American Spirit,
This wk Joe Lieberman has nudged out Howard Dean for my vote in 2004(unless my 2000 choice, GW Bush, wakes up before election & addresses Main St, USA concerns). If Lieberman continues to focus on following issues, as he did in recent speech, he might surprise everyone & become Democrat's candidate:
<<My plan would knock down foreign trade barriers and crack down on unfair trade practices. I will help you and your company find the new markets you need for your products so that you can grow and add jobs. And I will stand up for you when your foreign competitors don't play by the rules. The motto of my Administration will be: "Made in America, Sold Abroad."
Howard Dean would build new economic walls. He's said he wouldn't trade with any country unless they meet unrealistic standards.
That would start a trade war and cost millions of Americans their jobs. The man who didn't want to fight a war we should have fought now wants to start a war we should not be fighting.
Think about this. How will Howard Dean build the new alliances he talks about if we won't open up new markets and expand trade with them?
And there's a final, critical area of economic policy where Howard Dean and I differ dramatically. He has said he would re-regulate whole swaths of the American economy.
Look -- I believe in strong government oversight. I've been a watchdog since I served as Attorney General of Connecticut. I want to close corporate loopholes. I believe in cracking down hard on American businesses that don't play by the rules.
But to me, "business" is not a four-letter word. It's businesses that create jobs. That's why I've proposed tax cuts for small businesses. A tax credit for manufacturers that create jobs and keep them here in America. A 10% tax credit for buying new equipment. And a zero capital gains rate that would make new investments in small companies completely tax-free so that we can create new jobs.
Howard Dean would do none of that. In fact, he would repeal the few pro-growth tax cuts we already passed -- including new incentives to encourage small business investment.
This is no time to raise taxes on business or impose a vast new regime of government regulation. We need to unleash the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit in America again to create millions of new jobs.
You'll make up your own mind when you go to the voting booth. New Hampshire voters always do. But let me tell you what some leading economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal said. Which of the Democratic candidates, they were asked, would best create jobs, increase incomes, and grow the economy? I'm proud to say they picked my plan over Howard Dean's -- eleven to one.
Add it all up, and here's the choice. Will we strengthen America, grow the middle class and help business thrive again? Or will we erode our security, shrink opportunity, and sap our strength?
We have already had three years of economic misery because of George Bush.
We cannot replace that with another set of backward policies that would only burden the middle class even further and weigh the economy down even more.
And we cannot replace a foreign policy that has antagonized our allies with one that would isolate us in a growing economic world.
I'm asking for your support.
I am not George Bush or Howard Dean. I'm Joe Lieberman -- an independent-minded Democrat who will restore security and prosperity to America and fairness and integrity to the White House.>> |
