Dick Gephardt Says Dean Can't Be Trusted

rtwngAvngr

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Jan 5, 2004
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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20040114/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_gephardt




Dick Gephardt Says Dean Can't Be Trusted

12 minutes ago


By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer

NEVADA, Iowa - Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) on Wednesday called chief rival Howard Dean (news - web sites) a "fair-weather friend of the American worker" whose promises can't be trusted and motives must be questioned.




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"To me, there is no room for the cynical politics of manufactured anger and false conviction. I believe in standing for something," the Missouri lawmaker said a speech that heightened his criticism of the Democratic presidential front-runner.


Gephardt, whose candidacy depends on an Iowa victory Monday, is locked in a tight caucus race with Dean and two other candidates, Sens. John Edwards (news - web sites) and John Kerry (news - web sites).


An opponent of free-trade accords signed by Presidents Clinton and Bush, Gephardt appealed to his supporters in organized labor by lumping his rivals together as trade advocates.


"John Kerry, Joe Lieberman (news - web sites), Howard Dean and Wesley Clark (news - web sites), who all supported NAFTA, are now acting like they fought against it. And John Edwards supported the China deal," Gephardt said of the North Carolina senator who is making inroads on his blue-collar base.


"Howard Dean went so far as to call himself a strong supporter of NAFTA," Gephardt said in a text of the speech distributed by the campaign. "Then he later denied it, even though he was captured on videotape saying just that."


"You can't take on George Bush if you're only a fair-weather friend of the American worker," he said.


Gephardt then launched into a list of examples that he said underscored his view that Dean flip-flops on policy for political convenience.


"The only way we can beat George Bush is to be clear about where we stand and to be truthful with the American people," he said. "It's become nearly impossible to know what Howard Dean really believes."


It is the latest in a long line of criticisms from Dean's rivals, who hope to slow his momentum with a defeat here and cut into his lead in the follow-up New Hampshire primary. Private polls of two campaigns show Clark, a retired Army general, within 10 percentage points of Dean in New Hampshire, reflecting the Arkansan's remarkable surge while the rest of the field was camped out here.


Gephardt criticized Dean for:


_ Promising to give Democratic primary voters angry speeches, which will give way to cooler rhetoric in the general election. "Howard, Democrats are not animals in need of red meat," Gephardt said, using the political term for harsh rhetoric. "After four years of George Bush, we just need honesty for a change."


_ Being open to reducing the rate of Medicare growth. "In one breath, Howard Dean says he would never cut Medicare. In the next breath, it's on the table for budget cuts."


_ Opposing the assault weapons ban as Vermont's governor, but supporting it in the liberal-leaning presidential primaries.


"I've come to realize that Howard Dean isn't shooting from the hip. That's just making excuses for him," Gephardt said. "Howard Dean knows exactly what he's saying when he says it. And if you think he's contradicting himself, well, as far as he's concerned, that's your problem and not his. Democrats deserve a lot better."
 
man,gotta love it when members of the same tribe cant get along.they say that cream rises to the top. what happens if all the democrats get is spoiled milk instead?
 
Has anyone in here ever followed a primary campaign before? This always happens. Primaries are ugly and costly, parties would like to do away with them, and let the party faithful pick the nominee in convention. Don't worry, after the first few most of the Democratic candidates will give up. I figure Sharpton, Braun, Kucinich, Gephardt, Edwards and Lieberman will be out of the race by the end of February. It'll come down to Dean, Kerry, and Clark.
 
Has anyone in here ever followed a primary campaign before? This always happens. Primaries are ugly and costly, parties would like to do away with them, and let the party faithful pick the nominee in convention. Don't worry, after the first few most of the Democratic candidates will give up. I figure Sharpton, Braun, Kucinich, Gephardt, Edwards and Lieberman will be out of the race by the end of February. It'll come down to Dean, Kerry, and Clark.

I would not count out Gebhardt yet, in my opinion he'll probably win in Iowa, which may generate more support in New Hampshire. Clark is an obvious pick and we definitely haven't heard the last of Dean.
 

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