Democrats Criticize President on Economy, Security
Candidates Focus on Bush's Policies Rather Than Intraparty Differences
By Dan Balz
URL:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4264-2003May17.html
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 18, 2003; Page A04
DES MOINES, May 17 -- "Fight the enemy and not each other," the Democratic presidential candidates were told here today, and they took the advice. For almost three hours, the Democrats appealed to an audience of union members with relentless attacks on President Bush and barely a raised eyebrow toward one another.
Nearly 1,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) assembled to question candidates eager for the union's support. Before any of the presidential aspirants could utter a word, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee set the tone with a condemnation of the president punctuated with a declaration -- "He's got to go!" -- that brought the audience to its feet chanting, "Gotta go, gotta go," in unison.
Two weeks ago in South Carolina, the Democrats challenged one another in a 90-minute debate and were later criticized by others in the party for letting their intraparty squabbling get in the way of making the case against Bush.
Today, they competed to outbid one another before a liberal audience with pledges of support for labor's pet issues and sound bites eviscerating the administration's record on the economy, tax cuts, health care, homeland security, judicial appointments, civil liberties, aid to the states, corporate responsibility and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The presidential forum was one step in a process that likely will lead to AFSCME's endorsement of one of the Democratic candidates in the nomination battle next year, a boost that could be important in Iowa's caucuses and elsewhere. Seven candidates appeared in person: Sens. Bob Graham (Fla.) and John Edwards (N.C.), former Vermont governor Howard Dean, Reps. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) and Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio), former senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois and Al Sharpton.
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who had a prior commitment, addressed the group later by satellite linkup from Boston, while Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) was seen on videotape because he does not campaign on the Jewish Sabbath.
Some of the sharpest words aimed at Bush came over the issue of homeland security. "What this administration has done," said Graham, former chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, "is they have conducted an ideological war in Iraq where they have not found the weapons of mass destruction upon which it was predicated. And at the same time, they have stopped the war on terrorism. . . . We have let al Qaeda off the hook. . . . We let them regenerate."
Gephardt said the administration had left the country "vulnerable to future attacks" by failing to provide money and training for local fire and police departments, while Sharpton accused the Republicans of using members of the New York fire and police departments for photo opportunities and closing firehouses for lack of funds.
"It's a political fraud that needs to be exposed," he said.
Edwards said, "We should not cede this issue to a party and a president whose idea of homeland security is plastic wrap and duct tape."
Tax cuts and the economy produced more attacks. The candidates cited the loss of more than 2 million jobs during the first 21/2 years of the Bush administration and accused the president of misplaced priorities with his tax cuts, which they said favored the rich and drained resources needed for health care or other domestic needs.
"This president's economic policy is failing. It has failed," Gephardt said. "It has made a mess of the economy, and there's going to be a referendum on his leadership in November 2004."
Edwards called Bush "out of touch, out of tune" and said he would be "out of time" after the election. Pointing to the layoffs of more than 3,000 city workers in New York caused by the fiscal crisis affecting states and cities, Edwards said, "The Republicans are planning to hold their convention in New York to showcase the leadership of George W. Bush. I think it turns out to be a great place to showcase the leadership of George Bush."
Dean linked the tax cuts to homeland security, saying, "The enormous tax cuts are not only undercutting Medicaid and Social Security, Mr. President. The enormous tax cuts that you have passed are actually undercutting our ability to defend ourselves."
Braun said the administration had offered the country Orwellian leadership on the economy, by "helping the greedy, fighting the needy."
On health care, Gephardt, Dean, Kerry and Kucinich promoted plans they have put out recently designed to provide health care coverage to almost all Americans. "It's a travesty, it's immoral," Gephardt said of the fact that 41 million Americans lack health insurance. "And when I'm president, we will pass a health care plan . . . and it will stimulate the economy."
Dean said his record in Vermont of expanding health care coverage provided a working model for the country. Kucinich, the only Democrat promoting a government-run health care plan, said it was time to put private insurers out of business. "I think it is urgent that we take the profit out of health care," he said.
A question about Bush's judicial appointments struck a nerve, both with the candidates and the audience. The candidates accused the president of trying to stack the judiciary with conservative judges and warned of dire consequences if he gets his way.
"The independence of the judiciary is now at risk," Graham warned, adding that the administration wants the Senate "to leave, to go home" and stay out of the way of the president's appointments.
Edwards called for the nomination of judges who support civil rights, women's rights and abortion rights and said, "We cannot go backwards. . . . If we Democrats aren't willing to stand up for this issue, we don't stand for anything."
Toward the end, Dean challenged Graham's assertion that he is more electable than other Democrats because of where he sits on the political spectrum. "If we worry so much about electability that they can't tell the difference between the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party and the Republicans, then we're going to be in a lot of trouble in this party," Dean said. "We need to win this election by standing up for who we are and speaking our piece."
The hotter the rhetoric, the more the audience responded, which meant that Sharpton and Kucinich were often the crowd favorites. That was borne out after the session ended when McEntee and Democratic pollster Celinda Lake reported on the reactions of a group of 30 Iowa Democrats who had watched the proceedings with devices that allowed them to record their likes and dislikes.
When the event was over, the 30 Iowans were asked to give each candidate a favorability rating on a scale from zero to 100. Kucinich was first at 78, followed by Sharpton at 76, Gephardt at 75, Edwards at 69, Braun at 66 and Graham at 63. Kerry and Lieberman were not rated because they appeared later. Lake said on a separate question of who was most electable, Gephardt scored best among the seven who appeared in person.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company |
