Ok, Gephardt may have a health plan, but Howard Dean has a blog. (Via Breaching the Web.) It’s going to be fascinating watching how these candidates work to differentiate themselves in the coming months. There can be only one…
Category: Election 2004
Behind the Green Door.
In the election of 2004, will the Dems have to keep an eye on the Green Machine? As David Talbot reports, Ralph Nader will probably run again, despite calls that he back down to support an anti-Bush coalition. Actually quite a fascinating article, not only to discover that Michael Moore is giving the Greens good advice (his message: follow the example of the Christian Coalition and build from the bottom-up) but also because it’s the Dems that are freezing out cross-progressive talks between the parties. Bad, bad call: playing hardball with your left flank is only going to further embitter Green voters, and we’ve already seen where that got Gore.
War on the Floor.
As the Republican rift over the Dubya tax cut widens, conservatives prepare to oust anti-cut GOP moderates like Olympia Snowe, John McCain, and Arlen Specter. As a result, Specter tries to shore up his freak-show-right creds by joining Majority Leader Bill Frist in defending Rick Santorum’s outbreak of gaybashing (calling Santorum a “voice for inclusion and compassion” is a bit much, isn’t it?). Snowe and Chafee, for their part, have condemned Santorum’s remarks (Via Medley.) While I’m all for the GOP imploding, isnt it about time for the Dems to pile on the heat? To paraphrase Carville, when your opponent is drowning, throw him an anvil.
Think Different.
Dick Gephardt tries to separate from the Democratic herd by offering a bold health care proposal that also repeals the ridiculous Dubya tax cuts. It was interesting to read of Gephardt’s proposal right after finishing Jacob Hacker’s The Divided Welfare State, since his proposal buttresses Hacker’s main point. Rather than develop a new public health care infrastructure a la the 1994 Clinton plan, Gephardt’s plan basically follows the path of least resistance and subcontracts health care out to private insurance companies. This will no doubt make it easier to pass in our neo-con political climate than the ’94 Clinton bill. That being said, as Hacker notes, letting the private sector run our social welfare regime severely cuts back on the redistributive potential of health care reform. But, hey, private universal health care coverage is better than no universal health care coverage. And it’s a smart move by Gephardt to appeal to the base.
Incommunicado.
Still enjoying their post-Iraq high, the Dubya White House decides they no longer have to answer questions from the press or anyone else. I’m reminded of the zinger posted here: “Ari Fleischer is the first press secretary in American History whose conferences result in a net loss of information.”
A New Enemy.
Toning down on the Syria talk, the Bushies instead decide to invoke their post-Iraq mojo to launch a sneak attack on the economy, vis a vis the now phased-in Dubya Dividend Debacle. It’s not conservative to give out tax handouts to the rich during a time of exploding deficits, y’all. It’s radical.
Waving the Bloody Shirt.
Team Dubya unveil their 4-part 2004 electoral strategy: 1) visit NYC, 2) wallow in 9-11 nostalgia, 3) invoke the never-ending war, and then 4) spend money like it’s going out of style. I dunno…I could see a WTC memorial campaign seriously backfiring, particularly if the economy is in the toilet. And a late start by Dubya should give the Democratic candidate some time to get his (or her) house in order after what’s sure to be an ugly primary. Speaking of which, on the other side of the aisle, the nine Dems will be holding their first debate next week on ABC…It begins.
Don’t Call it A Comeback.
Via Pigs and Fishes, Democrat Jose Serrano is sponsoring a bill to repeal the 22nd Amendment. Sounds good to me.
Meanwhile, in 2004.
Kerry’s got the loot, Lieberman’s spending too much, Edwards is bleeding support (I’m not sure if losing Shrum is a negative), and, even among nine candidates, Florida Senator Bob Graham has come up with a novel position on the Middle East: He’s against the war in Iraq, for a war in Syria. And we’ve got eighteen months to go, folks.
Blast from the Past.
With the war in Iraq wrapping up, former President Clinton derides the failures of Dubya’s amateurish diplomacy. “Our paradigm now seems to be: something terrible happened to us on September 11, and that gives us the right to interpret all future events in a way that everyone else in the world must agree with us.” He also takes time to call out the recently-lowered but still-lousy Dubya tax cut. Hopefully, this’ll serve notice to the other Dems (besides Kerry) to get off the fence and release the hounds.