“I know that everybody
here's been told I'm a raging liberal and never
can get elected,"
Howard Dean said
in Charles City. "I'm such an underdog that
there's a Time/CNN poll out today that shows I'm
five points behind George Bush 51 to 46. Half the
people in this country don't know anything about
me."
"Our tax system is broken
and I want to fix it,"
Wesley Clark
said, calling the growing disparity between rich
and poor under President Bush a "great moral
crisis."
"When politicians are
yelling at each other about what someone said
yesterday or seven years ago, I can promise you
one thing — they are not listening to you,"
John Edwards
said.
I would argue that the
only two candidates running a national campaign
are me and Howard Dean,"
said John
Edwards. "I am in this for the long haul
and it is clear that he is, too."
“So if Karl Rove is
watching today, Karl, I want you to hear me loud
and clear: I am going to provide tax cuts to ease
the burdens for 31 million American families,”
Wesley Clark
said. “You don’t have to read my lips. I’m
saying it.”
"The bottom line is the
Democratic presidential candidates are embroiled
in a fight about how much to raise your taxes,”
Julie Teer, New
Hampshire GOP spokeswoman said. “And Wesley
Clark is absolutely no exception. Anyway he wants
to spin it, nothing changes the fact that Wesley
Clark has promised massive taxes increases on
families and small business his first week in
office."
“I think endorsements are
only effective if they come with a lot of work and
support. I’ve been involved with lots of
candidates in the past who didn’t have big name
endorsements and still won the New Hampshire
primary. I think what’s important here is what
John Kerry has to say to voters in New Hampshire,”
said New
Hampshire’s former Governor Jeanne Shaheen who
helped Al Gore Defeat Bill Bradley.
You run for
president, Joe Lieberman said, to “make
sure that every student in America who is capable
of going on to something after high school can do
it regardless of whether they have the personal
money or not.”
It's a bit like
water torture, said Candy Crowley, Cable News
Network's senior political correspondent.
"Debate after debate after debate, it starts to
make an indentation, even on the people who aren't
paying close attention.
"In a primary debate,
we've found in our studies that there is more
change because there are more undecided voters,"
said Mitchell McKinney, a professor of
communication at the University of
Missouri-Columbia who studies political debates.
"At this stage of the
game (in Iowa), with the caucuses two weeks away,
every day is important,"
said Kim Rubey,
a spokeswoman for the John Edwards campaign.
"The support you pick up every given day and the
events that transpire will ultimately build to
your performance on caucus night."
“The incivility of the
Internet doesn't help. For example, I doubt Dean
or Kucinich believes any opponent, opposing
staffer or journalist is a "Nazi," yet each man
has loose-cannon supporters out there accusing
people of that. Such kooky behavior does neither
candidate any good and arguably costs them
support.” --
writes Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen.
“We're fighting for a
White House that's not the site of a daily reunion
by old buddies looking for new favors,"
said John Kerry.
“With only two weeks to
go, the undecided vote is very large and activists
who say they're willing to change their minds are
even more evident.”
-- writes Mike
Glover of the Associated Press.
“I think endorsements are
dubious. Look, Gore endorsed him and the race
isn’t over,”
John Kerry said.
Clark said the cost of
the tax reductions, about $30 billion, would be
paid for by closing corporate loopholes and by
imposing a 5 percent increase in the tax rate on
incomes over $1 million a year. "Those who make
more should pay more," he said. "Those who make
the least should pay less."
-- writes the
Washington Post.
"What I see is that
despite their criticisms, he presents himself as
who he really is, and I think he's able to get
that across to people: What you see is what you
get," said the
Rev. Netha Brada, a 66-year-old Dean precinct
organizer from Iowa Falls, Iowa.
"We have sold out
American jobs," added Gephardt, who opposed NAFTA
and the China trade agreements and has objected to
the Bush administration's plans to extend free
trade to Central American nations. "It's time to
bring that sellout to an end."
-- writes the
Boston Globe.
A top aide said Dean is
considering a tax reform plan for the general
election that includes a reduction in payroll
taxes. If Dean rolls out such a plan, it could
offset what many strategists see as a big
liability: his support of what amounts to a nearly
$2 trillion tax increase by calling for a repeal
of Bush's tax cuts.
-- writes the
Washington Post
"My friends, for us to
win the presidency, we have to have a nominee who
has the temperament and the experience, who has
the capacity to give America confidence that we
know how to make our nation secure,"
said John Kerry.
“Howard Dean will not
have the credentials [to be president]... His
judgment is called into question in these past
months by the statements he's made publicly...,"
said John Kerry.
Dean’s momentum gaining weight
"His campaign offers America new
hope," Bradley said in endorsing Howard Dean’s
candidacy. "His supporters are breathing fresh air
into the lungs of our democracy. They're
revitalizing politics, showing a way to escape the
grip of big money and to confront the shame of
forgetting those in need."
Bradley opposed Al Gore for the
Presidential nomination four years ago. He
represented New Jersey in the Senate for 18 years
before his challenge of Gore.
Reports are that his old
supporters in Iowa and New Hampshire were asking
him whom he was supporting and he said Howard
Dean. There is speculation Dean represents the
kind of campaign that appeals to the youth of
America and has the energy of a Kennedy-like
campaign that both Al Gore and Bill Bradley had
hoped to run. AP reported that he responded to the
question of why he was supporting Dean by saying:
"His
campaign offers America new hope. His supporters
are breathing fresh air into the lungs of our
democracy. They're revitalizing politics, showing
a way to escape the grip of big money and to
confront the shame of forgetting those in need,"
Bradley said.
"When
Governor Dean says that his campaign is more about
his supporters than about him, he shows admirable
modesty, but he sheds light also on why his
campaign offers the best chance to beat George
Bush," the former senator said. "That is, he has
tapped into the same wonderful idealism that I saw
in the eyes of Americans in 2000, and he has
nourished it into a powerful force."
An anecdotal profile of Dean’s
new political activists shows that they were
previously community volunteers and activists.
There is increased speculation
that Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin may also choose to
endorse a candidate. The choices seem to be
narrowing between Dean and Dick Gephardt -- this
despite Harkin’s close association with Sen. John
Kerry and supporter Sen. Ted Kennedy. The thing
that may be holding Harkin back from endorsing
Dean is the strong union support Harkin has
received over the years. The unions made up the
bulk of the support Harkin received when he ran
for President against Bill Clinton.
Iowa’s Gov. Tom Vilsack has
announced that he will not endorse a candidate so
that Iowa remains an open competitive place for
candidates seeking the nomination. This also could
cause Harkin to pause in his nomination.
However, Harkin has always
followed a path that provided him the greatest
political influence. Harkin endorsed Al Gore when
he was behind to Bill Bradley in the Iowa
Caucuses. Harkin helped Gore when Iowa and then
Gore went on to defeat Bradley in New Hampshire
thereby ending Bradley’s candidacy.
Dean favored big corporate friends
When Howard Dean was governor of
Vermont, his administration was taken to task in a
1993 state audit that questioned the involvement
of a top Dean aide in the awarding of a contract
to a health maintenance organization. The aide,
the audit noted, once represented the H.M.O. as a
lobbyist. The NY Times reports that the contract
was canceled after the audit was made public.
Edward S. Flanagan, who
conducted an audit that showed the same H.M.O.
continued corrupt practices in a contract covering
state employees latter in an audit, defended the
audits and his motivations.
"I am
a supporter of Howard Dean's presidential
campaign, so this puts me in a rather awkward
position," he said. "But the factual bases for
these reports are rock solid and thoroughly
documented."
Dean on No Child Left Behind
Howard Dean criticized the
President's failure to follow through on the
promises of "No Child Left Behind":
"The standards are so ridiculous
that every single public school in America will be
deemed to be a school in need of improvement or a
failing school by 2013," former Vermont governor
Howard Dean said in a teleconference yesterday. He
said the law, which he has pledged to dismantle,
was "making education in America worse, not
better."
His press release is as follows:
"The
President is visiting a St. Louis area school to
celebrate the second anniversary of the 'No Child
Left Behind' act. Following his speech he will
attend a fundraiser where he is expected to raise
$2.5 million. Less than 30 miles away, the
Northwest School District in Jefferson County is
awaiting a February vote on whether to increase
property taxes in order to generate $2.4 million
to help cover school budget shortfalls of $4.8
million.
"Increased property taxes are just one example of
the 'Bush Tax,' the amount that ordinary people
pay in increased property taxes and higher
payments for services to cover President Bush's
misplaced priorities. President Bush had no
problem finding money for lavish tax breaks for
millionaires, or over $150 billion for his
misguided war in Iraq. But when it comes to fully
funding his NCLB mandates, schools are out of
luck.
"Nothing illustrates the President's misplaced
priorities better than the his actions today.
Instead of trying to solve problems so that
government works for the people again--so that the
Northwest School District doesn't need to raise
taxes by $2.4 million--the President has
illustrated his true priorities by attending a
fundraiser where he will raise $2.5 million for
his campaign coffers--for a primary in which he
faces no opponent.
"The
Northwest School District is not the exception.
Districts across America have been forced to
increase taxes or lay-off teachers, increase class
sizes, and consider closing school doors. Many
communities have made these sacrifices and have
still been forced to raise taxes.
"This
year we have the power to change our system, so
that it works for the people again. By reclaiming
our democracy, we can tell the politicians in
Washington that our children matter more than
fancy fundraisers and special interest money."
Deanites shovel snow
The Des Moines Register reports
on some of the Dean volunteers innovative campaign
techniques. It would make Dean’s campaign manager
Joe Trippi proud.
When
the weather threatened their plans to canvass
neighborhoods, seven Dean supporters offered to
shovel sidewalks… Surprisingly, only five
residents accepted the offer… "A lot of the people
in the neighborhood we went to had snow blowers,"
said Heather Strassberger, 26, of Bar Harbor,
Maine, who has been working in Iowa since Dec. 27…
The effort was not a total waste… "A couple of
them sounded like we convinced them to vote for
Dean," Strassberger said.
Trippi
once set up a lemonade stand to win votes.
Loosen up, Dean
Des Moines Register columnist has a bit of
advice for the Howard Dean campaign on how to nail
down Iowa. It comes in response to one of those
hand-written letters flooding into Iowa by Dean
supporters. This one came from someone in
California to his wife:
“Which
brings me to the meat of this letter. Things are
going well for Dean, but they can always get
better. Is there any way, for instance, you can
thaw him out, loosen him up a bit?”
Dean, you’re wrong
Howard Dean and his other
wannabee rivals have constantly suggested that the
budget cannot be balanced without getting rid of
Bush’s tax cuts. The CBO, which is charged by
Congress to calculate the long-term effects of
government policy, projects that the Bush economic
plan, including his huge tax cuts, would reduce
the federal deficit to just $9 billion in 2011 and
run a surplus of $161 billion in 2012 — which
would be years six and seven of a Dean
administration.
Dean recently said that he would
"balance the budget in the sixth or seventh year"
of his administration at the Des Moines Register
Debate.
Dean favored in D.C.
"I think Howard Dean is clearly
first, the Rev. Al Sharpton second, and former
Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and Rep. Dennis
[J.] Kucinich of Ohio flip-flopping between third
and fourth," predicted Lawrence Guyot, a 30-year
veteran of civil rights and political activism in
the District.
The
Washington Times reports that Howard Dean is
the likely winner of the first in the nation
primary in Washington, D.C. The primary is not
recognized by the Democrat National Committee and
was organized for the principle purpose of winning
the District representation in Congress.
Stand and deliver
"There's a lot of rhetoric, but
there's never action," Rep. Dick Gephardt warned
union leaders. Gephardt took his plea for help to
about 200 leaders of the Alliance for Economic
Justice. He told the union officials that workers
are told in election after election that trade
must be fair, but that nothing ever happens.
Gephardt warned officials that "it's in their own
interest to elect a candidate who will deliver on
issues like trade."
Gephardt, who is in a life or
death struggle for his campaign in Iowa, could
succeed if a half of the Iowa union workers who
the coalition represented showed up in support of
Gephardt at the caucuses. The unions represented
by the coalition have 80,000 to 90,000 members in
Iowa. Caucus turnout is expected to be between
100,000 and 130,000 this cycle.
"If you can get even a third, or
a fourth, or half of those members, we're gonna
win," Gephardt said.
Gephardt on No Child Left Behind
Rep. Dick Gephardt made the
following statement today on President George W.
Bush's visit to LaClede Elementary in St. Louis,
Missouri and the impending second anniversary of
the signing of No Child Left Behind:
"The
second anniversary of No Child Left Behind would
mean more to America's students and teachers if
George Bush hadn't broken his promise to make
funding public education as important as raising
standards in our schools. George Bush didn't just
break the spirit of his promise to improve public
education; he broke the obligation of the federal
government to our students, educators and local
communities to help them reach higher standards.
"The
impact of that broken promise is real. Over 50,000
teachers will not receive the training and
professional development they were promised. Over
one million children will go without after-school
programs because the Bush administration cut
after-school programs by 40 percent. Funding for
bilingual education was cut for the first time
ever. And the Bush proposal for the future of Head
Start will result in larger class sizes and less
health and nutrition services.
"I
have a different approach to education. I will
fully fund No Child Left Behind and make the
necessary changes to the law to achieve high
standards while incorporating greater input from
state and local educators. I will expand the
availability of after-school programs and Head
Start and place more emphasis on helping young
students begin to learn by creating a network of
early childhood education centers called
Brightness Centers.
"We
also need to guarantee students that education
doesn't stop after high school. I'll make the
first $10,000 of college education costs tax
deductible and I'll tell students interested in
attending college that if they train to be a
teacher and teach for five years where they are
needed, the federal government will pay their
school loans. If it's good enough for our
military, it's good enough for our teachers and
the next generation of students.
"George Bush always makes time for campaign
photo-ops in the Midwest and fundraising events,
but he's shortchanging our future by not taking
the time to make critical investments in public
education."
Gephardt hires staff
Gephardt is beefing up his Iowa
staff. Shari Fitzgerald of Fort Dodge, Iowa, a
co-chair of Bradley's unsuccessful challenge to Al
Gore in the state, has been named one of
Gephardt's statewide chairs. For the past week she
has been a full-time volunteer in the Des Moines
headquarters. Gephardt campaign manager Steve
Murphy also confirmed yesterday that Donnie
Fowler, who departed last fall as manager of
Wesley K. Clark's presidential campaign, has been
a Gephardt volunteer in Iowa and will join the
paid staff shortly. Fowler's father, Don, of South
Carolina, is a former chairman of the Democratic
National Committee.
Gephardt also announced the
appointments of Khalid Pitts as Virginia state
director, Kevin Biggers as Tennessee state
director, Tom Pazzi as Delaware state director and
Kevin Easton as Wisconsin field director of his
presidential campaign. Gephardt currently has
full-time paid staff in 14 states.
Khalid Pitts most recently
served as state director for the Coalition to Stop
Gun Violence and the Educational Fund to End
Handgun Violence. As state director he led
lobbying efforts in state legislature throughout
the country and organized outreach programs to
educate and train state and local activists. Pitts
is a graduate of the College of Holy Cross and the
George Washington University School of Medicine
and Health Sciences.
Tom Pazzi has been working in
Democratic politics for more than twenty years. He
served as deputy national campaign manager for
Cranston for President, campaign manager for
Levinson for Senate and as a senior field
representative during Senator Edward Kennedy's run
for the White House in 1980. In 1999, Pazzi served
as chief-of-staff at the International Brotherhood
of Teamsters directing the transition to office of
Teamsters' president James Hoffa and in 1993, he
served as administrative assistant for Rep. James
Barcia (D-MI).
Kevin Biggers has worked for
Governor Gray Davis in several different
capacities since 1998, most recently serving as
the governor's campaign liaison to the African
American community. From 1999-2003, Biggers served
as the director of the Inland Emprire Office,
representing Governor Davis on issues including
the state budget, water and environment and in
1998, Biggers served as Davis's field director and
volunteer coordinator. From 1996-2000, Biggers
served as a member of the Hesperia, CA City
Council.
Kevin Easton has worked on
several successful campaigns implementing and
coordinating field efforts for federal, state and
local office candidates including special
elections in California and New Mexico. He served
as campaign manager for Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
and as field director for Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
re-election campaigns. Easton is a graduate of the
University of Oregon.
Kerry stump speech
Sen. John Kerry has moved his
message onto the economy and is still hoping that
he can get a bump out of Iowa into New Hampshire.
He is spending his own money and fundraising is
going poorly for his campaign. However, Kerry has
honed his message and delivering his lines well.
One of the things that he has accomplished is to
relearn the usage of the English language. He no
longer sounds like he is in debate on the Senate
floor:
"America can do better than a Bush-league recovery
-- we can have a real recovery that reaches every
American," said Kerry.
With
only two weeks left before Iowans go to vote,
everywhere I go people are looking for someone who
will stand on their side. I am running for
President because I’m going to fight for you – and
I am ready to get things done.
As the
time for campaigning wraps up and the time for
caucusing approaches, we’re out there on the trail
morning, noon, and night. But a few weeks ago, we
decided that even that wasn’t enough time to reach
out. So we spent a full twenty-four hours straight
visiting Iowans in the places they work – on
factories and farms, in hospitals and day care
centers.
When
December turns to January and the caucus draws
near, it sometimes seems that ears on politicians
have become about as rare ears on corn. So I spent
the day doing more listening than talking. No
yelling, no pointing. No ranting or raving. I just
listened.
What I
heard wasn’t that surprising, but it was
important. People told me about their struggle to
make a decent living and to give their children
the chance to live out their dreams.
I
heard factory workers worry about jobs in Sioux
City disappearing to Singapore – about their
employers finding cheaper labor in Malaysia than
Marshalltown.
I
heard mothers and fathers talk about how hard it
is these days to be good parents and good workers
at the same time.
I
heard farmers share their frustration that huge
corporate hog lots that are squeezing family farms
and shrinking the chance of everyday Iowans to
make a living off the land.
I
heard nurses talk about patients who battle HMOs
for hospital visits, and women working two jobs
tell me about their struggles to get by on a
minimum wage.
These
quiet struggles of everyday Americans are at the
heart of what this campaign season should be all
about. Too often, they’re drowned out by all the
political shouting and spinning, but you don’t
have to listen too carefully to hear them loud and
clear. We should never forget that this election
is not about the ads or the attacks, the polls or
the pundits, or even about the nine of us running
for President. It’s about all of you, and the
opportunity – the responsibility – you have been
given to replace George Bush with a President who
will wake up every day ready to fight for you –
and fight for what’s right. And with your help,
that’s just what I’ll do as President of the
United States.
But
we’ve got competition in that fight. Today, big
corporations and K Street lobbyists trip over
themselves to fund the Bush-Cheney campaign. And
it’s no surprise. In the Bush Administration, you
get what you pay for. And if you have the right
connections and a fat bank account, you can afford
the access to the inner circle and the Oval
Office. That’s wrong, and when I’m President,
we’re going to let the American people back in.
We
need to end an Administration that lets companies
like Halliburton ship their old boss to the White
House and get special treatment while they ship
American jobs overseas. We need to end an
Administration that lets WorldCom bilks Iowa
taxpayers out of their jobs and savings and then
rewards them by letting them go without paying any
taxes of their own. And we need to end an
Administration where polluters who contribute to
the Republican Party get invited to secret
meetings in the White House where they’re allowed
to rewrite clean air and clean water laws.
It
used to be that lobbyists and CEOs slipped in and
out of the revolving door between government and
corporate America. But in this Administration,
they’ve kicked in the revolving door, torn down
the wall between public service and private
profit, and stampeded into positions of power all
over the White House. Today’s cabinet members are
yesterday’s corporate board members, and former
foreign lobbyists are put in charge of the very
laws that send American jobs overseas.
If
you’re a lobbyist looking for a secret task force,
you’re invited right in. But if you’re laid off
and looking for unemployment benefits, they’ll
make you cool your heels in the front hall.
And if
you’re with big oil, big pharmaceuticals, or big
HMOs, you’ll get a big time slot for your meeting.
But if you’re a firefighter trying to get the
equipment you need, they’ll tell you the
calendar’s full.
In
this White House, if you’re a corporate crony
calling for another tax giveaway, they’ll put you
right through. But if you’re a middle-class family
calling for some tax fairness, you’ll have to
leave a message.
I’m
running for President because the American people
are calling for help and it’s about time that
someone in the White House picked up the phone.
Because middle-class families have an agenda too
and it’s about time someone in the White House
held a special meeting for them. Because
hardworking Americans who are building this
economy want fairness and it’s about time someone
in the White House cut them a deal. Here’s our
message for the special interest lobbyists and
crooked CEOs who call this White House home: Don’t
let the door hit you on the way out. We’re coming
in and we’re cleaning house.
That’s
what this fight is all about. We’re fighting for a
government that listens to the voices of every
American, not just those with the connections and
the campaign cash. Where the humble hopes of
hardworking families are not smothered by the
heavy hand of special interests. We’re fighting
for an America where the decisions that shape our
country’s future are made not in the smoky
backrooms of K Street, but by citizen activists in
the open air of Main Street communities all across
our country. We’re fighting for a White House
that’s not the site of a daily reunion by old
buddies looking for new favors, but a place for
the union of voices with nothing but one fancy
word in their title: “American.” When I’m
President, with your help, these are the fights
we’re going to win.
I’m
ready to wage this fight – and I’m ready to win
this fight. I’ve been there for the tough fights –
and I haven’t backed down. I’ve beaten them before
– and I’m ready to do it again. I’ve been there
when the doors are closed and the smooth lobbyists
get down to business. But I’ve stood my ground and
fought for what’s right. I took on corporate
polluters when acid rain was threatening our
children. I took on the big insurance companies to
help make sure people could keep their health care
when they moved from job to job. I led the fight
to stop drilling in the Alaskan wilderness, and
I’m fighting now to stop George Bush from letting
special interests with special access rewrite the
Clean Air Act. I’ve taken on the special interests
and won.
And as
President, I’m going to do it again. And I’m going
to keep doing it until we’ve given everyday
Americans the country they deserve. I’m going to
stand up to the special interests and stand on the
side of ordinary American families. And I won’t
leave their side until the job is done.
It
seems like every campaign season, we’re always
talking about sharing prosperity and bringing back
jobs and making health care affordable. And for
hardworking Americans, it always seems like a
better life is just beyond their reach.
Just
when parents think they’ve put enough savings away
for their kids’ college tuition, big corporations
lobby Congress to eliminate their overtime pay.
Just
when families think they can afford health care,
insurance companies get to raise their premiums to
a price that’s breaks their budget.
Just
when children think it’s safe to breathe the air
and drink the water where they live, corporate
polluters get the green light to dump toxic waste
in their neighborhood.
Bringing jobs and prosperity to America have been
a core commitment of our party since the
beginning, and we have stood up for affordable
health care ever since Harry Truman first fought
for it in the 1940s. But many times, powerful
special interests have beat back our efforts at
reform. Well this time, we’re gonna beat them.
And
we’re going to start by changing the rules of the
road in Washington. In my first 100 days, we will
reinstate the five-year ban on lobbying so that
government officials cannot cash in by peddling
influence. And we’ll shine the light on the secret
deals in Washington by requiring every meeting
with a lobbyist or any special interest deal
inserted into a bill by a lobbyist be made public.
“We the people” is the first line of our
Constitution. And when I’m President, the American
people won’t be last in line in our country
anymore.
And
once we’ve changed the rules of the road, we can
start putting America on the road to prosperity,
good jobs, and health care that Americans can
afford.
You
deserve better than a special interest recovery.
Last month, the headlines read “Bush Trumpets
Economic Recovery,” but the only thing certain
about that trumpet is that its sound is heard only
by a privileged few.
They
may be celebrating this so-called recovery in the
White House and on Wall Street, but it’s not so
rosy in places all over Iowa and across America.
In an economy that grew at 8 percent last quarter,
the average American got to bring home an extra
three cents for every hour of work. Three cents.
That’s the slowest wage growth in 40 years.
America has a problem when the workers who help
build this economy are pocketing pennies while the
few bragging about a recovery are bagging
billions.
America can do better than a Bush-league recovery
– we can have a real recovery that reaches every
American. And as President, we’ll fight together
to get us there.
In my
first 100 days as President, I will fight to
repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans so that we can invest in education and
health care. And we will increase the minimum wage
so that working families can make ends meet.
We’ll
beat back the special interest job market. In this
economy, corporate profits are up a record 46
percent. But George Bush has lost more jobs than
any President since Herbert Hoover. I’m not
satisfied with a job-loss recovery, and to put
America back to work, we need to put George Bush
and Dick Cheney out of work.
When
I’m President, we will scour the tax code and
close every single loophole for companies that
take jobs offshore. We will reward companies that
create jobs here in America with a new
manufacturing jobs tax credit and by helping with
health care costs. And we will give the American
people the information they need so that they can
choose to support American jobs staying on
American soil. A quarter of a million call center
jobs have been sent overseas in the past three
years. That’s why today I’m announcing that if
you’re doing business over the phone, you have a
right to know if the company you’re calling is
using American labor or sending the calls – and
the jobs – overseas. You deserve to know whether
your calls are answered by workers in Iowa or
India. And when I’m President, you will.
It’s
bad enough that companies are sending so many jobs
overseas, but the last thing we need is to send
government jobs overseas. Today, the jobs for
taxpayer-funded government services in New Jersey
are being filled by offshore labor. When I am
President, I’ll make sure that if government
contracts can be performed by American workers,
then they’ll get the jobs.
If you
need a reminder of what’s at stake in this
election, consider this: Starting up the country
of origin labeling program is going to be delayed
for two years – in a vote that’s scheduled to
occur on January 20th – the day after the Iowa
Caucuses. It’s no surprise that the Iowa Cattlemen
support country of origin labeling even though the
National Cattlemen oppose it. And we need a
President who will hear the voice of small farmers
and everyday Iowans who know we need this
important legislation – and need it now.
Finally, we need to beat back the special interest
health care system. George Bush promised us action
on health care when he ran for President. But
every year he’s been in office, your premiums have
risen by double digits. Every year he’s been in
office, another million Americans have lost their
health insurance. And this President hasn’t lifted
a finger to help. Instead, he’s been fighting for
the big insurance companies and HMOs that line his
campaign coffers—the same ones that have caused so
much of the hurt in the first place.
In my
first 100 days as President, I’ll offer affordable
health care for all Americans by cutting costs and
stopping skyrocketing premiums. The average health
care cost per person in Iowa is about $4,000.
Under my plan, you’ll see real savings of up to
$1,000 on that bill. No one in this race will
fight harder than I will to cover the uninsured
and get to universal coverage, but I also think
it’s time someone in government stood up and
fought for the Americans who have health insurance
but are getting killed when they try to pay their
bills. And I’m going to fight for them.
If you
want to see a prime example of Republican’s
working for powerful interests, just look at this
latest Medicare bill. This bill is less about
prescription drug benefits and more a prescription
to benefit big drug companies. Right here in Iowa,
the price of prescription drugs has risen by over
10% in one year! Not surprisingly, the big drug
companies and HMO’s spent $139 million lobbying
Congress and they’re going to get $139 billion in
return. That’s not a bad investment. Say what you
want about President Bush, its clear his powerful
campaign contributors get what they pay for. But
we’re getting left with the tab.
But
drug companies aren’t ready to settle for making
millions of off seniors in the free market –
they’re also pulling every string they know of to
stifle competition and create their own special
interest market where it’s illegal to send back
cheaper versions of the same exact drugs from
Canada. American seniors would save millions a
year on the very same prescriptions that Canadian
seniors take, but big drug companies just won’t
give them a break – and this President stand on
their side. I’m going to stand on the side of
seniors who need our help.
As
your President, I will wake up every day ready to
fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.
That also means standing up for those who hardly
ever have someone fighting for them. America’s
poor and working poor – and Americans with
disabilities. I think of my friend Max Cleland –
an American hero who overcame these barriers. He
left three limbs on the battlefield after serving
his country bravely in Vietnam, but never stopped
moving when he returned home to America. He moved
obstacles that stood in his way, he moved people
with his courage and strength, and with a lot of
hard work, he eventually moved into the United
States Senate. No one in America has done more
than Iowa’s Tom Harkin to advance the cause of
Americans with Disabilities. And when I am
President, the voices of the disabled – and the
whisper of all those to weak to shout – will reach
the White House once more.
Today,
as our campaign launches “Women’s Voices on the
Trail,” I also want to say how grateful I am for
the support of the many talented and accomplished
women who will take their voices on the campaign
trail in the coming weeks and months. Women know
what it’s like to be shut out of this White House
just as well as anyone. Their voices have been
silenced and their choices threatened by an
Administration that welcomes ring-wing special
interests and extremist judges with open arms.
It’s time those voices were heard once again.
The
issues that were once consigned to a corner called
“women’s issues,” need to be the concern of all of
us. It’s time for an equal day’s pay for an equal
day’s work to become a reality and not just a
slogan. And whether it is choice or Title Nine or
affirmative action – all Americans pay the price
when progress is reversed. When I am President,
women’s voices will not just travel on the
campaign trail, they will sound openly from the
workplace to the doctor’s office, echo in the
White House, and ring proudly from positions
within my Administration.
I’m
running for President because I’m going to fight
for Americans who need someone on their side.
Unlike George Bush, I believe America’s strength
doesn’t just come from captains of industry or
corporate leaders on the cover of Fortune. I
believe it flows from the dedication and
productivity of millions whose lifestyles aren’t
rich or famous but who work hard and do what’s
right. They get up each morning, go to work, raise
their children and pay their taxes. They don’t ask
for special favors or special recognition. They
simply want fairness.
A
salary that pays the bills. A health care system
where a check-up doesn’t empty the family
checkbook. A workplace that’s fair. College
tuition that’s affordable. And a chance for their
children to have a better life than their parents.
That’s not too much to ask for. And the American
people have waited too long for someone to
deliver. The time for waiting is over. I’m ready
to get it done. And I ask you to join me in this
fight.
Clark: soak the rich
If there was any doubt where
Wesley Clark is coming from, there should be no
doubt now. Clark clearly wants to tax the rich and
leave the middle class alone. NY Daily News
reports that Clark was unabashed in his desire to
tax the rich:
Clark
would pay for his plan by hiking taxes 5% on the
richest 0.1% - people making more than $1 million
a year - creating a new 45% tax bracket.
"Twenty-five years ago, the wealthiest Americans
paid a 70% tax rate. Today, they pay half of
that," he said. He had a message for Republicans
who would paint him as a class warrior.
"If
[this plan] makes me an 'old style' Democrat, then
I accept that label with pride and dare you to
come after me for it," Clark said.
Edwards in S. Carolina
The Edwards for President in
South Carolina campaign today announced that
hometown friends and family from Oconee County
have formed a traveling group - "Oconee on the
Road for Edwards"-- and will accompany Senator
John Edwards at campaign events throughout South
Carolina in the final month before the February
3rd primary.
"It's always good to be back in
South Carolina," said Edwards. "And being here
with friendly faces from my birthplace of Seneca
and across Oconee County make my visits feel even
more like home."
"We couldn't be more proud of
our native son John Edwards," said Charles Hamby,
Chairman of the Oconee County Democratic Party and
a charter member of the traveling Oconee group.
"John Edwards got his start in Oconee County, and
we plan to be right there with him all the way to
the White House."
Members of "Oconee on the Road"
will join Edwards on Wednesday, January 7th for
campaign stops in both Spartanburg and Greenwood.
The group will also accompany Edwards as he
returns to South Carolina to campaign later this
month and into early February.
Edwards was born in 1953 at
Oconee Memorial Hospital and spent his early years
living in Seneca with his parents, Bobbie and
Wallace.
Lieberman airs ads
Joe Lieberman's campaign today
kicked off its advertising campaign in Arizona,
Oklahoma and South Carolina -- airing two
different ads that highlight Lieberman's
determination to move the country forward and his
contention that the extremist policies of George
Bush can't be defeated by extremism on the part of
Democrats.
"I love America, but I hate the
direction in which George Bush is taking us,"
Lieberman says in the ad airing in Oklahoma and
South Carolina entitled "Love/Hate." The ad's
announcer continues, "How do we defeat George
Bush's extreme agenda? It'll take more than
extreme anger. Joe Lieberman has spent 30 years
rejecting the extremes of both parties."
In the ad airing in Arizona,
entitled "Determined," Lieberman says, "I know how
to unite America again -- and take us forward, not
backward. I am more determined than ever to fight
for what's right for you."
Both ads tout Lieberman's solid
progressive record, including his strong
environmental, civil rights, and pro-choice
advocacy. They also draw distinctions between
Lieberman and the rest of the field, on
Lieberman's strength on defense and security, his
unique plan to cut taxes for 98 percent of
Americans, and his work to protect children from
media violence.
TRANSCRIPT OF AD:
Lieberman: I love America, but I
hate the direction in which George Bush is taking
us.
Announcer: How do we defeat
George Bush's extreme agenda? It'll take more than
extreme anger. Joe Lieberman has spent 30 years
rejecting the extremes of both parties. Fighting
against discrimination. Taking on corporate
polluters. Helping protect children from trash
culture. Standing strong against terrorism.
Championing tax cuts for the middle class. Joe
Lieberman: the integrity to fight for what's
right.
Lieberman: I'm Joe Lieberman and
I approve this message.
Analysis: This is an
anti-Howard Dean ad that doesn't mention Dean's
name. Lieberman acknowledged this on ABC, and
"everyone is quite clear what we're talking
about," his media adviser, Mandy Grunwald, said
yesterday. The Connecticut senator is seizing on a
recent spate of stories about Dean's temperament
-- and trying to position himself as the moderate
alternative to the more liberal Dean -- without
risking a backlash by suggesting the party's
front-runner is extreme as well as angry.
Lieberman controlling health care cost
In a pair of New Hampshire
campaign stops, Joe Lieberman distinguished his
health care plan from those of his rivals by
highlighting how it meets two top goals: lowering
the overall price of health care, and improving
the overall quality of care. As part of that
effort, Lieberman vowed today to launch a
comprehensive new effort to cut the rate of
medical errors in half over the next five years.
"Everywhere I go, all throughout
New Hampshire, people tell me that covering the
uninsured is only one part of the problem,"
Lieberman said. "Many people have insurance -- and
it's the spiraling cost of care that really kills
them. And for far too many Americans, the quality
of care just isn't what it can be or should be."
Visiting Lilac City Pediatrics
in Rochester, Lieberman met with a group of
doctors to discuss his plan to improve health care
quality by cutting medical errors. For the first
time, Lieberman proposed to launch the Medical
Error Reduction Campaign (MERCY), a national
initiative that would help cut the rate of
preventable medical mistakes by 50 percent in five
years.
Lieberman's plan would require
mandatory, anonymous reporting of deaths and
serious injuries caused by medical errors;
establish a Center for Patient Safety to conduct
research on medical error reduction; and create
public-private partnerships to implement effective
error-reduction strategies.
"For far too many Americans, the
quality of care just isn't what it can be, should
be and needs to be," Lieberman said. "This isn't a
reflection on our medical professionals. The
system as it's designed compromises the level of
care of too many patients, too many
inefficiencies, too little quality control, too
much waste that drives up the costs for all of us
and too many mistakes - even fatal ones."
Today, as many Americans die
from preventable medical mistakes as they do from
motor vehicle accidents (43,000), breast cancer
(42,000) and AIDS (16,000) combined. These errors
don't just result in staggering loss of life, they
impose a heavy financial cost as well an estimated
$29 billion every year.
Lieberman's plan would also
improve quality by: eliminating health care
disparities along racial lines; revolutionize
disease management by challenging insurers to
allow every patient with a chronic illness to
choose a doctor who coordinates their care and
agrees to be accountable for the quality of their
care; requiring all health plans to provide the
same quality of care for mental illnesses as
physical ones; giving bonuses to plans that
improve the health of their participants; and
strengthening privacy.
Earlier in the day on a visit to
Belknap Tire, a small business in Laconia,
Lieberman told employees that his health care plan
targets another pressing health care problem --
the spiraling costs for families, small
businesses, and taxpayers. He noted that health
insurance jumped 14 percent over the past year,
and increased double digits the year before.
Lieberman said his health care
plan would take a series of aggressive steps make
care more affordable and the system more
efficient, by: insuring an additional 31 million
more Americans at a lower cost per person than any
other candidate; give Americans greater choice
among competing private plans, under his MediKids
and MediChoice proposals; cut red tape and
administrative costs by giving health care
providers loans to upgrade technology; enact
sensible malpractice reform, and invest in public
health and preventions.
"I will work with the
marketplace to cover the uninsured, by creating
low-cost private health insurance pools just like
members of Congress have access to," Lieberman
said. "And those private plans that participate
will have to limit their profits to no more than 2
percent of their costs."
Lieberman noted that an
independent analysis by Kenneth Thorpe of Emory
University found his plan to be the most
cost-effective for taxpayers, covering more
Americans at the lowest cost per person than any
other plan.
"My plan isn't pie-in-the-sky,"
Lieberman said. "It isn't ideological. It's
responsible, realistic, and you won't have to wait
years for the results. It's going to start to
bring down costs immediately by bringing 31
million people without insurance into the system,
limiting industry profits, slashing red tape,
reducing medical errors and reforming medical
malpractice."
Kucinich for family farm beef
The Vegan Dennis Kucinich stated
that we wouldn’t have Mad Cow if we bought our
beef from family farms, according to the
Des Moines Register:
"When
you're buying food from your neighbor, when you're
buying food from your local family farmer, there's
integrity," said Kucinich.
The irony came from Kucinich
making the statement standing beside cattle in a
beef barn according to the Register:
Kucinich made his comments north of Ankeny, at the
farm of LaVon and Craig Griffieon. Standing in
their cattle barn with a small group of
supporters, he thanked the couple for raising
wholesome food. "You're the last line of defense,"
he said.
Kucinich is a vegan, which means he avoids meat
and other animal products. That doesn't bother the
Griffieons. "I don't think we can concern
ourselves with what people eat or don't eat,"
LaVon Griffieon said as Kucinich left. "It's
people's policies I worry about." She added that
family farms face graver threats from big
agribusinesses than from vegetarians.
Her
husband acknowledged that more conservative
livestock producers might be wary of a vegetarian
candidate for president. But Craig Griffieon, a
fifth-generation farmer, noted that he and his
family also grow corn and other vegetables on the
800 acres they work. He speculated that the
congressman might like cornflakes. "I'm sure he
eats something I raise," he said.
Kucinich going to call Dean supporters
A Kucinich supporter in West
Branch, IA reported that he's been getting regular
phone calls from Dean canvassers, asking him to
throw his support to "the other peace candidate"
when Kucinich is "no longer viable." Hearing this,
Kucinich responded, "Dean feels he has votes to
spare. Look at his comments last night: 'If you
want universal health care vote for Dennis or
Carol.' Well, maybe we should start calling his
supporters."
Attack Dean ad
The Washington Times reports on
a controversial ad to run in Iowa:
The
Club for Growth Political Action Committee said
the 30-second spot against the former Vermont
governor will begin running in Des Moines today —
two weeks before the Iowa Democratic caucuses.
In the
ad, a farmer says he thinks that "Howard Dean
should take his tax-hiking, government-expanding,
latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New
York Times-reading ..." before the farmer's wife
then finishes the sentence: "... Hollywood-loving,
left-wing freak show back to Vermont, where it
belongs."
The Club for Growth is being
criticized by other Republicans for possibly
weakening Dean and thereby preventing Dean form
winning the nomination:
Republican strategist Alan Hoffenblum said the
Club for Growth should heed the late Republican
strategist Lee Atwater's admonition: "Never
interfere with your opponents when they are in the
middle of destroying themselves."
The line is actually from
Alexander the Great but is often attributed to
Julius Caesar who used it far more frequently than
Alexander.
The Club for Growth in part
defended their ad campaign as being good for
America. They argued Dean is so bad for America
that he has to be stopped now. The organization
also announced it would spend $4 million soon to
counter the tens of millions liberals are about to
spend against Bush.
McGovern right
James Carroll writes in the
Boston Globe about George McGovern. Liberals are
reliving a piece of history that is quite
uncomfortable and post rationalization and
re-enlightenment is becoming pervasive on the
left:
McGovern was an opponent of the "we/they" vision.
A prophet of detente, he has since been vindicated
by history. He offered America a way out of the
trap that opposes "realist" and "idealist"
perspectives. McGovern understood not only that
the Vietnam War was wrong but that in the nuclear
age, the realist is the one who sees that the
structures of war itself must be systematically
dismantled. One hears the complaint from today's
Democrats that McGovern, a decorated World War II
bomber pilot, did not tout his war hero's record,
but that entirely misses his most important point
-- that fear of war and glorification of war are
simply not to be exploited for political purposes,
whether at the personal level or the national.
What McGovern the candidate refused to do is what
American presidents should refuse to do.
Tax policy
Many have argued that every
Democrat wants to raise taxes. Here is an analysis
of the Democrat candidates’ tax proposals:
The Democratic presidential candidates'
proposals for taxes:
Carol Moseley Braun
Supports rolling back President
Bush's tax cuts that help the wealthiest
Americans.
Wesley K. Clark
Would eradicate taxes for
families making $50,000 or less with two or more
children. Plans to raise taxes on the top 0.1% —
those who make $1 million or more — by 5
percentage points. Would give a flat,
$250-per-child tax credit. Supports closing
corporate tax loopholes.
Howard Dean
Wants to abolish Bush's tax
cuts. Hopes to end corporate tax loopholes and
eliminate tax shelters. Would boost Internal
Revenue Service resources to help the organization
collect billions of dollars in back taxes.
John Edwards
Would repeal the Bush tax cuts
that aid the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Wants to
limit the top rate on capital gains to 25% for
those earning $350,000 or more. Advocates
tightening corporate tax regulations.
Dick Gephardt
Would repeal Bush's tax cuts
entirely, using the revenue to pay for his
wide-ranging health-care plan, which would cost $2
trillion over 10 years.
John F. Kerry
Would create a tax-relief fund
of $50 billion for states over two years to end
college tuition increases and help cover
health-care expenses. Plans to
preserve and expand middle-class tax cuts approved
by Bush, including the child tax credit and the
reduced marriage penalty, while abolishing tax
cuts to those who make more than $200,000.
Supports a crackdown on corporate tax breaks.
Dennis J. Kucinich
Introduced the Progressive Tax
Act of 2003 in Congress, to give $87 billion to
working families and collect $107 billion from
Bush tax cuts and corporate "giveaways." The bill
includes a $1,530 payroll tax credit and a $2,000
family credit to consolidate different child tax
credits.
Joe Lieberman
Would preserve middle-class tax
breaks but favors reorganizing the income-tax
brackets and expanding tax credits for low-income
families. The restructuring would raise taxes for
those making $200,000 and above, plus repeal the
dividend tax and reform the estate tax. Also
supports eliminating corporate subsidies backed by
Bush.
Al Sharpton
Advocates repealing the Bush tax
cuts in full.
[Compiled by Los Angeles
Times staff researcher Susannah Rosenblatt.
Los Angeles Times]
President fighting back
President Bush went to St. Louis
where he defended his program of “No Child Left
Behind.” Democrats and teachers unions have
opposed the program citing that it is not fully
funded and that testing is not the way to prove
children are learning. Bush countered in his visit
that it is the only way to make sure every child
is learning and no child is left behind:
"(The)
federal government's a source of money. It's now a
source of inspiration. It's a source of
measurement. But it's up to the local people to
really make it work," President Bush said.
A congressional source said that
President Bush is expected to seek an increase of
$1 billion each for education of disabled children
and for schools in low-income areas in his 2005
budget request next month.
In the money
The Bush-Cheney Campaign will be
releasing its fundraising results in the next few
days but a spokesman reports that it will be above
$120 million, according to the Associated Press:
The
Bush campaign this week is to release fund-raising
results for the three months ending Dec. 31. A
campaign official said the total since Bush began
fund-raising last June would be "well more" than
$120 million, which far outstrips any of Bush's
potential Democratic challengers.
Match maker immigration policy
President Bush is inviting
advocacy groups to the White House on Wednesday to
hear details of a proposal to match willing
foreign workers, mostly from Mexico, with
receptive U.S. employers.
"The president has long talked
about the importance of having an immigration
policy that matches willing workers with willing
employers," White House press secretary Scott
McClellan said Monday. "It's important for America
to be a welcoming society. We are a nation of
immigrants, and we're better for it."
The roll out of a new
immigration policy between America and Mexico
comes before next week’s visit by President Bush
when he meets up with Mexico's President Vicente
Fox at the Summit of the Americas in Monterey,
Mexico.
A White House spokesman has
stated that the policies to be revealed are a set
of principles and the White House would utilize
bills already in Congress as the vehicles to
implement the principles. Two guest-worker bills
have been proposed in Congress: one from Arizona
Republican Sen. John McCain and two of his
Republican House colleagues, Jim Kolbe and Jeff
Flake; and a second from Sen. John Cornyn,
R-Texas.
Meanwhile, the Latino
Immigration groups remain skeptical about the
White House motives and are taking a wait and see
attitude.
Hillary slams Mahatma Gandhi
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
apologized for joking that Mahatma Gandhi used to
run a gas station in St. Louis, saying it was "a
lame attempt at humor." The New York Democrat made
the remark at a fund-raiser Saturday. During an
event here for Senate candidate Nancy Farmer,
Clinton introduced a quote from Gandhi by saying,
"He ran a gas station down in St. Louis."
After laughter from many in the
crowd of at least 200 subsided, the former first
lady continued, "No, Mahatma Gandhi was a great
leader of the 20th century." In a nod to Farmer's
underdog status against Republican Sen. Kit Bond,
Clinton quoted the Indian independence leader as
saying: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at
you, then they fight you, then you win."
Democratic upstaging
The Democratic leadership in
Congress is working to upstage the President’s
State of the Union address. It is the time when
the President has center stage and Democrats are
trying to make that not true.
Senate Minority Leader Tom
Daschle of South Dakota and House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi of California are preparing a joint
speech that, it seems safe to say, will be
critical of Bush administration policies. The
speech will be given at the National Press Club in
Washington on Jan. 16, United Press International
reports.
The two Democratic leaders are
also expected to give the traditional
opposition-party rebuttal to Mr. Bush's Jan. 20
speech to Congress.
Hey Hollywood
Country Music artists are
fighting back against the latest Willie Nelson
song that was written for Dennis Kucinich. Nelson
wrote a critical song of the left criticizing
President Bush and Iraq. Here is the text of the
song:
The lyrics to "Hey Hollywood"
are as follows:
"Hey Hollywood" by The Right Brothers (Aaron
Sain)
Well I heard some movie stars talking on TV
Said they were being a voice for you and me
Saying things like "no blood for oil" and "not in
our name"
And just like the roar of an F-16, I heard this
country say
Hey Hollywood, we hear your message and it don't
sound good
Your just running this country down with our
troops overseas
Hey Hollywood, take a look around if you would
And if you don't love this land you're free to
leave.
Now don't get me wrong I know you got a right
To say what you want and never apologize
You can protest all day and shout what you believe
But the rest of America has the right to kindly
disagree
Hey Hollywood, we hear your message and it don't
sound good
Your just running this country down with our
troops overseas
Hey Hollywood, take a look around if you would
And if you don't love this land you're free to
leave.
I'll even help you pack your bags if you want, if
you wanna leave.
Hey Hollywood, stop running this country down.
Hey Hollywood.
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