Dem hopefuls a good bunch, but let's ask them questions
Originally published in the Madison Capital Times
Ed Garvey: Dem hopefuls a good bunch, but let's ask them questions
By Ed Garvey
February 3, 2004
In two weeks we will help determine the next Democratic nominee for president.
Depending on what happens today in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arizona, the race may be over by the time we have a chance to vote in Wisconsin's Feb. 17 primary. But if Howard Dean wins one or finishes second in many of the seven primaries today, if John Edwards wins South Carolina, if Wesley Clark triumphs in Oklahoma, we may well be in the eye of the storm.
No point in guessing what voters will do elsewhere; instead let's celebrate the moment.
My hat is off to Howard Dean. He began a movement, created excitement among lots of voters, not just students, and issued a challenge to Democrats to "take back our party."
What did he mean? Democrats should act like Democrats and not Republicrats. He was telling the big funders of the party - who have dragged it into NAFTA, WTO and subsidies for huge agribusiness interests while family farmers go out of business every day - that their days have come and gone. Joe Lieberman is their choice, and he has received few primary votes so far. Not exactly a vote of confidence for his philosophy, which seems so clearly out of sync with real Democrats.
But there is a price to pay when you take on the established authority. There was a near desperate effort to stop Dean. True, the Iowa speech was over the top, but there are worse things than excessive enthusiasm directed toward disappointed student volunteers.
Dean lost Iowa in large measure because of constant attacks against him. There seemed to be absolute glee from the established media when he lost in New Hampshire and Iowa. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote, "Howard Dean brings his faltering campaign ... to Milwaukee." They supported their thesis with quotes from conservative professors who have in essence written off Dean. The gratuitous "faltering campaign" comment says it all.
Perhaps Dean's campaign is stumbling, but one thing is clear. His campaign has changed the face of politics in America because he knows how to use the Internet and excite people. He figured out how to raise money the way my campaign for governor tried to in 1998 - from the little contributors, those who could afford $100 but would get sick at the notion of $1,000.
Once Dean showed how Democrats can raise money from the base, the big contributors began losing their grip. He's made a hell of a contribution to democracy. He deserves your vote.
Hats off to Dennis Kucinich. His consistent position on getting "U.S. troops out of Iraq and the United Nations in" is now pretty well accepted by all thinking people, and there are hints that the non-thinkers in the White House are even siding with Kucinich. You can almost hear the discussion: "How can we take this position without saying we were wrong and Dennis Kucinich is right?"
Kucinich also has been clear about single-payer health care and the repeal of WTO and NAFTA. He has changed the debate in significant ways, and for that we should all applaud. No more platitudes about the "global village." He has exposed the disastrous consequences to our manufacturing sector and the foolishness of tax breaks for the wealthy and $100 billion a year spent in Iraq. Thanks, Dennis. He deserves your vote.
Hats off to Al Sharpton, who has not only enlivened the debates but energized the crowds. He won't be president but he will be the candidate we remember the most from the debates as he chided his fellow Democrats to remember the most loyal group in the Democratic Party, African-Americans. Take Sharpton out of the debates and it's a bunch of white guys vying for the top office. He deserves your vote.
John Kerry? The war hero who helped lead the anti-war effort and who has served with distinction in the Senate has run a hell of a campaign. He is electable and someone real Democrats support. If he is good enough for Ted Kennedy, he's good enough for me. Kerry turned his campaign inside out, and he has campaigned with intelligence and courage. He deserves your vote.
Wes Clark has picked up tremendous support. Think about it. Gaylord Nelson, Bert Grover, Charlie Rangel, Barbara Lawton. Would they support someone who is not ready for the big job? No way. Clark deserves your vote.
As the candidates come to Wisconsin, here are a few Wisconsin issues to ask them about.
First, ask about the Tyson threat to eliminate the union with a decertification vote where only scabs could vote. When will our labor laws be amended to give unions a fair chance? Ask them: Will you, if you are elected president, be willing to accept recognition of unions when a majority of workers signed authorization cards? Will you be ready for triple damages for employers like Tyson that refuse to bargain in good faith?
Will you do something about obscene subsidies to Archer Daniels Midland and shift the support to our family farms? Will you do something about our unfair milk prices? Do you support the genetic engineering of crops or do you think we should pause and reflect on the future damage that may occur?
Will you take a strong position to force utilities to clean up their act? Will you appoint an attorney general to look seriously at the predatory practices of Wal-Mart as they attempt to monopolize?
Will you promise to stop any sale of water from the Great Lakes and propose protection for ground water or will you support a pipeline from Lake Superior to Denver?
One thing is clear. President Bush can be defeated. He lost four years ago and has done nothing to convince us that he deserves his first victory.
Dean, Clark, Kerry, Sharpton and Kucinich have made great contributions to the debate. Make sure you vote.
I'll vote for Kucinich but I'll be happy with the results. This is fun.
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