Gephardt compares Dean to Gingrich

[Nicholas_J]

DES MOINES, Iowa - Presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt on Friday likened rival and Democratic front-runner Howard Dean to Newt Gingrich, the personification of right-wing Republicans whom Democrats have demonized as Public Enemy No. 1.

Gephardt, the former House Democratic leader, resurrected Dean's 1990s comments on overhauling the Medicare program and increasing the Social Security retirement age to link him to Gingrich and the GOP policies of the "Contract With America." The critique reflected Gephardt's determination to cut Dean's advantage in Iowa as well as energize his own campaign.


"Howard Dean actually agreed with the Gingrich Republicans," Gephardt told a union audience.


"It was in this period when Gingrich said Republicans wouldn't immediately kill Medicare. Instead, they would let it wither on the vine," Gephardt said. "And it was also during this time that Howard Dean, as chairman of the National Governors Association, was supporting Republican efforts to scale back Medicare."

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/6757308.htm

[newsguyatl]

1. this is so 3 days ago

can't you find newer stuff??

[clar]

2. Didn't he already

post this?

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tsipple]

5. Really? That's Pretty Cool

I feel like I've got a direct line into the Kerry campaign!

Nicholas, why did John Kerry vote to support President Bush's unilateral invasion of Iraq? Just looking for an official answer on that. Thanks.

[Nicholas_J]

12. More rubbish

Ther is no legal basis for the stance tht congress votd for unilateral invasion of Iraq.

that was just another example of Deans political lies.

[virtualobserver]

17. the resolution authorizes force in IRAQ.......

"The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate..."

as HE determines to be neccesary, and it makes no other requirements of him.

they gave Bush a blank check....it was stupid, but they did it...so just admit it, Kerry blew it.

[tsipple]

4. I Can Top That

Gephardt (and Kerry, for that matter) agree with Bush. Voted for the Iraq Resolution. Remember?

[Jim Sagle]

10. And he sucked w off in public for a photo op.

[Nicholas_J]

15. The October Resolution

was not a vote for War.

[MercutioATC]

18. We've seen that arguement and most of us aren't buying.

...and you can say that it's due to my "lack of understanding of Constitutional law" all you want, but you'll never convince me that a Democratic "aye" vote on the IWR was anything other than an attempt to save their political asses. I respect the Congressmen who had the fortitude to vote against it even though it was not the most politically safe thing to do.

[blm]

19. That's just a display of YOUR intransigence.

Suit yourself. Biden-Lugar was authorization for use of force, and Dean was FOR that.

[MercutioATC]

22. There is a difference between the two bills. You'll admit that, right?

Dean's position aside, do you really see the IWR text as being a document that restricted Bush in the least (in a practical way)? To say that some sort of action was needed and that you supported action within the framework of U.N. input and approval is one thing. The IWR is another animal entirely.

[papau]

6. I like Gephardt's pro-union stands - but here he is twisting like a Gop'er

In 1995 Dean heard another person respond on what was needed for SS - and the fellow indicated that our pay as you go SS funding would need - if funding remained the current wage capped payroll tax - a change in the "normal retirement age" - perhaps to age 70, certainly to 68 from the Reagan set age of 67 (folks have forgotten how Reagan raised the retirement age from 65- and it will be good politics to remind them). Dean sain he agreed. He has since gone to a better solution - to changing the funding method - by removing the wage cap on payroll taxes. The folks in the AARP understand this. I expected the media would try to screw him on this - but they are RW and and would have done so anyway. I did not expect Gep to join in.

likewise as to Medicare, Deane endorsed the GOP goal in 95 of reducing the growth in medicare medical costs from a 10% growth each year to 7% growth (Gingrich claimed a $270 B "savings" would result, There were no details as I recall, so it was motherhood - and indeed as a Clintonian pragmatist, why not be in favor of the obvious?

As to Nafta, Nafta sucked except that it saved a world wide economic crisis that would have occurred if Mexico was allowed to go under - yet after its success in saving Mexico, NAFTA is now screwing Mexico as our Farm welfare payment to the major Farm corporations (and God bless that a little of the money does get down to family farms - but that is not the reason the GOP passed it) are destroying farming in Mexico. Indeed that is the reason for the Cancun 26 demanding the US/EU/ and Japan end export prices that are little more than real cost less tax subsidy (I believe beef in the EU prices out at "cost less $2 per day per cow before slaugter" - a great way to teach small countries how we believe in the market pricing model). I agree Dean - and all the others - need to fine tune their message on Nafta - but Gep is pushing - however on the Nafta question there is a diffence of opinion (my god - I may not always be right! even to my own ears I may not be certain! :-) ), so I can see how Gep would - and should - hit Dean on this.

[tsipple]

7. Don't Know How Anybody Could Oppose...

...Free trade with Canada. Vermont shares a border with Canada.

[MercutioATC]

8. Yawn

.

[LuminousX]

9. N-J, do you agree with the comparison?

Just posting the story leaves so many unanswered questions. Do you feel this is a fair comparison?

[MercutioATC]

13. Good luck getting a response.

Some posters are more concerned with screaming their message than engaging in dialogue. The poster in question rarely responds to questions. If you feel an interest in responding,

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1090&px=1217779

might be a good link.

Opinions are like bellybuttons. Be proud of yours.

[Nicholas_J]

14. Yes I do feel it is a fair comparison.

Dena has even more recently. When Dean first spoke to Russert in 1995 about raising the retirement age, he also stated that he would make cuts in medicare payments, and again in June indicated that he would limit growth in medicare spending:


Russert: When the Republicans tried to limit the growth, the Democrats said that was an actual cut.
Dean: Well, they’re going to say what they’re going to say. All I...
Russert: You would be willing to limit the growth...
Dean: Absolutely.
Russert: ...in Defense, in Medicare and Social Security?
Dean: You have to do that. If you don’t go where the money is—Social Security, we’re going to fix differently. We’re not talking about Social Security. We’re talking about Medicare. We’re talking about Defense and we’re talking about all the other things the federal government does.

http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/912159.asp?0sl=-13

Unfortunately for Dean, Pickler points out, “according to 1995 Newhouse News Service article, Dean said the way to balance the budget is for Congress to move the retirement age to 70, cut defense, Social Security, Medicare and veterans pensions, and then have the states cut almost everything else.” Not so far back was Dean’s June appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in which “He said to balance Social Security, he would consider raising the retirement age to 68 and letting more salary above $87,000 fall under the payroll tax.”


http://www.socialsecurity.org/sstw/sstw08-11-03.pdf.

or:

http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:Z5GJBOqgOKkJ:www.socialsecurity.org/sstw/sstw08-11-03.pdf+%E2%80%9CThe+way+to+balance+the+budget+is+for+Congress+to+cut+Social+Security,+move+the+retirement+age+to+70,+cut+defense,+Medicare+and+veterans+pensions,+while+the+states+cut+almost+everything+else.+It+would+be+tough+but+we+could+do+it.%E2%80%9D&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&client=REAL-tb

Yes, Deans statements about cutting back on medicare and veterans pensions was lauded in the right wing media, and the repeat performance and reminder in his speech in June, and being called to the carpet on it by Kucinich is another example of Deans real politica philosophy, which Trippi has had to get him to tone down while running for president.

A number of Vermont liberals and progressives have frequently pointed out that this is NOT atypical of Dean, campaigning in one political direction, but as soon as he gets what he wants, reverting to his extreme conservative policies.

Gephardts statements refer to the fact that while Dean was governor, he supported Gingrich's and the Republican party's ideas about government spending and in particular for cuts to thpse programs mentioned above. Gephardt is simply reiterating Dean's fiscal alignment with Gingrich's contract with America as a while he was involved with setting policies and platforms for the nations governors

There is little difference between Deans statements about Medicare, and the goals of the neo-conservative movement.

Lets put it this way, Dean has gotten higher Grades for conservatism from the renowned conservative Cato Institute, Receving B's for the first several years of his years as governor, then slipped to C in 1998. Only when Dean decided to run for president, and started speaking in LESS conservative terms, did he finally get a "D" in 2002.

Kerry and the other candidates get solid "F"'s from this bastion of conservatism.

[MercutioATC]

16. Two problems with that...

First, Dean has explained his 1995 statement about raising the SS age to 70. He made that comment in a completely different economy and does not feel the same measures are appropriate or needed now.

Second, you're relying on "everything Republicans do is bad" propoganda to somehow smear Dean for appealing to a broad range of people. True, Dean was less appealing to the far left than he was to moderates. That's no crime, however. He openly claims to be a fiscal conservative. The simple fact that there are also fiscally conservative Republicans does not take away from the benefits of fiscal responsibility.

Actually, since the nominee will have to then go out and win a general election, wouldn't it be a benefit to appeal to as broad a base of voters as possible? Dean has no shortage of supporters among the ranks of the Democrats. If your facts have merit, he quite obviously appeals to some Independants and Republicans too. That sounds like a winning recipe to me.

[Nicholas_J]

20. But not to

All those people on medicare or about to go on it, as they find out Deans stance on the issues, or perhaps he will simply lie about his stance again, until he gets what he wants. Th fact that Dean made the comments about Social Security and Medicare in 1995, and then repeated it agains in 2003, is clearly indicative that he still maintains the same stance he did before, and his intention is to cut these plans.

[MercutioATC]

21. Absolutely untrue...not even remotely factually correct.

You have every right to believe what you will of Dean, but stating that he repeated his 1995 stance in 2003 is blatantly untrue. He clearly stated that the set of circumstances was different in 1995 and he does not feel that raising the SS elegibility age to 70 is needed. You KNOW that.

So, contrary to your post, he obviously does NOT maintain the same stance he did before...

THIS is what people mean when they accuse you of misrepresentation of facts. It's perfectly honest to say that Dean has stated that his position has changed but that you don't believe him. That's an opinion. However, to say that Dean has maintained an 8-year-old position on this issue is a lie.

[genius]

11. Good comparison

Good for Gephardt.

[deutsey]

23. I compare Gephardt to Howdie Doodie

with as much chance of beating Bush as the puppet.