Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2003/10/23/democrats_mock_debate_mocked.php
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Amid a dozen or so balloons of red, white, and blue, and excited students handing out Howard Dean stickers, seven Dartmouth upperclassmen—one "proxy" for each Democratic candidate—debated issues facing those candidates in this year's Democratic primaries.
Represented were Senators John Edwards by Philip Peisch '04, Bob Graham by David Hankins '05 , Joe Lieberman by Matthew Slaine '06, John Kerry by Janos Marton '04, former Vermont state governor Howard Dean by Graham Roth '04, former NATO supreme commander General Wesley Clark by Brian Martin '06, and Representative Dick Gephardt by Vikash Reddy '05. Sadly absent from the mock debate were representatives of sideshow candidates Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich, and Carol Moseley Braun.
After a few words from moderator Paul Heintz, President of the Young Democrats, the candidates were given an opportunity for brief introductions. John Edwards was introduced by his proxy Peish '04 as a "strong supporter of homeland security," whose inherent "electability," and his history in the Senate and as a trial lawyer, make him a worthy challenger in next year's election. According to his David Hankins '05, Bob Graham intends to commit resources to infrastructure rebuilding in Iraq; he has the ability to beat Bush in a "deeply divided country," having succeeded in the "deeply divided" state of Florida.
Graham Roth '04 said, "sucked into state government," Howard Dean is "not in politics to further his career," but "to fight for the American people." Spirits in the room rose to a climax as Dean's student representative affirmed, "This election is about giving Americans something to believe in." The torch was quickly passed to General Wesley Clark's proxy, Brian Martin '06 who denounced a "reckless war in Iraq with no foreseeable exit," and suggested a "return to multilateralism."
At first, it seemed as if the BuzzFlood crew would have more exploits to lend to their list of distinguished sons and daughters of Dartmouth, for the student representing Senator Joe Lieberman was elected to the United States Senate in 1988. Strike that'slaine '06 was only reading off his notes in the first person. He claimed that Bush not only will hurt the environment, but will continue to "favor the wealthy with his faulty government," if reelected.
Concentrating on the economy, Dick Gephardt's student supporter recounted how "Dick Gephardt knows how to turn this economy around," whether through repealing the Bush tax cut, or through positive investment strategies. Janos Marton, representing Senator John Kerry, took over, suggesting that "A bunch of these candidates can beat Bush," indicating that now is the time to review the issues so that voters would know who to support come the primary elections. Favoring "substance over soundbites," Marton promised that Kerry would "take the country back from right-wing extremists."
The first issue to confront the students was the reconstruction of Iraq. Dean's debater, Roth, expressed disgust at the fact that the United States "spent billions of dollars, thousands of lives, destroying a country." Lieberman suggested asking NATO for assistance and committing more troops to the region; Clark intended to request help from the United Nations. Claiming that the United States has "needed their help for fifty years," Clark's representative also said that we cannot give up on Iraq. Building on this concept, Marton suggested that Kerry has the "credibility" needed to secure assistance from the UN; Dick Gephardt's debater believed that Bush never had the necessary credibility with the UN.
Regarding the economy, Edwards expressed indignation towards giving tax cuts to families who make more than 200,000 dollars per year, while proposing a ten-percent cut in the federal workforce to work towards a decent budget. Not only does Kerry have "a great plan on health care that will cover twenty-seven uninsured Americans," according to Janos Marton, spending on the war in Iraq can be salvaged by repealing the tax cuts made for the wealthiest one percent of the population.
Asked about marriage laws, Gephardt, Edwards, Dean, Lieberman, and Graham all supported gay and lesbian rights, and Edwards was the only candidate to directly argue against gay marriages.
Regarding Bush's "atrocious" environmental policy, Kerry asserted his intentions to "re-examine" the Kyoto Protocol and be the "most environmentally conscious President." Graham's debater detailed initiatives aimed at better hydrogen-powered cars and outfitting federal buildings with solar panels.
With the debate winding down, students were confronted by the issue of protecting America from terrorism. General Clark's representative affirmed that the American armed forces must remain the most powerful in the world—but he said that use of America's military might must be the last resort. Edwards proposed the creation of a new government organization designed to safeguard the homeland, though with a system of internal review to ensure that Americans' civil liberties are not violated.
In closing, the candidates each affirmed their ability to succeed against Bush. Besides Lieberman's "fears" for our nation's future, most candidates expressed hope that a candidate will be elected who can defeat Bush. Apparently, it seems that this election year's breed of Democratic candidates are united not by issues important to voters, rather by a severe disdain for Bush.