What a disaster Dean is. Rove must be licking his chops.
Dean Calls For New Controls on Business
Democrat Seeks 'Re-Regulation'
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 19, 2003; Page A09
HOUSTON, Nov. 18 -- After years of government deregulation of energy markets, telecommunications, the airlines and other major industries, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is proposing a significant reversal: a comprehensive "re-regulation" of U.S. businesses.
The former Vermont governor said he would reverse the trend toward deregulation pursued by recent presidents -- including, in some respects, Bill Clinton -- to help restore faith in scandal-plagued U.S. corporations and better protect U.S. workers.
In an interview around midnight Monday on his campaign plane with a small group of reporters, Dean listed likely targets for what he dubbed as his "re-regulation" campaign: utilities, large media companies and any business that offers stock options. Dean did not rule out "re-regulating" the telecommunications industry, too.
He also said a Dean administration would require new workers' standards, a much broader right to unionize and new "transparency" requirements for corporations that go beyond the recently enacted Sarbanes-Oxley law.
"In order to make capitalism work for ordinary human beings, you have to have regulation," Dean said. "Right now, workers are getting screwed."
In a speech here Tuesday night, one mile from the Enron Corp. headquarters, Dean sought to place this idea into a new and broader campaign context: a "new social contract for the 21st century" to restore public trust in corporations, national leaders and U.S. military might. Dean blamed President Bush for eroding the public's faith in these institutions with his policies over the past three years.
"At Enron, those at the top enriched themselves by deceiving everyone else and robbing ordinary people of the future they'd earned," Dean said. "The Bush administration is following their lead."
Dean has excited core Democratic voters with a relentless assault on corporations and the rich, and he is moving quickly to stake a position as the candidate with the boldest plans for tempering the influence and power of U.S. businesses. If the economy continues to rebound, Democratic strategists say, Dean's proposal may offer a way for the party to frame the debate over jobs, income and fairness.
Dean said in the interview that "re-regulation" is a key tool for restoring trust. In doing so, he drew a sharp distinction with Bush, an outspoken advocate of free markets who wants to further deregulate media companies and other key sectors of the economy.
Dean also continued his clear break from Clinton's "New Democrat" philosophy of trying to appease both business and workers with centrist policies. Earlier in the campaign, Dean reversed his prior support for Clinton's free-trade agreements with Mexico, Canada and China.
Many Republicans typically characterize looser rules and mandates on business and trade as key facilitators of economic growth.
While Bush eventually backed new regulations for, among others, the accounting industry in the wake of the Enron, WorldCom and other corporate scandals, his administration has rolled back environmental and workplace regulations many Democrats want restored. Bush is fighting some in his own party to loosen the rules for media ownership. "I certainly would reverse media deregulation," Dean said. "I would go back to the limitations on how many stations you can own in a given market."
Virtually all Democratic candidates are making the fight against corporate influence a centerpiece of their campaign. The latest example: Every Democratic presidential candidate save Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) has come out strongly in opposition to the GOP deals on energy and Medicare, and has criticized them as gifts to big Republican corporate campaign contributors. Yet, Dean appears to getting the most traction on this front.
Voters are clearly hungry for government efforts to force better corporate behavior, especially with scandals hitting such industries as mutual funds and accounting, pollsters say. At the same time, they are unlikely to accept the price spikes that Republicans and some Democrats warn could accompany some new regulations.
Dean, who talked at length about the historical ebb and flow of regulation, said there is a "danger" to pushing his re-regulation movement too far. But under Bush, "deregulation has increased the corporate power enormously," he said.
As governor of Vermont, Dean advocated deregulation, angering some environmentalists. But the events of the past two years have convinced him deregulation is to blame for many of the nation's problems.
"California is proving it does not work," he said. "I think the reason the grid failed is because of utility deregulation."
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