Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean was the top fundraiser among the Democratic presidential candidates for the reporting period that ended yesterday. Dean raised more than seven million dollars.
Governor Dean recently joined New Hampshire Public Radio to talk about his vision for the country.
On health care, Dean has a proposal would greatly reduce the number of people without health insurance. He estimates the cost would be about 90 billion dollars a year. But Dean also says he plans to balance the federal budget. In his last term as governor, Dean faced a deficit and proposed a cut in Medicaid. NHPR?s Jon Greenberg asked Dean about his priorities.
Greenberg: If you become president, what is to say you won?t make the same trade off again. In other words, with the goal of reducing the deficit, you reduce the generousness of your health care package.
Dean: We might. As you know, Medicaid is an incredibly generous program and I believe that you don?t give Cadillacs for everything. I tell Senior groups that I want a prescription benefit but expect to pay something. What we did in Vermont was remove some benefits that aren?t covered by most insurance companies and I don?t feel that Medicaid has to have a better insurance package than everybody else. I think it ought to be the same.?
While Dean might curtail his health care proposals to balance the budget, he says cuts in defense spending are not on the table. But Dean speaks of defense in broad terms.
Dean:
?I think it would be foolish to reduce spending on defense at a time when we?re under threat. I disagree with the President about what those threats are, but here?s what we need money for: we need money to buy the uranium and plutonium stockpiles of Russia, which this president is not doing. We need money to change our oil policy. We need to inspect the 98% of cargo containers that come into this country uninspected. We need money to give to the states to help them in homeland security. So I think cutting our defense and homeland security budgets is a mistake. I would reallocate it in a different way than the president does because I don?t think the president has defended this country as much as he?s talked about.?
Several Democrats see a strong link between defense and energy policy. Dean believes that a big gap in the country?s energy system is a shortage of the infrastructure to move power from state to state. He thinks Washington needs to intervene on several fronts.
Dean:
?For example, one of the things I?d do is build transmission lines in the Midwest. There?s a huge potential wind power in the Midwest. The Republicans, the right wing, says this Birkenstock environmentalism. The dutch today get 16% of their energy from wind. We are falling behind because of the lack of interest in this administration in renewable energy.
Secondly, we need conservation. Ethanol is controversial. I think it works. I think 10% ethanol in everybody?s gas tanks reduces the amount of MTBE we put in people?s water by way of their gas tanks. I think it reduces the world?s demand for oil by 2%. It dramatically changes both the amount of greenhouse gas pollution and it dramatically changes the world oil markets to do those kinds of things.
And we haven?t even talked about increases in mileage standards for SUV?s and trucks.?
Dean enjoys the support of many liberal voters. But he calls himself a pragmatist and that label carries through to his position on gun control. The National Rifle Association gives Dean high marks. When questioned by NHPR?s Trish Anderton, Dean made it clear, when it comes to guns, he does not look for stronger laws from Washington.
Dean:
?I see gun control as a state problem, not a national problem. Some states need lots of it. Let them have it. My attitude it, this is not a federal issue. Let?s enforce the laws we have. I support the assault weapons ban and the Brady Bill which stops criminals from getting hand guns. I have yet to meet a hunter who thinks criminals should have guns. But after that, why not let every state decide how much more gun control they want. If any.
Anderton: What about the law suits over liability. Do you think gun makers should be able to be sued for things people do with guns?
Dean:
?I think that depends on what they do. If it?s clearly a case of dealers who are crooked and selling people guns that they ought not to sell them, I think that?s a case for the jury to decide.?
Former Vermont Governor and Democratic presidential candidate, Howard Dean. NHPR will bring you more interviews with the presidential candidates in the weeks to come.
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