I’ve been hearing a bit about Howard Dean, especially from Britt Blaser over at Escapable Logic. Tonight, I decided to go see for myself what was up. Anyway, I went over to the dean website to have a look at his stand on issues. (That’s the important part.)

Every once in a while, I enjoy diving into something, ignoring everything I can’t prove with source material, and find out really where I stand. When I’m doing this I start with a clean slate. It’s important to me to not to be trying to find facts that support a particular view point. I’m know that “Truth” is out there, and that the closer I get to “Truth” in my views on the world the better off I will. Fortunately, I’ve had no arguments with anyone about the presidential election, so I went into this with very little “bias”

Here are my “Notes” - extracts of text from his site, as well as my thoughts.

They fail to meet the basic standard of economic justice: decent, well-paying jobs for all who want them.

Huh?! I though the basic standard of economic justice was “I don’t take your money or stuff and you don’t take mine”. A “well paying job” is basic justice? No way. All well, lets keep reading.

Millions of Americans, from young people just out of school, to others who are the victims of massive layoffs, are underemployed in jobs that fail to take advantage of their talents or reward their reasonable expectations.

“Victims?” Huh? If the company thinks it would be better off without me working there what is wrong with laying me off? The foundation of American economics is that both sides of a deal feel that they are in a win situation. If one side, either me or a company, feel that we would be better without the other, then so be it.

Month after month, for nearly three years, manufacturers have fired more workers than they hired, and the world-class manufacturing sector that has been the heart of America’s strength continues to shrink.

So what is wrong with people moving into other fields of work than manufacturing? I thought we were moving out of the “Industrial Era” into a more information centered one?

I went digging around the web and found American manufacturing sales statistics. (site here) Adjusted for inflation, after the recession’s drop, manufacturing sales are now holding level - it’s not continuing to shrink.

As President, I will make job creation a top priority. Good jobs are the result of sound fiscal policies, progressive tax practices, and practical, necessary investments in our communities. To this end, I will propose the repeal of every last dime of the Bush tax cuts. I will work to eliminate tax policies that provide incentives for American firms to move manufacturing jobs offshore. And I will propose new ways to help small businesses access the capital they need for growth, job retention, and plant modernization so that they can compete successfully in the global economy. I will also support increased funding for workforce training.

Hmm. So by taxing companies heavier, they will have more money to spend on employees?

If we are serious about improving American education, however, we must not forget that the single most important factor in a child’s learning has less to do with the quality of the building, the computers, or even the teachers. The most important predictor is the attitude in that child’s home toward education. We must involve parents again; we must insist that they participate in their children’s education, and we must make schools and school boards responsive to parents.

Hey, we partially agree on something. Parents are indeed the key to a child’s education.

But we must under no circumstances abandon the public schools, as the Bush Administration seems bent on doing.

Hey, if one of you Dean know-it-all’s ;) could find out for me. Did the Dean children go to private schools? Also Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the percentage of Democrat congressmen with children in private, rather than public schools? 38%, actualy. (Survey details here) A monopoly on education is just as bad as a monopoly on anything else.

And fourth, ensure that life on our fragile planet is sustainable.

By who’s definition? “Sustainable” is a scary word. It usually means somebody wants to take your stuff. :P

I will support affirmative action, from which we have all benefited, because it has strengthened our institutions and provided opportunity.

I though making hiring or promotion decisions based on race was a bad thing?

I will unflinchingly defend a woman’s right to choose against those who would take away this right.

Translation: I believe woman should be able to kill their children when it pleases them.

I will appoint an Attorney General who sees our constitution not just as a document to be manipulated, ignored, and violated, but who recognizes and respects it as the fabric that binds the American community together.

Hey, another partial agreement. I say partial, because after the what I’ve read so far, I’m distrustful of “respects” as opposed to “does not violate”, or “follows”.

I will oppose expansion of the Patriot Act, efforts to remove sunset clauses included in the act, and I will seek to repeal the portions of the Patriot Act that are unconstitutional.

I agree.

Sadly, President Bush and his House Republican colleagues have consistently tried to block or de-fund measures that would help rural Americans.  They slashed funding for value added grants for small farmers,

In other words, the government has stopped taking money from me, and giving to to support economically unviable enterprises? I’m all for it. ;)