Will Vermont hurt Dean?

PLEASE DO NOT FLAME THIS THREAD!! That is not the reason for me posting it.

I saw Howard Dean on Larry King tonight, and I must say that I am very impressed. Except for his answer about medical marijuana, How come he didn't bring up States rights with that issue?

Anyway, I digress. I have been researching Vermont as a possible place to relocate and have come up with some fairly skimpy numbers in regards to population.

Vermont Statistics
Vermont Population: 608,827

Area (Square Miles): 9,250
New England's second largest state.
Urban VT population: 180,904
Rural VT population: 381,854
Vermont Natives: 325,140
Foreign-born VT Population: 20,912
Bachelor's degree or higher over age 25: 24.3%
Employed Vermonters: 334,200
Average Income: $35,210
Highest Elevation: Mount Mansfield (4,393 feet)

VT Industrial Profile

Employed persons 16 years and over: 283,146

Agriculture: 12,023
Construction: 21,952
Financial Services: 15,971
Government: 39,614
Manufacturing: 44,018
Mining: 790
Personal services: 11,326
Trade: 14,071
Transportation/Utilities: 9,131
Wholesale/Retail: 48,114

Vermont Ethnic Profile

White: 96.8%
Black: 0.5%
Native American: 0.4%
Asian/Pacific Isle: 0.9%
Hispanic: 0.9%
Other: 0.2%

I was just wondering if the size of Vermont will be used against Dean if he has to confront the Rove machine? And how will he reach ethnic voters if he has governed in a state that's 96.8% White? Bush Governed Texas and can order a burrito at a hole in the wall restaurant in Houston. What appeal does Dean have to ethnic voters?

Again, these are serious issues that should be answered intelligently.

They might try to spin it like he's a whitebread candidate, but I don't think it will stick. I think minorities are smart enough to realize that the rhetoric would be absolutely hollow. What could the Republicans say? "Come to the GOP, because we're the party of minorities! We have, well, um, there's that guy who was a congressman from Oklahoma. JC Watts. He seemed nice, right?"

Dean, or at least his campaign staff, clearly knows that minorities are crucial for any chance at being elected. So they won't take them for granted.

So far, How many Dean supporters are minorities? Green supporters were overwhelmingly white.

members of minority groups enthusiastically supporting any candidate (except maybe Sharpton).

He would be an excellent president, unfortunately the racist bastards in this country would probably kill him before his inauguration.

But I don't think his race would get him killed -- his message would.

for Dean.

In fact, I think it will help in states like Iowa and the Dakotas with large rural populatons because Vermont is seen as a rural state.

I understand that Graham is appealing to rural voters too so if Dean and Graham team up, it is possible they could win some of the mid-west states that went to Bush last time.

especially among the angry white guy vote, which is crucial.

but I don't think it will work. First, Vermont is largely better off than most other states. It has a surpluss while most states are cutting like mad. He can make a great case for the people of Vermont being way better off after his Governorship while the country is worse off after Bush's Presidency.

Second, He has two very good answers for minorities. One, is his treatment of gays and lesbians. His record is cutting edge on that. Civil rights law in 92, domestic partner benes for state workers in 94, joint adoption in 96, first openly gay Vermont Rep in 94 and civil unions in 00. Generally, how a person treats minority A is indicative of how he or she will treat minority B. Also women did very well in Vermont. His chief of staff and most of her assistents were women and he has a great record of appointing women to the bench and other positions. Again that leads one to believe he would do well by minorities.

Oops forgot one big thing

Dean speaks smooth Spanish. Imagine him debating the biignorant shrub in Spanish on Univision or Telemundo. That would pick up many, many Hispanics.

However, a lot of minorities, due to religious(Catholic, Baptist) reasons do not support gay rights, and do not necessarily see one minorities struggle as their struggle. I do think that he has to try and reach these voters in someway.

On edit: I did not know that he was bi-lingual, that's a major plus.

I left out his Spanish speaking skills.

:+

reason why I can't take his candidacy seriously. As a person of color, I'd like to have a president who hasn't presided over a state that is 97% white.

Also, regarding minorities among Dean supporters: this is anecdotal, but I've seen a fairly good representation at the Baltimore Dean Meetup; I know the Dean people are making a strong effort to reach out to the Latino and African-American community in B'more. Also, I think I just read a headline today saying that Dean was favorite among gays and lesbians, too.