WP: As Governor, Dean Was Fiscal Conservative

[Nambe]

The Washington Post

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The new governor faced a roomful of fellow Democrats in 1992, liberal warriors eager after two years of Republican rule to right every perceived wrong in Vermont. But Howard Dean issued no call to arms.

All of your progressive ideas, Dean told his party caucus, won't amount to anything if Vermonters don't trust you with their money -- and they don't. We're seen as tax- happy liberals who spend money unwisely.

Dean's words foreshadowed years of acrimonious battles with his party's formidable liberal wing, which controlled the legislature. From 1991 to 2002, Dean issued more vetoes than any previous governor. But he slowly bent Democrats to his will. When he left office in 2002, Vermont had a fairly balanced budget, while states across the nation bled fiscal red ink.

"He made us very disciplined about spending, even if we didn't really like it," said former state Senate president Dick McCormack, who sat in that caucus room in 1992. "I was a liberal Democrat, and I fought him a lot, but he made the Democrats very hard to beat." ---

[NNN0LHI]

1. That may be what this country needs right now? Real bad. n/t

[kysrsoze]

13. Ummm, what's new?

This has been public knowledge.

[short bus president]

2. OMIGAWD! Somebody mentions Dean without the knee-jerk

"he's just another anti-American librul" that seems to have been appended to his name? The WAPO (recently) approaches being worthwhile outside of the outhouse.

[hippiechick]

3. Why does WP have this as 'news' ??

Dean's been upfront with it his entire campaign ....

:wtf:

:hippie:

[NNN0LHI]

4. The fact that WP is even reporting this makes it news. Sad but true n/t

[tedoll78]

6. This pleases me.

It adds incrementally to the difficulty that the GOP would have in labelling him 'liberal' if he gets the nomination. Also attracts more independent voters.

[Davis_X_Machina]

5. Thus it has always been so in VT (24th), as in ME (33rd)...

...trying to provide a MA (3rd) level of civic services in what are less wealthy states. You gotta pinch every penny, make it do as much as it can -- for the people who need it.

(Figures are per-capita income, 2002)

[JackSwift]

7. We call that fiscal responsibility

As long as I've been alive fiscal conservatism has involved huge deficits, pork barrel politics, tax breaks for those who don't need them, employment insecurity, eating the seed corn in education and stealing pension funds, fixing stock markets and engaging in proxy dictatorships loot foreign countries of their resources. Can we agree to stop calling this kind of wild robbery "fiscal conservatism"? Please?

Fiscal responsibility, on the other hand, is about balanced budgets, investment in education and good jobs.

[Eloriel]

9. GREAT point!

You should send that to the Dean campaign, or post it in one of the Comments sections of the blog.

Eloriel

[John_H]

10. none of that happened in vermont under dean

fiscal conservative, fiscally resposible, pragmatic progressive or whatever other label you can use, dean was an effective governor who's record speaks for itself.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. That's one thing G DUHbya cannot claim to be.

At least not as pResident.

[bluestateguy]

11. Dean is a REAL fiscal conservative

During the 1990's boom (ah, the good old days) with the state's coffers soaring with tax revenue Dean resisted the impulses of so many other state governors to spend billions on new programs or big tax giveaways. He kittied money into the bank so as to prepare Vermont for the next recession. As a result, when recession did hit cuts to state services were minimal or non-existent. The budget was balanced every year even though Vermont is the only state that does not require a balanced budget.

[NastyRiffraff]

12. Wow, what great reporting!

The WP finally caught on to what anyone who did basic research on what Dean did in Vermont as governor already knew, instead of cutting and pasting what Rove said. Must've used Google.

Amazing.

[silverweb]

14. Beautiful!

"All of your progressive ideas, Dean told his party caucus, won't amount to anything if... (Americans) don't trust you with their money...."

That's the word, right there.

And the WP profile, "Short-Fused Populist," linked on the right side of the article page, is even better!

:D