Sunday, November 23, 2003
Dean using War on Terror to his advantage - Distorts other candidates' views
You probably thought President Bush was the best politician in America at using the “War on Terror” against his opponents. Well I am beginning to wonder. Here is one more issue (Patriot Act) where Dean has tried to use inaccurate interpretations of other candidates' stances on the war to attempt to bludgeon them. His blatant use of the war and 9/11 in an attempt to win the power of the Presidency is appalling. He says one thing, waits to see which way the wind blows, then tries to criticize others with his same original position. If he gets caught in a dilemma then he uses the old, “I keep learning and adjusting my position based on more information” bit. Would he give others the same slack? Of course not, but given the Orwellian type mind control he has over his followers, it doesn’t matter now, does it? Guess there are advantages to being an unemployed Governor and not having to take positions until you see how they turn out. See Time article here.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has rarely missed a chance — in debates and smaller forums, as well as on his website — to hammer the Bush administration's handling of civil liberties since the 2001 terrorist attacks. He's even taken other Democrats to task: "Too many in my party voted for the Patriot Act," he said last June in a not-so-veiled jab at some of his opponents in the presidential race. "They believed that it was more important to show bipartisan support for President Bush during a moment of crisis than to stand up for the basic values of our constitution."
But on Sept. 12, 2001, Dean had quite a different reaction. He told the Vermont press corps he believed the terrorist hijackings would "require a re-evaluation of the importance of some of our specific civil liberties. I think there are going to be debates about what can be said where, what can be printed where, what kind of freedom of movement people have and whether it's OK for a policeman to ask for your ID just because you're walking down the street…I think that's a debate that we will have."
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has rarely missed a chance — in debates and smaller forums, as well as on his website — to hammer the Bush administration's handling of civil liberties since the 2001 terrorist attacks. He's even taken other Democrats to task: "Too many in my party voted for the Patriot Act," he said last June in a not-so-veiled jab at some of his opponents in the presidential race. "They believed that it was more important to show bipartisan support for President Bush during a moment of crisis than to stand up for the basic values of our constitution."
But on Sept. 12, 2001, Dean had quite a different reaction. He told the Vermont press corps he believed the terrorist hijackings would "require a re-evaluation of the importance of some of our specific civil liberties. I think there are going to be debates about what can be said where, what can be printed where, what kind of freedom of movement people have and whether it's OK for a policeman to ask for your ID just because you're walking down the street…I think that's a debate that we will have."
# posted by AB @ 8:12 PM 
