I joined the Howard Dean campaign today. By "joining," I mean I gave them my email and asked for info. I've spent a lot of time in recent weeks scoping out the candidates, and I just keep coming back to Dean. It's admirable that he's decided to go with funding his own campaign and depending on the support of people like you and I. And it's amazing that his average donation is $77.00... it beats the hell out of Bush and his $2,000 gala dinners, not to mention his hefty corporate "donations" (see below).
I watched the footage of Dean's statement on both the confederate flag comment he made (a well-handled but firm, "There is only one flag of this country" was all that was needed) and the recent decision to refuse public financing. I found his speech not only inspirational, but smart and quick and above all, honest and direct. Politicians are politicians, and I'm sure there's some mischief in there somewhere, but I like what Dean has to say and the way he says it. Here's an example (emphasis mine):
Where does all this money come from? Well, in the last six years, despite massive corporate scandals and the crash of the NASDAQ, the financial services industry managed to find almost 168 million dollars to influence the political process.
A pharmaceutical and health products industry that can�t afford to sell our seniors cheaper prescription drugs did manage to find 60 million dollars to influence our elections.
The oil and gas industry got the best deal. It only needed to give 64 million dollars to be able to sit in Vice President Cheney�s office and write our energy policy.
Last year the Congress passed the McCain/Feingold law. It was supposed to take the corrupting influence of large corporate interests out of our political process.
Yet not even before the ink was dried, President Bush betrayed this bill�s intent and spirit. George Bush announced he would bypass the matching system and raise 200 million dollars for a primary election in which he faces no opponent.
George W. Bush calls his most powerful money-bundlers �Pioneers� and �Rangers,� who bundle together hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions.
The bundlers are people like James Harless, Chairman of International Industries, a coal industry group, who put together 355 thousand dollars to get George Bush elected.
They are people like Steven Letbetter of Reliant Resources, who put together 214 thousand.
They are people like Frederick Webber, former president of the American Chemistry Council, who bundled another 221 thousand.
They are people like Walden O�Dell, a 2004 Pioneer, who is also manufacturing electronic voting machines to count our votes, and has said that he is, quote, �committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year.�
According to the Center for Public Integrity, the majority of reconstruction contracts for Iraq and Afghanistan went to George Bush�s contributors.
They gave him the money, and he gave them the contracts.
The Boy makes fun of me and says I am supporting someone who doesn't stand a chance. But I figure, it's better to go out on a limb with an unexpected and surprisingly successful candidate than to go with a more mild "safe bet" like Clark. The only way Bush is going to get out of office is if someone is seen as radically opposed to his stance, and Clark is too near to the center to do so.
But, it's not just about getting Bush out of office, although, sure, that's pretty damn important. I actually find myself nodding my head with Dean everytime I've listened to one of his speeches, seen him on "60 Minutes," read about his position in the paper. I like the way he presents controversial issues, and the way he lays down the law on, say, abortion ("I will unflinchingly defend a woman�s right to choose against those who would take away this right.") or gay rights/marriage ("I will work to expand equal rights to same-sex couples and ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, strengthen federal protections against anti-gay violence, give federal employees the right to name same-sex partners as beneficiaries, remove bias from our immigration laws, and end the military�s 'Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell' policy."). He has a lot of other good stuff to say, go see for yourself.
I like the idea of Americans, who had never before been politically involved, coming together to oust the greedy bastard currently in office. It may be a long-shot, but to me it feels a helluva lot better than just shrugging my shoulders (I kid you not, I just wrote mistakingly wrote "shoulders" as "soldiers") and saying, "Well, Bush is going to win anyway, so there's no point." Even if Dean fails, it's better to have made the effort than to have given in. If anything, it'll be nice to see that there are other Americans out there who want to get that dumbass out of office.
I'm going to my first meet-up in December in Paris. I've never been very politically involved, but I feel this time, something needs to be done. Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with some Dean supporters Stateside while I'm home for Christmas.
**Note: I must be more excited about all of this than I realized, cause I just burned my first loaf of zucchini bread in over 15 years of making it. I can't believe it. I also can't believe that I can say I have been making something for over 15 years. I feel old. And like a bad cook.
Andrew and I went to a Dean rally this summer. It was FANTASTIC. There were 5,000 people on the PSU campus that day, in this little teeny tiny plaza--kinda like that plaza down the street from you, by that cafe? about that big. People were hanging in trees, standing on sculptures, in fountains, and on the roofs to hear him speak.
It was great.
Sounds great. Although, I doubt there will be 5,000 people gathered at the one in Paris.
Just a question though: what did A think of the scene?
When one condenses Dr. Dean's comments and positions down, it becomes evident that his primary message is that corporations have to much influence on the political processes in the USA. Dean's position of not accepting corporate campaign donations and his statements in the "Common Sense" pamphlet point directly to this position with quotes like the following taken from Theodore Roosevelt: "Every special interest is entitled to justice full, fair and complete....but not one is entitled to a vote in Congress, to a voice on the bench or to representation in any public office." Today's special interests are corporations, pure and simple. They are dominating life in America because of their wealth and ability to avoid legal prosecution despite having been given the designation of "persons" by the US Supreme Court in 1886. Since decision needs to be reversed. Corporations should not have the rights of persons, and they should be controlled as the powerful business tools, yet dangerous political entities that they can become. Corporations should not be allowed to donate to political campaigns, period, as was the case before 1886. Financial books of corporations should be open to the public, as they were before 1886. Taxes on corporations do not have to been equal to those levied on people. In short, when need to repeal the decision of 1886, and take away corporate personhood. What is Dr. Dean's position on this subject?
thank you,
Andrew Berna-Hicks