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Former candidate Howard Dean supports Kerry
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by Ryan Masse
Friday, September 3, 2004
Although his bid for the presidency came to an end more than six months ago, Howard Dean has done everything but lay low since the Wisconsin primary capped his stunning fall from one-time Democratic frontrunner status.
Conversely, the former Vermont governor has vigorously campaigned for Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry, Mass., and founded his own political action committee (PAC), Democracy for America.
Dean came to the Concourse Hotel in Madison Wednesday to lead a fundraiser for Democracy for America, which promotes progressive candidates in local races throughout the country.
In an interview after the fundraiser, Dean spoke about the Kerry campaign, the Bush administration, and his own run through the Democratic primaries.
Badger Herald: The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads have generated a lot of controversy lately. What is your take on those ads and 527 (non-profit advocacy group) ads in general?
Dean: I think the Swift Boat ads will hurt the president a lot. First of all, they’re not true; and second of all, the president’s campaign broke the law by being directly involved in them. So it makes the president out to be an untruthful person, and people don’t elect untruthful folks to the presidency … I think we ought not to have [527 ads]. I think we ought to have public financing of campaigns and some public airtime for all candidates. But I run a 527 … but we don’t do ads.
BH: The Swift Boat ads have raised questions concerning Kerry’s character. When do you see this campaign focusing more on the policy issues, or do you think these personal issues will persist?
Dean: Republicans never focus on policy issues because they always lose if they do. It’s all smear to scare people. There won’t be any discussion about jobs and health insurance from the Republican side because they’ve done nothing on either one; we’ve lost jobs and we’ve lost health insurance. They’ll try to shift every debate away from policy and toward personality and character, and we’ll want to try to stick to policy.
BH: Have you been paying attention to the Republican National Convention?
Dean: No. For four years they’ve been on the far right, and to think in four days they’re going to suddenly become compassionate conservatives again is pretty silly, so I don’t have time for that nonsense.
BH: Rudy Guliani really went after John Kerry for being a flip-flopper in his speech at the Republican National Convention. What do you think of the assessment that Kerry is a flip-flopper?
Dean: If there’s a flip-flop, it’s between George Bush and John Kerry, and I’d rather have John Kerry any day.
BH: Do you think John Kerry has formed a strong, central campaign message or is that something he still needs to develop?
Dean: I think his message is a stronger America. We know Kerry will do health insurance and put money into schools, and we know he’ll balance the budget, and we know he’ll be a much stronger fighter against terrorism than George Bush is. George Bush, after all, allowed North Korea, and now Iran, to become nuclear powers on his watch.
BH: What do you think of electronic voting booths? Are they viable?
Dean: I think it’s a disaster. These things are actually worse than what went on in Florida because you can’t recount them. There was a county in Iowa, Allamakee County, in which there was an election in which 300 people voted, and the machine tallied four million votes.
BH: A lot of the momentum in your presidential bid came from young people. Have you been able to carry that with you to your PAC?
Dean: Democracy for America … is still very active. We’re promoting candidates all over the country, including here in Wisconsin. There are still an enormous number of young people involved.
BH: Have you contemplated the future beyond the election in November, both for Democracy for America and for Howard Dean?
Dean: We want to stay active; we want to rebuild the Democratic Party. That is a job that will take years, not just months.
BH: What do you think is the long-term legacy of your presidential bid; is it the involvement of young people, the unprecedented use of the Internet, or something else?
Dean: Certainly the way we raise money. But I think the decentralization of the campaign and empowering people is the most important part, getting people to feel like they have a stake again.
BH: There was a lot of speculation leading up to the Wisconsin primary concerning your future if you didn’t win. Did you know going into the primary that your campaign would be over if you lost?
Dean: No, I didn’t. If I had come in second, I would have stayed in, but I came in third.
BH: Was it a hard decision afterward to ultimately endorse Kerry?
Dean: No. When you think of how bad of a president George Bush has been, I’d vote for almost anybody in America before I’d vote for George Bush. It was an easy decision.
Anonymous (November 2, 2004 @ 9:33am):
hah, "No. When you think of how bad of a president George Bush has been, I'd vote for almost anybody in America before I'd vote for George Bush. It was an easy decision." that is true. i'm a kerry supporter and though i'm only 14 i still believe the same as older people who can vote. kerry can change america, new steps must be taken. for the no child let behind program is a great idea!
bush has done nothing but make us lose jobs and our troops. sure he may have got SOME jobs back, but it took him quite a while when he was too busy with iraq. bush never seems to make up his mind, first he attacks iraq then spends money to re-build it, ahem, more like giving up money? whats the point? it wont change on what happened on 9/11....
