the media can (for now, at least) be persuaded to characterize them this way.

In seeking to move the 50-yard line back toward common sense, Howard Dean is doing what needs to be done - and privately, other Democrats know it. If anything, his ambitions are too timid. A modest increase in the minimum wage, for example, won't begin to address the scandal of tens of millions of Americans who live in poverty despite living in households headed by full-time workers. On education, Dean has offered nothing to address the teacher crisis that plagues millions of our poorest children.

The one place where Dean's tone does break with Clinton's is his determination to take on the excesses of corporate America. Yet few recall that a central riff in Clinton's 1992 campaign decried excessive CEO pay; the issue resonated powerfully (and still does) with ordinary citizens of all stripes. In office, however, Clinton eschewed such confrontational rhetoric in favor of working with Wall Street and the corporate community to tame the deficit and expand health coverage.

But after the shocking corruption exposed in the last few years - from Enron to Tyco to the New York Stock Exchange, the heart of capitalism - no serious candidate can ignore the "rot at the top" as a political issue. Even conservatives and thoughtful business leaders know something went wrong among a serious swath of our business elite - and that this needs to change.

Bottom line: You can have doubts about Howard Dean's electability. But you can't doubt that his domestic agenda is roughly where Democrats in 2004 ought to be.

Now if only we could get Dean to stop worrying about reading Osama Bin Laden his Miranda rights ...

[dirtboy]

Conservatives should love the fiscally conservative Dean.

So if Dean taxed us at 90 percent and spent it all, he'd be a fiscal conservative, just because the books balanced?

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son...

[Revolting cat!]

Affordable health care for the 44 million uninsured.

It's 44 million now? It was 41 a month or two ago. I suppose that 10% number of US population being homopederasts is higher now too? 25%? And what, 10 million homeless, up from zero in the second week of January 2000? How much did you say the RIAA loses due to downloading? $15 billion a year?

[4mycountry]

The Viking Kitties say, BEGONE!

[MHGinTN]

Democrats are bold-faced liars! The 'journalist' writes, "But in reality, the notion that Dean is somehow radically left on domestic policy, or has "dissed" Bill Clinton, is nonsense." I recall Howard'Killer'Dean actually saying that the clinton era is over and he's gonna fix what sinkEmperor broke.

[Coop]

Well, hi there! I'm surprised to hear from you. Then again, you're probably surprised to have an account active for more than four minutes.

Yes, I do love Howard's fiscal conservatism. Please elect him to be the Dem Presidential nominee. I wish you all the success in the world!

[OldFriend]

Dean's lies are more breathtaking than those of the grifters.

[rockrr]

Yep,
And I love that he's running as a RAT!
And I love that his handlers aren't restraining his mouth.
It just keeps getting better every day.....

[4mycountry]

[Tijeras_Slim]

[NeoCaveman]

Conservatives should love the fiscally conservative Dean.

I can't stop laughing. Dean's promising more tax increases than Mondale.

Dean's Greedy Hand

	Current	Dean tax
Capital gains tax	15%	20%
Dividend tax	15%	39.6%
Income tax rate (highest)	35%	39.6%
Income tax rate (middle)	25%	28%
Income tax rate (lowest)	10%	15%
Per child credit	10%	15%
Marriage penalty	Eliminated	Reinstated
Death tax in 2010	0	55%

Source: Club for Growth

[xsmommy]

copycat! i asked him first! didn't you love the cover of the National Review with the screaming meemie Howie on it saying PLEASE NOMINATE THIS MAN...?

[Jack Black]

Here is the URL:
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdhisto4.htm

Here is a hyperlink of the URL:
U.S.A. Debt through 2000

[CFC__VRWC]

Affordable health care for the 44 million uninsured.

By November it will be up to 44 billion uninsured. Just like it will be 3 trillion jobs lost under the Bush administration by then. Dolts like this will just say, and the New York Times will gleefully report it as "truth."

[still hungover]

You can go here to see the massive support Dean is getting from Republicans:

http://atlblogs.com/republicansfordean/

[Coop]

asked him first

You did, beat me right to it! :-)

[Coop]

As a true Dean lover, there's gotta be a nagging feeling tickling the back of your brain (strong presumption, I realize) as to why Republicans - who approve of President Bush at about the 90% mark - would be so eager to have Dean win. [grin]

[dirtboy]

Conservatives should love the fiscally conservative Dean.

Just like Br'ier Rabbit didn't want to be thrown in the briar patch.

You're so dumb, you don't realize that we WANT Dean to be the Dem nominee. We never thought we'd see another McGovern in our lifetimes.

[Ex-Dem]

No no, you've got it all wrong. We'd looove for Howard Dean to get the DNC nomination. Karl Rove would love Dean to get the nomination ;).

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>>What "radical" goals would Dr. Dean urge the party to pursue, in what he now calls a "New Social Contract for Working Families"?

It's not the goals, it's Death Md's prescription that bear further examination.

>>>>>Affordable health care for the 44 million uninsured.

At a rally in Brooklyn he called for universal government health care. This system is failing in every major country in which it is tried. The private health care industry comprises 14% of our nation's $10tril per annum GDP.

Assuming that the government could do this at 1/2 price due to economies of scale and that no one would waste a dime of the tax money involved, Howard Dean needs to acquire an additional $700bil per annum to fund this mandate.

>>>>>Affordable child care. Universal preschool for millions of poorer kids who don't have it.

As Vermont Governor, Dean attempted these programs. They exist, but are only affordable for those who don't pay taxes. The overall state tax burden in Vt. is now 46% higher than when Dean took office.

>>>>A new commitment to make college more affordable.

College is no longer affordable because the level of government payments, rather than the budget of the typical family, determines the cost of tuition. College tuitions have outpaced the CPI by more than double for well over two decades. The increased tuitions have vastly outpaced the increase of individual wealth in the US over that period of time. Colleges would not be charging more unless someone could afford to pay this cost. That someone is Uncle Sap.


>>>>>>>A modest increase in the minimum wage.

If this is modest enough so that it doesn't exacerbate the very unemployment that Dean and his fellow partisans gripe about, I'd have no objections to this aspect of Dean's agenda.

>>>>>>>>New efforts to encourage savings for average citizens.

Raising someone's taxes by 46% doesn't encourage them to save much of anything.

[VRWC_minion]

Keep up the good work. I can eafely say that the majority of Freepers want to see Dean nominated and many of us would consider trying to help convince some of the wayward democrats to see the light.