Kavulla Misses Point on Dean’s Popularity

To the editors:

In its issue of Sept. 16, The Crimson published an unfortunate Comment entitled “Dean’s Inevitable Fall” by Travis R. Kavulla. In a series of flippant dismissals, Kavulla misses both the substance of Dean’s campaign and its momentum among independents and core Democratic voters.

First, Kavulla claims that most Americans, or in his words, “those who are not the privileged rich kids that populate antiwar protests,” will object that Dean stands too far to the left of the American mainstream. That Dean is running well among students is undeniable, but this should not be turned into a mark against him. For example, Dean is currently running about even with Richard Gephardt in Iowa, a state that is hardly overrun with Kavulla’s “liberal rich kids.”

Instead, Dean’s success in Iowa and elsewhere can be attributed to his unswerving criticism of the Bush Administration’s budgetary irresponsibility. He is the only Democrat who has offered a compelling alternative to the Bush “tax cuts at any cost,” credit card, fiscal policy. Dean has unabashedly committed to repealing the Bush tax cuts, allowing him to implement the centerpiece of his vision of progressive government: universal health care, a goal supported by 60% of all Americans.

Kavulla also manages to misconstrue Dean’s position on the status of American troops in Iraq, absurdly accusing Dean of attempting to “demoralize” them. Despite Dean’s opposition to the war, he has in fact committed himself to provide the necessary resources to fulfill our obligations to the Iraqi people.

Finally, Kavulla argues that Dean will be an easy target for Republican attacks, noting that over a third of Americans “rank terrorism or defense as the ‘most important issue’ of concern to them.” However, Kavulla neglects the fact that an even larger number of Americans (6 out of 10 in a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll) rank “jobs and the economy” over the war on terrorism in terms of importance.

Ultimately, it is unfortunate that several Democratic candidates are perpetuating the caricature of Dean as an out-of-touch Northeastern liberal Democrat. Dean’s ability to appeal to a large fraction of the electorate is

underscored by his resounding success in all the states where he has spent significant amounts of time. As a social liberal and fiscal conservative, he matches up very well against George Bush in a general election.

GREGORY A. ELINSON ’04

BENJAMIN E. LAUDERDALE ’04

Sept. 16, 2003

The writers are co-chairs of the Harvard Students for Howard Dean.