Reply #52: From Dean's past record and from Vermonters themselves [View All]

[Nicholas_J]

Dean will not be accountable oncve he has won, and that he has a very clear record of running on Democratic talk, but clearly reverts to the opposite once elected, and begins to immediately support the spevial interest corporations where he heart lies:

Howard Dean: the Progressive Anti-War Candidate?
Some Vermonters Give Their Views


Donna:

I know that a lot of you are going to vote for Dean -- he talks a good game; he can be charismatic and charming. But I'm warning you. This man will tell you what you want to hear, or at least tell you something that has some little kernel of something that you can interpret as support for the things that are important to you. But when the time comes to stand up and lead on the issue, to take on the money interests and backsliders in his own party, that stiff little spine will turn into a slinky.


http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs08292003.html


Perspective on Dean from a Vermont Sierra Club Activist

The Vermont Chapter always decided against endorsing Howard Dean for Governor. (That
counts 4 or 5 election cycles)

Although he developed a fairly strong record on land conservation, in spite of failing to support some key land programs, he made himself a dismal record on other environmental issues. He strongly supported everything the utilities and ski areas ever asked him to do. He supported mega-purchase from Hydro Quebec, refusing to even consider any alternative or the adverse impacts on our state’s economy. (Both he and the utilities spent the next decade complaining about the high prices and trying to get out of the contracts, as though they were someone else’s evil doings.)

During a major battle over mwater/sprawl legislation, he claimed that water from those polluted streams was clean enough to drink. I wouldn’t want this guy as my doctor, thank you. He did offer nominal,
initial support to a renewables bill two years ago, but when push came to shove he refused to lift a finger in support. He repeatedly had his secretaries and commissioners run various collaborative policy-making groups, only to have the facts emerge later that the
“fix was in” from the start with his road-building, air polluting, power producing campaign donors.

His record is one of opposing just about everything the environmental
lobby supported.He was always there with the lip service as long as there was actually nothing on the table. He has developed a reputation for saying what his audience wants to hear, then doing whatever suits him later.


http://www.thomasleavitt.org/personal/blog/index.php?p=311&c=1

What has most amazed me about the support for Dean is that it is based simply on people beleiving that Dean actually has done the things he claims, while there is absolutely no evidence of any kind that he has ever fought for any issue other than cutting social programs in order to balance budgets. This is the only thing that Dean has ever fought hard for.

He never fought to gay rights as Governor and as Lt Governor opposed a gay civil rights bill.


Lieutenant Governor: Howard Dean would not support a civil rights bill "aimed specifically at any given group" but he would include lesbian/gay civil rights protection in a broader bill. He did support the HTLV-III anti-discrimination bill sponsored by Micque Glitmen last year. He would support state funding for education and services to people with AIDS and people in high-risk groups. He would support re-instituting the State Human Rights Commission. He was ambivalent about appointing a liaison simply because he wasn't sure if it was necessary because of numerous "friends and supporters" in the gay community.

http://www.mountainpridemedia.org/oitm/issues/1986/11nov1986/

He never fought for universal health care in Vermont, but threatened to veto legislation that gave universal health care if it considered single payer options.

Vermont
In April 1992 Vermont passed the Vermont Health Care Act of 1992 to ensure universal coverage for state citizens, control healthcare costs via a global budget, implement insurance community rating, reform medical malpractice laws, and place the state's healthcare under one state authority. The legislation did not specify how the state would pay for and achieve universal coverage. This led to development of two state proposals--one backed by a group of 55 legislators for a single-payer plan and one pushed by the governor for an employer mandate.

Although the single-payer plan was not brought to the floor for a vote during the current 1994 session, many predicted it would have been defeated. Additionally, Gov. Howard Dean, MD, had promised to veto it if passed.

http://www.chausa.org/PUBS/PUBSART.ASP?ISSUE=HP9410&ARTICLE=L


There is literally no record of any kind of Dean having ever fought in any way shape or form for anything that would benefit a single citizend, but plenty of evidence that he aalways fought hard for big business and special interests.