Regular readers know that I’m not Howard Dean’s biggest fan. He’s not as far down on my list as, say, Joe Lieberman, but there are at least four other Dem candidates that I’d rather see get the party’s nomination.
With this point in mind, I’m certainly not opposed to criticizing Dean honestly and frequently. You may have seen a few such criticisms right here at this very site. That said, I think there’s a right (and ethically responsible) way to go after Dean and a wrong (and ethically indefensible) way.
Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’ve seen a few-too-many examples of the latter recently.
The prime offender is a new activist group called Americans For Jobs, Healthcare And Progressive Values, which has two TV ads airing to try and convince Dem primary voters to oppose Dean. One of the ads is a little harsh, but the other crosses a line. The group purports to be independent, but former staffers and supporters from Kerry’s and Gephardt’s campaigns are helping run the organization.
One of the ads, titled “Just the Facts,” seeks to go after some of the more conservative parts of Dean’s record, to remind folks that he’s not quite the progressive hero that many want him to be.
The ad features a narrator that tells viewers, “Just the facts. Howard Dean backed the Republican plan in Congress to cut Medicare by over 250 billion dollars. Howard Dean and George Bush stood together and supported the unfair NAFTA trade agreement. And in Vermont, Howard Dean was endorsed eight times by the National Rifle Association. The NRA even gave Dean an “A” rating — an A. So if you thought Howard Dean had a progressive record, check the facts, and please think again.”
Harsh? Maybe a little, but nothing over the top here. It’s questionable to accuse Dean of backing “the Republican plan in Congress to cut Medicare,” without mentioning that this refers to the 1995 GOP effort, not the 2003 GOP effort. But let’s move on.
The other spot running from Americans For Jobs, Healthcare And Progressive Values is called “Dangerous World.” It starts with a screen-shot of Osama bin Laden on the cover of Time, which stays on screen through the ad. As the camera continues to zoom in on bin Laden’s eyes, the announcer says, “We live in a very dangerous world and there are those who wake up every morning determined to destroy Western civilization. Americans want a president who can face the dangers ahead, but Howard Dean has no military or foreign policy experience. And Howard Dean just cannot compete with George Bush on foreign policy. It’s time for Democrats to think about that, and think about it now.”
This just isn’t right. Dean’s lack of experience on national security and foreign policy is a legitimate area of debate within the campaign, but this kind of demagoguery is not. The ad should be pulled. Now.
Unfortunately, other stunts are underway as well. The Miami Herald reported over the weekend, for example, that “households in at least one heavily Jewish region of New Jersey have been receiving faxes claiming to be from Dean’s campaign promising to ‘end support for Israel in favor of even-handedness’ and to ‘promote greater understanding and tolerance of Islamic teachings.'”
The Herald report explained that the faxes “carry the letterhead ‘Dean for President’ and ‘Dean for America,’ the correct name for Dean’s campaign, and one even cites his endorsement this week by Gore — but tout fake positions clearly designed to mislead readers about Dean.”
Though smaller in scope than a television commercial, this is just as troubling. Again, Dean’s record on Israel is a perfectly legitimate subject to bring up in this campaign (a subject I reviewed a few months ago), but these fake faxes represent campaign politics at its worst. I suspect that if the faxes are traced back to a specific campaign, that candidate may be humiliated to the point of withdrawal.
The irony of this, to me, is that there are plenty of genuine, substantive, and above-board ways to go after Dean’s record, which I believe is littered with flip-flops and inconsistencies. Resorting to ads like these is obviously a desperation ploy, but more importantly, they have no place in responsible political campaigns.
If you’ve got a case to make against Dean, make it, but don’t resort to tactics like these.