Dick Gephardt Health Care and
Health Care and the Economy: (Two great tastes that taste great together, apparently.) "The short answer [to providing universal health care and healing the economy] is that we pass a law requiring every employer to provide access to quality coverage, with employer tax credits covering most of the cost. We pay for it by repealing the Bush tax cuts." It took me a long time to find this specific answer about how Gephardt was planning to both provide universal coverage and an economic stimulus at the same time, but it seems like a sound approach that addresses two serious problems.
"Apollo 21:" This is what Gephardt calls his plan for American Energy Independence, by which he hopes to make the US completely independent from other nations in terms of energy production by the year 2010. Although I'm not impressed by the plan's reliance on fuel cell vehicles (which, from what I've read, are still far off), they are only part of the plan, which also calls for (for example) 1 million hybrid cars on the roads by 2010. The goal of energy independence by the end of the decade is big idea and a big challengeóbut a good one.
International Minimum Wage: Gephardt proposes that the WTO should set an international minimum wage. That's an interesting idea I've never heard before. It would go a long way to addressing the objections many liberals have about the international trade agreements they say hurt workers.
Civil Rights: Gephardt's pretty standard on these issues, supporting civil unions, employee non-discrimination, right to choose, equal opportunity, gays in the military, and so forth. Gold star.
Gephardt's site is very conspicuous about drawing distinctions between Gephardt and Dean, and also very conspicuous about positioning Gephardt as a candidate who can compete with Bush in the general election. For whatever that's worth. Overall, although I didn't feel the fire on Gephardt's site that I felt on Dean's, I could see myself voting for Gephardt. Especially if I thought he was more likely to beat Bush.
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