A: I oppose the proposal to amend the Constitution. In the 214-year history of the Bill of Rights we have never amended the First Amendment and we should not start now. I condemn flag burning and any other displays of disrespect to our national symbols. But I stand with Colin Powell, John Glenn and other patriotic Americans who have said the way to pay tribute to the flag is to defend the freedoms for which it stands.
A: I believe the death penalty should be available for extreme and heinous crimes, such as terrorism or the killing of police officers or young children. But it must be carried out with scrupulous fairness.
A: Vouchers undermine public education, a cornerstone of our democracy. I oppose all public funding of private school tuition, including demonstration programs like the one President Bush is foisting on Washington, DC, and the one Governor Jeb Bush has instituted in Florida, since they siphon badly needed resources from our public schools.
A: I support an across-the-board corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard of 37.5 mpg by 2015. This would apply to all passenger vehicles, and would require a closing of the SUV loophole.
A: To make an international visit to our allies to shore up our badly damaged relationships.
A: I want strong, enforceable trade agreements and a trade system bound by clear, continually improving rules. I will push for solid, enforceable labor and environmental standards in all existing and future trade agreements. I will vigorously enforce the agreements we enter into and defend U.S. trade laws when our competitors challenge them.
A: As president, a high and early legislative priority of my new administration would be to improve the prescription drug benefit to create one that is affordable, federally administered and for all of America’s seniors; uses the government’s buying power on behalf of 41 million seniors to negotiate and drive down drug prices; contains meaningful cost containment including reimportation of safe, effective medicines and the use of Preferred Drug Lists to ensure affordable premiums and co-payments; assures stability of coverage; and promotes price competition and real pharmaceutical innovation by supporting drug therapeutic equivalency and cost-effectiveness studies, not by setting drug prices through the federal government.
A: We need earned legalization for undocumented immigrants in the US who work hard, pay taxes, and otherwise obey the rules, so that they can become full participants in society, including becoming citizens.
A: I favor increasing the federal minimum wage to $7 during my presidency.
A: I plan to roll back all of George W. Bush’s reckless tax cuts so we can pay for health care reform and balance the budget. Then I will introduce real tax reform to make the tax code fairer and simpler for working families. We’ll ensure that corporations and wealthy Americans pay their fair share, close loopholes and end the corporate welfare that has left middle class Americans footing the country’s tax bill.
Dean responded, “I come from a rural state with a very low homicide rate. We had five homicides one year. It’s a state where hunting is a part of our life. I understand that’s not the traditional Democratic position.“ Dean said ”when you’re running for governor, they ask you what you would do in your state.“ Dean aides said the opposition to restrictions on assault weapons that Dean expressed on the signed 1992 NRA questionnaire applied only to a state ban, defined broadly enough to also apply to shotguns commonly used by hunters in Vermont.
Dean pledged to fight conservative Republicans, docile Democrats and the rest of the Washington establishment-all of whom he holds responsible for turning Americans away from the political system. “You have the power to take our country back!” he shouted “You have the power!”
Dean actually began his campaign months ago. But he staged a formal announcement to draw attention and money to his long-shot bid. Besides a crowd of 2,500 in Burlington, 15,000 Dean supporters had signed up to attend campaign events in more than 300 cities.
In a call to disenchanted voters of all political stripes, Dean said, “You have the power to rid Washington of all the politics of money. You have the power to take back the Democratic Party. You have the power!”
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The above quotations are from Columns and news articles distributed by the Associated Press.
Click here for other excerpts from Columns and news articles distributed by the Associated Press. Click here for other excerpts by Howard Dean. Click here for a profile of Howard Dean.
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