Reply #10: Tsk, tsk -- Another for Dean [View All]

Teacher, teacher: This is just a little toooo homework assignment-ish for my taste:

2. Please do not just cut and paste boilerplate from your candidate's website or campaign materials. I want to see you communicate your candidate's position in your own words in a way that would be clear and comprehensible to the average uninformed but disaffected American voter.

Yeccch.

However, quickly:

1. ECONOMY
Repeal tax cuts. Balance the budget -- which would go a long way into reviving the economy. Healthcare for all, which would help the economy by letting people keep more of their money instead of spending it on insurance or healthcare. NAFTA must include labor standards, environmental and human rights standards. THAT will keep more jobs here, 'cause it won't be that damned cheap to send them overseas. He's got some suggestions for corporate overseas tax evasion, but I'll just leave it at that because the details escape me. Oh yea, fund special ed so the states don't increase property taxes to do it, and do whatever's necessary to fix No Child Left Behind so that's not an unfunded mandate to the states.

2. STRUCTURES PROTECTING OUR DEMOCRACY
DEFENSE
Tear up the Bush Pre-emptive War Doctrine on Day 1. Repair our relationships with allies and the UN. Renewable energy as a defense issue so money going to the Middle East for oil doesn't fund terrorists. Properly fund Homeland Security, first responders, properly protect our ports, etc., etc., etc. He sees repairing NAFTA (see below) as an important Defense issue because "countries with a middle class don't go to war."

CIVIL LIBERTIES (which I realize was what you were mainly asking about)
Repeal parts of Patriot Act. I personally haven't heard him be too specific about that. Put sane people in DoJ and get rid of a lot of how they've been interpreting and using Patriot, etc. (I'm trying to remember what else I've heard ... drawing a blank. I do feel quite comfortable, however, that he'll do all the right things on this issue. His stance on other issues -- drug war, medical marijuana, civil unions, abortion -- make me confident he'd be plenty civil libertarian enough. YMMV.)

3. Iraq and Afghanistan
Repair ALL our relationships with allies and the UN. Get NATO and the UN involved so as to internationalize both. He does call for more troops because our troops desperately need both more protection and rotation!!! but he would prefer they be international troops, including Arab and Muslim troops.

4. Why eviscerate at all?? I'm a little disappointed in this provision. Esp. since the only criticism I ever see of Dean is lies, distortions, misrepresentations.

Eloriel