Howard Dean to Sen. Graham: "if this was a private corporation, President Obama would fire you all."

[ProSense]

Face the Nation:transcript

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Dean: Well, here's the deal here. I happen to agree with David, I think this is a tea party problem, I think they are totally unreasonable, and doctrinaire and not founded in reality, I think they've been smoking some of that tea and not just drinking it, but the fact of the matter is, the President is going to get the blame and the credit for what goes right whether he deserves or not. That's what Presidents do. So, sure if he going to get some of the blame for this, yes, this is a serious thing, if you look at the Standard and Poor's report, three times they mentioned that our unwillingness to raise revenues was going to make it impossible for us to regain our credit rating. That's a pretty clear signal. The American people are there, the Democrats are there, a lot of reasonable Republicans are there, but they are terrified of these right wing splinter groups, the radical right, because they are so powerful in the primaries.

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Graham: Medicare would be saved under Paul Ryan's plan, but if you've got a better idea, put it down in your budget and send it over to me.

Dean: Medicare would be destroyed under...Medicare wouldn't exist under Paul Ryan's plan.

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Dean: You said President Obama would be fired...the truth is if this was a private corporation, President Obama would fire you all.

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[BeyondGeography]

1. So beautiful

:thumbsup:

[polmaven]

2. Ummmm, Governor Dean...

Watch out for that bus! It's coming to getcha!

[Dawson Leery]

3. k/r

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. The Democrats don't *need* a "plan"

We have one. It's called Medicare. There are plenty of ways to tweak it in order to make it solvent over the long term. The Ryan plan effectively ends Medicare (as we know it). End of story.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Dean: "There are some bottom lines... We are not interested in compromising unless everybody...

bears their share."

Full quote:

Dean: There are some bottom lines. Everybody has to have bottom lines. Can we limit the outlay on social security, yes, but can we take away people's benefits? I don't think so. Can we limit the outflow on Medicare? Yes, by using a payment system that encourages wellness not sicknesses. But you cannot eliminate people from Medicare. You cannot raise the age of Medicare to 67%. That's unfair and outrageous. People wait to get on Medicare because their private insurance is so lousy when they're under 65. So you've got to pick and choose what you can do. We can compromise with reasonable Republicans about restricting entitlements. We are not interested in compromising unless everybody bears their share. And that includes the wealthiest people in America, who by the way lead us into this mess with the outrageous behavior of the major banks.

[JoePhilly]

7. As a follow up to a related discussion ... Dean said ...

"We can compromise with reasonable Republicans about restricting entitlements. We are not interested in compromising unless everybody bears their share. And that includes the wealthiest people in America, who by the way lead us into this mess with the outrageous behavior of the major banks."

If Obama said this exact same thing, what would be DU's response? Or your response?

Dean seems to be saying that we could cut benefits IF the rich give up something.

Does Dean mean that we could accept social security cuts IF the rich pay more in taxes?

Didn't Dean just put those programs "on the table"?

What cuts would YOU accept under Dean's framing?

Personally, I think Dean, like Obama is allowing the GOP to put their insane cuts on the table. Let them declare what they want to do to kill those programs. Challenge them to do so. Dare them to do so.

Or ... do you think Dean is willing to accept cuts?

[Armstead]

11. Dean is a complicated fellow sometimes

He's a (former) doctor and he did bring pretty good reforms to Vermont. And in the primary back then he had the closest proposal for health care reform that any candidate had come up with.

And in general I agree with him on many things. But he is a little ziggy and zaggy sometimes. Some of that, however, is that he really does dig into the specifics of policies he cares about, including health care reform. And when you are in the weeds, it is always possible to agree in general but disagree on some specifics.

In this case, he is being a bit ziggy-zaggy with the remarks you cited. Personally I don't like it, but it is basically coup-led with a spirited defense and warning not to screw with Medicare.

He also has a little bit of "foot in mouth" syndrome, and at times shoots from the hip and misses. But I'd rather that than someone whose basic message is fundamentally different or inconsistent on the basics.

[boxman15]

6. Speaking the truth. nt

[Supersedeas]

8. and like every private corporation, there is a revolving line of credit

[vaberella]

9. I'm not a Dean fan...but he said the truth. This is a TEA PARTY PROBLEM.

They are deranged.

[CakeGrrl]

10. Dean puts the blame where it belongs: the Tea Party, not the President. -nt