A Dean cover-up? - Burlington free press

[Bombtrack]

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/editorial/1000h.htm

In the post-Watergate era, everyone knows the drill. What is Howard Dean trying to hide by keeping many of his official records secret? The former Vermont governor finds himself in a politically impossible situation this week -- and one entirely of his own making. The controversy started when Dean invoked executive privilege (another familiar term to those versed in political scandal) to seal roughly 40 percent of his gubernatorial papers for 10 years after his term ended in January.

snip>

Dean has only one option: full and immediate disclosure. Until he does that, the questions will not stop, the skepticism will not cease, the suspicion that Dean has some dark mystery lurking in the 145 boxes of documents under lock and key will not go away. More important, the American public has a right to know everything there is to know about Dean's conduct as governor of Vermont. His official papers could offer invaluable insights into how Dean operates as a chief executive, how he makes decisions, how he relates to legislators, aides and the general public. Those are all critical factors in weighing whether a candidate would be a good president.

<snip

Dean also has been a bit disingenuous through the entire episode. On the MSNBC program "Hardball," Dean said he sealed his records partly to protect the privacy of correspondents and used an AIDS patient as an example. Yet, as The New York Times noted Tuesday, the names of such people would be routinely excised under privacy laws. Dean further wounded himself by claiming that President Bush had shut his records as governor of Texas. "I'll unseal mine if he will unseal his," Dean told "Good Morning America." Texas has no executive privilege law, and Bush's documents are in the state archives subject to viewing under the Public Records Act.

[pruner]

1. it must suck to be an Edwards supporter

How did George W. Bush deal with his gubernatorial records in Texas?

Our research indicates Dubya's done a better job than Dean of keeping his from public view.

When Dubya left office in Texas in 2000, he shipped his gubernatorial records to his daddy's presidential library on the campus of Texas A&M. According to Texas State Archivist Chris LaPlante, they were totally inaccessible to the public. There was no staff to catalogue them, said Laplante. And since "They were physically in a federal facility, they were subject to federal, rather than Texas, public-records law."

After complaints were made, said LaPlante, the attorney general ruled they should be shipped to the state archive for cataloguing. The Bush records arrived in Austin in August 2002. According to LaPlante, it's going to take another three years to complete the cataloguing. Then they'll be shipped back to daddy's library.

By Tuesday everybody, including two of Dean's Democratic rivals, was piling on. The New York Times' Jodi Wilgoren reported that "Mr. Bush's Texas records were moved back to state custody after a ruling from the attorney general, and an archivist for the state said the Bush records were available for viewing."

Archivist LaPlante called the above statement in the Times story "deceiving." While the Bush records are officially "viewable," said LaPlante, actually viewing them is another matter.

<snip>

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/insidetrack/

[ClintonTyree]

2. I'm with you about the Edwards thing.............

but Dean must unseal those records NOW lest irreperable harm is done to his campaign. We all know, Bush did and will continue to get a pass from the press on his record shenanigans, but this isn't going away and Dean needs to get out in front of it now.

Funny thing, all of these Dems that keep posting these tidbits are only doing harm to the Party. The logic behind it? Let's take out the most electable nominee so OUR GUY who's polling somewhere in the single digits, can get a leg up and be REALLY crushed by Bush in 2004. It makes perfect sense to me. :eyes:

[shoopnyc123]

3. No one...

aside from us political junkies really cares about this...I think it'll go down a non issue...

[Julien Sorel]

19. Until the Republicans get a hold of it.

[Egnever]

39. Hahahah

You mean they dont read the news?

[liberalnurse]

4. No he does not......

Rules apply to all and Dean is entitled to seal the records. There is information about HIV citizens and other privacy. I don't want him to open the records.

[Bombtrack]

9. Did you read the article

they debunk that excuse

[Egnever]

41. no they dont

there can be plenty to identify a person without revealing thier name. And he said one of the reasons not that that was the only reason. He said that so small minds could wrap thier heads arround the issue without him having to go into a detailed explanation.

So you really believe there is something so secretive in those files that is so explosive that will explain how he made Vermont such a success that it needs to be outed?

The fact remains bushes aren't open to the public either..Or are they? I honestly dont know. One article says they are another says, well not really. Whats the truth?

It is common practice for govenors to seal thier records when leaving office. Dean hapens to want his sealed for longer than most cause he is running for president and wants to keep them out of both elections,,,So what?. Lets pretend he accepted the standard arrangement would you still be upset? NO. Under that scenario no one would see them till after his first term was over anyway so none of what is in there would be exposed anyway. So it would make absolutely no difference in this election anyway. By the next time arround we would have a pretty friggin good clue of what type of president he would make dont you think?

But still you haters will try to act wounded like he is doing something underhanded.

Your continued insistance to try to tear this man down amazes and sickens me at the same time.

No thanks I hope Dean sticks to his guns on this one let the boy king unlock his then maybe we should think about it. And while we are at it how bout we up the ante and ask for the energy meeting records and 9-11 documents and how bout those saudi papers I would like to see those too first.

Screw you chicken shit dems afraid of rove I hope Dean shoves this issue far up roves ass before he shows him his useless papers.

[Bucky]

7. "the most electable nominee"

That's a huge, and not terribly accurate, assumption. In preliminary polling Dean does the worst among Democrats in head to head match ups against Bush.

Of course polling at this point doesn't mean a lot. But calling Dean the most electable of the candidates is simply not true.

[Bombtrack]

10. Dean being electable, much less the most, is an absurd proclamation

If Wesley Clark proposed a middle class tax raise, he would probably effectively unenelecatble, and according to the vast majority of political analysts, pollsters, and strategists, he is the candidate the GOP and least wants to, and should want to face.

[mot78]

17. I 2nd that!

Repugs are terrified and are manipulating our primary a la Davis vs. Riordan/Simon in California. Clark can't afford to be another Riordan.

[blm]

18. Why don't Dean supporters SEE IT?

Rove does not want to face Kerry or Clark on the national security battlefield. Clinton knows this, and saw it coming, too.

Dean supporters can sit there all day and say they understand how Davis used political strategy and ads and media to make sure he got Simon as his opponent and not Riordan, yet they think Republicans aren't doing it to us?

They planted Dean's early seed money and made sure he had the press focus to CREATE a "phenomenon" candidate. PR and press has made STARS out of marginal talents for decades.

[John_H]

20. I don't get it either

And these are smart people. My guess--and I bet history bears me out on this--is that people got more enamored of the internet grass roots thing than the candidate.

But it doesn't even take a person of average savvy to open up any newspaper or turn on any TV show and see the GOP machine at work. The GOP is terrified of Clark--sorry blm, but sadly I think they've killed Kerry since they went after him from the first second.

BTW I've got nothing--absolutely nothing--against Howard Dean. After long and hard thought and lots of reading, I just came to the conclusion that his backing away from his own record, that of a moderate pragmatist, which is what attracted me in the first place makes him Karl Roves wet dream.

[blm]

29. They want to do to Clark what they did to Kerry.

Dean was the tool they used to do that. I know it because I watched it happen from the moment Frank Luntz's first focus group overwhelmimgly chose Kerry as the best candidate.

Dean is the ONE candidate who actually collapses under closest scrutiny and so the press laid off of him. Better to wait until Rove felt assured Dean had the numbers to be the nominee, then go after Dean as the "inevitable" opponent and bury him under his own lies, inconsistencies, draft record, secret dealings, sealed records, unprincipled positions on issues, and lack of national security experience instead of Bush's as Dems planned and could have ONLY with a Kerry or Clark.

[Bread and Circus]

46. I agree with you, if they hadn't submarined Kerry...there never..

would have been a need for Clark's candidacy.

Kerry was number 1 on hit list, now it is Clark

[Forkboy]

47. Kerry has no one to blame but himself blm

[Hep]

48. True dat

If Kerry's campaign had any direction for all these months, he wouldn't have needed the various personnel changes.

[dsc]

22. Maybe because everytime or at least close to everytime

I check out one of your facts it turns out to be wrong. I tend to start to discount things once that happens repeatedly.

[blm]

30. Untrue.

You nitpick some small detail in an article that might be incorrect while ignoring the overall articles and the larger facts that you didn't prove wrong.

[AP]

34. Mara Liasson was the first person on NPR to do a big puff piece on Dean.

At the same time, they're dismantling Kerry.

Another brick in the wall.

[JNelson6563]

44. Interesting comment

I'll ignore the rest of your RW blather but this interests me:

Rove does not want to face Kerry or Clark on the national security battlefield. Clinton knows this, and saw it coming, too.

So, with your man Kerry unable to even tread water, hence the Clark candidacy?? Mind you that is what it has smelled like all along and I've got a few well-placed friends who quietly confirmed this but coming from you.....most interesting.....

Julie

[Octafish]

11. Don't let the truth get in the way of four more years of Bush.

It's important that we all get behind the nominee — even if the guy has not gone one-on-one with any other candidate, let alone the most qualified candidate for the office.

[AP]

26. Psst. This isn't about Edwards. Or about Bush. It's about not wanting

people to now the truth about you.

And I can tell you what's in those records: a lot of bending over for big business. This is too obvious.

If there's less than that, I'd be shocked. If there's more, I'd be suprised, but I don't pretend to be ominiscient.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

42. Yet the fact of the matter is that your boy is funded by BIG money.

www.opensecrets.org
http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/sector.asp?id=N00002283&cycle=2004
http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/donordems.asp

There's reality. And there's speculation.

John Edwards has more $2000 donors than any other Democrat. Second only to Bush. The fact that you are unwilling to address this issue speaks volumes.

Here you speculate that Dean's records will show him to be a whore for big business, yet you fail to address the fact that Edwards is the candidate of the fat cat. One is speculation. The other is verifiable fact. Sorry.

Chimp's records are sealed but the people in Texas know what's in them. Same for Dean. There's a rage about Dean's sealed records yet there is zero knowledge of what might be in them. Bullshit issue. Yet campaign disclosure laws prove that Edwards is the candidate with the most $2000 donors. This doesn't disturb you in the least, yet what might be in Dean's records has you in a tizzy. Get a grip.


Go here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=108&topic_id=96196&mesg_id=96196

[retyred]

21. Why give the thumbs up

to dean because bush tried to do the same thing? What else are you willing to accept from dean simply because bush did it first?

Say what you will, dean is hiding something and to believe otherwise because he's a democrat or because he's your candidate is being hypocritical unless you also believe bush isn't either.




retyred in fla
“good night paul, wherever you are”
So I read this book

[FXDS]

37. Suck?

Come on, all our canidates are good.

Kerry/Edwards 2004

[Kolesar]

5. Rat a tat a tat a tat....Hit Piece!

As evidenced in the choice of words (political scandal is inferred).

"Dean invoked executive privilege (another familiar term to those versed in political scandal) to seal roughly 40 percent of his gubernatorial papers ... "

[Don_G]

6. Dimbo's Records Still Aren't Open

The Texas Attorney General still decidies who can access those records and has 45 days to reply to any request.

[AmericanDem]

23. on Inside Politics

...and i can't stand the show but watch at times to keep current. anyway, It was reported that Bush's files are now open, If that meant 100% of them , I have no idea.

[slinkerwink]

25. no, bush's records aren't still open

republican legislators are now stamping them and declaring them confidential.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

31. Hey! This is about Dean

or is it really just about "Dean is just as bad as Bush" when it comes to secrecy?

[JNelson6563]

8. Ah, most excellent!

Lot sof press, I love it! I'd wager Dean already has a plan to deal with this. I say let it play, let them build up the suspense.....

Then open the records and see much ado about nothing and what have you got?

Boatloads of free publicity, lots more supporters and donations. Then Dean can also say, so now what's in the boy king's records? How come reading letters from HIV patients etc is so important but secret energy policy (and lots of other secrets)isn't?

Hahahha! What fun!

Julie

[Pastiche423]

14. I'd wager that, raise some

and I would win.

[KaraokeKarlton]

12. Privacy laws don't protect anyone from the Patriot Act

I support leaving the records sealed. Of course, I live in Vermont and know that there isn't anything that isn't already know about Dean's governorship that's in those records. It's private correspondence that is sealed NOT to protect Dean, but to protect others.

Calling for the records to be unsealed is dumb. What's even more telling is when Democrats opposed to Dean salivate at the remote chance that they could find something to attack him with to sabotage one of their own. There's NOTHING significant in those sealed records that voters would have any interest in. Unsealing them would be potentially harmful to everyday citizens on the left who would stand the risk of being targetted with the Patriot Act JUST because they are liberals.

Shame on those trying to make an issue out of this.

[molly]

16. What if they were Kerry's records?

"Calling for the records to be unsealed is dumb.

Shame on those NOT trying to make an issue out of this.

[KaraokeKarlton]

33. I'd say the same thing regardless of whose they were

I don't even care that Bush's records are sealed because anything written to a politician by a private citizen is none of my damn business. It's none of yours or anyone else's either. And I'm sure Kerry has plenty of records that aren't open to the public too and you know what...it's honestly no skin off my ass, either.

:eyes:

[Scott Lee]

13. Get your kevlar on. Hit piece.

[KittyWampus]

15. Dean's Ties With Utilities Are Most Likely What He's Hiding

Before Dean's campaign was "People Powered" it was fueled by Vermont Yankee/Entergy which is owned by Koch Bros.

http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/Archive/Articles/Article/43924

CLF seeks details of Dean administration’s talks with utilities
March 11, 2002

(from the State section)
By SUSAN SMALLHEER Southern Vermont Bureau

MONTPELIER — The Conservation Law Foundation will file a freedom of information request with the Dean administration today to find out how many contacts it has had with Vermont utility executives over the pending sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

Mark Sinclair, senior attorney with the environmental group, said Monday that recent news reports about the financial contributions made by Vermont utility executives or board members to Gov. Howard Dean’s presidential campaign political action committee were “too much of a coincidence.”

Sinclair said the new offer from Entergy Nuclear of Jackson, Miss., last week wasn’t substantially better than the original bid, and doesn’t really address the serious concerns raised by the state earlier this winter about local control and other economic issues.

“The department didn’t get anything,” he said.

Sinclair compared it to the negotiations with Vice President Dick Cheney by energy companies that are now subject to an investigation by the General Accounting Office.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[Moderator]

43. cryingshame

Per DU copyright rules
please post only 4
paragraphs from the
news source.

Thank you.

DU Moderator

[Padraig18]

24. I've lost count: is this the 143rd or 144th thread on this subject in GD?

Get the F*** over it! :eyes:

[DoveTurnedHawk]

27. Again, I'm Betting There's Nothing in These Files

It's a classic case of misdirection: get everyone to focus on something, while you are kicking ass in many other places. When the fury reaches a crescendo, open the records and your enemies find out there's nothing bad in them.

It's like waving a red flag at a bull, until you leap aside at the last moment and the bull is left with nothing.

DTH

[Auntie Bush]

32. Nothing in the files.

That is the exact same tactic I feared Bush was going to use regarding WMD. I still fear he will at least pretend to find WMD just before the election. However...I don't think that is Deans strategy as I'm sure he has nothing to hide.

[Hep]

28. You must have something to hide if you don't comply with these

heavy handed tactics.

I love the 4th amendment.

[ferg]

35. AWOL's national guard records

Funny. I don't remember the newspapers calling for full disclosure of Bush's AWOL records.

And there doesn't seem to be a general call for whoever exposed the CIA nuclear proliferation agent (Plame).

And I don't hear of a general call for making Cheney's energy records public.

Nor do I hear a call to explain Bush's super-secret driver's license change.

And I've missed the call to make the 9/11 records public.

Seems to me, that the newspaper is ingenuous when it says: "Dean has only one option: full and immediate disclosure."

I don't remember a single frigging newpaper article demanding the same for any of Shrub's secrets.

[DemBones DemBones]

36. Dean MADE this an issue. If he hadn't insisted on a longer seal

than is customary for governors in Vermont, there'd be no story. Since he did, people want to know what he's hiding. We all feel sure Bush* has things he's hiding but he's got a certain number of voters who apparently will stay with him whatever happens (they've drunk the Kool-Aid.) Dean also has fiercely committed people who'd evidently stay with him no matter what's proven about him. The restof the electorate, however, doesn't want to vote for someone who's hiding something.

"Personal" correspondence written by a governor is not private. Black out the names of people who wrote to him about their lives with HIV and show us the files. We want to know what's in there about the money he got from the Koch Brothers, Entergy, and Vermont Yankee. We want to know if he influenced Vermont Yankee to accept Entergy's bid as a quid pro quo for money he received from Entergy and/or the Koch brothers.

Dick Morris is a sleaze but a sleaze who knows politics and Deanies waste their time attacking Morris when he's identifying a real problem that will hurt their candidate. No other Dem has records that he won't make public.

[w4rma]

49. If it's an issue, then it will spread to Shrub and put pressure on Shrub

to open his or have a light shined on the fact that Bush* won't open his records.

I do not think that Dean should open his records until Bush is forced to open an equal amount of his records also (from both his term in the White House - energy records, 9.11 records, especially - and his term as governor of Texas).

[Marines for Clark]

38. Bush records are open in Texas why not Dean open his

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

40. Step in this room and answer a simple question, please.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=108&topic_id=96196&mesg_id=96196

[0007]

45. Get fucking real!!