Md. primary prep: the dish on the Dems

Howard Dean

As the erstwhile front-runner turned inactive candidate, former Vermont governor Howard Dean made more news with his media blunders than his positive, anti-war campaign. A retired physician with a strong record in multiple state offices, Dean has a history of fiscal conservancy, successful state management and consistent opposition to the war in Iraq. Throughout the campaign, these have been his most powerful assets.

During his gubernatorial tenure, he managed to pay off the state's 70 million dollar budget deficit and cut income taxes twice, while guaranteeing health care for every Vermonter under 18. Dean has also been vociferous in his criticism of the war in Iraq, as well as his fellow Democrats in Congress, who authorized the Bush administration to go forward. Moreover, Dean has stood out as a very liberal candidate because of his support for gay and lesbian civil unions and a woman's right to choose. He also has a firm record of environmental stewardship. Yet the good doctor does have some conservative appeal, both because of his fiscal tendencies and his record of gun rights advocacy. While he has ceased campaigning, Dr. Dean's name is still on the ballot.

http://www.deanforamerica.com

Sen. John Edwards

A young, handsome freshman senator from South Carolina, John Edwards has had a surprising amount of success given his short tenure on the national political scene. Before running for the U.S. Senate in 1998, Edwards made a career as a lawyer defending families and children against corporate negligence.

While in Congress, Edwards has made his mark advocating core Democratic values, such as environmental protection, saving Social Security and Medicare and safeguarding civil liberties. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Edwards also worked on Homeland security, national defense and cyber security issues. The senator from the South has run a very positive, albeit somewhat nebulous campaign for the Democratic nomination.

Some critics claim that while Edwards has not defined himself as another Bush-basher, he has not told voters much about what he would do in office if elected president. He is, however, a strong advocate for low- and middle-income American families, and has said that he would work to benefit them, while restoring fiscal conservatism in Washington.

http://www.johnedwards2004.com

Sen. John Kerry

The Massachusetts senator and husband of Teresa Heinz Kerry, heir to the Heinz (think ketchup) family fortune, was one of the first to begin vying for the nomination.

Throughout his campaign and even more so now, Kerry has pushed his naval service in Vietnam and his subsequent opposition to the war as one of his defining characteristics. Kerry was awarded several medals for bravery upon his return, but swiftly became the spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War in 1971. As a member of Congress since, Kerry has worked on the Senate Foreign Service Committee and, some critics charge, has been more involved in investigations and inquiries than writing legislation. However, Kerry has stood out as a champion of women's rights, war veterans, education, the environment and tax breaks for low-income Americans.

The senator has been a harsh critic of the Bush administration's supposed courtship of the rich and privileged, as well as the management of the war in Iraq. Kerry, though he voted in favor of the invasion, says that George W. et al have botched the rebuilding job. Moreover, Kerry promises to create 3 million jobs in his first 500 days in office if elected president, and to provide affordable health care for all Americans.

http://www.johnkerry.com

Congressman Dennis Kucinich

In 1971, Kucinich made his mark as the youngest mayor of a major American city, Cleveland, Ohio. His term as mayor was marked by a confrontation between the city and bank lenders over a municipal utility, in which he refused to sell the city-owned electricity provider to a competitor, i.e. one of the bank's largest customers.

The conflict ended with the bank throwing the city into default and Kucinich losing his re-election bid. He later staged a political comeback in his run for U.S. Congress, because as it turned out, his refusal to sell out in 1971 resulted in cheap electricity for Cleveland residents. While in office, Kucinich has defined himself as a steward of civil, social and economic interests, advocating for the rights of workers, retirees and Cleveland's poor. Kucinich is also staunchly anti-war, anti-Patriot Act, anti-NAFTA and believes in the merits of a federally-sponsored universal health care system. Too boot, he's also the only vegan in Congress.

http://www.kucinich.us

Reverend Al Sharpton

Ordained as a minister at the ripe young age of 10, the Reverend Al Sharpton is no stranger to life in the public eye. He began his civil rights crusade as an adolescent in Brooklyn, N.Y., and in 1969 became the prot??g?? of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson.

After graduating from high school, he manifested his political activism in a group called the National Youth Movement, and a few years later became the tour manager for soul singer James Brown. Sharpton entered politics in 1978 as the first African American to run for a N.Y. State Senate seat.

Since then, however, he has been involved in many racially charged incidents, always fighting on the side of minorities and the disadvantaged. As a presidential candidate, Sharpton has emphasized his platform of fighting for "Fundamental Human Rights," those being the right to vote (as he points to some 600,000 disenfranchised D.C. residents), the right to equality of health care and public education. Moreover, Sharpton believes taxpayer money should be spent on improving domestic life, rather than fighting costly wars overseas.

http://www.al2004.org