This is not unexpected, of course, and they are unlikely to sink him. But boy, I'm a little surprised by how much
dirt they were able to come up with so quickly! If this keeps up, Dean may be pretty badly tainted even if he still wins the nomination (that is, more tainted than he already is).
Some highlights:
Dean, campaigning in Iowa, stuck to his script and accused Bush of aiding corporate interests while ordinary Americans suffer.
"He spent $3 trillion of our money, giving it to his friends like Kenny-boy Lay and the folks that ran Enron in terms of the huge tax cuts that they got," Dean said. He was referring to former Enron chief Ken Lay, a friend and supporter of Bush's.
At the same time, Dean faced questions about corporate tax breaks enacted during his 11 years as Vermont governor. Enron set up a special insurance subsidiary in Vermont on Dec. 12, 1994, a year after the Dean-supported tax break to the industry went into effect, Len Crouse, Vermont's deputy commissioner of captive insurance, said Friday.
The Boston Globe first detailed the tax breaks in a story Friday.
Accusing Dean of "gross hypocrisy," Gephardt told reporters, "while he was attacking President Bush's special treatment of Enron, he's been hiding the fact that he turned Vermont into a tax shelter for that very same corporate criminal."
He criticized Dean for governing "under the Bush model" by providing tax windfalls for big business while slashing programs for seniors and disabled.
"I think we are only going to beat George Bush in November 2004 if we offer a real clear contrast to the president's economic policies," Gephardt said, using a line that Dean has aimed at Gephardt and other supporters of the Iraq war.
LMAO!! Good one, Gep!
Dean bristled at the criticism, saying the law enticed insurance business to Vermont that would have otherwise gone overseas. The state's Republican governors also have pushed for it as a means to attract businesses.
Enron's corporate wrongdoing had nothing to do with the Vermont law, he noted. Suggesting otherwise is "like saying a bank is in bad shape because they had an account with Enron," Dean said.
But when he criticizes Bush's links to Lay, Dean never mentions that Enron's mismanagement was not the result of the president's tax-cut package.
D'oh! They've got ya there, Howard. Maybe you'd better stop bringing up "Kenny Boy" in your speeches and when you debate Bush. (Yet another potential Bush-slaying sword we have to put back in its scabbard if we nominate Dean.)
In California, Edwards delivered a speech offering voters a campaign of optimism, inclusion and substance - a far cry, he suggested, from the partisanship and rhetoric that have fueled the front-runner's ascent.
"If all we are in 2004 is a party of anger, we can't win," Edwards said...
Sounds just like what I've been saying for months--way before Edwards brought this up. But too many Democrats are too pissed off to heed this advice, unfortunately. They lose sight of strategy when all they see is red.
Two days ago, Sen. John Kerry accused Dean of flip-flopping on his signature issue: Opposition to the war in Iraq. The criticism forced Dean to concede that he sponsored a resolution that would have allowed Bush to wage war without approval of Congress.
Wow, he conceded this?!? I'm amazed. That's potentially huge--or, that is, it could have been had Gore not endorsed Dean.