Howard Dean

excerpts from the Iowa Daily Report

September 24-30, 2003

 … “Dean takes his anti-GOP message to Boston, the birthplace of democracy” – headline on wbz1030.com (Boston). The ex-frontrunner mentions “King George” and Rush Limbaugh during “raucous rally.” Excerpt from AP coverage: “Howard Dean brought his anti-Republican message to the birthplace of democracy, invoking historic events from the Boston Tea Party to the creation of the Bill of Rights in criticizing the Bush administration and Republican politicians as threats to American ideals. Bostonians of the Revolutionary War period stood up to tyranny and can do so again, Dean said at a raucous rally in Boston's Copley Plaza. ’They had a king named George who had forgotten his people and only listened to special interest,’ he said, drawing cheers from the thousands of onlookers, some carrying signs that read ‘Beantown is Deantown,’ and ‘Harvard 4 Howard.’…’The extreme right wing has shown nothing but contempt for democracy,'’ Dean said. Pointing to a flag on the platform, he said, ‘This flag does not belong to Rush Limbaugh, Jerry Falwell, John Ashcroft, Tom DeLay and Dick Cheney. This flag belongs to us and we want our country.’ Rebecca Aveo, a 27-year-old Harvard Law student, said Dean was ‘gutsier’ than other candidates. ‘He's not afraid to draw distinction between himself and Bush unlike the others who try to be just like Bush. He made that point and I like that,’ she said. Dean set his speech in the city that will play host to the Democratic National Convention next summer and also is the hometown of a top rival for the nomination: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who has a home a short distance away on Beacon Hill. Boston news stations also consider New Hampshire a key primary for presidential candidates a major market for their telecasts. A one-time Yankees fan, who said recently that he switched allegiance to the Red Sox after ace Roger Clemens beaned Mets catcher Mike Piazza, Dean began by doffing a Red Sox cap. Directing his comments to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, Dean said: ‘Eat your heart out.’ Dean and Kerry have been battling in New Hampshire for months, with Dean currently holding about a 10-point lead in the polls in the state with a presidential primary tentatively set for Jan. 27.” (9/24/2003)

… If Gephardt is going to get the treasured union endorsement, why is one of New York’s most politically active unions hosting a reception for Dean? Headline from this morning’s Union Leader: “Dean gets financial assistance from union” Report – an excerpt – by AP’s Jennifer Freidlin: “The head of one of New York state's most politically powerful labor unions put his fund-raising muscle behind former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, hosting a reception Tuesday that raised about $30,000 for the Democratic presidential hopeful. ‘We have been incredibly impressed with him (Dean) and particularly his campaign,’ union boss Dennis Rivera told a crowd of about 100 union members gathered at the headquarters of Local 1199, Service Employees International Union. ‘One of the things that Governor Dean is doing is basically campaigning dramatically hard to try and bring more people into the equation and almost changing the way that American politics (is done).’ Stressing his support for a national health insurance program and the need to create new jobs, Dean told those gathered that he shares many of the union's concerns. ‘The SEIU is the labor union that has an intersection with the two things that I care about the most,’ Dean said. ‘The first is health care and the second is the rights and ability of low-income workers to earn a decent living.’ Dean said that what the SEIU has done more than any other labor union is ‘organize those people who need the most help.’ During the reception, Dean also highlighted his position against school vouchers and his stance against the war in Iraq -- both of which were applauded by the audience. Although the reception was held at union headquarters, officials said Rivera's support did not amount to a formal union endorsement for Dean. ‘It's a sign we are impressed and intrigued by the Dean campaign and their ability to mobilize people and contributions, and we're trying to do what we can to be helpful,’ said Jennifer Cunningham, Rivera's top political adviser and executive director of the health care workers' union, which has more than 200,000 members.” (9/24/2003)

… New polling shows Dean holding gap over Kerry in New Hampshire with Clark only other double-digit player. Headline from late morning dispatch on washingtonpost.com: “Poll: Dean Leads Kerry in New Hampshire” From AP coverage: “Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean holds a double-digit lead over rival John Kerry in a poll of New Hampshire's Democratic voters released Thursday. The poll by Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion had Dean, the former Vermont governor, at 36 percent, Massachusetts Sen. Kerry at 24 percent and former Gen. Wesley Clark, who entered the race last week, at 8 percent. When independents who have expressed an interest in voting in the Democratic primary - as is allowed in the Granite State -- are included in the mix, Dean leads with 35 percent followed by Kerry at 22 percent and Clark at 11 percent. None of the other contenders broke double digits. ‘It's clearly a two-person race at the moment in New Hampshire, but Clark has established a presence there and is a force to be reckoned with,’ said Lee Miringoff, head of the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based institute. Other polls also have shown Dean leading the 10-candidate Democratic field in New Hampshire. The state's primary, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 27, is considered a key early test for the candidates. Among the potential Democratic primary voters, the poll found that 62 percent do not want New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to enter the race and 71 percent are opposed to Al Gore entering the race. The former first lady and one-time vice president have said they have no plans to run. The telephone poll of 469 registered Democrats and independents interested in voting in the Democratic primary was conducted Monday and Tuesday and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. The sampling based on responses from the 260 Democrats questioned had a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.”  (9/25/2003)

… Dean sets a party record on funds. In an article in the Boston Globe online today, AP writer Shasron Theimer reports on the continuing phenomena of the Dean Money Machine. Excerpts: “WASHINGTON -- Front-runner Howard Dean has broken President Clinton's Democratic record for most money in a three-month burst, while new rival Wesley Clark is turning to some of Clinton's most loyal and effective fund-raisers to help him jump-start his presidential campaign. No Democrat is coming close to President Bush's fund-raising, however. Bush is expected to collect about $43 million by the time the third quarter ends next Tuesday, bringing his total this year to roughly $78 million, GOP officials said. Dean, raising millions on the Internet, is likely to take in $13 million to $16 million this quarter, a campaign insider said. That would lift him to at least $23.5 million for the race so far and probably make him the Democratic money leader for the year. Democratic strategists say Dean could raise at least double what his party's other top hopefuls will collect during the third quarter. The former Vermont governor has already passed the Democratic record set by Clinton, who took in $10.3 million over three months in 1995 for his reelection. Bush set an overall single-quarter record in the last period, collecting $35.1 million in his first six weeks of the 2004 campaign, breaking the record of about $29.7 million he set in 1999. Clark is on pace to collect $2 million or more by the time the fund-raising quarter ends, after only two weeks in the Democratic race. The retired general is getting a boost from some of Clinton's most prolific fund-raisers. The team includes Skip Rutherford, head of the Clinton presidential library; New York venture capitalist Alan Patricoff, who helped raise millions for Clinton; Eli Segal, chief of staff to Clinton's 1992 campaign and former head of the AmeriCorps national service program Clinton created; Mickey Kantor, commerce secretary under Clinton; and Bob Burkett, a business consultant in Washington, D.C, and Los Angeles. John F. Kerry, Richard A. Gephardt, and Joseph I. Lieberman are expected to be in roughly the $4 million to $6 million range in third-quarter fund-raising. John Edwards is expected to come in below that, along with the other four candidates in the 10-way Democratic race. (9/25/2003)

… “Howard Dean’s arrogance resurfaces as he calls abortion rights ‘pro-life’” – headline from Jack Kenny’s column in yesterday’s the Union Leader. Excerpt from Kenny’s column: “Howard Dean, not content with the pro-choice label, is now urging defenders of abortion ‘rights’ to seize the ‘pro-life’ banner as well. ‘I actually propose that we all call ourselves pro-life,’ the former Vermont governor and current Presidential candidate said at a NARAL Pro-Choice America forum in Manchester last week. ‘We care about life.’  One might assume that Dean, a medical doctor, cares about life in at least some of its stages, even if he remains convinced that pre-natal human life has no right deserving of legal protection. His own profession may have proscribed abortion for a few millennia, but that prohibition would cramp the style, not to mention the political ambition, of the good Dr. Dean. No doubt there are other provisions of the Hippocratic Oath that he finds more in tune with his progressive thinking.  ‘We believe it’s none of the government’s business,’ said Dean, who believes nearly everything else is. Dean, who considers abortion a purely medical decision, is promoting a national health care plan. He believes it is the business of government to promote health, but not to defend life at its earliest, most vulnerable stages. He has no qualms about supporting federal funding of abortions for Medicaid patients. He believes abortion is ‘none of the government’s business,’ except when the government can sponsor and promote it. And he’s ‘pro-life.’  But if the killing of pre-born babies, at the rate of about 4,000 a day in America, does not offend the good doctor’s conscience, killing insects apparently does. In a sneering reference to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Dean turned loose this brilliant thought on an unsuspecting world: ‘I would hate to have Tom DeLay, who exterminates cockroaches when he is not in Congress, decide what my medical needs are.’  DeLay, a conservative congressman and former pest exterminator, would probably hate that, too. And since it is Dean and not DeLay who wants to bring the federal government more fully into the health care business, paying health care pipers and calling medical tunes, Dean’s comment is remarkable for its unintended irony. It is even more remarkable for its condescending tone, not to mention the utter tastelessness of bringing the issue of exterminating insects into a discussion of human abortions. Apparently, Tom DeLay, who once killed roaches for a living, will never be fit to enter the moral and intellectual high ground occupied by Howard Dean, who defends the killing of human babies as a matter of personal ‘choice.’ And oh, yes, I almost forgot. He’s ‘pro-life,’ too.”  (9/25/2003)

… Dean, on day of major debate, still keeps focus on campaign basics – solicits union support in Detroit. Excerpt from AP report in today’s Union Leader:    “Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean hasn't yet won the endorsement of any national unions, but that doesn't mean he's not trying. The former Vermont governor on Thursday addressed the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO's 18th constitutional convention in Madison Heights. Union spokesman Shawn Ellis said the meeting would have representatives from 330 locals with 180,000 members from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Dean spoke at a Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO event more than a year ago. He also met in mid-August in Detroit with United Auto Workers executives, who have not yet endorsed any presidential candidates. He spoke Thursday for about 20 minutes and was enthusiastically received. Dean received the loudest applause from the crowd of about 200 people when he spoke about health insurance. ‘It's time to stop talking and start doing something about health insurance,’ he said. ‘Even Costa Ricans have health care for all their people, and we can too.’” (9/26/2003)

… There’s not much doubt remaining that Team Dean can raise the bucks, but they haven’t mastered the common campaign goal of lowering expectations. Campaign sets 10-day goal of $5 million. Meanwhile, Gephardt blasts Dean in effort to raise money. Headline from today’s Washington Post: “Campaign Deal: $10 Million For a Quarter” Excerpt from report by the Post’s Brian Faler: “No one doubts Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean's ability to raise money anymore. But it sometimes seems as if the former Vermont governor still does not quite grasp a basic rule of campaign fundraising: lower expectations. In an e-mail pitch the campaign dispatched earlier this week, Dean said he hoped to raise $5 million -- in just the last 10 days of this quarter. That's more than most of his rivals took in during the previous quarter, and more than what five of them have collected, in total, thus far. The Dean campaign has said it expects to raise more than $10 million in this, the third quarter. His plea comes as the candidates scramble for last-minute dollars, in time for the Sept. 30 deadline for reporting the contributions to the government. Most campaigns underestimate how much they might report, so that when the actual numbers come out they appear that much more impressive. But if anything, the Dean camp suggests that $5 million is doable. ‘If every person who receives this e-mail contributes $100 to our campaign, we will have raised $41 million -- a staggering number that would prove the special interests wrong and change politics forever in this country,’ Dean wrote in his pitch. He acknowledges that might be a reach: ‘We know that not every person can afford to contribute $100.’ The Dean campaign raised $1,247,103.50 toward that goal as of last night, according to its Web site…Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Richard A. Gephardt is trying to use the Internet and Howard Dean to raise his money. In an e-mail pitch to supporters, the Missouri congressman's campaign manager lambasted Dean, accusing him of trying to undermine Medicare when he was governor. ‘Howard Dean went on to specifically endorse the Republican plan to cut $270 billion from Medicare,’ wrote Steve Murphy, referring to a mid-1990s debate on the program. ‘Send $270 to offset Howard Dean's support for cutting Medicare and I will send you a certificate joining me as a Charter Member of the Dick Gephardt Real Democrat Club.’ The fundraising appeal echoes a charge Gephardt first made earlier this month -- and is the latest in a series of attacks he has launched on Dean. For a while, President Bush was on the receiving end as Gephardt repeatedly called him a ‘miserable failure.’ But with Dean on the ascent, Gephardt has unveiled a Web site called DeanFacts.com, which shines an unfavorable light on the governor's record, and, more recently, has begun running ads in South Carolina accusing Dean of supporting bad trade agreements. ‘Let's show Howard Dean who's the real Democrat,’ Murphy said in the e-mail. At least he's not a miserable failure.” (9/26/2003)

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri are running a dead heat in the race to capture Iowa’s Democratic caucuses, according to a Lee Enterprises poll of likely caucus-goers. Dean and Gephardt each received 19 percent backing from the 400 registered voters surveyed, including 339 likely Democratic caucus-goers surveyed, including 49 independent voters who are “very likely’’ to attend. U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts was third at 10 percent. The poll, conducted by Davenport-based PMR between Aug. 26 and Sept. 6 and on Sept. 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent. However, more than one-third of those surveyed said they are undecided. And more than half said they might pick a different candidate before Jan. 19, when Iowa’s caucuses fire the starting gun on a sprint to the nomination. MSNBC concurs on Gephardt’s gains ranking him a close second in their Demo Derby. (9/28/2003)

The Dean Campaign flew 170 ’Dean’s Texas Rangers’ into Iowa and New Hampshire this weekend according to the Dean Campaign. The Dean volunteers went door-to-door in Democratic neighborhoods asking them to support Dean in the Iowa Caucuses. A Des Moines Television station asked the Dean campaign how much it cost to fly the Dean’s Texas Rangers around the country, but the campaign was unable to provide the cost. (9/28/2003)

… Washington Post writer Dan Balz for OnPolitics article: “Clark's Bid Prompts Some Dean Supporters to Reconsider” Excerpts: “DOVER, N.H., Sept. 27 -- New Hampshire Democrat Larry Taylor was leaning toward supporting former Vermont governor Howard Dean for president until he turned out on a damp Friday night at New England College in Henniker, N.H., to see retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark. By the time Clark had finished his town hall meeting, Taylor was ready to change his allegiance. "I think Clark can win," Taylor said. "I don't think Dean can win. I think Dean's going to be pegged as too liberal. He doesn't have the kind of military background and some of the strength that Clark seems to have." Whatever else Clark's late entry into the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination has done, it has forced the issue of electability back to the top of the agenda for many Democratic and independent voters. Peter Lehmen and his wife, Theresa, of Keene, N.H., attended Clark's town hall meeting late Friday. Lehmen has given money to Dean and credits the scrappy Vermonter with having the courage to take on Bush and start a dialogue among the Democrats that has shaped both the tone and the substance of the debate. "He was talking about things that other people were afraid to talk about," Lehmen said. Lately, however, both Lehmens have begun to question whether Dean is the best Democrat to beat Bush. Peter said he finds Dean inconsistent in some of his views. Theresa said Dean is "coming across as a little more abrasive" and appears to let his ego get in his way. Clark, she said, impressed her as someone who could successfully negotiate with foreign leaders. "He certainly presented himself in a very diplomatic but forceful way that I would call presidential," she said. "Clark puts a positive spin on things. Dean is very forceful, he's very dramatic and I agree with what he says. But sometimes he's trying to find a negative too much. I think this gentleman thinks more intently than Dean does. Dean tends to shoot from the hip a bit much,” said another now Clark supporter. A registered independent who usually votes Democratic, said, "I'm looking for a security blanket for our country, and I don't think any of them [the other Democrats] represent it, but Wesley Clark does." Ann Milne of Auburn, N.H., supported Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) against Bush in the 2000 GOP primary here, but she is looking at Clark and a vote in the Democratic primary. Asked about Dean and Kerry, she said, "I agree with everything they say. However, I just don't think they can prevail in the general election." …"I'm still sorting it out, quite frankly," said Mary-Chris Duncan of Bradford, N.H., who said she has been leaning toward Dean but is undecided. "As a Democrat, I want someone who I think is going to be electable, someone who can beat George Bush. I'm going to be pragmatic when it comes down to voting." (9/29/2003)

… OnPolitics article by Washingtonpost.com staff writer Terry M. Neal, “The Hunted Becomes the Hunter”. Excerpts: “Howard Dean, in town to attend Congressional Black Caucus events, is sitting at the Dubliner restaurant on Capitol Hill on Saturday at 9:15 a.m., eating oatmeal and buttered toast, chatting with three black journalists who have been summoned by the campaign on short notice for what was described as a casual meet-and-greet opportunity. Dean talks for an hour about the state of the campaign, his prospects for capturing the Democratic Party’s nomination and the policies of concern to African Americans that he would pursue at the White House. Dean exudes confidence, and he’s sure of his own intelligence. He comes off as unscripted, but he also comes off at times as though he’s winging it. Although his candor is refreshing from a journalist’s perspective, his candor is the trait that has got him in some trouble lately. Dean was one of several Democratic candidates in Washington last week trolling for African American support – which we'll discuss in Wednesday’s column -- but his Saturday meeting with the black journalists first took a detour through a conversation about retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark and the rest of the field. Many Democrats viewed Dean-Clark as their dream ticket. Now the two are adversaries, and Dean leaps at the opportunity to criticize Clark. "I think he's in real trouble," Dean says. He refers to recent news stories about Clark’s praise of President Bush and top administration officials at a Republican fund-raiser in early 2001. Clark referred to them as a "great team," which Dean — who just weeks ago courted the general to join his team — thinks is not so great. "He's been out there praising these guys," he says. "Well, that's just not going to fly ... I mean, I just yesterday called for [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld's and [deputy Defense Secretary Paul] Wolfowitz's resignations. I mean, I met with the guy, and I like him. But Sen. Joe [Lieberman] was right on this one: This is a Republican who just converted to being a Democrat. That's going to be a big problem for a lot of people." With reports such as by Washington Post senior political correspondent Dan Balz that Clark's entry into the race was causing some people to rethink their support of Dean in New Hampshire, the governor’s comments may just be wishful thinking. Or he may be on to something. Clark has defended his comments, saying they came before 9/11 and that the Bush administration has badly bungled nearly everything since then. It'll be interesting to see how far Dean is willing to go in his criticism of Clark in coming weeks and months. Dean = Bulls Eye: The rest of the Democratic field continues to see Dean, not Clark, as its biggest threat. "I'm catching it from all angles," Dean said gleefully, clearly aware that the target on his back underscores his front-runner status.  (9/30/2003)

… Washington Times online article written by Audrey Hudson, “Dean calls Clark a Beltway puppet”. Exceprts: “Presidential hopeful Howard Dean yesterday attacked retired Gen. Wesley Clark as a puppet of "establishment politicians" while repeatedly and explicitly comparing his own policies to those of former President Bill Clinton. "I think what you see in the Wes Clark candidacy is a somewhat of a desperation by inside-the-Beltway politicians," Mr. Dean said. "You've got a lot of establishment politicians now surrounding a general who was a Republican until 25 days ago," said Mr. Dean, who assumed Mr. Clark was once a Republican because he served in the military and voted for Ronald Reagan. "I do not think that the solution for Democrats to ... win again is to draft Republicans and to support people who have been in Washington for 25 and 30 years," Mr. Dean said. Mr. Clark jumped into the race with the backing of the Clinton family earlier this month and is leading his nine Democratic opponents in national polls. Previously, Mr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, was leading the pack and also leading in the heated rhetoric against President Bush and the war in Iraq. Mr. Dean is now embracing Mr. Clinton's name and positions relating to Social Security, Medicare, NAFTA and balancing the budget. He invoked the two-term president's name eight times in just more than 10 minutes on CBS' "Face the Nation." "The person I supported was Bill Clinton," Mr. Dean said. Responding to charges he sided with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Georgia Republican, in wanting to slow the growth of Medicare and resulting spending, Mr. Dean said, "what I supported was what Bill Clinton signed, which saved $200 billion out of Medicare and saved it." When asked repeatedly by host Bob Schieffer why he would deny the charge when the positions were the same, Mr. Dean said "I'm not going to be compared to Newt Gingrich by my rivals." "They can say anything they want about me. I did support slowing the growth of Medicare, and that was a good thing. It worked out well, Bill Clinton signed the bill, and Medicare is still solvent because of that," Mr. Dean said. Mr. Dean said he supported NAFTA "partly because Bill Clinton supported it," and did not want to raise the retirement age because "Bill Clinton has shown that when the economy gets better and people start paying payroll taxes, Social Security becomes solvent." Asked if he was shifting his stance on these issues because he once supported cutting Social Security, raising the retirement age, and cutting Medicare, veterans pensions and defense spending, Mr. Dean said, "I wasn't alone in talking about those things." "There were a lot of Democrats that were talking about those things. Now, Bill Clinton has showed us you can balance the budget without doing any of the things that we were desperately clawing around for," Mr. Dean said. Asked about charges that he is flip-flopping on the issues, Mr. Dean said changing his mind is "one of the hallmarks of who I am." "I have no complaint and no embarrassment about changing my positions at all," he said. (9/30/2003)

September 1-15, 2003

September 16-23, 2003

September 24-30, 2003