Vermont Democrats: Dean Too Conservative

Presidential candidate Howard Dean is now finding support from liberals with whom he once butted heads while governor of Vermont, says a report in the Washington Post.

Now that he is a 2004 front-runner for the White House, some of his old critics in his home state, if not exactly closing ranks behind him, have nothing much bad to say on the record.

Once unhappy with his brusque style of pragmatic politics and fiscal conservatism as governor, these critics have created a sort of detente in the face of a common goal.

The Vermont media's coverage of Dean, always considered positive, on balance, has become more glowing in recent months, says the report.

Peter Freyne, a columnist for the Burlington alternative newspaper Seven Days, was considered one of Dean's staunchest critics and routinely called him a Republican in his dispatches.

Now, Freyne tells the Post, he is frequently contacted by readers who say he "kisses Howard's you-know-what."

Freyne acknowledges that the tone of his writing on Dean has evolved along with Dean's national profile. "I went after him every week at his press conferences. My job is to chew on the governor of Vermont, and we have a new guy doing that now," Freyne said.

"The Dean I see on national television is somewhat admirable. He reflects well on Vermont and the politics we practice here. And many of us had never seen that passion before. Some people who had never seen this new Howard like him better."

Annette Smith, head of Vermonters for a Clean Environment, who once said that under Dean "EP meant expedite permits" instead of environmental protection, has also lightened up.

"He has plenty of explaining to do, but I also don't want to help Bush to be re-elected."

"All of a sudden, people who were his enemies have nothing bad to say about the guy," said Michael Colby, editor of the monthly journal Wild Matters, which has headquarters in Vermont.

"I think what is happening is that Vermont loves itself and pretends it is different from other states. You see one of your own in the national spotlight, and it gets people excited."

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