THE NOTE
Are two apparent Dean semi-waffles-one on Social Security, the other on public financing- building the candidate a rep for changing his mind? On public financing, Dean says some campaign advisers are "chomping at the bit" for him to refuse it.
When the campaign first raised this possibility a bit ago, we were told (and reported faithfully) that Dean's March 7 statement stood. Even now, Dean says he personally still wants public financing; the drive to forgo it, it seems, comes from unnamed campaign people.
Clearly, Dean For America is flirting with scenarios where it'd be in a better position to forgo the primary match. But not remembering having told the AP in March you'd hold the other candidates accountable for opting out?, well, that sounds self-exonerating, but it doesn't forgive us from posing the operative question: if not accepting public financing was bad back then, why, except for self-interested reasons is it less bad now? Or why does the candidate feel one way, and his campaign, another?
Dean backing off spending limit promise
August 15, 2003
By Ron Fournier
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEVADA, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean backed away from his pledge to adhere to spending limits, saying some advisers want to explore opting out of the Watergate-era public financing system because of his sudden fund-raising success.
Dean said he still intends to accept taxpayer money and spending restraints, and suggested he has discouraged his staff from considering alternatives right now. But he left open the possibility of following President Bush's lead in rejecting public financing.
"Could we change our mind? Sure," he said. One rival campaign accused Dean of hypocrisy.
Just five months ago, Dean committed to accepting taxpayer money and vowed to attack any Democrat who didn?t.
The about-face follows his emergence as the Democratic Party's biggest fund-raising threat. Dean collected $7.6 million in the fund-raising quarter that ended June 30, more than his eight rivals, and aides said Friday that he is on pace to far exceed that total in the next quarter.
In an interview Thursday, the former Vermont governor said he did not recall promising to accept public financing and the limits that go with it. Under a program designed to curb special interest influence, candidates who agree to state-by-state and overall spending limits get federal matching dollars for the first $250 of each donation they receive.
"I was asked very early on and I said I intend to take the match," Dean said. "I think what I said is that we weren?t looking into that as an option."
However, in a March 7 interview with The Associated Press, Dean committed to accept the taxpayer money. The promise was echoed by a campaign spokesperson.
"We've always been committed to this. Campaign finance reform is just something I believe in," he said in March. Dean also said his position was not based on any political considerations, such as the size of the field or how much money he can raise.
On Friday, however, Dean cited Bush's plans to raise $200 million "five times the spending limit" as a reason for keeping his options open.
"I think public financing is a good thing. The question is what do you do with an opponent who can murder you from March to December?" Dean said.
Democrats worry that their nominee will emerge from the primaries broke, restricted by public financing caps, while Bush holds a huge financial advantage until he accepts public financing after the GOP convention in September 2004.
Dean said it's too early to determine whether he will reject public financing in the primaries. For one thing, he said it is "a little optimistic" to assume he could raise more money than is available under the federal system.
Candidates who take the matching funds can get up to $18.7 million, money Dean would be turning away if he rejects the system, and are limited to about $45 million in spending through the primary season.
The Federal Election Commission last month declared Dean eligible for matching funds. Dean signed a letter to the commission in June promising to abide by the program?s rules, including its spending limits. Under FEC practice, Dean could withdraw, however, because he hasn?t yet received a matching fund payment, commission spokesman Bob Biersack said.
The campaign of Democratic rival John Kerry said Dean's letter binds him to public financing.
"Governor Dean has said repeatedly that he supports the system, he's threatened to attack other candidates who don't participate, and he's signed a binding contract with the federal government to participate in the system," said Kerry campaign manager Jim Jordan. "It would be shocking if he breaks his word and breaches a binding contract for purely political reasons."
Dean reported raising about $10.5 million in the first two quarters. Assuming he matches his second-quarter total and posts another $7.6 million by Sept. 30, he would have collected $18 million heading into the last three months of the year, Dean said, calling that "a long way between here and $44 million."
But some of his advisers believe Dean has an outside shot of raising the kind of money needed to abandon the public financing system.
"We're not looking at that as an option, although there are those in our campaign that insist on thinking privately that they want to look at it as an option," Dean said.
In March, Dean warned his rivals not to opt out of public financing.
"It will be a huge issue ... because I think most Democrats believe in campaign finance reform," he said at the time.
Dean made the remarks when the party leaders considered Kerry to be the most likely candidate to bust the spending limits.
The Massachusetts senator, who is independently wealthy, has not said whether he will accept public financing. Associates say his decision might be driven by what Dean does.
Kerry and Dean are the only two candidates who have combined fund-raising success with high poll ratings in key states.
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