AP: Dean Had Own Secret Energy Group

[Lexingtonian]

AP: Dean Had Own Secret Energy Group

53 minutes ago

By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean (news - web sites), who has criticized the Bush administration for refusing to release the deliberations of its energy policy task force, as governor of Vermont convened a similar panel that met in secret and angered state lawmakers.

Dean's group held one public hearing and after the fact volunteered the names of industry executives and liberal advocates it consulted in private, but Dean refused to open the task force's private deliberations.

In 1999, he offered the same argument the administration uses today for keeping deliberations of a policy task force secret.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20031229/ap_on_el_pr/dean_energy

[Melodybe]

1. Sorry it is not the same and the media is completely ignoring that FACT

Cheney meet with cooperations including his own company to figure out ways to line their own pockets. Dean consulted with executives AND liberal advocates, in order to find a solution to help his state. They are not the same and it is nothing but an outright lie to imply that they are.

[Lexingtonian]

2. Why the secrecy?

For a guy who proposes a "revolution", this is about up there with his embrace of the establishment sorts and opportunists in the past few weeks.

Oh, funny, I don't seem to be hearing the word "revolution" very much from Dean supporters recently.

[Melodybe]

3. Revolution! There I said it

B/c it is unrealistic to have a public forum on such a topic. Dean wanted to find a good solution quickly and with as little fuss as possible, having to listen to five thousand different groups that want a lot of different things is not the most efficient way of doing anything. Dean made no money on any of the deals he made, that alone makes him completely different from Cheney.

[Lexingtonian]

4. And you know this how?

Because if you have evidence that distinguishes the possibilities, you should tell us what it is. Surely you know that not all of us are part of the Dean HQ Night Internet Handling Team. Only some of us are :D I mean, we're not in the room with you folks! And we want donuts too!

[Melodybe]

5. Check the archives there was a thread on this earlier.

Their was an interview with Dean and the article said as much. Sorry but it is late and I don't remember where the article was published. I'm about to go to bed, but donuts sound nice for when I get up. :9

[pnorman]

6. "Sorry it is not the same and the media is completely ignoring that FACT"

I'm not a Dean supporter by any means, but the above seems right on. Probably ALL chief executives prefer to conduct such affairs in privacy. But the ESSENTIAL part is how they handle it when there's a public outcry of it. How BushCo handled it, right up to the present day has been well documented here on DU. Definitely NOT the same.

pnorman
STAND UP, KEEP FIGHTING http://shows.implex.tv/wellstone/

[CWebster]

7. If only you all put as much effort into trashing Bush

as you do Dean, the word that Democrats had a better alternative might get some traction. you know what I mean?

[Moderator]

8. Dupe...locking.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=289014&mesg_id=289014

DU Moderator

[fjc]

9. The issue is not Cheney's secrecy...

although that is a related issue. His secrecy is important because there is a suspicion that he engineered public policy for the sole benefit of his friends, political supporters, and donors. There is not mention nor any hint of that where Mr. Dean is concerned.