Dean Responds to News Reports of Kerry's Special Interest Ties

[slinkerwink]

Dean Responds to News Reports of John Kerry's Special Interest Ties

DETROIT--Yesterday, the Washington Post reported U.S. Senator Kerry has collected more money from special interest lobbyists than any other U.S. Senator in the last 15 years. Today Newsweek reports Kerry met with and personally corresponded with Johnny Chung who later pleaded guilty to illegally funneling money to Kerry's campaign.The Associated Press reports today that Kerry's tax-exempt political committee gathered donations from groups with direct interests before Kerry's Senate committee.

In response to this news Governor Dean issued the following statement:

"I have said from the beginning this election is about power. It is about who owns our government and who runs it, the powerful special interests protecting the status quo or ordinary Americans demanding change? This weekend we have learned which side John Kerry is most comfortable with, the corporate special interests who have funded his presidential and senate campaigns -- the same special interests he is now vowing to fight against.

"How can John Kerry tell the American people he will fight for real change and an honest break from the special interests that run our government, when it's clear that the special interests have sponsored his career?

"President Bush has proven to the American people that an administration beholden to the special interests will never work for ordinary people.

"The American people want change in Washington. This November they have the power to make that change. Over the coming weeks the American people have a choice between a movement to take our country back from the corporate special interests and a creature of the comfort and convenience special interest contributions provide."


Posted by Mathew Gross at 05:31 PM
Mail This Entry to a Friend | Link | TrackBack (0) | Comments (133)

http://blog.deanforamerica.com

[ibegurpard]

1. Not surprising.

I just hope it's not too late.

[slinkerwink]

2. same here too---I don't want a "lesser of two evils" in office

[Capn Sunshine]

3. I just posted this release in the "When's he filing charges " thread

:D
Great minds thinking alike of course...

[slinkerwink]

4. awww, thanks-----you make a gal like me blush! ha, j/k

:hi:

[Padraig18]

7. How was it received?

:evilgrin:

[blm]

12. Please post Dean's career donations using same formula used for Kerry's .

And let us have an honest comparison.

19 years of individual donations grouped by profession and the place of work. The limit was $1000 for most of those years. You want to assert that Kerry was "on the take" for $1000 or $2000?

[blm]

46. No post of Dean's donations over his career?

Come on. An HONEST politician would post his donations using the EXACT same formula they use for his opponent.

[slinkerwink]

5. kick

[buckeye1]

6. All politcal interests are "special".

Even the Dean Blog.

[Melinda]

8. This can't be true; some Kerry supporters say differently

I know, I've read the posts. I'm at the point where I don't know what to believe anymore... so much of what is reported in the media is pure biased spin. :eyes:

[blm]

9. Breathlessly told and STILL misleading.

.

[Padraig18]

10. No, it's not.

Kerry has some explaining to do.

[blm]

13. Then post Dean's donations over his career using the same formula

of lumping together all the individual donations to Kerry over a 19 year period.

[Padraig18]

18. We will when you do.

:hi:

[blm]

23. Dean supporters have been posting the Kerry numbers for 2 days.

Where are Dean's numbers using the SAME formula used to lump Kerry's 19 years of individual donors?

[Eloriel]

30. If you want 'em, go get 'em

They're public records, you know.

Why should we do the work for you? Just because you demand it? I think not.

[blm]

38. If Dean wants to make it an issue that Kerry is "on the take" then

he should COMPARE their records on this issue using the exact same formula. Isn't that what an HONEST politician would do?

Why would you be so leery of Dean doing this?

Honest supporters who believe his message on this issue should be flaunting Dean's record in comparison.

So should Dean and his campaign. Or is this more DECEPTIVE RHETORIC from Dean using his audiences ignorance of the formulation to make his lies stick?

[sandnsea]

15. Clinton and Gore have explaining to do

This is the right wing smears that Clinton was selling the country to the Chinese bullshit. Dean is just sickening to drag this crap up again.

[Padraig18]

19. *Dean* didn't 'drag it up' again--the WP did.

Has Howard Dean lost his 1st Amendment right to ask questions about it? I must have missed that memo from SCOTUS...

[sandnsea]

22. This is Dean's press release

Funny, I guess Clinton really, really wants Clark. Whatever.

[KaraokeKarlton]

26. Oh boo hoo

too bad. Kerry is getting the same kind of treatment Dean got for months. It's only just begun. And frankly, I don't ever recall seeing a Kerry supporter complaining when it was Dean the media was attacking. Hell, even Democrats have been attacking Dean in a far worse way than Dean's FAIR criticism of hypocrisy, dishonesty and lack of good judgement in the behavior and comments of some of his opponents. I'll tell you the same thing so many Kerry supporters told me...get some thicker skin and deal with it.

[THUNDER HANDS]

11. too bad 'special interests' doesn't really resonate with voters

If you think this is slowing down the Kerry Express, you got another thing coming.

[pacifictiger]

17. Some people are just way ahead of their time

Dennis, Carol, and now it appears, maybe even Howard. The masses will eventually catch up with them, hopefully, before too much damage is done to the earth and her peoples.

[Eloriel]

31. Actually, that's not quite true

Frank Luntz (I know, but his meters don't lie) showed a focus group where the participants were using those little dial-o-meters in responding to someone (can't remember who), and the meter reading shot off the chart when "special interests" came up.

[sandnsea]

14. Returned the money immediately

This is really helping the Democratic Party. The last thing we need is the goddamn Johnny Chung shit drug out again. Does Howard care? Oh why hell no.

"Jim Jones, a spokesman for Kerry, said the senator's campaign returned the money as soon as suspicions were raised about it and had cooperated fully with federal investigators."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf030698.htm

[slinkerwink]

16. if suspicions hadn't been raised, I bet he wouldn't have returned the $$$

[sandnsea]

24. How would he know it was suspicious????

How do you know there's anything illegal about the way somebody is raising funds until the charges are raised?? You show up at a fundraiser and leave. That's all a candidate does.

[blm]

25. Please post Dean's career donations using same formula for Kerry's numbers

by the lumping of individual donations over a 19 year period.

[markus]

40. I believe you're asking the wrong people

You should be writing the Washington Post.

[blm]

41. Dean's RESPONSE should be his own data formulated the same way.

That is what an HONESTLY outraged opponent would do.

[Casablanca]

47. If Dean did, and the sum turned out to be lower, would you vote for him?

And the issue here is Kerry's misreprsentation of his own record and political stance, not how much money they comparatively received from lobbyists.

Put it another way, if Dean received a ton of money from Sierra Club lobbyists and didn't put it up on a billboard so that everyone knew it, would you withhold your support based on that? What's the _real_ issue?

[George_Bonanza]

20. What about all those Republicans who donated to Dean?

[Guaranteed]

21. Scratch another issue for Kerry to attack Bush with.

The guy's got nothing to say.

[Capn Sunshine]

27. Live by the sword, die by the sword

[Eloriel]

34. Sure he does --- Dean's entire message

which he's been appropriating right along. Someone posted re his appearance in OK today that she wished she had a trasncript because it could pass for Dean's stump speech.

Who'll tell him what to say if he's President -- will he be as scripted as Bush?

[ozone_man]

28. It's what we always suspected about kerry.

It's just starting to trickle out now, drip, drip, drip. Next Saturday at 4PM EST we'll give Kerry a special interest message from Dean supporters. You can't buy this election Kerry.

[slinkerwink]

29. kerry's going down, thank god.

[David Dunham]

32. Dean Is Fading Fast; He'll Be Gone in Two Weeks, Watch

[ibegurpard]

33. Irrelevant to this discussion

eom

[WiseMen]

35. Dean Throws Repub slime again. No News. Has been Doing it for a Year

But of course his supporters are too busy to waste any time
thinking for themselves.

Another $40 million down the drain, I guess.

Dean wins the nomination and .....

[drfemoe]

36. That "no special interest" claim

Kerry was making was confusing to me. It's a good thing we're getting some clarification.

[Hep]

37. A vote for Kerry is a vote for status quo. Anyone denying this?

It turns out that the D party are for sitting idly by while their party dissolves rather than being for actual change.

Watch as we hang ourselves in front of the world!

[Forkboy]

39. Best post here in days

Of course we differ in the thinking that Dean is the answer :)

[Hep]

44. Well,

you have a sherman potter quote as your sig, so I have nothing bad to say to you!

[blm]

43. I do. Dean is the one who took money from utility execs and SEALED the

records of his dealings with them.

Dean is the REAL status quo. A corporatist and centrist who coopted language from internet message boards to pretend he was a populist. What a doofus. He thought he could fool ALL of the people.

[D G]

42. Dean: "Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry"

I guess since Dean's sitting out tomorrow's primaries, he's got some time on his hands.

Everybody sing: Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, good bye...

[ChiefJoseph]

45. Test

1st message at DU.