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Tape shows Dean maligning the Iowa caucuses
Iâll get to the WOT stuff in a minute, but I thought you all might enjoy this.Four years ago, Howard Dean denounced the Iowa caucuses as "dominated by special interests," saying on a Canadian television show that they "donât represent the centrist tendencies of the American people, they represent the extremes." Videotapes of the show were broadcast on the NBC Nightly News on Thursday, less than two weeks before the Jan. 19 caucuses, the first contest of the Democratic nominating race. The tapes show Dr. Dean arguing that the lengthy caucus process in which neighbors gather to debate their preferences is inconvenient for ordinary people. "Say Iâm a guy whoâs got to work for a living, and Iâve got kids," he said on the show on Jan. 15, 2000. "On a Saturday, is it easy for me to go cast a ballot and spend 15 minutes doing it, or do I have to sit in a caucus for eight hours?" A moment later, he added, "I canât stand there and listen to everyone elseâs opinion for eight hours about how to fix the world."` The excerpts shown on NBC also show Dr. Dean saying in December, 2000, "George Bush is, I believe, in his soul a moderate," and adding about those thinking that Mr. Bushâs presidency would be a one-term one, "that is going to be a mistake." While Dr. Dean now describes Mr. Bush as "the most radical right-wing president in my lifetime," he also frequently acknowledges that, until after Mr. Bush was elected, he believed his promise of moderation. The broadcasting of the tape comes as Dr. Dean is in a fierce fight with Representative Richard A. Gephardt in Iowa, and his comments were a sharp contrast to those he makes daily on the campaign trail in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Now Dr. Dean regularly tells audiences that the Iowa caucuses represent the essence of American democracy. "Without Iowa and New Hampshire, people like me would never have a chance," he said on Nov. 13 upon signing the papers to qualify for the New Hampshire primary. "Itâs the only way that candidates with no money but with strong backing, who are willing to put backbone and spine back in the Democratic Party, have any chance at all." Sarah Leonard, a Dean spokeswoman in Iowa, told The Associated Press that his comment "could mean a lot of different things." Shortly after the NBC broadcast, Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for another candidate, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, sent reporters an e-mail message with the NBC transcript, asking, "Which Howard Dean are Iowans going to vote for, the one who insults them, or the one who will soon be releasing yet another clarifying statement?" Mr. Gephardt also leaped on the comments, saying: "The remarks he made about the Iowa caucuses to me are unbelievable. I guess Iâd ask him a question: Who are the special interests dominating this caucus? Is it the farmers? Is it organized labor? Is it senior citizens?" The tapes were culled from 90 appearances by Dr. Dean, between 1996 and 2002, on "The Editors," a round table of journalists and politicians that is broadcast in Canada and on PBS stations in the United States. An article about the tapes on the MSNBC Web site includes more excerpts. It shows that in January 1998, Dr. Dean speculated that there "will probably be good and bad" if the Islamic militants of Hamas take over the Palestinian leadership. Yasser Arafat, he said, "is going to leave the scene." He continued: "When that happens, I think Hamas will probably take over. There will probably be good and bad out of that. The bad, of course, is that Hamas is a terrorist organization. However, if they have to run a quasi-state they may actually have to be more responsible and start negotiations. So who knows what will happen." In February 1999, he said, "The next great tragedy is going to be Arafatâs passing, believe it or not." He said the Israelis had thrown away an opportunity to negotiate with Mr. Arafat. "Next comes Hamas, comes far more radical government in Jordan," he said. "I think itâs a frightening proposition." Foreshadowing his 2004 campaign platform, Dr. Dean said on the show in 1998 that he was beginning to question his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement. "Iâm worried about the condition of Mexican workers" in factories just south of the border, he said, "and I had hoped that Nafta would boost the Mexican standard of living." The broadcast of the tapes came on a day when two rival campaigns accused Dean workers in Iowa of unethical conduct. Mr. Gephardtâs campaign manager, Steve Murphy, said the Dean campaign was plotting to rig the caucuses by sending in thousands of out-of-state volunteers to vote. And a top aide to Mr. Kerry said two Dean workers misrepresented themselves to gain information on the Kerry campaign. Mr. Murphy of the Gephardt campaign said a Dean field organizer in Iowa described a plan to rig the voting in a conversation several days ago, an accusation the Dean campaign dismissed as ridiculous. State law allows only Iowa residents to participate in the caucuses. Mr. Murphy would not identify the field organizer. Joe Trippi, Dr. Deanâs campaign manager, vehemently denied any effort to rig the caucuses. He said the 3,500 out-of-state volunteers who plan to work for Dr. Dean in Iowa had no intention of voting there. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-01-09 |
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