Howard Dean in National Public Radio
On Civil Rights:
The Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional
DEAN: The Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. States ought to be able to decide for themselves. We decided. Massachusetts has now decided. Let the states do this. The only role of the federal government should be this: One, they ought to make
clear that every state has a responsibility in the way that they choose to make sure that every gay and lesbian American has the same rights as everybody else. And two, the President should make available every single immigration right, taxation right,
inheritance right, and all the other 1,600 rights that are not available now to gay and lesbian Americans because they're not allowed to get married, those rights should be available to every American, every single American without an adjective about
what category that American might belong to.NADER: The gay and lesbian community would prefer our position to the position of John Kerry to what's going on in Massachusetts. Certainly his position is better than Bush, but our position is the best.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Civil Rights:
Referendum votes should not apply to civil rights
Most people in America believe in referendum government. I don't. We gave civil rights to a despised minority in 2000. The gay and lesbian community got the same rights as everybody else did. If that had ever been put to a referendum,
it would have gone down. Can you imagine what would have happened in Arkansas if you tried to do a civil rights amendment through a ballot referendum? Referendum is not always the best form of government. It is the tyranny of the majority.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Government Reform:
Kerry stands up against PAC and lobbyist money
NADER [to Dean]: The issue here is the corporate government. Let's not be distracted by the two parties that are simply proxies. We don't want to settle for the lesser of two evils in our country..
What you're hearing now is a desperate attempt to smear our campaign, which is struggling to get on the ballot against the massive anti-civil-liberties obstruction of the Democratic Party that's really interfering with our campaign.
DEAN: You told the people of this country that you were going to use volunteer help to get on the ballot in Arizona. You hired out that help, and that's why they made so many mistakes.
The Public Citizen, which you founded, said earlier this year that John Kerry ranks at the top of senators in standing up against political action committee money, which he has never accepted in his career, and lobbyist money.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Government Reform:
Need instant runoff voting to avoid threats like Nader
DEAN: We need complete electoral reform. We need, first of all, that Jesse Jackson Jr.'s constitutional amendment giving Americans the right to vote ought to be passed, so that the right wing of the Republican Party could not, as they did in 2000,
disenfranchise thousands and thousands of African-American voters. Secondly, we wouldn't be having this debate today if we had a system of instant runoff voting in this country. Then Ralph Nader would pose no threat to the election of John Kerry.
If we had instant runoff voting, we could have the kind of debates that Ralph wants, open debates, because minor parties, third parties wouldn't cause those problems.
NADER: The only way third parties have had leverage over the major party candidates is to deny them votes, is to say to them that for too long, they have ignored the needs of the American people. They've had their chance.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Government Reform:
Voting "none of the above" avoids real world choices
NADER: In America, you can only vote "yes" when you go to the polls. You have no opportunity to vote "no confidence" in all the candidates. If you have binding "none of the above" on every ballot line, if you don't like the candidates and you don't want
to write anyone in, you can vote binding "none of the above." DEAN: That is exactly the difference between the two of us. We live in a real world. We have to make real choices. Binding "none of the above" means we don't have to make real choices.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Health Care:
Medicare was put in place without a single Republican vote
Just think about who put Medicare in here without a single Republican vote. Everybody over 65 now has got health insurance in this country because of the Democrats. Who did Medicaid? Children all over America have health insurance. Who did the earned
income tax credit? It was Nixon with Democratic support. It makes a big difference whether you have a Democratic or Republican administration. All I'm asking is that we not let the perfect become the enemy of the good, because in this election it matters
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Homeland Security:
Switch funding from Star Wars to human intelligence
There are two big problems with the defense budget. One is that there are the contracts that get let out [with conflicts of interest], like the Halliburton contract [when Cheney was] getting money from Halliburton in deferred compensation.
That's a violation of the federal ethics code, even though it may theoretically not be against the law. And the other is that the problem with the defense budget is not entirely its size, it's what it's spent on. We should be go back into the ABM Treaty.
We ought to sign the land mines treaty. Instead of building the tactical battlefield nuclear weapons program, which is a weapons program that does nothing to fight against terrorism, we need to invest in special ops and human intelligence.
Instead of investing in Star Wars, which has failed the majority of its tests, that we ought to be doing different kinds of things with that money, such as paying soldiers and making sure there are adequate schools on our military bases.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Principles & Values:
Taking votes away from Kerry doesn't change the Party
DEAN [to Nader]: The Oregon Family Council, which is virulently anti-gay, right-wing group, called up all their folks to sign your petition. I don't think that's the way to change the party. I agree with much of what you say, but the way to change the
country is not to do it with any means to the end, the way to change the country is not to get in bed with right-wing, anti-gay groups to get you on the ballot. That can't work. I think there's a big difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.
I'll grant you that there's significant corporate influence that we don't like. I'm not running for president right now, not just because I lost in Iowa, but because I made the calculation that if I did, I would take away votes which that otherwise
would go to John Kerry and the result was going to be the re-election of George Bush. NADER: What you said about that group was a legitimate smear. It's a smear premeditated and knowing. We don't even know this group. Don't try to tar us with this.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Welfare & Poverty:
Children and schools suffer under Bush policies
Kids are losing health insurance every day because of what Bush is doing. If he gets re-elected, those people are going to suffer. Schools are going down the tubes in inner cities and rural areas all over America. Those people are going to suffer
if Bush gets re-elected. And so what I see in [the Nader] candidacy is the perfect becoming the enemy of the good. In the long run, this is about American people who can't defend themselves against the kind of administration that Bush has.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024