Bauer, Perkins: Iowans Reject Dean's Angry Style, Liberal Ideas

by Bill Fancher
January 20, 2004

(AgapePress) - Some political advisors are saying after Monday night's Iowa caucuses, it's time to "put a fork" in Howard Dean -- because "he's done." But despite the apparent rejection of his campaign rhetoric by Iowans, the former Vermont governor plans to forge ahead into friendlier waters in New England.

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry came out on top in Monday's Iowa presidential caucuses, besting North Carolina Senator John Edwards and Dean, the former frontrunner. Kerry beat the controversial Dean by a 2-to-1 margin. Dean blames his third-place showing in Iowa on attacks from within the Democratic Party itself and from the typically liberal-leaning media. Associated Press says Dean's rivals "pummeled" him with criticism, saying he has neither the foreign policy experience nor the temperament to lead the country.

Tony Perkins

But Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, says the voters in Iowa rejected Dean because of his liberal stance on moral issues.

"I think that Dean went in with a very liberal, very hard message [that was] anti-Bush, angry -- and that just did not seem to work in America's heartland," Perkins says. "I think what we're seeing is some of these extreme messages that the Democratic candidates are putting out there are being rejected. You see them -- even here in Iowa -- shifting more to [John] Kerry, who has been more moderate."

The FRC head points toward Dean's radical position on homosexuality as just one example of a rejection of liberal stances on issues of concern to families. "I think, in like manner, that we'll see that the extreme positions of almost all of the Democratic candidates on issues like partial-birth abortion ... are out-of-step with the vast majority of Americans as well on those issues," he says.

According to Perkins, liberals' cultural message will not sit well with the majority of the nation's voters -- and that Dean's defeat in Iowa proved that.

Some observers believe Dean's defeat in Iowa is terminal to his candidacy. But former presidential candidate Gary Bauer doesn't think so. As he notes, Dean has a huge campaign treasure chest -- some $40 million -- and is now moving on to New Hampshire, which is pretty much the former Vermont governor's own backyard. But a defeat there could spell the end for Dean's candidacy.

Gary Bauer

"He'll face a tough race [in New Hampshire] -- but he does have staying power, I think, unlike some of the other candidates, and he still has time to make adjustments," Bauer says. "But this [defeat in Iowa] is definitely a blow against his campaign, and something that he will have to work very hard to overcome."

Like Perkins, Bauer believes Dean's poor showing in Iowa may have been a reflection of voters saying they do not like his negative style. "He obviously has a lot of money and he will continue in the race, but the people of Iowa have seen him up-close more than the people of any other state," he says, "and if the early results are any indication, they've basically rejected him."

Bauer knows well the make-up of Iowa voters, having campaigned there himself for more than a year. "It's a state that does not like negative campaigning -- and it doesn't like angry candidates," he says.