Why do freepers hate Kerry so much?

[kuozzman]

I know a lot us hate Bush, but he's been President for 4 years and many of his policies are ones which most people (Dems and most non-voters) strongly disagree with. But all Kerry did was run for President and freepers hate him with a passion! They greeted him with boos at the inaugural and I was just lurking over at Free Republic and at the end of this long ass essay about Iran, the first response was, "A beautiful phrase in this piece -- "...failed U.S. Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry..."" I know these people are brainwashed to worship the Chimp, but why the hate? What happened to all those moral values?

[Be Brave]

1. Because he dared depose the King?

:shrug:

[merh]

2. Because he beat the Chimp and because he is everything the

chimp is not. He is a man of moral character and integrity that actually served in the military and saw battle. Their fake hero did not so they resent Kerry.

[Bluzmann57]

3. They hate everything and everybody

including themselves one would guess.

[Connie_Corleone]

4. They hate anything liberal.

Kerry is like the symbol of liberalism(or socialism as the freepers put it) to them.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. They hate everything...............

that's superior to them.

That's you, that's me, that's Kerry, that's the box of old clothes I have by the front door to go to Goodwill, that's the CD player, that's the New Yorker in the bathroom, and

they even hate our dog, Happy, because she's smarter than they are.

[BrklynLiberal]

26. Happy is one sweet looking pup!!!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

31. Ain't she, though?

And, guess what?

http://tinyurl.com/4x79h

[BrklynLiberal]

33. OMIGAWD! She's a star!!!!!!!!!

[HughBeaumont]

6. That's all Lancelot Link's droolers are conditioned to do.

Look at the news channels and radio personalities they worship. Hatred and inflammation breeds more hatred and inflammation, whether it's called for or not. It's a distinguished trait of the easily manipulated and stupid.

[lady lib]

7. You'd be surprised by how many of them

still believe the swift boat crap.

[jedicord]

8. Because he's a "liberal" and freepers are trained by right wing

radio to hate all liberals. Can't tell you how many times I've heard Hannity, Rush, et al yell "get your yellow bellied liberal selves out of my country!".

It's a knee jerk reaction. I doubt they even know the true meaning of the word "liberal".

[underpants]

9. a) they were told to ----b) he dared go to Vietnam and be a hero

Two reasons

[Zen Democrat]

10. They believe all the lies told about him. They think he's a traitor.

They don't know that they support the real traitors.

[imenja]

11. Kerry became a lightening rod for unresolved conflicts about Vietnam

We saw them play out during the election, and though it seems crazy to us that anyone could compare Kerry's military record unfavorably to Bush, many did. What they really hate about him is that he spoke out against the war. The Republicans despise the 1960s and the changes they brought about in American society. They can't face the fact that we made a tremendous blunder in Vietnam (if they did, they wouldn't be supporting the Iraq war now) and a number even contest the fact that we lost the war. Kerry became a symbol for all kinds of unresolved conflicts in American society over political and cultural changes since that era.

That's my theory.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

32. I agree, absolutely

:thumbsup:

[ginnyinWI]

12. they hate him because they fear him

He's still out there, and he's still a threat. He's not going away, and he knows more than most just where the bodies are buried. Just watch the way he prosecuted his case with Condi Rice. He knows. So they are smart to be scared! Be afraid, freepers. Be very afraid.

[aden_nak]

13. The Swifties, primarily. Just proves they'll believe anything.

Yet another reason to leave that demographic for dead come election time. It's not worth the effort FAILING to thwack these people over the head with reality. It's time to let them live their delusional lives and wait for reality to bite them in the ass instead.

[DBoon]

14. Because he's smart and successful

and everything he has accomplished he has done through his own efforts.

He makes them feel like losers, in other words.

[NAO]

15. Because he is intelligent, articulate, refined and noble

Freepers ain't go no use for that type of fancy high-falutin book lernin en such.

They prefer the company of simple folk like Brother Dubbya to them silver tounged city slickers like that Mr. Frenchy French Kerry.

An his wife is a goddamn foreigner, for chrissake. She don't even speek English that good. And worse, she's uppity. A woman should obey her husband, like the lovely Ms. Larua Bush.

[Robbien]

16. Victims need someone to hate

BushCo through Faux and right wing hate radio feed the "victim" mentality of the Bushbots. To keep the bushbot vicims working together they need a focal point for their hatred.

[gatorboy]

17. If it wasn't Kerry, they would've hated Dean, or Clark with as much vigor

or anyone else that was set to oppose Bush.

I just don't want anyone to think we lost just because of Kerry. The Repug bloodhounds would've gone after anyone and made them out to be the Anti-Christ...If it had been Dean, they would've said he was the most liberal of all. If it was Clark, I'm sure they would've dug up someone from the military to say he did some dastardly thing....

[MajorFlaw]

18. Man not supposed to use brain. Kerry uses brain. Kerry bad.

n/t

[Helga Scow Stern]

19. Because they need a scapegoat

they need a scapegoat to keep from questioning themselves, to have a focus for their activities, to keep from seeing the truth.

It's a very effective part of group manipulation.

That Rove and his ilk are quite clever in this regard.

Creating an enemy for a mass consciousness to glomb on to works wonders. They did it with Bin Laden, then Saddam, quite masterfully. Now they are getting smarter by bringing the target closer to home. What a brilliant political strategy! They have also used Kerry as the figure head for what to hate about us...

They are so effective in this that even some Dems do not trust Kerry and cast aspersions on his character without knowing much about him.

[gatorboy]

22. Hell, they're so affective, look what they did to McCain!

It's not just Democrats. McCain is proof that they'll go after their own in the same manner.

[devilgrrl]

20. They hate everything slightly left of far right

:nuke:

[Sandpiper]

21. Because he's everything that they and their Boy King aren't

He's intelligent, thoughtful, brave, refined, and sophisticated.

[Crankie Avalon]

23. Because they have descended to a point where they believe...

...that anyone who points out the fallacies and shortcomings of the things they would like to believe is not just someone with a different approach, but just plain "EVIL."

Their worldview quickly falls apart under scrutiny, and since they refuse to adjust their worldview to reality, they pretty much have to demonize the messengers. They are hoping an advantage in the ability to project extreme emotions like hate will drown out their position's disadvantage in rationality.

That, and what others have said about how Kerry became a lightning rod for unresolved Vietnam neuroses.

[imenja]

24. true, but doesn't that goes for both sides of the political spectrum?

I see in on DU all the time. I think more of us would do well to heed Clinton's call to refrain from attacking the character and intentions of those who disagree with us but instead challenge their views and policies. Of course, it's easier said than done, but it is a worthwhile goal.

[Crankie Avalon]

27. Yes, people from either extreme are susceptible...

...but the thread was asking about why THEY hate Kerry so I kept my reply focused on that.

[BrklynLiberal]

25. They just like to hate. He is just a good target, but not the only one.

[BrklynLiberal]

28. This "hate" thing is explored in this article

"Editor & Publisher, for example, posted a small note the other day about a column written by Al Neuharth, the founder of USA Today, in which he mildly suggested that the troops be brought home from Iraq "sooner rather than later." The editor of E&P was just blown away by the letters that poured in, filled with venom and hate and calling for Neuharth to be tried and locked away as a traitor. The letters compared him with pro-Hitler journalists, and suggested that he was objectively pro-terrorist, choosing to support the Muslim jihad over the US military. Other letters called for Neuharth to get the death penalty for daring to take issue with the Christian leaders of this great Christian nation.
I'm actually not surprised at this. It has been building for some time. If you follow hate-filled sites such as Free Republic, you know that the populist right in this country has been advocating nuclear holocaust and mass bloodshed for more than a year now. The militarism and nationalism dwarfs anything I saw at any point during the Cold War. It celebrates the shedding of blood, and exhibits a maniacal love of the state. The new ideology of the red-state bourgeoisie seems to actually believe that the US is God marching on earth – not just godlike, but really serving as a proxy for God himself.

Paul Craig Roberts is right: "In the ranks of the new conservatives, however, I see and experience much hate. It comes to me in violently worded, ignorant and irrational emails from self-professed conservatives who literally worship George Bush. Even Christians have fallen into idolatry. There appears to be a large number of Americans who are prepared to kill anyone for George Bush." Again: "Like Brownshirts, the new conservatives take personally any criticism of their leader and his policies. To be a critic is to be an enemy.""-

From Lew Rockwell's site.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/red-state-fascism.html

[imenja]

29. How frightening

"If you follow hate-filled sites such as Free Republic, you know that the populist right in this country has been advocating nuclear holocaust and mass bloodshed for more than a year now."

I don't follow that site, and I'm horrified. How extensive do you think these views are? Do White House officials advocate nuclear holocaust or using nuclear weapons in the Muslim world?

[bunkerbuster1]

36. Guess you don't talk to many RWers.

you said:

How extensive do you think these views are? Do White House officials advocate nuclear holocaust or using nuclear weapons in the Muslim world?

I can't tell you how often I, a middle-aged middle class white guy who has lived in blue and red states, has heard people offer "bomb it" as the solution to everything from the Middle East to urban poverty.

A lot of times they'll add a chuckle and just say they're joking, but what kind of a dipshit would joke about something like that?

[underpants]

37. "turn it into a parking lot"

That was the nice little catch phrase that I heard many times right after the war on Iraq was not going to be the neat little war movie they were told to expect.

[bunkerbuster1]

45. "Turn it into glass"

I guess they figure if you nuke sand, it turns to glass. Lovely, huh?

and I wish I were making this stuff up.

[imenja]

40. no, not often

I don't talk very often to right wingers, though I have heard it from time to time from individuals, and on the rare occasions when I catch right wing radio. I have never taken it as anything but ravings from nut cases. I had the sense, however, you were describing a more articulated and deliberate ideology than that.

[bunkerbuster1]

44. I wish.

Nah, really, there's a pretty decent-sized swath of Americana that believes you should nuke them sand-n*gg*rs. Or, if it's an American city that's having problems, well, just bomb the regular ol' n*gg*rs with conventional weapons.

I wish I were exaggerating, but I hear it all too often. Sometimes it's with a smile. Sometimes not.

[seabeyond]

30. they "hate" all democrats/liberals

send em all to camps. outta the country, kill em kill em

thsy dont like any of us. they are full of hate

[Coastie for Truth]

34. The freepers really do not believe that a Progressive can be a

decorated veteran.

In this post-conscription, all-volunteer army -- where only Republican are officers--- they can not bring themselves to believe that there ever was a time when Progressive joined, or became officers, or were decorated for heroism.

And what the freepers forget (even John O'Neil, the "Swiftie In Chief" of the self-anointed "Swifties for the Truth" (See 1 footnote 1 below)) is that the discrimination against Viet Nam veterans did not begin with Kerry's testimony (1971) --- it was rampant well before. It was rampant even before Alan Bakke was denied admission to the UC Davis Medical School (See footnote 2 below)

If you talk to a freeper - they will tell you - with all of the certainty of Bushworld Bushtalking Anne Coulter or Bill O'Reilly that the discrimination began after Kerry's 1971 testimony. TEXAS COW PATTIE --- I WAS THERE -- THOSE WERE MY FRIENDS AND MY CLASS MATES --- AND THE DISCRIMINATION WAS GOING ON IN 1968 AND 1969 --- AND BEING BLAMED ON "RACIAL QUOTAS" --- PART OF THE GOP'S SOUTHERN STRATEGY OF "DIVIDE AND CONQUER."

Freepers live in a Bushworld of Bushtalk - with people like Anne Coulter and Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and Jonah Goldberg and Ken Mehlman --- and Donald Rumsfield and Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith and General Myers and General Boynton and Alberto Gonzales and Condi Rice - a Kafkaesque house of mirrors where up is down and down is up and right is left and left is right, and the Geneva Conventions are quaint antiquities.

Kerry was a Progressive and a decorated war hero --- and that shatters many of the freepers illusions.

Footnote 1 -- John O'Neil and his so called, self anointed "Swifties for Truth" included Swiftie leaderships whose carelessness and negligence resulted in the "friendly fire deaths" of two Swifties, and who were involved up to their eyeballs in the coverup. We had a name for O'Neil's kind -- "Buddy Fxxxxxs"--

1. http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/WEBCUTTERS/Point_Welcome.html
2. http://www.aug.edu/~libwrw/ptwelcome/PointWelcome2.html
3. http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/Articles98/NHwells.htm


"Coastie for the Truth" doesn't lie - he was involved in Family Assistance after O'Neil's buddies did the ultimate "Buddy FxxK" and then lied to cover it up.

Footnote 2 --- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REGENTS v. BAKKE, 438 US 265 (1978). But see my append at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2998924&mesg_id=2999079., the discrimination against veterans was hot and heavy before Kerry testified but was blamed on RACIAL QUOTAS by the GOP and the "Corporate Media."

[NewYorkerfromMass]

35. Because they grew tired of hating Clinton?

and found a new target for their obsessions? and just who DID originate those Kerry-intern rumours?

Anyway, shame on John Kerry for signing up to serve his country and then having the audacity to actually show up and serve. And then shame on him for coming back and actualy asserting that individual troops have rights and that the honor and dignity of America is imperiled by bad combat policies and questionable war strategy and aims.
God, more men like John Kerry and this country would be in the shitter. Why don't more brave men live by the example of GW Bush?

[geniph]

38. They hate us, too

Don't kid yourself, most of 'em would happily run you over with their Hummers if they thought they could get away with it. Bloodthirsty bunch, that.

[jhain]

39. because someone told them to.

no thinking for oneself, GASP!
whatever O'Leilly says.

[Arkana]

41. He dared to attempt the overthrow of King Chimpy

and that didn't sit too well with his loyal subjects.

[txaslftist]

42. Because he's a democrat and they're good haters.

[0rganism]

43. Hatred of all things less-than-fascist is what the freepers do best

That is their reason for existence. They hate whomever they are told to hate by their media instructors, and they do it with considerable zeal.

[Piperay]

46. Kerry actually had the gall to run

against Jesus Christ's handpicked right-hand man Dubya...in the freeper's opinion. :silly: