Gephardt's votes against Welfare Reform, NAFTA , WTO

[JI7]

does anyone think the fact gephardt voted against welfare reform , nafta, and wto would hurt in the general election ? this would appeal to the "reagan democrats" kerry is hoping to get in swing states like ohio. but how about some moderate , swing voter types who usually support these things, especially welfare reform. especially since kerry has to now appeal to moderate voters. gephardt's vote against welfare reform might hurt. overall it wont matter as much as if kerry himself had made those votes.but i was wondering how this might affect the general election.

[WilliamPitt]

1. Wait, I thought he was a punkass sellout?

I've heard that on DU.

Gep voted against welfare reform , nafta, and wto?

Gosh.

He sounds like Kucinich.

:)

[kiahzero]

2. But only one of those matters

Don't you know? To some, the only three things in the history of the universe that matter are:

1) NAFTA
2) USA PATRIOT
3) IWR

Of course, by this Ron Paul should be our next VP and Wellstone was a sellout.

:eyes:

[emulatorloo]

5. Next thing I know, you'll be "Nobody But Gephardt"

It is hard to keep up with you!

;-)

[AP]

3. What I want to know is,

is anyone bothered by him making life hard for Clinton in '94?

He comes off very poorly in Blumenthals's The Clinton Wars, IIRC.

[chimpymustgo]

4. Can you tell us more, AP?

Haven't read the book, but perhaps I should. And John Kerry.

[JI7]

6. Kerry was Senator at the time

he is very close to gephardt and he knows how things were. but many of the things gephardt opposed were things kerry supported such as the things i listed so i was wondering if it might be an issue if he were to pick gep as vp . how they would explain the differences and whether gephardt voting against welfare reform will hurt kerry. because kerry has to appeal to moderates now and most of them support welfare reform.

[AP]

8. Kerry is not going to be hurt by a VP who seems to the left of him on

domestic and economic issues.

To me, Gephardt has a dual persona -- I think most Americans either do or can easily be led to appreciate him as a man who cares about the working class, which is good. However, the other part of his persona is that he's like wallpaper. He's always been there in the background of American politcs, just sort of hanging there. He has a pattern and a design, but it's hard to say that he's done much more than just hang on the walls. And just when you thought you had changed the wallpaper in your House's living room, someone's bringing it back to put up in the walls of your office.

Maybe that's the role of the VP, but it just seems to close doors rather than open them.

[AP]

7. p 270-1: Blumenthal writes about a speech Gep gave at Harvard

On fast track he criticized Clinton for being a slightly more compassionate version of the other side.

"He was speaking as though he were president, or a presidential candidate, forgetting that his job was to manage the Democratic Caucus. Instantly, he found himself assailed by supporters of the President in the House and he started to retreat."

IIRC, the impression I had when I first read this was that this was a time when Clinton looked like he might turn out to be a one-termer, and rather than help Clinton negotiate his proposals through Congress, Gep openly criticized them, which was not the appropriate role for House leader. And the reason for this was possibly his own ambition to run in '96 in a Ted Kennedy-like move against a Carter-like incumb.

Other Gep ref's:

p 232: Begala worked for Gep, as did Steph, p. 325, who comes off very poorly in the book. Steph is portrayed as Chicken Little -- he always thought the worst was going to happen and believed that Clinton would have to quit the race in '92 due to the scandals.

p. 360 Bob Shrum is very close to Kennedy and Gep.

All other references are about Gep's loyalty to Clinton during the impeachment.

[chimpymustgo]

9. Thanks, AP. Gep makes me uncomfortable.

I appreciate your digging up that info.

[venus]

13. If Gep voted against Clinton programs such as

welfare reform, NAFTA, and WTO Clinton programs, then I guess he would be considered making life hard for Clinton. Haven't read the book though. Isn't there a movie out from the book?

[Radical Activist]

10. Why did Gep talk about NAFTA but not WTO

during the campaign? Maybe because he helped negotiate the WTO. Is there anything he didn't compromise on by the time he left as leader?

[JI7]

11. he did talk about it

he went after kerry for supporting it.

[WI_DEM]

12. boy this post makes me think favorably towards Gep

given his votes against welfare reform, nafta.

[democratreformed]

14. It doesn't bother me....

As a matter of fact, I like it.