Democratic blunders
Some of my friends from Arkansas keep telling me to vote for aDemocrat in the next presidential election.
However, let us remind ourselves that President Bush is far fromlosing the election. Tuesday marked a year to the day of theupcoming presidential election, meaning we have some things todiscuss.
The Democratic Presidential debate brought multiple issues tothe forefront. CNN opened the doors for an intense exchange betweenyoung college students and eight of the Democratic hopefuls.
It is important to note that Howard Dean held a 1 percent leadover Wesley Clark going into the debate. Richard Gephardt (formerMinority Leader in House of Representatives), is also surgingthroughout the polls. His recent endorsement from multiple unionpolitical action committees drastically increases his ability tospend on the same baseline with Governor Dean. Still, Gephardt didnot show up for the debate, which could only damage hiscredibility.
From the start of the debate, sparks began to fly between HowardDean, Al Sharpton and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.Dean’s misquoting of Martin Luther King, Jr. drasticallyhurts his ability to reach out to minority voters. Al Sharptonreferred to Dean’s policy as more like, “StonewallJackson rather than Jesse Jackson.” (Speaking withoutthinking has proven detrimental throughout this campaign.)
Moreover, Dean’s inability to truthfully answer questionsmight create a terrible character flaw for the governor of Vermont.When a general question was directed to any and all of thecandidates who would answer on past drug use, specificallymarijuana, Governor Dean was the first to flat out refuse to answerthe question.
John Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts and formerVietnam veteran, fielded the question with a surprising amount ofease, admitting yes to smoking the drug in the past despite theappropriate concerns affiliated with such an honest answer. Sincethe debate was focused at the college-aged group, the response fromthe audience seemed to be one of relief for receiving an honestanswer.
Much of the debate seemed to flow around the central theme thatAmerican soldiers are being killed daily. This past Sunday, 16 U.S.soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash. It is evident that someAmericans are beginning to question President Bush’s motivesin the Middle East. However, none of the candidates have developeda strategy for withdrawal, except Dennis Kucinich. The questionthat should be on every voters mind is how do the Democraticcandidates plan do deal with this?
It has become evident that the Bush administration is playingall of its cards with Iraq. On Monday, they achieved a substantialbudgetary accomplishment. The supplemental appropriation includes$85 dollars for reconstruction and relief to the people in Iraq andAfghanistan. Whether the actions taken in invading Iraq wereappropriate, the United States needs to find relief packages fordamage caused and lives lost. Poverty and theft have become a majorproblem throughout the region. In order to secure the economicinterests of the Iraqi people, the United States must strengthenall of Iraq’s assets. The former Saddam regime still owesenormous sums of money to French- and Russian-owned oilrefineries.
Candidates also took time in the debate to discuss theimportance on securing jobs for the young people graduatingcollege, but at no time during the debate were any of thecandidates eager to explain exactly how he or she planned onlowering the unemployment rate. The current unemployment rate is6.1 percent, and in economic terms, 4 percent is considered to bezero.
Yes, this is the worst time in 10 years to look for a job comingout of college, but if viewed from an economics standpoint, manybelieve that the necessary indicators point in the direction of aneconomic upturn. The actual intentions of any of thecandidate’s views on changing of fiscal policy were avoidedat all costs, despite the concerns of the young audience.
The health insurance issue was a prominent topic that all of thecandidates addressed at some point throughout the debate. HowardDean made an obvious attempt to enhance some statistics when heembellished the number of children in South Carolina who losthealth insurance this past year. He claimed the number to be102,000. On the contrary, 2 million Americans in all lost healthinsurance on a net count, including those who gained health care.If Dean’s statistics were accurate — as he expressedthem to be — it would indicate that around 5 million childrenwould have lost their health insurance this year.
That doesn’t add up!
With such concerns on upcoming social security issues andincreasing prices from numerous pharmaceutical corporations ondrugs, our nation’s health care policies are certainly anissue. At the same time, it should be explained accurately,especially in the debate.
As history has proven, the Democrats’ only hope lies instarting a progressive campaign that reaches out to middle classAmerica. It is evident after tonight that Howard Dean might not bethe answer for the Democratic Party. Clearly, Dean has burnedmultiple bridges inside the African-American community. Still, heis in the lead for the moment and credit must be placed within hiscampaign.
The “Road to the White House” is definitely anuphill battle for any challenger, but we must not dismiss theinfluence of the American South on this upcoming election. If theBush administration cannot fix its leaks within the administration,re-election will prove an extremely difficult task.
On a final note, the president has found support within thesouthern coalition. Although there are multiple restrictions on thesupplemental appropriation, the legislation did pass the UnitedStates Congress. No matter what party you align with in theupcoming election, let us agree to pray for peace throughout theworld.
