Dumbest Dean story you'll ever read

[Paragon]

http://www.timesargus.com/Story/71859.html

MONTPELIER - Former Gov. Howard Dean could find out Monday night if he owes $76.01 in interest on a property tax payment he says he made on time.

The 14-member Burlington Board of Tax Abatement is scheduled to hear the case, which centers on what Dean says is a lost check for $6,080.20 and city officials claim is a late payment.

City officials said they did not receive any payment on Aug. 12, when the first quarterly payment was due, They said they wrote Dean a letter on Aug. 21 telling him he owed taxes plus a $76.01 interest payment.

And the kicker, at the bottom:

Dean has made tax fairness a centerpiece of his presidential campaign and criticized the Bush administration for supporting policies that allow affluent citizens to not pay their fair share of taxes.

Contact Claude Marx at [e-mail] .

Let Claude know what you think!

[Demobrat]

1. Oh MY God

He's a tax cheat! That's it. I'm switching my support to Unnamed Democrat.

[Darth_Ole]

3. He owes 76 dollars!!!

How can we trust him with a budget of billions?

[trogdor]

6. No, this is the Cheat.

[damnraddem]

18. Wait, wait! What about ...

Generic Democrat? And besides, Unnamed's name is Unnamed Candidate.

[disgruntella]

2. Wow - that puts the "pet" in "petty"

and the "ummmmm...." in dumb.

[GainesT1958]

4. I can hear the right wing PACs' attack ads now:

"Howard Dean--the tax-dodging McGovern liberal!"

You know--the ones done by the guy whose voice is also on ads for many major laxative brands!

What's Floyd Brown gonna call this, "Propertygate"?

[Brian Sweat]

5. Next they'll tell us he got a parking ticket once.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

7. laugh all you want. a smear is a smear

They better not be able to say: "Dean once had to pay a penalty for late payment of taxes". What?....you think people read?

[Brian Sweat]

14. Well, if they can attack him for this

there is probably no one that is immune.

[clar]

22. Both Kerry and Edwards

have had more serious late tax problems. Edwards on his Washington home and Kerry on his Nantucket Estate. Kerry said it was an error on the part of the trust that administers the estate.

[meegbear]

8. Don't you people have a website dedicated to attacking

journalists? I'll let Claude know what I think ....

[Paragon]

9. My letter to Claude...

"Congratulations, Claude...on the dumbest article ever written."

I'll yet y'all know if I get a response.

[Bertrand]

10. lol

it appears the barre-montpelier times argus must have ran out of stories last saturday.

[TLM]

11. Won't be long before we see the Clark Meme Team grab this one

Dean the tax cheat...

[Tatiana]

12. Another attempted smear.

When will people wake up and realize that the negative press against both Dean and Clark is part of an orchestrated effort by the right-wingers to decimate our best candidates?

[Jackpine Radical]

13. Here's my email:

"Dean has made tax fairness a centerpiece of his presidential campaign and criticized the Bush administration for supporting policies that allow affluent citizens to not pay their fair share of taxes."

I guess I'm a little bit slow, Claude, but I'm afraid I don't quite get the point of your story or your above-quoted comment on Dean's possible late tax payment. Am I to conclude 1) that this episode reveals Dean's basically shifty and untrustworthy character; or 2) that this incident is grounds for charging him with hypocrisy for criticizing the Bush administration; or 3) that you had some blank newspaper space that you were desperate to fill; or 4) that you're trying to spin a piece of nothing into a major story about Dean evading taxes?

Puzzled in Wisconsin,

[Atlant]

15. The Dean Team's response was exactly correct: "Dean is a tightwad"

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/09/20/d... /

Dean's campaign released a statement yesterday saying: "The Governor is exercising his right, as a citizen of Burlington, to appeal the $76.01 in interest and penalties and will abide by the decision of the Board. This will come as no surprise to Vermonters, who are well aware that Howard Dean is a tightwad."

[LizW]

16. <snarf>

That's funny.

I don't blame Dean for contesting this thing one bit. He paid the quarterly assessment and PREPAID three others, and they hit him with a fine because they claim this one is late. I must be a tightwad, too, 'cause I'd do the same.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

17. He's also very shortsighted then.

Is it really worth the hassle to get the money back? Does he NOT feel the city of Burlington could actually USE the money?
This shows really skewed priorties IMHO.

[TLM]

21. You know Dean could fight off a mugger...

and you would spin it as "Out of control Dean brutalizes disenfranchised poor."

[NewYorkerfromMass]

23. No. What's Dean got against the city of Burlington?

where is his sense of "citizenhood"?

[sandnsea]

35. Oh BULL

If he doesn't owe it, he doesn't owe it. And every person who CAN'T afford to pay interest they don't owe will be helped by Dean standing up to an injustice. What the hell are we all about if not that?

[stickdog]

37. Dean doesn't like paying taxes he doesn't owe.

Neither does anyone else.

[reachout]

19. chortle

I hope someone brings it up to him and he can hit them with the "tightwad" line. Sometimes a riposte with humor is the best defense against nonsense.

[newyawker99]

33. Hi reachout!!

Welcome to DU!!

[damnraddem]

20. Great! And this will play, too:

everyone likes fighting city hall.

[KaraokeKarlton]

25. Yep, he is definately a "tightwad"...lol

He also is very big on paying the bills, so there is no doubt in my mind that this was not an error on his part. He's almost militant about recycling, too, so he wouldn't want to waste a check for a bill he doesn't owe. Recycling in Vermont has risen dramatically since he became governor. In a lot of places it's mandatory.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

24. This shows Dean doesn't really support government

he clearly can't stand to add to its revenues.

[trumad]

26. NewYorkerfrommars

Ya gotta be if you were serious in your above posts....

[NewYorkerfromMass]

38. trulymad...

2 people can play that childish game.

[DrGonzoLives]

27. Principle, apparently, means nothing to you

He paid his bill - why should he pay more because of a clerical error? Do you happily pay late charges that you know you don't owe?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

30. It depends on the circumstances

did they really lose the check? or did he send it in late?

[DrGonzoLives]

31. Think about it

Do you realize how incredibly stupid it would be for Dean to knowingly lie about this? Do you realize how incredibly easy it would be to show that he did? His campaign would be over.

And, yes, tax agencies lose checks and fuck up all the time. Michigan still owes me $75 in tax returns from a year ago.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

32. O.K. Let's assume it is lost

somewhere in the massive bureaucratic chambers of Burlington, and Dean is being truthful.
Does he...
A. Pay the fine and write a new check along with a letter explaining his position and how he hopes the original check will turn up later because he refuses to put an expensive stop order payment on it?...
... or
B. Go to court and fight it and turn it into a news story? And allow idiots like me to question his time management and priortization abilities?

[dsc]

29. Yeah he only paid the quarterly taxes on time and in full

for not one quarter, not two quarters, not three or four or five or six or seven or eight or nine or ten or eleven or twelve or thirteen or ... but for over 100 quarters (he has lived their since 1978)

[RetroLounge]

39. This post clearly shows, uhm, uhm, let see, what does it show?

[zeemike]

28. That does it

Time for a special prosecutor to look into this matter… Send the FBI to Vermont and investigate the whole state.

[sandnsea]

34. GOOD for Dean!!!

I know too many wealthy people who just write out a check when shit like this happens. I am really glad Dean is getting to the bottom of what happened with his tax check. When someone like him stands up, it makes it easier for the little guy to stand up too. I think I'll go write Claude too!

[einsteins stein]

36. This is Pure Dean!

The man is not fiscally conservative, he's fiscally responsible! Obviously, Dean expects our government to be responsible as well. If you make an error, you take responsibility for that error, be you an average Joe, or the Burlington Board of Tax Abatement. I'm glad to see Dr. Dean using a little, old fashioned horse sense!

Also, he's not sitting back calculating the political fallout that this may bring, if any. Some might pay the bill, though they knew it was wrong, just to keep it out of the press. Is that the kind of President YOU want?

This is Dean, doing what is right, for all the right reasons, despite the naysayers, nitpickers, and know-nothing know-it-alls.

May I say, this feels great!