Kennedy: 'We cannot become Republican clones'

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/12/kennedy.democrats.ap/

Kennedy: 'We cannot become Republican clones'
Senator says Dems need to push values more


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats should have talked more directly about fundamental values and ideals in last year's presidential campaign, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said, outlining an agenda aimed at moving the party and the nation forward.

In remarks prepared for delivery Wednesday to the National Press Club, Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said Democrats must do a better job speaking about the principles they believe in and that have guided the party.

"We cannot move our party or our nation forward under pale colors and timid voices," said Kennedy, who has served 42 years in the Senate. "We cannot become Republican clones. If we do, we will lose again, and deserve to lose."

But at the same time, Kennedy said Democratic Sen. John Kerry's narrow election loss also showed that the party must "recognize issues of deep conscience in policy positions we take." Referring to abortion, he said Democrats should not yield on a woman's right to choose, but should also acknowledge that "we are a better society when abortions are rare."

<</SNIP>>

[Orsino]

1. Translation: "We Must Become Republican Clones" n/t

n/t

[sniffa]

3. zzzzzzzzzzzz

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. LOL!

Yes, it did sound like doublespeak.

[primavera]

11. What can you do, reality's a nuanced place

I'm never sure where to come down on this one. On one hand, I'm always rather offended by the childishly over-simplified, one-sided, propagandistic messaging of the Repukes. On the other hand, if you try to present issues in such a way that does justice to the complex shades of grey, you'll be accused of doublespeak. It seems like a no win proposition sometimes.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

30. Well, it certainly is hard to start from a defensive position

Chris Dodd and a bunch of other classic Dems would never have given such a speech. TK seems to have suffered a bit in the confidence department in our recent loss.
Dems don't have to apologize for shit.

[Massachusetts]

2. Brilliant!

:toast:

[Lavender Brown]

4. Is the full text of the speech available anywhere?

[CountAllVotes]

15. I think this should take you to T. Kennedy's speech

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=210

:kick:

[Lavender Brown]

18. thanks

[forintegrity]

5. So...let's begin

with NOT confirming Gonzalez!!! ACTIONS speak way louder than words!

Oh, and by the way...what did Kennedy vote on last weeks Electoral Vote Debate?

[hangtotheLEFT]

6. Give Me A Break!

If I hear the word VALUES one more f'in time......AArrggghhhhhH!

What the Dem "stars" should have talked about last year (& what I was screaming from the mountaintops) was the LIES that were being spread about us & our candidate! Forget cowtowing to "values voters"...just SPREAD THE TRUTH! MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS THE TRUTH!

They should have also talked about the horrifying events that have occurred under CHENEYbush's watch. Jesus Christ....could this assbag administration have given us any more ammunition to fight them with?! I think not!

And does it really take a genius to say that abortions should be as rare as possible?? Which Dems have been out there screaming that abortions are good and the number of them should keep on growin'?!?!?

Could The Dem Party PLEASE get their shit together?!?!?!? I do agree that we need to change...stop allowing the idiots on our side to speak for us! Grow a set, stop playing Mr. Nice Guys, & FIGHT BACK!

I WILL NOT BE MOVING TO THE RIGHT. I'M HAPPY JUST WHERE I AM.

[KittyWampus]

10. YOU May Not Want To Hear It... But That's What The Message Needs

to be.

How DEMOCRATS Value Families by working for good education, living wages, health insurance, affordable housing.

And also how Republicans TALK about Family Values but fail to act on their rhetoric.

[eg101]

33. but isn't that belied by the past record of the 'crats?

I really fail to see how Clinton's admin was all about "working for good education, living wages, health insurance, affordable housing". Granted, the GOP is even more hypocritical than the 'crats, but only marginally.

If you talk the talk, but don't walk the walk, people will just ignore you. And the people are just ignoring the 'crats.

[JerseygirlCT]

23. We don't have to "kowtow" to "values voters" -

we have to find a way to effectively communicate to them why we're a far better match for them.

Don't write off everyone in the red world as lost causes. They're not all bible-thumping, greedy corporate pigs, ready to sell the country to the highest bidder and make us a fascist theocracy. There are a lot of regular folks and we need to reach them. You don't do that by disparaging what they think is important. You do that by telling them what you think is important and WHY. You show them that we have more in common than they have been led to believe.

You talk about their schools, you talk about their retirements, you talk about life where it matters to them. And they realize that they've been backing the wrong elephant all along.

[ladjf]

8. I noticed that Kennedy was one of the prime leaders in getting

Kerry nominated. Further, he failed to object to the Ohio election "irregularities". I've been a longtime supporter of Senator Kennedy but lately he's been losing my backing. And where was Sen. Byrd, who has been making so many brave speeches?

[kerrygoddess]

19. Kennedy had a prepared speech

Kennedy had a prepared speech that he read the day of the electoral objection. He had planned ahead of time to speak out about the voter fraud issues and he did. Perhaps you were not watching. I believe that Byrd did as well. What they said that day carried far more weight than how they voted. It's now Congressional record that they spoke out.

[ladjf]

34. I was aware of the Kennedy speech. But, it seemed weakened

by the fact that he failed to vote against the ratification of the Ohio election.

[robbedvoter]

9. Earth to Ted: we won. Now sit down and vote like they want you to.

P.S. Is one of our values that we accept fraudulent elections?

[goclark]

12. They really threatened Ted Kennedy

He is not the man that he was before... Nov.2nd
must have been a sad day for him.

We did express our values, no war, take care of the poor and the elderly, DON"T leave our children behind and on and on.

[ramapo]

13. Too late

Dems have been acting as clones for years. Clinton articulated that abortion position quite clearly. Why the Dems have been unable to follow it is beyond me.

[robbedvoter]

14. Teddy, what are the "values" that made GOp "win"?

getting rid of Social security? War? hatred?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Lack of a paper trail?

I still can't believe that our "Democratic" representatives are not screaming about the electronic voting machines, and the fact that without a paper trail, we can never know who's won the election!

I feel that we've been disenfranchised by our own...

[Just Me]

17. He may want to study the most effective ways to defeat fascism.

If we don't defeat it now,...the world will defeat it for us.

Pretending like our country isn't evolving towards a dominantly fascist state is not going to stop it.

[Catchawave]

20. Darn, I was hoping this was from....

RFK, Jr. There are 'other' Kennedy's I still admire :)

[JerseygirlCT]

21. Sorry everyone, but I think he's absolutely right

and boy, I'd think that Ted Kennedy of anyone has proven his liberal creds.

There's no reason not to work toward making the need for abortions less. That ought to be something both sides can agree on -- and we win with that, b/c the other side WON'T want to work on real solutions -- they're soley focused on limiting the legal rights of women.

The Dem party needs to re-focus on our strengths and our core philosophy. We're for individual rights, we believe that gov't has a role to play in helping the less fortunate... all this is for the good. We've spent so much time trying desperately to prove we're not those evil liberals, and have therefore played right into the RW's hands. We need to take back the offense, and challenge those selfish, lazy, bigoted RWers to actually talk about their values -- they haven't got any beyond :I got mine.

Hope enough people listen to Kennedy.

[Just Me]

25. Oh, I completely support him!!!

He's been one of the few STRONG voices on behalf of the best interests of the American people. His attention to the "soft" tone of democrats was impactful.

I was only making a suggestion in my previous post. I think we should research the most effective ways of stopping the evolution towards fascism,...and I do mean that with all sincerity.

[xxqqqzme]

26. I listened 2 Kennedy's address.

Too bad more of U did not...He is beginning 2 understand 'framing the issues'. He did an excellent job of framing 2day. His speech was a tag long but it wasn't a campaign speech. He understood his audience and he laid it out the frames to follow AND backed them up w/ excellent facts. It is a good trail 2 follow and expand.

[kerrygoddess]

28. I hope enough people listened too

I'm on Kennedy's email list. If anyone is interested you can sign up here - http://action.democraticmajority.com/

[papau]

35. Amen - well said :-)

:-)

[FreeCajun]

22. Ted, lowest abortion rate in 20 years was when Clinton was in office.

How's THAT for values?

[JerseygirlCT]

24. I doubt he'd argue with that

that's exactly the point, isn't it?

[Megahurtz]

27. All of the Republican clones

need to shut the fuck up about abortion!

[FreeStateDemocrat]

29. NYT: Kennedy Urges Democrats to Resist Bush on Social Security

By JOHN O'NEIL
Published: January 12, 2005

Senator Edward M. Kennedy sought to rally Democratic forces today for a clash with Republicans over President Bush's plan to reshape Social Security, which he said was being pushed through the "politics of fear." (Contd.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/politics/12cnd-kenn.html

If it is necessary to “rally Democratic forces” over an issue as obvious as the privatization of Social Security that the means the Democratic Party is DEAD. The honorable party of FDR, Truman, and Kennedy has now pragmatically controlled by corporate America. Kennedy is a voice crying in the wilderness; elsewhere the silence on the idiot’s roll out of this travesty yesterday speaks volumes of a massive sellout of working class America by the late great Democratic Party.

[kerrygoddess]

31. Good to see the MSM pushing this!

[eg101]

32. Getta load of this hypocrite!

Ha! This Kennedy windbag has been one of the top 'crats for 20 friggin' years or more, and all the while the party has been JUST THAT--REPUBLICAN CLONES. All thanks to the 'crat leaders like Clinton, Lieberman, Carter, and KENNEDY!

How about you first apologize for doing just that to the party, Kennedy? THEN, then, I might consider listening to you. Otherwise, just shut your lying piehole....

On Edit:
On the other hand, in this article, Kennedy DID say the following, which no other poster seemed to pick up on:

"To punctuate his progressive push, Kennedy said Medicare should be gradually expanded to cover all citizens, and the cost would be funded through payroll taxes and general revenues and offset by savings through technology advances.

He also called for greater federal support for college costs, saying that every student who is admitted to college should be guaranteed the cost of earning a degree."

Well, this is really quite radical for any Senator, and it is quite unusual to even be printed in the elite media at all. And even more unsual for it to be said outside of a campaign.

Now, if you really want to do some good, Teddy, just keep repeating that on every media outlet you can get onto for the rest of your term. And maybe, just maybe, you might start to undo some of the damage you and your crat buddies have done to America for the last 25 years, even while other western nations advanced forward to universal healthcare and low cost education for all college students.

Now get your corrupt ass to work and earn your fat salary and redeem your family's robber baron history with the time you have left in the Senate....

[papau]

36. Min wage incr, universal Health, college Tuition assistence - I like EMK!!

Like, does anyone on DU have a problem with Kennedy's call for expanding Medicare to provide health care coverage for all Americans, raising the minimum wage and expanding tuition assistance for students, particularly those who major in mathematics and science?

[eg101]

39. actually, I think a LOT of DUers are against those things

Not me. I think those things should be the core of the party. I just think Teddy should have been saying this for the past 20 years, instead of leading us down the neoliberal primrose path, as he has been doing.

Actually, a LOT of DUers and Democratic party activists and party hacks do not really agree with these ideas. They toss out phrases like "centrist" and "moderate" and call these ideas extremist.

[Dr Fate]

37. Dont just say it Ted- DO IT. We are watching you.

And a firm grip upon my wallet until I see some RESULTS.

[eg101]

38. exactly! Teddy needs to follow up on this! n/t