Howard Dean on the Big Three

Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Breaks it Down in Beverly Hills.

Reported by Rodger and June Caldwell. Picture of Howard Dean by June Caldwell.

And the big three are...Hillary, Obama, and Edwards? Nope! Try: Toughness, Fairness and Fiscal Responsibility. Howard Dean was featured speaker at a fundraiser at the Camden House in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, June 13, 2007. After the obligatory rallying cry about having given or giving “an eviction notice to the Republicans” he made comments about presenting three core values of the Democratic Party that stuck with me. Toughness, Fairness and Fiscal Responsibility. All three key in on common misconceptions about Democrats.

Toughness is not a quality often seen in the same sentence with “Democratic Party” or any of our presidential candidates. Personally I would love to see Kucinich put on the gloves and go a few rounds with Karl Rove (Cheney’s out due to heart problems) or W. He’s smart, he’s quick wiry. Even as a presidential underdog I am sure he would take them out. Joking aside though Dean’s point was well made. We can aggressively and effectively combat terrorism without killing thousands of innocents. We can be tough on the terrorists and kind to those caught in the middle.

Fairness is a broad term with many issues where it’s needed. Voting, political campaigning, civil rights, immigration rights, health care, access to education, taxation and influence from lobbyists are just a few. None of them have simple solutions. Some may never be completely solved but with Fairness as a guiding principle we can hardly do worse than the current state each one is in now.

Fiscal Responsibility is normally viewed as a “conservative” (read Republican) value. What could be further from the truth? What is conservative about bombing Iraq into a democratic style government, updating and expanding our nuclear arsenal, installing a “missile defense system for missiles that do not exist in Czechoslovakia where polls indicate 80%+ of the population opposes it. The Bush White House has pushed the national debt upward at the rate of $1.27 billion per day. . Even without the waste…er, cost of the Iraq war the budget deficit annually pushes against historic highs since Bush took power. It will soon top $9 trillion, be wrapped up with a nice bow and packaged with the ongoing pre-emptive war to be handed off to the next President. Hopefully it will be a Democrat who will take Dean’s council to heart and stand by “pay as you go” policy for all new legislation, end subsidies for big oil, reverse or redistribute the large tax breaks now enjoyed by the very rich.

Dean had a good point that nearly all of the serious issues we face as a nation can be effectively dealt with by adhering to these three core values. Toughness, Fairness, Fiscal Responsibility. Solid guiding principles for every household in America.

To break it down even more succinctly to one point to remember, he reminded us that all the Democratic Presidential candidates at the debate outlined their commitment to getting out of Iraq, while all but one Republican candidate compared Iraq to Korea - ie, US troops staying for 50 years. So, simply put: If you want out of Iraq, vote Democrat, if you want the war to last forever, vote Republican.

He also emphasized the single easy point to remember: If you want out of Iraq: vote Democrat - since all Democrat Presidential candidates in their debate focused on getting us out; vs. if you want to say forever, vote Republican - since all but one Republican Presidential candidates in their debate reaffirmed it is like Korea, as in our troops there for 50 years.

Quoting Ted Kennedy, he reminded us "Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good", acknowledging that all legislation the Democrats in Congress have now isn't perfect, but needs to be supported for the absolutely necessary good the country needs. Top of the agenda: he urged support for the bill to have paper trails for all ballots, even though we would all want Diebolds eliminated totally, we need to get this through before it is too late, and the next election is upon us.