Defying Labels Left or Right

By Aziz P. -
This NYT piece is the kind of broad, accurate overview that clearly says "Dean has arrived." There is a wealth if detail here, perfect for a prospective supporter to get a good feel for the truth about Dean and be immunized against "he's too liberal" or "Dean = McGovern" memes.

Some of the info was new to me, for instance:

He inherited a state budget deficit of about 11 percent, the highest income taxes in the country and the lowest bond rating in New England.

To the dismay of liberals in the Legislature who wanted to expand social and environmental programs, Dr. Dean and his chief economic adviser, Harlan Sylvester, a conservative stockbroker and investment banker, stuck with the Snelling budget-cutting plan. Helped by a booming economy, the state's finances improved sharply. Dr. Dean lowered income tax rates by 30 percent and put away millions in a rainy day fund. Vermont's bond rating became the highest in the Northeast.

In his last term, Dr. Dean won a change in law so that Vermont taxes were not automatically lowered by Mr. Bush's cut in federal income taxes, and Vermont had a comfortable surplus this spring when most other states faced crippling budget shortfalls.


I wasn't aware that Vermont avoided the tax cuts - and what a wonderful example Vermont makes as a result for what Dean can achieve.

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