Of the attacks on Dean.
Dean had months in which he wa running uncontested and used those months to attakc everyone in site including the DLC.
Dean is a DLC style Democrt, of the right wing of the democratic party, not th center. He is trying to put his anti-war stance behind him(as overall, the anti-war stand is not popular) and now the other candidates will not let him forget. Some late polls have Dean seemingly reaching a peak. and other canddates slipping into fitst or second place, but most polls have Dean remaining firmly in 4th place, and not moving past anyone. Regarless of his increase in numbers. Most pollsters state that his policies have placed him up front, but now his record as governor seems to be coming under scrutiny, and as his true record is one of stagnation. Cenesus data shows that health coverage in Vermont declined while he was governor, and the media is beginning to scan through all of Deans records, reparing for an attack on the accuaracy of his own hornblowing,
Kerry's recent attack on Deans statements about repealing the tax cuts as being a tax increase on the middle class will not translate well into voter support, and Lieberman reiterated that last night. A few weeks of thinking if people want Dean to increase their income taxes, NOW getting nothing in return given Deans reversal of the IMMEDIATE need for universal health that he created at the begining of his campaign, will leave middle America thinking, what do I get out of a Dean presidency. I would expect that after labor day, one will see EVERY candidate attacking Deans ever shifting position being repeated on a daily basis in the press, by candidates, and most importantly, by the DLC.
The Kerry campaign has finally decided to attack Dean, rather than remain above the fray, as Dean spent so much time attakcing the DLC and its candidates. Deans entire record as governor will be set out for the public to observe. His failure to assist small farmers in Vermont but back the large coorprate agricultural interests in Vermont will cost him his lead in Iowa, where nothing is known about Dean but what he says. This is good strategy, as the frew months left between now and the first promaries wil give Dean little time for damage control on the MANY favors he did for big business in Vermont. This will be Gephardts play. Lieberman attacks on the war stance, Kerry on taxation and foreign policy and health care, and Gephardt on Agriculatural and Domestic policies, whle the lower polling candidates attack on other issues and lend their support oto the other candidates.
Dean and Agriculture:
Interview with Lee Light
Lee and Bob Light run the Hollister Hill Farm in the Marshfield/Plainfield area. They were dairy farmers for about 20 years, before finally selling their cows in 1997. Now they run a diversified farm, raising beefalo, pork and poultry, making maple syrup and hay, and running a bed and breakfast. The Lights moved to Vermont from New Jersey in 1972 as part of the back to the land movement (the New York Times ran a front page article on them on June 9, 1975). On July 11, 2002, Lee Light spoke with DEMOCRACY IN ACTION in her kitchen, where she prepares scrumptious breakfasts for B&B guests. Speaking generally, she said, "Howard Dean's a real middle-of-the-road kind of guy... He's pretty good on health care, but I think he's very moderate." Asked for her views on Dean's record on agriculture, and she was quite critical.
QUESTION: What can you tell us about Howard Dean and agriculture?
LEE LIGHT: When he was lieutenant governor working for Snelling he made some gestures that sounded like maybe he really understood issues affecting family farms and whatnot. But early on it became clear that that wasn't a priority. He's been governor for 11 years and we've lost a lot of farms, and we've also been a state that hasn't fought against the bovine growth hormone factory farms. I don't even think it's an issue for him. He has a commissioner of agriculture that hasn't bucked that trend towards bigger agriculture. The Agriculture Department he never fully funds; he's always cutting the budget. In a state where farming is so much part of our identity and there's so many people who move to Vermont or live in Vermont that want to farm on whatever scale, that there should be a lot more interest in the Agriculture Department and he's just not there. I mean yeah he goes and taps the maple tree and shows up at Dairy Festival, but as far as really fully supporting an agriculture community, he doesn't. And I don't think he's that different from the world in general, because family farms are sort of like a romantic notion. But I think in the long run we'd be far better off with family farms than factory farms, and rural communities where people have a sense of community.
QUESTION: Has he done anything positive for agriculture?
LEE LIGHT: What he'll say is that he strongly supports the North East Dairy Compact. Well that was the simplest thing for any politician to hang their hat on. But it was not really enough of an increase in pay to really keep people in. And the same thing happened here on our farm. We farmed and our son came on the farm to farm with us and we farmed with us for about ten years... The problem with low milk prices is that the next generation sees it as like, am I going to work as hard as my parents and not make any money and never have a vacation? So the younger generation doesn't want to continue to do it unless they put up those big million dollar operations where there's thousands of cows and the cows never go outside and it's a whole different form of agriculture.
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/dean/dean0702/lightint.html
The funding faces an uncertain future, however, due to a recent freeze on certain items in Gov. Howard Dean’s budget.
Whether addressing the slaughterhouse shortage will prove to stimulate the meat industry is anyone’s guess. Justis said they need to revive and modernize the industry at many levels, but this is a good place to start.
Even at its best, Cushing said, meat is a high-volume, low-profit industry.
“No one’s getting rich at it,” said Meade.
http://timesargus.nybor.com/Story/33308.html
Dean did nothing to assist the small family owned farms of Vermont and while he was governor, his assistance to large corporate agribusiness was legendary , and the kind of thing hated in Iowa, which has not yet come to the forefront with voters. It should in the
fall.
AS a matter of fact, I have recently located a "HOWARD DEAN" on the doarde of dierctors of a LARGE CORPOREATE" Agribusiness in Vermont, and now must determine if it is the same Howard Dean.
News later.