10 Questions for Howard Dean - Any Answers?

[wyldwolf]

1. Why did you support sending Vermont's nuclear waste to the poor, mostly Hispanic town of Sierra Blanca, Texas, 16 miles from the Mexican border -- a plan described as "blatant environmental racism" by Paul Wellstone?

2. Why did the Dean administration increase funding for Vermont's state colleges by only 7% while you increased funding for prisons by 150%?

3. Why did IBM, the leading polluter in Vermont, receive your Environmental Achievement Award nine times?

4. What did you mean when you said, "I've had 40 or 45 private meetings with IBM since I've been governor. And IBM has gotten pretty much everything they've asked for"?

6. Why did you wait for the courts and legislature to bring about the civil union bill before you supported it? Why did you sign the bill in private when you finally did sign it?

7. Why do you oppose the Israeli Labour Party candidate for prime minister Amram Mitzna's call for unconditional peace talks with the Palestinians?

8. While you acknowledge that you "haven't condemned Congress for passing the Patriot Act," Bernie Sanders from your own state of Vermont is leading efforts in Congress to overturn the Act. Why are you not supporting Bernie Sanders' efforts and condemning Congress for its attack on civil liberties?

9. How do you respond to Annette Smith of Vermonters of a Clean Environment who says: "Dean's attempt to run for president as an environmentalist is nothing but a fraud. He's destroyed the Agency of Natural Resources, he's refused to meet with environmentalists while constantly meeting with developers, and he's made the permitting process one, big dysfunctional joke. EP under Governor Dean meant Expedite Permits, not Environmental Protection"?

10. Since you pride yourself on your "fiscal responsibility" who do you refuse to even consider any decreases in the bloated Pentagon budget?

[Khephra]

1. Man, 10 Baiting Questions!

You had to get up pretty early to get all those done. I especially like the baiting nature of the Bernie Sanders/Patriot Act question.

Sheeesh...

:crazy:

[meegbear]

3. But when people ask the Clark questions, all bets are off ...

right?

[wyldwolf]

5. And THAT is my point!

Questions on Clark? OK. Questions on Dean? FLAME BAIT!

[AWD]

15. Yawn

[wyldwolf]

Tired? Take a nap.

[AWD]

21. Yawn

[wyldwolf]

31. Tired? Take a nap!

[alexwcovington]

2. SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM

Cut the crap already.

[AWD]

4. Two responses

1) You wrote yet anotherflame-bait thread.
2) You're not even capable of writing your own material anymore.

[wyldwolf]

7. A rebuttal response...

..these questions are ALL OVER the net. I never claimed they were my own. Dean supporters should be aware of them. The fact I did not come up with them doesn't invalidate the questions which, by the way, you ignored.

But they won't go away.

[AWD]

10. Yawn

.....you said they were questions for Howard Dean.

I'm not Howard Dean, so I was not asked the questions.

[wyldwolf]

17. Tired? Take a nap!

[AWD]

22. Yawn

[wndycty]

6. 4 posts so far. . .

. . .and no response. I am not sure if these questions are fair, but they are not much different than some of the questions lodged at Clark supporters.

[AWD]

9. Yeah...

...don't you have more hate to spread today? Why bother counting????

[wyldwolf]

11. Which, again, is my point...

...but turnabout is fair play, right?

[AWD]

13. Yawn

[wyldwolf]

18. Tired? Take a nap!

[AWD]

23. Yawn

[wndycty]

20. One flame bait post. . .

. . .and you label me a hater. If you spent as much time on your damn campaign, hell your website that is still "under construction" you might get a vote or two. I thought you were a serious candidate, will you even get enough signatures to get on the ballot?

[AWD]

24. Yawn

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[wndycty]

36. Hey. . .

. . .if you are going to play hard, then don't cry when some returns fire. I took everything that was thrown at me. At this point I don't really care. If you are going to mess with people, you should not get too upset when they return fire. I stood in an took it yesterday. I know what I started and I stood in and dealt with the consequences.

[KittyWampus]

8. Wyldwolf, Would You Ask Moderators To Move This

To Politics and Campaigns???

[wyldwolf]

12. Only if they move every Clark thread to the same forum

:)

[AWD]

14. Yawn

[wyldwolf]

19. Tired? Take a nap!

[AWD]

26. Yawn

[stickdog]

16. Why do you think Howard Dean is too liberal to be elected President?

Which is it, folks?

If Dean's not liberal enough for you, why are you backing PNAC-approved Republican-light instead?

[AWD]

28. Republican-lite?

Where do you get off calling Clark "lite"?

He's Republican through-and-through!

[Ellen Forradalom]

25. Ah, the Goreing of Dean

The politically-pure did this to Al Gore too--called him an environmental fraud, flogged him on his vote to confirm Antonin Scalia (a 98-2 vote BTW) and his support for Gulf War I (which is starting to look like a righteous struggle compared to this Gulf war.)

The result of all this bashing? George W. Bush and Gulf War II.

Give it up.

[AWD]

27. Yep

Those Republicans know how to do that.....

[wndycty]

32. Now forradalm. . .

. . .you know I love you my fellow Hyde Parker. How come questions about Clark are fair and questions about Dean are Goring?

You know me to be fair. I am asking a simple question, why is it ok to question Clark and not OK to question Dean?

[Ellen Forradalom]

40. Hiya wndycty

I am not concerned about people questioning the candidates. But this questioning is a style of bashing. It is petulant, misleading questions and criticisms of someone with no consideration that they have a record of elective office. This was the same style of bashing used by Naderites against Al Gore. To them, Gore was evil because he did X, Y, and Z. What was never mentioned is that Gore had a 25 year record as an elected official, making compromises and tough decisions, and answering to his consituents, and that Nader never had to answer to anyone at all. I found this to be the height of intellectual mendacity.


We are facing a somewhat similar situation here--Clark, while he has had to be accountable to others, has operated under different conditions than Dean, who has held elective office.

Also, the relentlessness of the bashing posts--both Clark and Dean--is getting tiresome.

[wndycty]

42. Thanks. . .

and I assume you will post the same in Clark threads. BTW when are we having a Chicago get together?

[wyldwolf]

30. Amazing how this post has generated Dean supporters...

... and calls of "hate" but ANYTHING on Clark is A-OK! At least be consistant, people!

[KittyWampus]

33. WyldWolf, If We Produce Bashing Threads For One Candidate

It spawns more about the OTHER candidates...

And General Discussion gets unreadable as other stories are buried under a few posters flinging insults.

If we all just let the Bash type threads die...

Well, they'd be in the Archives in a jiffy.

[wyldwolf]

35. That is true but each morning GD is full of the SAME bash threads...

...on Wesley Clark. I don't think the Dean supporters get it that EVERY candidate is fair game or NONE of them are.

Dean isn't above reproach. Tell THEM to stop and we will. Otherwise, I have a feeling the Clark people will begin fighting back harder.

[VermontDem2004]

37. That statement has bugged me for the longest time

1. Why did you support sending Vermont's nuclear waste to the poor, mostly Hispanic town of Sierra Blanca, Texas, 16 miles from the Mexican border -- a plan described as "blatant environmental racism" by Paul Wellstone?

PLEEEASSSEEE GIVE ME A DIRECT QUOTE OF DEAN SAYING HE SUPPORTS THIS AND I FOR ONE WILL RENOUNCE MY SUPPORT FOR DEAN AS OF RIGHT NOW!!!!!!! I spent countless hours of searching for quotes actions taken by Dean during this time and I have not found anything. If you honestly believe the first one without any proof, then you must be willing to believe anything said about someone you don't like.

[Karmadillo]

56. No direct quote, but here's the response from DeanDefense:

I would guess he supported it since I doubt DeanDefense would say he did if he didn't, but there's no documentation to back it up, so who knows? Nothing wrong with waiting for direct proof before believing something, especially given the woeful state of the General Discussion forum these days.

http://deandefense.org/archives/000017.html

Farrell Claims: Dean supported sending nuclear waste to a poor Hispanic Texas town.

Truth: As Vermont’s Governor, Dean supported getting nuclear waste out of his state into safer storage sites. The 1998 proposal of using Sierra Blanca, Texas as a repository was part of a compact, supported by Texas, Maine and Vermont, passed by Congress, and signed by President Clinton. As President, Dean would work towards a non-political solution to the nuclear waste storage issue based on science and safety.

more...

[ThirdEye]

38. Here are your 'answers'

I will only respond to your questions I can answer.

2. Why did the Dean administration increase funding for Vermont's state colleges by only 7% while you increased funding for prisons by 150%?

Percentages are very misleading. While my personal stance on Education is that it is tied for the #1 most important issue in our country (that and campaign finance reform, which Dean supports), you have to look at the NUMBERS. I don't know them so I can't say whether or not your arguement is valid. However what if the prison budget was 100,000 and the education budget was 1,000,000? Also, please keep in mind that UVM (I'm alumni) is Vermont's largest educator, but it is also 'mostly' private. The state government has always given 'em pennies.

3. Why did IBM, the leading polluter in Vermont, receive your Environmental Achievement Award nine times?

Leading polluter != most inefficient polluter. You need numbers, Sir. What if IBM cut their pollution down 85% but was still the biggest polluter? Do they not deserve recognition? Remember, Vermont doesn't have many manufacturing plants, let alone the size of IBM's site.

4. What did you mean when you said, "I've had 40 or 45 private meetings with IBM since I've been governor. And IBM has gotten pretty much everything they've asked for"?

As a vermonter I would say the main reason why Dean would be willing to roll over for IBM is that everyone in Vermont wants him to do so. The first thing that comes out of a cynical and jobless Vermonter's mouth is "because of our stance on the environment, all the jobs are leaving with the companies, like IBM! Fucking act 250!!"

6. Why did you wait for the courts and legislature to bring about the civil union bill before you supported it? Why did you sign the bill in private when you finally did sign it?

Fact is, the majority of Vermonters did not support the bill. Also, Dean was trying to keep himself out of the spot light so that the rights could be established for those who needed them and he would neither get any shit for doing it or make himself look like he's just trying ot win points from an interest group (forgivbe me if that's a bad term to use in that context).

7. Why do you oppose the Israeli Labour Party candidate for prime minister Amram Mitzna's call for unconditional peace talks with the Palestinians?

Dean recently stated we should not take sides in the I/P peace negotiation process, maybe it's a new position I don't know. As Clark supporters would say, people can change their minds.

8. While you acknowledge that you "haven't condemned Congress for passing the Patriot Act," Bernie Sanders from your own state of Vermont is leading efforts in Congress to overturn the Act. Why are you not supporting Bernie Sanders' efforts and condemning Congress for its attack on civil liberties?

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_statement_civilrights_patriotact

Also keep in mind Dean's campaign helped organize large relays against Ashcroft and the Patriot Act while Asscroft was touring to save it's image.

9. How do you respond to Annette Smith of Vermonters of a Clean Environment who says: "Dean's attempt to run for president as an environmentalist is nothing but a fraud. He's destroyed the Agency of Natural Resources, he's refused to meet with environmentalists while constantly meeting with developers, and he's made the permitting process one, big dysfunctional joke. EP under Governor Dean meant Expedite Permits, not Environmental Protection"?

Yes I've had this particular issue affect a co-worker of mine. expedited permits is certainly a "who you know" game and is unfair. However, it's not like it's anything differently then any other petty politician corruption. Personally, I feel this is a part of Dean he will leave behind, he's found a very important purpose for his life.


10. Since you pride yourself on your "fiscal responsibility" who do you refuse to even consider any decreases in the bloated Pentagon budget?

1) It would make it look like he's weak on national security. I hate to say it, but it's true. People have a hard time reading into an issue, so saying "I plan to cut the fat out of the pentagon" will only read as "I'm taking away our ability to stay safe". Think about it.

2) he may not know the best way to deal with the Pentagon's budget. That's why Clark can so easily say with confidence that he can cut the budget... he's a military man and can make that judgement.

[wndycty]

39. Third Eye has my respect. . .

Third Eye, did not bitch, did not moan. Third Eye gave us answers. Hats off and much respect.

[wyldwolf]

43. You're answers are mostly spin...

Percentages are very misleading, You need numbers, Sir, the main reason why Dean would be willing to roll over for IBM is that everyone in Vermont wants him to do so, it's not like it's anything differently then any other petty politician corruption, It would make it look like he's weak on national security, he may not know the best way to deal with the Pentagon's budget.

Spin, waffle, and especially the fist lines, "fuzzy math."

bwahahahahahaha!

[WilliamPitt]

49. Thank God for you

and thanks for the effort.

[KittyWampus]

41. Wyldwolf, Start Pro-Clark Threads Then

Rather than anti-Dean threads. Just a suggestion

Further, the more anti-Clark threads Deanites & OTHERS start... the MORE THEY LOOK LIKE ASSHOLES!

Let the Anti-Clark (the rabid ones, anyway) look like the uniformed extremists that they are.

[wyldwolf]

45. GOOD POINT!

and we can let the Rabid Deanies look like the waffling birdbrains that they are?

[GabysPoppy]

53. I am locking this thread

This thread has degenerated to just name calling and other personal insults. Their is no point to continue this thread.

GabysPoppy
DU Moderator

[JNelson6563]

55. According to yesterday's "apology"

Wyldwolf is not responsible for Wyldwolf's bashing posts, see it's the folks who bash Clark that are to blame. Wyldwolf seems to feel there is no other way to address POS posts than to do same.

Frightening to think we are on the same team, no? With team-mates like this it is no wonder we are in the political wilderness.

Julie

[LeahMira]

44. Assuming...

... that all of the questions present information on actual, objective facts. Perhaps you've never read about propaganda techniques?

[wndycty]

47. The very same propaganda techniques that have been used on Clark

:kick:

[wyldwolf]

48. Sure I have! Dean supporter have given me great lessons in it!

Everyday with their repetitive Clark posts.

[WilliamPitt]

46. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

*This* now qualifies as flame-bait? Ten legitimate fucking questions are now 'flame-bait?'

It took 38 BITCHY LITTLE SNIDE REPLIES before someone answered theses questions, which is nice, because I was curious abo9ut the answers.

Am I missing something here? Is it flame-bait because of who posted it? Because that's crap.

Memo to Dean supporters on DU: Your real-world compatriots make you look like real shits sometimes.

[wyldwolf]

50. Yeah, but even the answerer spun them with "fuzzy math" type mentality

[VermontDem2004]

54. Why is the first one legitimate?

I spent countless hours searching for a quote or action that Dean took which resulted him supporting the dumping of nuclear waste in Sierra Blanca to have anti-Dean people outright say "He supported it", I ask for proof and they can't give it to me, they always refer to the column written by the Wellstone Office Aide or whoever he was.

[Ruby Newsbee]

51. Good questions

who has the answers?

[tsipple]

52. Dean Answers

Hi. I'm Howard Dean.

Well, OK, not really. (You'll have to attend a rally to ask Howard Dean. Or at least write him e-mail, call, or get a pen to paper. This is DU, and you'll get answers from DUers. Hope that's OK.)

Here we go (again)!

1. So did President Clinton, because Sierra Blanca is safer. (It's a nuclear waste storage repository.) Nuclear waste sucks, but it exists. Paul Wellstone is right, but he didn't have any better idea.

2. Because Vermont built a prison, and that's a different line item than paying other states to take their inmates. Dean wanted to bring Vermont's inmates back home, closer to their families.

3. IBM is also the largest employer in the State of Vermont, by far. The State of Vermont ranks dead last on the EPA list of pollution emissions -- it's the cleanest state in the country. IBM builds more energy-efficient microelectronics than its competitors, saving electricity (and cutting pollution) in every product that they go into.

4. See #3, and also note that IBM produces high paying, high wage jobs, is one of the few technology companies that didn't move its microelectronics manufacturing from Vermont to another country with more lax environmental standards, and provides benefits to its employees' domestic partners. You bet Dean worked hard to keep IBM in Vermont.

What happened to 5?

6. "I support civil unions" would have done zippo, zilch, nada until the Vermont Supreme Court made its decision. (Note that he didn't oppose it either.) The Vermont legislature wasn't interested in passing such a law before the court decision, and Dean is a democrat and Democrat, not a dictator. Dean signed the bill in private because he supported it and because he didn't want to "spike the ball in the end zone." You only inflame the anti-civil unions forces -- called "Take Back Vermont," by the way. Are you suggesting he should have had a big statewide festival, declared a work holiday, and had a big balloon drop or something? Because that might very well have reversed civil unions in Vermont and left the GLBT community without essential rights.

7. Because one condition for having peace talks is that both sides not shoot each other in the meeting room as they discuss peace. (Israel can't seem to keep its tanks and jets away from Arafat, and that does tend to spill the water pitchers.) So unconditional peace talks are impossible.

8. The Patriot Act is mostly bad but has a couple good things, like tying wiretap warrants not to individual cell phone numbers but too their owners. Representative Sanders wants to ditch the good with the bad.

9. Google search Annette Smith and get back to us.

10. Dean doesn't refuse to consider any decreases in the Pentagon budget, but, with forces stretched thin, the Pentagon trying to cut soldier and sailor pay to save money, Osama and Saddam still at large, and a Republican Congress, I have news for you: the Pentagon budget ain't getting cut if Jesus were elected president.

Did that answer these "questions" (for the billionth time)?

[KaraokeKarlton]

57. These things are so old, but I'll answer them...again

1. Why did you support sending Vermont's nuclear waste to the poor, mostly Hispanic town of Sierra Blanca, Texas, 16 miles from the Mexican border -- a plan described as "blatant environmental racism" by Paul Wellstone?

It was LOW LEVEL waste...x-rays. Bush gave everyone false information about the site, and got those doing the study to leave out important information.

2. Why did the Dean administration increase funding for Vermont's state colleges by only 7% while you increased funding for prisons by 150%?

Because our prisons were so overcrowded that Vermont prisoners were having to be spent out of state to Virginia and RI. We had to build a new prison because of that and the fact that one of the old ones needed to be released because it was in really bad shape. Would you prefer our prisoners be separated from their families for years and years and live in a substandard building?

3. Why did IBM, the leading polluter in Vermont, receive your Environmental Achievement Award nine times?

Gosh, it was probably because they worked harder than any other company in Vermont to make progress in reducing pollution. Or does that not count?

4. What did you mean when you said, "I've had 40 or 45 private meetings with IBM since I've been governor. And IBM has gotten pretty much everything they've asked for"?

Okay, he served for governor for 12 years. So he met with Vermont's largest employer 3 or 4 times a year. Seeing as a damn lot of Vermonters require jobs to provide for their families it only makes sense that the leader of our state would want to maintain a good relationship with the company. THAT is what was best for the people Dean served.

6. Why did you wait for the courts and legislature to bring about the civil union bill before you supported it? Why did you sign the bill in private when you finally did sign it?

Gay activists didn't want him to say anything during the court battle because it would have brought attention to the court case on a national level, which could have hindered progress. He signed the bill in private because the state was really divided over the issue. He didn't feel signing it in a "celabratory" way was good for the state because it would seem like he was "rubbing it in the state's nose" and the majority of Vermonters were AGAINST it at first. The state needed to heal.

7. Why do you oppose the Israeli Labour Party candidate for prime minister Amram Mitzna's call for unconditional peace talks with the Palestinians?

Dean's position on the Israeli Palestinian conflict is fair. He sees a two state solution, thinks settlements have to go and believes that America needs to be an honest broker and not take sides in the conflict while still keeping a good, supportive relationship with Israel and building trust with Palestinians.

8. While you acknowledge that you "haven't condemned Congress for passing the Patriot Act," Bernie Sanders from your own state of Vermont is leading efforts in Congress to overturn the Act. Why are you not supporting Bernie Sanders' efforts and condemning Congress for its attack on civil liberties?

Dean speaks out about the Patriot Act frequently, which is why he criticizes Ashcroft all the time. Seeing as he's running a presidential campaign, he probably doesn't have time to focus on one issue or help Bernie Sanders to the level you apparently expect. Are the other candidates meeting with Bernie and helping him or are they missing important votes to campaign?

9. How do you respond to Annette Smith of Vermonters of a Clean Environment who says: "Dean's attempt to run for president as an environmentalist is nothing but a fraud. He's destroyed the Agency of Natural Resources, he's refused to meet with environmentalists while constantly meeting with developers, and he's made the permitting process one, big dysfunctional joke. EP under Governor Dean meant Expedite Permits, not Environmental Protection"?

Annette Smith isn't a Democrat, she's in Vermont's "Progressive Party" which is further left than the Green Party. These Vermonters vote for Nader. Not only does she have alterior motives (like getting people to vote for a spoiler so Bush wins) but she's also a radical fruitcake who is angry with her neighbors for not going off the electric grid. She also, singlehandedly, has tried to drive damn near all business out of Vermont. She's NOT the voice of Vermont, thank you very much.

10. Since you pride yourself on your "fiscal responsibility" who do you refuse to even consider any decreases in the bloated Pentagon budget?

Simple...he can't propose cuts to any budget he hasn't looked at closely. Just like he has always done...any budget that has waste, he will deal with and fix. That's one of his trademarks. To claim he would cut it without actually seeing the budget and looking at all the information he can't responsibly say he would make cuts. Anyone who says they would cut it are being careless and irresponsible. You have to look at all the facts before making those kinds of suggestions.

There you go. I am going to copy, paste and save this response for the next time this dumb ass list of "questions" gets posted.