Howard on Face the Nation, Full Transcript

I’ve transcribed Howard Dean’s appearance on Face the Nation, and I’ve added both that transcript and the other one I did recently to the left sidebar (which admittedly hadn’t been updated for quite a while). Thank you Linda in Cincinnati for the annotated Google video. You can recommend her Kos diary here. And while you’re over there, you can help out Oscar with his survey.

Howard Dean on Face the Nation, Sunday, September 3, 2006

Howard Dean’s Speech to the DNC in Chicago, August 19, 2006

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Howard Dean on Face the Nation (Part 1)

Thank you Linda in Cincinnati for the annotated Google video. Just so you know, I ventured into eel infested waters to get that link, since no one crossposted it here. This is part 1 of the transcript.

Russ Mitchell started by asking Howard Dean what makes him think that things are going to be different this time around, when the Republicans have used the issue of defense/security to their advantage so well in the past.

Howard Dean: Because the truth is that the Republicans look increasingly incompetent in defending our nation. Five years into the Bush presidency and a Republican majority, we see Iran is about to get nuclear weapons. North Korea not only has them but is expanding the number of nuclear weapons, Osama bin Laden is still at large. And I think the American people realize that Iraq was a war of choice and that the real war is the war on terror. And the Democrats want a new direction in our defense policy–we want to fight the war on terror. That means capturing or killing Osama bin Laden, focusing *on* the terrorists in northwest Pakistan, and we don’t think that the Iraq war is the right way to fight the war on terror, because it simply has nothing to do with the war on terror.

The interviewer hauls out the old Republican talking point that Democrats are quick to criticize but have no plan for how to fight the war on terror.

Howard Dean: That’s actually completely untrue, and I think you can ask Senator McConnell who voted *against* a Democratic proposal to increase money for first responders so they can synchronize their radio, voted against the proposal–with many of the other Republicans–for more port security, more aviation security, more rail security. In many ways, the Republicans have turned down the suggestions that the Democrats have for improving our ability to defend our homeland, and we think it’s time for a new direction.

Russ Mitchell brings up what happened in Connecticut with Joe Lieberman, a *cough* “moderate Democrat” in Connecticut, and asked if moderate Democrats are going to have a rough time over “this Iraq issue”.

Howard Dean: I think anybody who is supporting President Bush’s policy is going to have a rough time, and that includes an awful lot of Republicans. …This morning, a leading Republican said that Rumsfeld should resign. Chris Shays has said that we should have a timetable for getting out of Iraq. Republicans are leaving a sinking ship, and the sinking ship is the Republican approach to the war in Iraq and to the war on terror.

Russ Mitchell: Do you think Secretary Rumsfeld should resign?

Howard Dean: Of course I think he should resign. He’s fundamentally incompetent, and he’s also not very smart politically. Sixty percent of the American people believe the war in Iraq was a mistake. Secretary Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney have gone on television saying people who disagree with the president are essentially like Nazi appeasers. You know, when you start attacking voters out of your frustration, that is not a good thing for winning elections, and I think that’s one of the reasons the Republicans are in trouble. We need a new direction. Staying the course for a failed strategy is not a good direction.

Russ Mitchell asked if Rumsfeld is going to be a “whipping boy” for the Democrats.

Howard Dean: What we want is a new direction for this country, and not just a new direction in the war on terror. I think what we haven’t talked about is the Republican war on the American family. We’ve seen real wages go down $2300 since the president’s been in office, every year a million new middle class Americans lose their health insurance. The Republican majority has reduced Pell Grants and made it harder for middle class families’ kids to go to college. We need a new direction, both at home and in defending America.

Russ Mitchell: In your mind, what is the biggest hurdle the Democratic candidates are going to have to overcome this election?

Howard Dean: I think the Republicans have a good machine. They may not know how to govern, but they know how to win elections. For a long time, we were not fighting back, now we are, we know what we want, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got great candidates, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. You know, we’re a little rusty at winning elections.

More to come. Maybe you can do some shopping while you wait for the rest.

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