Sidney Blumenthal: 'Dean has reinvented triangulation.'

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1114376,00.html

This man can survive shark attacks

Howard Dean's party rivals scent blood, but he's still unscathed

Sidney Blumenthal
Thursday January 1, 2004
The Guardian

The presidential party of the party that doesn't hold the White House is like a ghost party that miraculously springs to life in the January of election year. It exists apart from the congressional party and often against it, and it does not proceed through the tortuous path of legislation but a swift and unforgiving campaign. Though the curtain is just rising on 2004, the action is near the end of the first act.
Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, arrives at his position as frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination by outpacing three successive alternative frontrunners. Paradoxically, the fire concentrated on him has only bolstered him.

Dean's frankness has been accompanied by apparent gaffes - for example, his remark that the country is not safer after the capture of Saddam Hussein, a stunning event that reversed President Bush's poll slide. In a double whiplash effect, the other candidates, who had been trying to persuade Democratic voters that, while they had initially supported the Iraq war, they were against it all along, repositioned. "Dean will melt in a minute once Republicans start going after him," charged Senator Joseph Lieberman. Dean "makes a series of embarrassing gaffes that underscore the fact that he is not well-equipped to challenge Bush," said Congressman Dick Gephardt. "I don't think (Dean) can win either," added Senator John Kerry. Every time Dean makes an artless comment, his opponents see blood in the water. There may be blood, they may be sharks, but he emerges unscathed.

(snip)

The sin of the "Washington Democrats" in the eyes of Democrats isn't simply their fecklessness; it is that they have appeared as appeasers. Whether Dean or another Democrat can win the war is another war. But the first requirement for becoming the wartime leader is to understand that there is a war.

Lieberman has declared that Dean is not in the mould of Clinton in 1992, as though attempting to repeat the past makes a New Democrat born again. But Dean's pragmatic strategy may be another version of that which Clinton adopted after he suffered the loss of the Democratic Congress in 1994. By defining his position apart from the rightwing Republicans and the "Washington Democrats", as he calls them, Dean has reinvented triangulation.

...more...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. He got it in one

Dean and Kucinich appeal to many simply because they have stood up and said they are not appeasers. Kucinich has walked his talk by voting against the Patriot Act and the bill which gave Bush carte blanche in Iraq-as far as I know, he's the only candidate in Congress who did this. Dean, of course, wasn't in Congress, but he has voiced his opposition not only to foreign policy, but to the way the majority of Dems in Congress have buckled under to the Rethugs. That, coupled with a record that is more centrist than Kucinich's, is the reason so many people are supporting Dean, imho.

[joeybee12]

2. Howard did not make a gaffe when he said we are less safe today

He pointed out what is so painfully obivous--going after a rogue dictator who had nothing to do with 9-11, committing resources to this feckless thirst for revenge, while allowing al-qeda to regroup, and become even stronger than it was. The list goes on and on--not allocating funds for securing ports and chemical plants, where the next real threat will be.

The dems who attacked him over this are not simply appeasers, but enablers.

[mkultra]

3. Nothing to say nothing to risk

Lieberman and Gephardt are in no real risk of making any embarassing statements because they never really say anything important. Anytime you put your real views on the table, people will disagree. Thats a risk you take, but eventually, people will start to see that what dean is saying, right or wrong, has more to do with what he thanks than with what a cooporate backer thinks.

[WilliamPitt]

4. Give Dick some credit

He's done incredible work in his career. He says the words 'International Minimum Wage' in ways we should all listen to.

[Hep]

6. Dick deserves NO credit

because instead of spending his time talking about his record, he's sending letters to santa in Bush's name asking for a Dean nomination for Christmas.

Any credit Dick deserves has been forfeited by his own campaign. He was the first to go after Dean with the lowest of attacks.

[WilliamPitt]

7. No credit whatsoever?

Dick Gephardt on Abortion

Overturn the ban on new stem cell research. (Nov 3)
Voted 7 times against partial birth abortion. (Apr 2000)
Voted NO on requiring health providers to provide abortion information. (Sep 2002)
Voted NO on banning human cloning, including medical research. (Jul 2001)
Voted NO on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted NO on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001)
Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)
Voted NO on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Budget & Economy

Return to Clinton economic policy from Bush's failed policy. (Sep 25)
Healthcare reform is critical to economy. (Sep 25)
I led 1990s boom-I can get economy moving again. (Sep 4)
Push a bold plan for health care and jobs creation. (Jun 17)
Repeal the Bush tax cuts and invest in people. (Jun 17)
1993 tax increase & sound economics caused budget surplus. (May 17)
Stakeholder economics: Balance for everyone’s benefit. (Jul 1999)
Top 1% have benefited much more than average worker. (Jul 1999)
People are working harder for same wages. (Aug 1995)

Dick Gephardt on Civil Rights

Democrats need to earn the vote of African-Americans. (Sep 9)
We're all in it together. (Sep 4)
Strike a balance between liberty and security. (Jun 17)
Christian Coalition’s intolerance has no place in politics. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on Amendment to prohibit burning the US flag. (Jun 1999)
Voted NO on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions. (May 1998)
Constitutional Amendment for equal rights by gender. (Mar 2001)

Dick Gephardt on Corporations

Greed can kill democracy and capitalism. (Sep 25)
$36B in tax relief for small businesses. (Mar 2000)
Code of conduct for US businesses empowers workers. (Jul 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Crime

Voted NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime. (Jun 1999)
Voted YES on maintaining right of habeus corpus in Death Penalty Appeals. (Mar 1996)
Voted NO on making federal death penalty appeals harder. (Feb 1995)
Voted NO on replacing death penalty with life imprisonment. (Apr 1994)
More funding and stricter sentencing for hate crimes. (Apr 2001)
Require DNA testing for all federal executions. (Mar 2001)

Dick Gephardt on Drugs

Voted YES on military border patrols to battle drugs & terrorism. (Sep 2001)
Voted NO on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
Voted NO on subjecting federal employees to random drug tests. (Sep 1998)

Dick Gephardt on Education

Vouchers take needed funds away from public schools. (Nov 3)
Join Teacher Corps and we'll pay your college loans. (May 3)
Make first $10,000 of college tax deductible. (Jan 2002)
Mobilize against national security crisis in our schools. (Jan 2001)
Education agenda to improve public schools for 21st century. (Oct 2000)
Address school violence via character ed & counselors. (Oct 2000)
More teachers, more classrooms, more federal funding. (Jul 1999)
More federal help for college; outraged at rising costs. (Jul 1999)
Longer school day and longer school year. (Jul 1999)
School Choice
Opposes vouchers on equity & civic grounds. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001)
Voted YES on requiring states to test students. (May 2001)
Voted NO on allowing vouchers in DC schools. (Aug 1998)
Voted NO on vouchers for private & parochial schools. (Nov 1997)
Voted NO on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)

Dick Gephardt on Energy & Oil

Apollo 2: Make US independent of foreign oil. (Sep 4)
End dangerous addiction to foreign oil. (Jun 17)
10-year plan to develop hybrid cars then hydrogen fuel cells. (May 3)
Voted NO on raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels. (Aug 2001)
Voted YES on prohibiting oil drilling & development in ANWR. (Aug 2001)
Voted YES on starting implementation of Kyoto Protocol. (Jun 2000)
Preserve Alaska's ANWR instead of drilling it. (Feb 2001)

Dick Gephardt on Environment

Provide real leadership on critical environmental issues. (Jun 17)
Base trade on shared environmental values. (Jul 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Families & Children

More funding for Violence Against Women Act. (Sep 2000)
Parental involvement with school & kids solves social woes. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on reducing Marriage Tax by $399B over 10 years. (Mar 2001)

Dick Gephardt on Foreign Policy

Bush broke up alliances built over 70 years. (Sep 4)
Voted NO on keeping Cuba travel ban until political prisoners released. (Jul 2001)
Voted YES on withholding $244M in UN Back Payments until US seat restored. (May 2001)
Voted YES on $156M to IMF for 3rd-world debt reduction. (Jul 2000)
Voted NO on Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. (May 2000)
Voted YES on $15.2 billion for foreign operations. (Nov 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Free Trade

Enact international minimum wage through WTO. (Nov 3)
Against protectionism and for trade treaties. (Nov 3)
Fair trade saves jobs-globalization with fairness. (Sep 25)
Progressive trade policy helps every worker in the world. (Sep 25)
Race to the bottom if we have no trade standards. (Sep 4)
NAFTA and China PNTR cause a race to the bottom in wages. (May 3)
Rejected NAFTA: needed more for labor & environment. (Jul 1999)
Gephardt Amendment: results-oriented trade penalties. (Jul 1999)
Fair trade on an equal playing field. (Aug 1995)
China
Trade will not bring about change in China. (Jul 1999)
China: no positive economic relations with totalitarians. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on implementing free trade agerement with Chile. (Jul 24)
Voted NO on withdrawing from the WTO. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on 'Fast Track' authority for trade agreements. (Sep 1998)

Dick Gephardt on Government Reform

Election reform: restore faith in “one person one vote”. (Feb 2001)
Citizen participation solves crisis of faith in democracy. (Jul 1999)
Disturbed by cynical attitude that government is the problem. (Jul 1999)
Limit campaign spending, by Const. amendment if needed. (Jul 1999)
Voting reform: easier registration, weekend voting. (Jul 1999)
Limit campaigns to 8 weeks, with no TV. (Aug 1995)
Voted YES on campaign finance reform banning soft-money contributions. (Feb 2002)
Voted NO on banning soft money donations to national political parties. (Jul 2001)
Voted YES on banning soft money. (Sep 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Gun Control

Sensible gun safety legislation & right to possess firearms. (Nov 3)
NRA opposes gun rules that vast majority support. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1. (Jun 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Health Care

Lay aside Bush tax cut to fund healthcare package. (Nov 3)
Dean sided with Gingrich against Medicare Plan. (Sep 25)
Tax breaks to all companies to cover all employees. (May 17)
Subsidize 60% of health costs for all employees. (May 17)
Sharing health costs reduces overall costs & reduces worries. (May 3)
Get everybody covered with health insurance. (May 3)
Bush tax cuts hurt economy; same $ for health helps economy. (May 3)
$172B over 3 years for state employee health care. (May 3)
Help corporations give people needed health insurance. (May 3)
Ensure that all seniors get the care they deserve. (Jan 2001)
More funding for Meaningful Prescription Drug Coverage. (Jun 2000)
Focus on seniors; no blank checks to insurance companies. (Jun 2000)
Federal tax breaks for small business health coverage. (Jul 1999)
Health care reform: no selective insurance. (Aug 1995)
Voted NO on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 22)
Voted NO on capping damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000. (Mar 13)
Voted NO on allowing suing HMOs, but under federal rules & limited award. (Aug 2001)
Voted NO on Prescription Drug Coverage under Medicare. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)
Voted NO on establishing tax-exempt Medical Savings Accounts. (Oct 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Homeland Security

Voted NO on permitting commercial airline pilots to carry guns. (Jul 2002)
Voted YES on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on deploying SDI. (Mar 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Immigration

Legalize all immigrants who've been productive for 5 years. (Sep 4)
Bush tax plan is a failure-return to Clinton tax plan. (Sep 4)
Celebrate diversity and welcome hard-working immigrants. (Jan 2002)
Nothing wrong with immigrants, but Americans in jobs better. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on extending Immigrant Residency rules. (May 2001)
Voted YES on more immigrant visas for skilled workers. (Sep 1998)

Dick Gephardt on Infrastructure

Using raw census numbers disenfranchises minorities. (Feb 2001)
Fund schools & workplaces to close Digitial Divide. (Oct 2000)
Protect medical privacy via consumer consent. (Aug 2000)
Supports R&D funding for medical and health research. (Jul 1999)
Use gas tax for highway infrastructure. (Aug 1995)
Voted YES on allowing telephone monopolies to offer Internet access. (Feb 2002)

Dick Gephardt on Jobs

Supports safe genetically modified food. (Nov 3)
My presidency will have three goals: jobs, jobs, jobs. (Nov 3)
Fight for unions & working families is in my bones. (Sep 25)
How many Americans lose their jobs before Bush loses his? (Sep 9)
Represents hard-working labor union people. (May 17)
Establish international minimum wage. (May 17)
Workers need to be paid a living wage. (Jul 1999)
Require companies to invest 1% of payroll in worker training. (Jul 1999)
Employees must “think like owners” to compete globally. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on $167B over 10 years for farm price supports. (Oct 2001)
Voted NO on zero-funding OSHA's Ergonomics Rules instead of $4.5B. (Mar 2001)

Dick Gephardt on Principles & Values

Keep "under God" in Pledge of Allegiance. (Nov 3)
Dems need to beat Bush in Midwestern states. (Nov 3)
Favorite song: Bruce Springsteen, "Born In The USA.". (Sep 9)
We're all tied together to make America a better place. (Sep 9)
We're all tied together in a single garment of destiny. (May 3)
Not a fresh face, but experienced voice for workers. (May 3)
Build a bipartisan coalition of the center. (Jan 2001)
Truth about votes will come out, no matter what. (Nov 2000)
No more demands for perfect morality. (Jul 1999)
Politics is a substitute for violence. (Jul 1999)
Foundation of liberalism is community activism. (Jul 1999)
Citizen participation will get us to “an even better place”. (Jul 1999)
Religious affiliation: Baptist. (Nov 2000)
Member of Democratic Leadership Council. (Nov 2000)
New Democrat: "Third Way" instead of left-right debate. (Nov 2000)

Dick Gephardt on Social Security

Don't raise retirement age over 67. (Sep 25)
Social Security stands between many retirees & poverty. (Jul 1999)
Treat Social Security like insurance; no stock market. (Jul 1999)
Social Security is most successful peacetime program. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on raising 401(k) limits & making pension plans more portable. (May 2001)
Voted NO on reducing tax payments on Social Security benefits. (Jul 2000)
Voted YES on strengthening the Social Security Lockbox. (May 1999)

Dick Gephardt on Tax Reform

Supported Clinton 1993 tax plan, despite it being unpopular. (Sep 25)
No Bush Lite: get rid of tax cut and get health care done. (May 3)
Crazy to cut taxes without creating a budget first. (Mar 2001)
$900B tax cut protects other important interests. (Feb 2001)
Bush tax cut plan threatens our prosperity. (Feb 2001)
Targeted tax cuts for middle-class families. (Jan 2001)
Require national referendum to raise federal income tax. (Jul 1999)
10% Tax Plan: end loopholes, lower rates. (Jul 1999)
Remove special interests from tax code. (Aug 1995)
Voted NO on making the Bush tax cuts permanent. (Apr 2002)
Voted NO on $99.5B economic stimulus: capital gains & income tax cuts. (Oct 2001)
Voted NO on Tax Cut Package of $958B over 10 years. (May 2001)
Voted NO on eliminating the Estate Tax. (Apr 2001)
Voted NO on eliminating the "marriage penalty". (Jul 2000)
Voted NO on repealing the estate tax ("death tax"). (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on $46 billion in tax cuts for small business. (Mar 2000)

Dick Gephardt on War & Peace

Two-state solution for Arab-Israeli conflict. (Nov 3)
Voted for Iraq war because of intel on WMDs. (Nov 3)
No on $87B for Iraq-until Bush answers some hard questions. (Sep 25)
Iraq: get allies to reduce $1B per week war cost. (Sep 9)
Yes on $87B for Iraq, but also for homeland security. (Sep 9)
We can't cut and run in Iraq - but use UN. (Sep 4)
We need allies and the UN to rebuild Iraq. (Jun 17)
Congress should ask questions and find the truth. (Jun 17)
Pay any price and bear any burden to win war. (Jan 2002)
Congressional authority united country for Kuwait invasion. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002)
Voted NO on disallowing the invasion of Kosovo. (May 1999)
Condemns anti-Muslim bigotry in name of anti-terrorism. (Oct 2001)
Solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism. (Apr 2002)

Dick Gephardt on Welfare & Poverty

Voted NO on promoting work and marriage among TANF recipients. (Feb 13)
Voted NO on treating religious organizations equally for tax breaks. (Jul 2001)
Voted YES on responsible fatherhood via faith-based organizations. (Nov 1999)

[Hep]

11. If Dick doesn't want to talk about it

why the hell should I?

Seriously, look how impressive the resume is, and then look at how he campaigns. He went after Dean early and often instead of talking about all that stuff you posted. Why should I give him credit for something he doesn't want credit for?

OK, I'll give him credit for one thing. I'll give him credit for helping to mobilize Dean supporters across the country. Thanks in part to Dick, we're on top right now. Credit where credit is due.

And allow me to say that I DO appreciate the efforts Dick has made for our side of the debate. But he squandered any and all of my goodwill towards him by launching preemptive attacks on my candidate.

[papau]

15. I Give Dick some credit - he is a good friend of the worker and the unions

but I just do see him getting the public or the media to respond to him. He would be fitted with the story line of the out of touch non-leader who is a good guy, but who can only expect the core 45% that is Dem always.

The media will try the same story line for Dean or Clark or Kerry - adding that Dean is not a nice guy because Rove will tell them to add that in response to Bush being unhappy with Dean calling attention to Bush's incompetence/lies/work for the rich only approach - but Dean or Clark or Kerry would fight back and get media play that for some reason is not given to Gep.

[Hep]

5. Do people really notunderstand this phenomenon?

Here is the root of this:

Dean looks strong for the same reason Bush looks strong.

1) Dean is the focus of every other "top tier" candidate with the exception of Clark. Lieberman, Gephardt, Kerry, all spend as much time talking about Dean as any other subjet. This bolsters the notion that Dean is the strongest of the pack. Everyone guns for the front runner, and when they have done so in this cycle, they've looked like whiners.

2) Every time someone goes after Dean, Dean has an army of people to address it. In LTTE, on the street, on the table at festivals and state fairs, online, etc.

The sharks aren't at the top of the food chain this time. Every time they begin to circle, an army of bottle-nosed dolphins appears to chase the sharks away. I'm the dolphin, and I have about 140,000 other dolphins at my side to protect Dr. Dean every time he gets into the water.

[Melinda]

8. DUPLICATE TOPIC

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=47750

[tsipple]

9. Thoughtful Article

Blumenthal makes some interesting points. I don't agree with everything here, but the bulk of what he writes is, I think, spot on.

The Saddam comments certainly were not gaffes. (Blumenthal qualifies this by saying "apparent gaffes." Even that's too strong. More like "rhetorical traps" for his opponents.) Another recent rhetorical trap was Dean's comments about Terry McAuliffe not exerting strong leadership. Several non-Deans pounced on him for that, which put them in the weird position of essentially defending nasty, mean, personal attack politics. (So far as I know there's not a huge constituency for that.)

In fact, the Saddam comments even evoked a response from George W. Bush at his press conference. That's pretty amazing. The word "Gephardt" certainly isn't in Bush's vocabulary right now, for example.

Regardless of what happens, you can be sure the political experts will study the Dean campaign for years to come. So are you working on your next book, Will? :7

[Cheswick2.0]

10. dupe, misleading thread title

n/t

[many a good man]

12. This title more pertinent than the other thread's

Will hit on the real significance of the Blumenthal article. Shark attacks? Big deal. That's not news.

What IS news is that we have a Clinton insider musing on a Democratic strategy that can win back the White House. See the other thread for my take on this development.

Its really unfortunate that both these threads have been hijacked, or at least sidetracked by other issues: Gephart in this one and polling in the other one. I think this is a big issue that deserves focus...

[WilliamPitt]

13. What is misleading about it?

[JNelson6563]

14. Will your C&P is so much better

than the other thread's C&P of this article. And you make the headline a much nastier jab. Good work. Well worth the dupe. :eyes:

Julie

[Moderator]

16. dupe

Please continue the discussion here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=47750


Thank you.

DU Moderator