First: it’s Barack birthday. The crowd has just sung Happy Birthday.
Three segments: domestic; foreign; philosophy.
First question to Richardson. Your model Supreme Court Justice was White, even though White dissented in Roe and Miranda. Have you given more thought to that answer?
Richardson: I screwed up on that. I love JFK, and if JFK appointed him…, but it was a screw-up. An important legacy of any president is the Court. My court will have diversity; it will have legal scholars. Here is what I would ask: do you believe that the law is settled in civil rights, in privacy, Roe v. Wade? If they don’t, I won’t consider them. This has been a bad year on the Court.
Q to Dodd: what circumstances would be extreme enough to accept another Bush nomination?
Dodd: most troubling aspect of this administration is its trampling on the Constitution. Supporting any Bush Supreme Court nomination before the 08 election would be a mistake. I don’t regret my vote to support Roberts, because I believed him when he said he’d respect precedent, but he hasn’t done that.
Q to Clinton: what are the “battle scars” from the last health care debate, and what are the lessons?
Clinton: I’m proud of the 93-94 health care effort I led. It’s a disgrace that we have 45 million uninsured, and millions more that are underinsured. We are all in favor of universal health care. Stark contrast to GOP. 3 lessons: 1: not enough to have a plan; you need a political strategy. 2: imperative that we assemble a coalition of as many affected groups as possible — docs, hospital administrators, etc. — that can withstand the incredible blowback from insurance and Pharma. 3: tactical mistakes in 93-94. But having been in the Senate, I have a good idea of how to marry goals with tactics.
Q to Obama: Is eradicating budget deficit your top priority, even if it means scaling back your other agenda items?
Obama: this has been the most fiscally irresponsible administration ever. We have to stop spending $$ in Iraq; reverse Bush tax cuts; institute pay-go rules that ensure that you can pay for tax cuts and new spending. But we also have investments to make in the American people. I’m not going to shortchange that we’ve got early childhood education; not going to neglect universal health care (and some of tax cut money goes to cover the uninsured). Over the long term, those investments will generate tax revenue.
Q: so you would tolerate some deficit?
A: [not clear how he answered]
Q to Edwards: would you tolerate the deficit where it is now to support programs? How do you prevent runaway spending in Congress?
Edwards: we need big changes in this country, not small changes. I believe this world is filled with people who are about change. There is a basic question to be answered: who is about change? And how do we bring about change? I don’t think insurance cos. etc. are going to voluntarily give away their power. This is an important fundamental question. If you want seriously big change, who will be the best candidate to do it? To bring about change, you need someone who has fought these people.
Richardson: Good speeches. But you’re looking at someone who has had to balance 5 budgets as Gov. What are we going to do about an obscene $5 billion debt? 1: spend money we’re spending in Iraq on Americans instead. 2: need constitutional amendment to balance budget and line-item veto. 3: pay-go rules. [cut off by moderator]
Q for Dodd (from audience): media consolidation and lack of viewpoint diversity threatens democracy. How do you support equal access?
Dodd: First, ask antitrust department about Murdoch buying Dow Jones. Should be doing it now, not waiting for new administration. Need to stand up when things get tough — to Bill O’Reilly, by the way. Consolidation should be a great concern.
Q for Clinton: do you agree?
Clinton: we need more competition, need architecture of internet to stay open, and will take a look at new laws if needed. I was encouraged by recent FCC ruling on auction. Must do what we can to open up media environment.
Q for Kucinich: don’t hear a lot about re-evaluating old programs. Is there a gov’t program to be shut down?
Kucinich: programs re perpetuating nuclear power industry should be shut down. Important for the American people to know that there’s a candidate who believes in universal single-payer health care. We spend $600 million a year on for-profit health care and paperwork. Take that money, and put it into single-payer health care.
Q for Edwards: current administration has consolidated power of executive branch under unitary executive idea. What will you do to restore balance among branches of gov’t?
Edwards: I will close Guantanamo on day 1, and America will not torture; no secret prisons; no illegal spying. We need a transparent government. We don’t have to wait for the next president. I don’t take money from lobbyists, nor does Obama. Let’s all commit to accept no money from DC lobbyists. We’ll challenge Republicans to do the same thing.
Q for Gravel: you support the “fair tax” — would eliminate IRS, corporate, and individual tax; replace with 23% sales tax. How do you ensure that low/moderate income people can still afford things?
Gravel: you have to understand how politics works. You’ve been cheering all these statements about what they’re going to do. It’s what you heard 4 years ago, 8 years ago, etc. They’re good at posing issues in ways that make them sounds like they know how to solve it. But they’re part of a system that doesn’t work. So don’t worry about the tax, because it will never pass Congress. You have to change the system.
End of domestic section. Now on to foreign policy.
Q for Clinton: you’ve all endorsed some form of legislation to get us out of Iraq. But at the last debate, Kucinich said that Congress should stop funding the war after a set date.
Clinton: that is one of our most powerful tools. That’s why I voted against the last appropriation, because it was time to send that strong a message. The House has different rules; we have to get to 60 votes. Here’s what we do: we have to keep the pressure on. As soon as I’m in, I will start process of withdrawing. That’s why I’m in the fight with Cheney and Adelman regarding plans for withdrawal. I don’t believe that Bush has put any serious pressure on the Maliki government. And we should be engaging in much more intense diplomatic efforts.
Kucinich: with Cheney, we should impeach him. Second, it is a fact that we gave Bush $97 billion a few weeks ago. But the Dems in Congress have not kept faith with American people who voted in 2006 to get out of Iraq.
Dodd: this policy has been a failure. What’s not a failure is the men and women serving in Iraq.
Richardson: I have a one-point plan to deal with Iraq: get out. I have a fundamental difference with other candidates: I think we should leave no residual forces.
Q: but how do you avoid the need to go back if there’s a civil war?
Richardson: we need to deauthorize the war.
Gravel: you have to know how to get the votes. Vote over and over and over again on cloture. But that’s not what they’re doing. We don’t need to be in all these other countries.
Q to Obama: Do you believe any responsibility for anti-Americanism that fuels global terror?
Obama: there’s no excuse for 9/11 — that was an act of evil. We need to hunt down those who are responsible. But they weren’t in Iraq. But now
we have invaded a country that was not responsible for 9/11, we botched it, and it’s a mess. So yes, we have fanned anti-American sentiment. NIE was clear that al Qaeda is as strong or stronger now than before 9/11. We have not always acted intelligently with respect to Middle East and Muslim countries.
Edwards: We are not safer under this president. He’s used GWOT to justify every single bad thing he’s done. We should not accept Bush’s frame for this issue. There’s a serious threat from terrorist groups, and president has to go after them, and I will. But there’s no long-term strategy.
Clinton: 3 points. 1: Question was not pointed where it needed to be. There’s a lot of anti-Bush feeling in the world, but it’s not at root anti-American. 2: we have made some progress in becoming safer, because our first responders are in better shape, but we’re not safe enough because Bush policies have allowed more terrorists to flourish. 3: al Qaeda are organized and determined to strike at us. Military force should be last, not first, resort. Have to be analytical about this problem — not a slogan, it’s a complicated long-term struggle where we have to protect American values.
Kucinich: country would have been better served by this kind of analysis before we got into Iraq. Not neocon doctrine of peace through strength, but strength through peace. Shift your thinking away from neocon doctrine.
Q for Obama: Americans are worried about China, but it’s the next superpower. How do we reconcile China as a mess with China as a superpower?
Obama: China is a competitor, but it doesn’t have to be an enemy. First, we have to get our house in order: if they’re our banker, we have a problem. Put pressure on them when it comes to human rights, trade. China is manipulating its currency; taking advantage of our markets. Most important thing we can do: make sure that we are active in the world. In Africa, Chinese presence is strong — building roads, etc. We must get out of Iraq not only because that’s the only way to pressure the Iraqi government, but also because it’s costing us opportunities in other countries.
Dodd: we need to understand that aspirations and hopes and dreams of people around the world are not different from ours. Peace Corps a good way to accomplish that. Support universal (not mandatory) service for anyone who wants to do it — AmeriCorps etc.
Q for Edwards: you said there’s a danger if Musharraf is out of power. Does this put us in a position where we’re an ally of a dictator, as in the cold war?
Edwards: Musharraf said that our kids are educated in madrassas. If we could give them a real public education, it would change everything. So we should increase aid for education, as well as stopping disease etc.; this will create an undercurrent moving people toward us rather than away from us as Bush has done. Congress should stop Saudi arms deal.
Richardson: Problem with Bush-Cheney policy on Musharraf is that it’s about appeasement. We’re not pushing him to go after terrorists in their safe haven. We have to push him with economic leverage, incl. sanctions. American foreign policy should stand for democracy and human rights. So we have to tell him to go after terrorists in their safe havens, and if you don’t we will.
Culture and experience.
Show of hands: everybody wants an official WH blogger. Edwards: and her name will be Elizabeth Edwards. Gravel: president should do his/her own blogging.
Obama: the only way change comes about is if you join with us in expanding the voter base. Our campaign is bringing new people into the process.
Kucinich: people don’t vote because they don’t think there’s much difference between the two parties.
Clinton: no commitment to go to all 50 states, but I’ll have a 50-state strategy. Dean’s strategy at the DNC is exactly right. When I ran for NY Senate, I campaigned across the state saying that even if you don’t vote for me, I want to be your senator. Same strategy for presidential campaign. Want to go to red states, and red parts of blue states, to open the conversation.
Richardson: there was a lot of resistance in Congress to building up state parties, but it’s been increasingly important to Dems winning. We need verifiable paper ballots, same-day registration, and stop the abuse of GOP suppressing minority voters. We need a nominee who energizes the American people.
Edwards: there is no place in America that doesn’t believe the system is rigged. They know who has DC power, and that it’s not them. We need to be the party and the candidate who stands up for real change, real reform. Need to start a grassroots movement for reform today.
Clinton: won’t commit to refusing lobbyist money. I won’t be influenced by an individual lobbyist. I wish it were as simple as saying “we’re going to do this.” The idea that a contribution will somehow influence me isn’t right. Lobbyists represent real people, like nurses, social workers.
Dodd: what we need is public financing for campaigns. [wild applause]
Show of hands: all candidate are for public financing.
Obama: disagree with the notion that lobbyists don’t have outsized influence. Insurance and pharma spent a lot of money in 93-94, and it had an effect. I helped get bundling disclosure into ethics bill.
Edwards: you are not represented in this room by DC lobbyists.
Kucinich: would Edwards expand that to include Wall St. hedge funds?
Edwards: won’t take money from lobbyists, but we have to raise money.
Q for Edwards: was it right to create Dept. of Homeland Security after 9/11?
Edwards: there is much work to be done in refining gov’t structure. But all Bush programs to take away civil liberties undermine America and don’t make us safer.
Richardson: yes, we restructure DHS. First, put appointees who know what they’re doing in place. 2: move FEMA outside DHS. 3: Shut down Guantanamo, restore habeas, respect Geneva Conventions.
Dodd: Vote taken last fall that established military commissions etc. was as bad a vote as the one cast in 2002. Constitution is at stake.
Obama: bigger question is what to do with the executive branch — my AG will not see Constitution as an inconvenience. In Obama WH, you will not be able to lobby after you serve in WH.
Clinton: re DHS: I sponsored legislation that passed placing qualifications on FEMA director, and Bush issued signing statement saying he didn’t have to follow it. We need to staff DHS with qualified people. And we need a constitutional amendment for public financing — I will introduce it.
Kucinich: Strength through peace.
Richardson: no war without consent of Congress; and my VP will be a member of the executive branch.