I'd upgrade preventive health care.
Source: National Press Club interview (aired on NPR)
Jul 23, 2000
On Civil Rights:
Get rid of gay discrimination fully, not halfway
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 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. We've got to get rid of this discrimination, this chilling, this bigotry toward gays and lesbians that are reflected in literally hundreds and hundreds of statutes and regulations in this country.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Crime:
Some executed by death penalty were innocent
Q: What about the death penalty?A: There were 87 capital crime convictions overturned by [research on their cases conducted by] journalism students. Undoubtedly, some of those executed were innocent.
Source: National Press Club interview (aired on NPR)
Jul 23, 2000
On Government Reform:
Justices need sense of justice & sense of history
Q: What are your criteria for Supreme Court Justice appointments?A: [An appointee] should have a "judicial temperament" [as exhibited by]:
- A sense of justice, which is essential in order to have a proper sense of when there's injustice; and
- A sense of history.
Source: National Press Club interview (aired on NPR)
Jul 23, 2000
On Government Reform:
The two parties are proxies for corporate government
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.
We don't want to have another special interest clone in Washington. We don't want to have another Washington insider who shifts back and forth with every poll.
And we don't want to have insensitivity for the plight of workers, American workers in this country, who have lost their manufacturing jobs. All those quotes come from Howard Dean I against John Kerry in the primaries.
What you're hearing now is Howard Dean II, in 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.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On Government Reform:
Taking away votes from Democrats gains leverage
DEAN [to Nader]: We need complete electoral reform. 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: I would abolish the Electoral College.
For the US government to lecture people overseas about democracy and then turn around and say the man who got the lesser number of votes becomes president in 2000, and the person, Gore, who got more votes, is a rather difficult position to uphold.
It's also important to recognize, it's 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:
Advocate to allow people to vote "no confidence"
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 Principles & Values:
Don't know right-wing groups helping in my campaign
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.
NADER: What you said about that group was a legitimate smear. Do you know what a legitimate smear is, Howard? 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 Principles & Values:
Polls can be wrong; we're building beyond this election
The polls were wrong about Howard Dean. They all said he was going to win in a landslide against his Democratic primary opponents. We're building beyond November. An oak tree always starts with an acorn. And we are determined to give this younger
generation of Americans a horizon for a better country and a better world and show them how to do it. Because the older generations have conceded two-party monopolies and narrow choices and low expectations and least- worst mentality far too long.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
On War & Peace:
Responsible six-month withdrawal from Iraq occupation
We want to have a responsible six-month withdrawal of the US military and corporate occupation, and an internationally supervised election, so that the Iraqi people don't feel that they're facing a permanent military occupation and the control
of their oil resources and of public government. If they feel that, the majority of the Iraqis are going to support the insurgency. They're not going to distance themselves from the insurgency.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024