Reply #110: Glad you got a chuckle. I did enjoy my time away, thanks!

[gully]

Though I don't believe you were actually concerned about Dean, I did take 5 mns to address your so called concerns.

Also, if you are concerned about these things, why is Dean your #3 man?

I'm glad you can take the Clark heat though, because the right wing is gonna give you plenty if Clark gets the nomination.

Most of the concerns have been addressed by Nico Pitney here...I imagine you've seen this? I may duplicate his efforts however.

http://deandefense.org/archives/000596.html

Regarding Howard Dean's (so called) Republican leanings:

You seem to call being fiscally responsible Republican? I guess that concerns me. We need someone who is going to get our deficit under control, and Dean is that man.

However, Dean puts jobs before a balanced Budget...

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/09/27/dean/print.ht...

In addition, Vermont is one of few states not suffering under the Bush administrations 'borrow and spend' policies. Dean is just what this country needs after the wreckless spending of the Bush administration.

Howard Dean, fiscally responsible-socially liberal. Exactly what the doctor ordered IMHO.

Regarding the enviroment.

http://deandefense.org/archives/000596.html

++ The Environment: Dean's Vermont "has one of the most progressive environmental programmes in America" according to the London Times. As former Vermont radio and television talk show host Jeff Kaufman points out, "During his decade in office, Governor Dean helped protect more land from development than all previous governors combined; ... he administered a 'best practices' agriculture plan that preserves land and water quality; he helped form the nation's first statewide energy efficiency utility (preventing more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 2000); and he championed a commuter rail system to lower traffic congestion and pollution while diminishing urban sprawl (in its last report on sprawl, the Sierra Club ranked Vermont as the second best state in America for land use planning)." Vermont also followed California's lead in establishing regulations on greenhouse gas emissions that go beyond standards set in the Kyoto Protocol. According to the New York Times, Dean "is calling for the auto industry to build cars that get 40 miles per gallon by 2015 and for 20 percent of the nation's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. ... s president he would close the loophole that exempts sport utility vehicles from gas-mileage standards, ... make the Environmental Protection Agency cabinet level and work to re-establish the Clinton administration rules limiting roads in national forests." Even when Dean was judged less favorably on environmental issues, the executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council Elizabeth Courtney recognizes that pressing economic circumstances impacted his decisions ("in the early 90s the rest of the country seemed to be pulling out of the recession and Vermont seemed to be languishing in it") and acknowledges Dean's general qualities as governor: "fresh candor and intelligence. You always know where Howard Dean stands. He is candid and honest in his communications with Vermonters, and he is appreciated for that. He's also very bright, and he has a clear sense of his direction." The San Francisco Chronicle reported that " Pope said that although the Sierra Club had some disagreements with Dean's land-use policies, Dean did 'fabulous things in Vermont.'"

Howard Dean and State's Rights. This doesn't concern me personally. What's Clarks position on States Rights BTW? Or, don't we know that yet.

Here is some info on the medical Marijuana issue.

++ Medicinal Marijuana: Dean's reputation as a hard-headed skeptic of medicinal marijuana belies his actual position, which is more nuanced (if a bit neurotic, presumably because of his experience as a doctor). Dean doesn't "believe the war on drugs is a criminal matter; it's a public health matter. I think to throw users in jail is silly." He recently told the Liberal Oasis that his "opposition to medical marijuana is based on science, not based on ideology. More specifically, I don't think we should single out a particular drug for approval through political means when we approve other drugs through scientific means. When I'm President, I will require the FDA to evaluate marijuana with a double blind study with the same kinds of scientific protocols that every other drug goes through. I'm certainly willing to abide by what the FDA says." After resisting a medicinal marijuana bill that had made its way through the Vermont legislature for the reasons stated above, Dean eventually did sign a bill in June 2002 that established a task force "to investigate and assess options for legal protections which will allow seriously ill Vermonters to use medical marijuana without facing criminal prosecution under Vermont law." The Marijuana Policy Project said the bill set "the wheels in motion for solid patient protection."


2. Civil unions and gay marriage-Dean risked his political career.

http://www.jfklibrary.org/pica_essay_winner_2001_dzicze...

"In his campaign for reelection to a fifth gubernatorial term, an ambitious Dean would have focused on health care, taxes, or any of a number of "safe" political platforms. However, disturbed by Vermont’s reaction toward gay civil unions, Dean made the "extension of the rights and benefits of the constitution to all Vermonters, regardless of their sexual orientation" (Dean) the heart of his campaign for acceptance and understanding. Over the next six months, Dean fought harder for open-mindedness than for votes. He spoke against the "Take Back Vermont" movement, his most serious Election Day threat, stating that he never wanted to take Vermont back to "a time when it was okay to discriminate against people" (Goldberg). Dean effectively avoided the homophobic trends in political campaigning, but burdened himself with the political plague in popularity polls.

In an interview with The Advocate, Dean maintained that despite damage to his campaign, he had no regrets about supporting Vermont’s civil unions bill: "This . . . is about principle, and that principle is respect for everyone—and that is regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, or any one of a number of factors that makes us different" (Dean). Minority champions like Dean, with the courage to hold principle and respect for all people above common opinion, are the reasons that today women can vote, African Americans are legally protected from discrimination, and homosexuals can engage in civil unions.


3. Gun Control

"Let's keep and enforce the federal gun laws we have, close the gun show loophole using Insta-check, and then let the states decide for themselves what if any gun control laws they want. - Howard Dean, A-rating from the NRA.

I agree with Dean's stated position, and so does Clark right?

Howard Dean on justice, public defense, and civil rights

I'd like to see actual quotes from Dean on these issues. The author of this article takes great liberties. Reminds me of an Ann Coulter piece.

However, Dean defense has a lengthy examination of these claims.

http://deandefense.org/archives/000744.html

In addition you can actually view Deans position on his website. Still waiting for Clarks...

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=...

Regarding Green Mountain...Are you endorsing all the information on dissident voice? If so you should look at the Clark concerns as well. The Green Mountain issue has been discussed here, and you've taken part, so I won't rehash.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles8/DVNS_Wesley-Cla...

I personally find their info on Clark much more disturbing.

ALSO, WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO PROVIDE US WITH INFORMATION ON CLARK REGARDING THESE ISSUES?

Perhaps you can start a new thread/info dump on Clark, so we know where he stands on the issues you are concerned about most.


Thanks