Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean spoke to a sprawling crowd in the EMU Amphitheater Friday afternoon, criticizing President Bush’s war in Iraq and his economic policy during a rally for Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry.
During his address, Dean lent his support to Kerry and encouraged University students to not only vote, but to become actively involved with local political campaigns.
“Voting gets you a ‘D,’ I want you to run for office,” Dean said. He also said Bush has not prioritized funding for education.
“We can’t afford to cut the Pell Grant in order to give people who make a million dollars a year their tax credits,” Dean said.
Dean identified healthcare as another key issue for students. “We need a system of healthcare for every single American,” he said. “John Kerry will do that, and George Bush won’t.”
The rally drew a massive and boisterous crowd, with students and University community members filling the amphitheater, sprawling onto the EMU balcony overlooking the venue and sitting in the bushes near the stage for a chance to glimpse at Dean.
Hundreds of people turned out to see former Vermont governor Howard Dean speak on behalf of presidential candidate John Kerry in the EMU Amphitheater on Friday afternoon.
Dean attended the rally as part of three-campus swing through Oregon on Friday that later took him through Oregon State University and Portland State University.
| Howard Dean emphasizes potential for young voters to sway election In an exclusive interview with the Oregon Daily Emerald before Friday’s rally, former Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean discussed his message for college students. Dean emphasized the importance of young voters in the election, saying the potential for youth voters to sway the election prompted his collegiate tour. “I think John Kerry can win here,” Dean said. “I think the youth vote, the student vote, is going to be very important. If we get a big turnout among young people, John Kerry is going to be the next president.” Dean also stressed the possibility of a new military draft as a key issue for students. Dean, who served in Vietnam during the time of the draft, said he would not want today’s students to be subjected to a draft. “It’s likely that George Bush will have a draft if he is re-elected as president because of over-reliance on troops that simply aren’t there,” he said. He said he supports Kerry’s plan to increase military strength while pulling American forces out of Iraq and replacing them with foreign troops. “Basically, the president is kind of down to our last troops in terms of all his military adventures,” Dean said. Dean said he agreed with Kerry that America has lost respect from other nations. “It’s true,” he said. “I’d like to make America the moral leader of the world again.” Dean also said the environment, jobs, health care and public education are key issues for students. He called Kerry a “terrific environmentalist,” while criticizing President Bush’s policies on student financing, saying Bush has tried to cut funding for Federal Pell Grants and AmeriCorps. When asked if he would alter any of Kerry’s stances from Thursday’s presidential debate, Dean said he would not have made any changes. “No, I was very pleased with what he said, particularly about the war.” –Parker Howell |
Calling the current administration a “group of extremist radicals,” Dean challenged President Bush’s record on the war in Iraq and the economy. Dean criticized Bush for misleading the country about intelligence used to present a case for the war in Iraq.
“We want a president who will stand up for America, but who will tell the truth,” he said.
He denounced Bush’s use of the military as well, saying he hasn’t listened to advisers who cautioned him to send more troops to Iraq. “George Bush can’t manage the military when he doesn’t listen to them,” Dean said.
Dean also reprimanded the president for his tax cuts, saying they don’t benefit students.
“I’d like president who cares about giving tax cuts to people like you rather than people like me,” he said.
He said Kerry will be more fiscally responsible than Bush by creating a balanced budget.
“I’m voting for John Kerry because we can trust him with our money,” he said.
He added that electing Kerry is the first step to preventing “a group of radicals” from taking over “the greatest country on Earth.” “We’re going to take this country back for the people who built it, and that’s us,” Dean said.
College Democrats member Jordan Sandler, who introduced Dean, said the former Vermont governor is a source of inspiration.
“He got me excited about politics and about the power I can have as a young student, and I think he probably connects best of any politician with our generation,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s really important students were able to hear him.”
Sandler said he was honored to introduce Dean. “To be able to introduce him here today, it’s really an experience I will never forget because I admire him,” he said.
Sandler called Dean an asset to the Kerry campaign. “I think the Kerry/Edwards campaign really benefits from having Howard Dean go out and talk to us because he really connects with our generation,” he said.
Graduate student Theodore Martin said he attended the rally to support Dean, whom he voted for in the Democratic primary earlier this year. Martin said Dean’s speech was “solid,” saying he agreed that both major parties have become too extreme.
“I like how he was trying to bring America together,” he said.
Freshman Lisa Higbie, who said she was a Kerry supporter, said she came to support the Democratic nominee. Higbie said she agreed with Dean that electing Kerry is only the first step for many Democrats.
“He said electing Kerry is necessary, but not sufficient,” she said. “Having him in office is not going to solve everything Bush has gotten us into with the war and the economy.”
Not everyone who attended the rally was a Kerry supporter, however. Sophomore Kevin Riedel, who carried a Bush/Cheney sign at the rally, said he turned out to show his support for the president. “We just wanted to show everyone that this isn’t only a liberal campus,” he said.
Pre-journalism major Amelie Matier has Howard Dean to sign her shirt after his speech in the EMU Amphitheater on Friday.
Riedel said he disagreed with Dean’s assertion that “radicals” have taken over the Republican Party. “I just don’t think it is a reliable statement,” he said. “We believe what we believe, and we stand by it.”
Junior Melissa Tucker also attended the rally to support Bush, although she said many people with Kerry signs tried to block her during the event. She said it wasn’t Dean’s place to call Bush a liar. “There’s a lot of people out there saying Bush is a liar,” she said. “I don’t understand their authority.”
Despite the presence of supporters from both political camps, the rally was largely calm. Department of Public Safety officer Lt. Herb Horner said DPS didn’t need to call out additional officers to provide security for the rally and that there were no incidents, except for some heated debate after the event.
