Why and how are Kerry / Edwards the "most liberal ticket ever" ?

[kentuck]

Ask for specifics. They are both more "liberal" than Ted Kennedy, so say the right-wing supporters of the most radical Administration in our nation's history. Their transparent attempt to tar Kerry / Edwards with what they think is a scarlet letter, is humorous in its absurdity. They are moderates. As a "liberal", I wish they were what they are being depicted as by the Repubs. However, it's the same catapult throwing the same flaming stones at the walls of our democracy.

[rpannier]

1. Because the rw is trying to create a rift between the public and

Kerry. Remember, the mindset of the conservative is, "If we lie and spin this long enough people will believe it." That's why we gotta kill these things early.

[KittyWampus]

9. I've Yet To See ANYONE On DU Say That Kerry & Edwards AREN'T Most Liberal

lots of bitching cause that's what the GOP and Mediawhores are spewing.

But no rebuttal or statement that "Yes, they ARE Liberal and thank god for that".

Nothing's going to stop the GOP & Media from this line of attack.

So Democrats have to stop whining and either decide Kerry/Edwards ARE or ARE NOT Liberal.

[rpannier]

12. I don't think as a ticket that they're that liberal

Kerry is more liberal than Edwards on many issues. I consider them progressive, which is to say to the left-of-center, so they are slightly liberal.
But when compared to Mondale, McGovern and Dukakis they are not very liberal.

[leesa]

16. Of course they aren't liberal. Anyone who blindly supports

Israel's atrocities cannot call themselves liberal thinkers. Anyone who, knowing this is an illegal, unethical war, is not demanding its end, cannot call themselves liberal thinkers.

It's just another way to demonize liberalism. It's the RW version of name-calling. They are just trying to maintain the image they have built of 'liberal' as a dirty word. Same as calling people who care about their environment as 'stupid tree huggers'

[emulatorloo]

19. See my post 18

[WI_DEM]

2. it is just GOP rhetoric

if we had a ticket of Lieberman/Zell Miller they would label that the most liberal ticket ever too.

[spanone]

3. My reply is that it's about fucking time we have liberals in WH.

They use the word 'liberal' like it was dirty. I am proud to be a liberal.

[Solly Mack]

4. These same people called George HW Bush a liberal

toward the end of his term.

It was laughable then and it's laughable now.

[asthmaticeog]

5. I'd be grateful for a ticket

as liberal as, say, Roosevelt/Truman. We don't have that.

[Zen]

6. These morons say they want to set up a "Liberal Democracy"

in Iraq, then call people "liberals" like it is a swear. Anyway, can't you just ignore this stupidity.

[Killarney]

7. Here's why

(From O'Leilly)

The Kerry-Edwards ticket is the most liberal ever. According to the liberal lobbying group, Americans for Democratic Action, John Kerry has a lifetime liberal rating of 92 percent and John Edwards stands at 81 percent. These ratings are based upon their voting records in the Senate.

By contrast, Al Gore's liberal rating was just 65 percent. Thus, the Kerry-Edwards ticket becomes the most liberal in American history, passing Mondale-Ferraro in 1984.

The Gallup poll people recently studied ideology in the USA and found out that only 19 percent of Americans consider themselves liberal. By contrast, 41 percent say they're conservative. Thus, the Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign seems to be at a disadvantage. But maybe not.

Increasingly, Americans are veering away from party lines and voting for candidates on merit. But if Kerry and Edwards do decide to run left, they will have a problem mainly in the social area.

All the polls show that most Americans don't want a secular society, don't want gay marriage, don't want partial-birth abortion, and despise pressure groups like the ACLU and activist judges.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125048,00.html

[KittyWampus]

8. An Avid Edwards Supporter Insists Edwards Is INDEED Left Of Ted

They rebutted my postion that Edwards is to the Right. And posted some study.

so what the fuck is it people?

Either Kerry and Edwards are or are NOT Liberals to the Left of Kennedy.

[Booster]

10. Because it's all they got....

nobody really expects them to run on their record do they? I would imagine Rush is salivating right now because his ratings have gone in the toilet - I bet he even votes for Kerry/Edwards just so he can improve his ratings.

[KittyWampus]

13. Okay, So It's "All They Got". But They're Still Using It Aren't They

and how about an honest assessment by DU'ers of their actual voting record.

How about an actual rebuttal and not an offhand assertion "it;s all they got."

[RichV]

14. Don't know, don't care

I can't tell you if they're "to the Left of Kennedy" or not, and even if I could I think it's pretty meaningless. They won't campaign to the far left and won't govern to the far left. I don't really see what difference it makes how some interest group ranks them on votes it thinks are important. Academics generally reject interest group scores as accurate measures of ideology. I think politicos and journalists just grab them because they're easily accessible and easy to understand.

By the way, I also like how this ticket is labeled "the most liberal in history" by some of its opponents. They must have very short memories. I think the only Dem ticket as of late that wasn't *more* liberal was the twice-successful Clinton/Gore ticket. And history, though we often forget, does go back more than twenty years...

[ibegurpard]

11. Because they're Democrats

It's cliched rhetorice that has lost its effectiveness from overuse. They'd be saying it no matter who was running.

[LittleApple81]

15. WE ARE LIBERALS AND PROUD OF IT. Take that!!! n/t

[topherX]

17. Bush/Cheney more conservative than Hitler/Mussolini.

I, for one, am quite tired of conservatives painting the word liberal as some derogatory term.

We can play the same game and say that the Bush/Cheney ticket is more conservative than Hitler/Mussolini.

[emulatorloo]

18. Here is the ADA site - see for yourself what they are quoting

http://www.adaction.org/Campaign2004/2004PR_1/2004pr_1.HTM

<snip


2004 Presidential Candidates’ Lifetime ADA Voting Ratings

Sen. John Kerry                                          92
Former Sen. Moseley Braun                      88
Rep. Dennis Kucinich                                 86
Sen. John Edwards                                      85
Sen. Joseph Lieberman                              78
Rep. Richard Gephardt                             74

<snip

fiscally, they are responsible. . . .

only on DU are Kerry/Edwards considered right-wing

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. Baloney. They aren't that liberal. Now, a Kucinich/Sharpton ticket,

that would be truly liberal.