8/11/2019 Finally! Howard vs. Bernie | Vermont Times | Dec. 16, 1993

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Inpolitics there's ';lothing quite like a little New York-style

Name Calling seSSIOnto get everyone's attention.Last week, Vermont's health care battle was formally en-

gaged as former New Yorker, Governor Howard Dean, let fly

with the verbal artillery. His target was former New Yorker andfellow Burlingtonian - Congressman Bernie Sanders.

What's so unique about the skirmish is the fact it's taken Ho-Ho a dozen years to stand up and trade barbs with Vermont'sloudest political orator. During his ascent to political power, Dr.Dean always ducked direct disagreements with Bernie. Ho-Howas a close observer of the 1981 Sanderista Revolution that

captured Burlington's City Hall for the leftists, but he kept hisdistance. In those days when the City Council meetings wereaptly known as "Monday Night At The Fights," Ho-Ho stayedabove the fray. Even when Mayor Sanders attacked the MedicalCenter Hospital of Vermont, Dr. Dean kept quiet.

~indsight suggests that Gov. Dean's route to the top wasdeliberately charted to steer clear of the Queen City's political

~arfare. Th~GoodShip SSDean aalledsafely around Burlington'sJagged political shoals. Ho-Ho became chair of the county Demo-cratic Committee. His first real race was for a house seat fromBurlington's Old North End. Howard learned the ropes inMontpelier at Ralph Wright's knee, then ran for lieutenantgovernor - a heartbeat away. When Dick Snelling's heartgave out, Ho-Ho was.in position to achieve what almost no one

believed he could have accomplished on his own in a statewideelection. The rest is history.And so last week, cocky and confident with the bully pulpit of

the governor's office, Howard Dean finally went after BernieSanders. He did so the day after the congressman marched intothe Statehouse to unveil his own study of how a Canadian-stylesingle-payer health care system would save Vermont $270 mil-lion. Sanders' Statehouse appearance was a violation of theaccepted and unspoken protocol that dictates members of theWashington delegation stay the hell out of Montpelier's busi-ness. But Bernie's never been known for his good manners.

"Bernie Sanders has been elected by the people of this statetwice," snarled Dean. "I don't think it's fair for a politician toraise these kinds of expectations and pretend it's going to costeverybody less because it's not going to happen. That's just not

fair. People have had that done to them for a long time. RonaldReagan was a master at this kind of stuff."

What? Ronald Reagan? You mean thatRonald Reagan?Over the years, 01' Bernardo has been compared to a lot of

people: Joe Stalin of the vaunted "Evil Empire," Fidel Castroof Cuba and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega to name a few. But noone has ever compared him to Ronald Reagan. When asked to

name two champions of the rich who do you think of first?Reagan and Sanders, right?

History indicates that that kind ofhyperbolic verbal attack onSanders only backfires. Just ask Gordon Paquette, BrianBurns, and Peter Smith among others.

"I have been attacked many times politically and been calledmany things," replied Sanders with a knowing smile. "But as the

harshest critic of Reaganomics in the state of Vermont, I havenever been attacked for being like Ronald Reagan. I find thatvery amusing. "

Let's face it. Howard needs Jay Leno's writers.

The talk in political circles is that what Ho-Ho was really upto was firing a warning shot across the bow ofHMS Sanders tolet Vermont's distinguished congressman know that should he

decide to bid Capitol Hill adieu and come home to run forgovernor, Vermont's current distinguished governor has enouJPtbark, bite and growl inhim to make the congressman regret It.

Certainly a lot of Progressives and Democrats would love tosee 01' Bernardo send Dr. Dean back to stethoscope land. Unlikename calling, though, it's a mathematical questior: not.m.ea-sured in decibels. One can't count on Barbara Snelling sitting

out the '94 governor's race. Unless one candidate gets 50 pe~centof the vote - unlikely ina three-way race - the matter will bedecided by the legislature. Bernie would need 91 votes under theGolden Dome to win. Dream on.

Instead in '94 Bernie faces a real political gut check indecidingw'hether or not to rise to the occasion, demonstrate truecourage and take on the state's number one supporter ofNAFTAand the Brady Bill- Senator Jim Jeffords. .

On the health care reform front, though, the most damningcriticism of Sanders' single-payer proposal doesn't come fromthe Fifth Floor in the Pavillion Building, but from a mostunexpected source. In 1983, Mayor Sanders appoin.ted JeanneKeller assistant city clerk. Jeanne was one of the city hall starsof Team Sanders. Bernie sent her to meetings of the HospitalData Council to represent his administration's concerns about

big money interests running health care.Today Keller is president of the Vermont Em~loyers Health

Alliance. She's also an articulate critic of Bernie's Canadi~n-style single-payer plan and picks apart his latest numbers likeJohn Elway running the two-minute offense. . ,,,.

"I never did like intellectual dishonesty and I still don t, s~dKeller in reference to her former boss' latest pitch. "I never did

like hypocrisy," she added, "and I still don't."Who does?

F i n a l l y l H o w a r d V B . B e r n i e