Howard Dean and the Liberal Identity Addressing the Issues

Author: Kelsey Rinehart

Vying with well-known senators for the Democratic nomination in 2004, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, M.D., has taken his presidential campaign from the Green Mountain State to the neighboring Granite State and beyond. Chatting with constituents over coffee and addressing eager listeners gathered on town greens, Dean has been a visible presence all over the United States. But to whom is he campaigning? Experts assess that, though Dean tours the nation and appears in the national media, he is playing more to a liberal audience, using his anti-war stance, for example, to attract support at the caucuses in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Dean, who declares on his campaign Web site that he is "here to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party!" has pushed this liberal identity by highlighting his stances on the environment, balancing the budget and civil unions. Secretary of the College and Professor of Political Science Eric Davis said of the Democratic candidates, "What they need to do is go far enough to the left to win the nomination, but not so far to the left that things are going to come back and hurt them later on, and that they can't tack to the center in the general election campaign, and make President Bush out to be conservative, insensitive and out of touch with the needs and desires of the average American."
The national media has picked up on Dean's strategy, and noted that it tends to discredit his competitors for the Democratic nomination. Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post echoed this sentiment in his evaluation of Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), saying, "He's a great general election candidate, but his centrist approach doesn't provide much red meat for party carnivores." In a recent article in The Rutland Herald, University of Southern California political scientist Sherry Bebitch Jeffe was quoted as saying, "Clearly Howard Dean gave this crowd red meat [at the Democratic National Convention]. Edwards did not.". Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) had just been booed by a crowd of 1,800 after declaring his support for the use of military force in Iraq. Seizing this moment of outrage, Dean electrified the crowd as he declared that he did not support the armed conflict.
Voters nationwide are getting fired up over "The Doctor," but what do Vermonters think of their governor of 10 plus years? Many laud his performance, citing his achievements in health care and education and his fiscal responsibility. Dean declares on his campaign website, "We cannot have social justice without a sound fiscal foundation. We must balance the federal budget...Fiscal responsibility would be a hallmark of a Dean presidency, as it has been a guiding principal in my tenure as governor. As governor, I was able to cut the income tax twice, remove sales tax on most clothing, reduce the state's long-term debt and still maintain a balanced budget. In a Dean Administration, the Democratic Party would reclaim the mantle of fiscal responsibility." Rick Ridder, Dean's campaign manager, agreed, saying the former Governor, "was opposed to Bush's tax cuts at the beginning of the first term. Tax cuts will even further cut into the budget deficit."
Some Vermonters, however, wonder how fiscal conservatism fits into Dean's liberal identity. "Around Montpelier, you will find that many of the liberal Democrats and Progressives in Vermont didn't like Howard Dean's budgetary policies," Davis said. "He told the Democrats in the State Senate one year that their budget was written in 'la-la land.'" While Dean's anti-war rhetoric may stir Democrats nationwide, they should, as Davis said, "see if some of his priorities, especially during his early years as Governor when he faced a budget crisis, are what they want to see in Washington." Whether Dean's fiscal responsibility will attract Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire remains to be seen.
Another view that Dean propounds is his support of civil unions. In 2000, in response to the Vermont Supreme Court ruling that its marriage laws were unconstitutional, the Vermont state legislature gave same-sex couples the right to a legal union. Dean said, "I worked with leaders from both parties in our legislature to create civil unions. In some ways, this was a defining moment in my political career. You can always compromise when you are fighting over money, but there can never be a compromise when it comes to basic human rights. I never had the discussion with myself about whether or not this was a good idea for my political career." Others say, however, that Dean has overemphasized his role in the civil unions debate. Davis commented, "The real heavy lifting on that bill was done by legislators and interest groups, not by the governor. Dean went down and staged a big, elaborate ceremony to sign Act 60. What did he do when he signed the civil union bill? He signed it in his office, and there was nobody there. Some of the advocates would say that maybe Dean's taken a little bit more credit on the national campaign than events in Montpelier would show was really the case." Although many agree with Davis, no one is denying Dean's accomplishment in actually signing the bill. Dean has, after all, granted to same-sex couples what no other governor in the country has granted, which many agree is a noteworthy achievement.
A third aspect of Dean's liberal character is his commitment to environmental protection. Dean joins the vast majority of the Democratic Party in criticizing the Bush administration's environmental policies. "We need houses, jobs and opportunities for growth. But we don't need to poison ourselves and our heritage in order to have that growth. I think it is fair to say that the record of the Bush administration on environmental matters is fatally flawed." Dean stressed the need to recognize the universal nature of environmental problems, saying, "The U.S. must work harder to be a better global neighbor. That is why we must take another look at the Kyoto Protocol to find ways to cooperate with other countries instead of opposing them on issues as monumentally important to the earth's future as global warming."
Is Dean a true representative of "the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party"? Some Vermonters ask Democrats around the country to look at the details of Dean's stint as governor of the Green Mountain State and then decide whether they will vote Dean in 2004. Dean's staunch defense of a balanced budget, civil unions and environmental protection, however, proves to many Democrats that he does stand for their beliefs.