KERRY ON CSPAN 2 JUST MENTIONED DOWNING STREET MEMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[helderheid]

[Oversea Visitor]

1. Update

;spank: x(

[rainy]

2. my mouth dropped even though I knew it was coming

[BlueEyedSon]

3. context?

[helderheid]

4. he's ripping Bush and Cheney on Iraq policy

[blm]

8. When we and people around the world read the Downing Street Memos

how can the administration's words or motivations be trusted?

[BlueEyedSon]

31. Woohooooo! thx

[mzmolly]

55. OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH, I like!!!!!

Go Johnny Go!!! :dem:

[mzmolly]

56. Duuuuuuuuuuup

Deleted. ;)

[Catshrink]

5. "This administration needs to tell the truth about Iraq"

Iraq is something today it wasn't before the war. Today Iraq is a breeding ground for jihadists.

Holey Moley.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nightjock]

19. He did beat bush.

in a landslide.

[Proud_Lefty]

26. ditto

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue_In_AK]

38. I do. n/t

[Laurab]

92. I do, too. n/t

[glitch]

45. Not only do I believe it but so do my Kerry-supporting family & friends nt

[Octafish]

48. I do.

On "election" night, Bush thought he was out of a job. It was only when the fixed numbers came in did he appear with his family -- crime family, that is.

A Corrupted Election
Despite what you may have heard, the exit polls were right

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1970/

[driver8]

80. Me, too. I firmly believe that Bush was defeated...

You will never convince me that shrub defeated Kerry...never!

I am not a "tin foil" hat type, but c'mon. Bush was told that he had lost, the numbers showed he was losing and then all of a sudden like magic...lo and behold the election turned for our illustrious president. Wow...what a lucky day that was.

[blm]

87. You can take anything Octafish sez to the bank.

Nobody knows the BFEE better than Octafish.

[NYC Liberal]

88. Remember that story on selection night about GW and Karen Hughes?

Karen Hughes told Bush around MIDNIGHT that he had LOST. And that Bush took the news "stoically" (LOL, Bush...stoic...LOL).

That clinched it for me.

[ginnyinWI]

58. I do, too.

The other side has no scruples; why WOULDN'T they commit fraud to win an election?

[johnaries]

75. I do. Kerry only conceeded because he knew he couldn't get the proof

in time before the Electors had to cast their votes. But he's working for Election Reform so it won't happen the NEXT time he runs! :bounce:

[Gay Green]

83. I do.

But the evidence is hidden at the headquarters of those voting machine companies. Until disgruntled employees come forward, no-one can "prove" anything except by pointing at the exit polls.

And we ALL know what the corporate media did with them.

[converted_democrat]

41. Could not agree with you more, my friend........n/t

[goclark]

50. Yep, Kerry won and the Crime Family Knows It nt

[kster]

60. And they know we know it..nt

[blm]

81. That's why they're more dangerous now

than ever before. They know WE know.

[Tweed]

68. Yeah....

:crazy:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

27. I guess you've forgotten about those pesky electronic voting machines....

...you know, the ones that use a software that can't be checked?

Had they not used those machines, we would have known for sure that Kerry won in a landslide.

But don't let that stand in your way of slamming Kerry without reason.

[sandnsea]

71. He did

He told the exact same truth that he told today and it's the exact same truth he's been telling since 2002. If he had had more support in telling it, instead of idiots helping to spread "they're both the same" bullshit, he really would have won in a landslide.

So the question is, are you going to continue to be a Bush stooge?

[LittleClarkie]

86. An electoral landslide good enough for you, laddie?

That's what the exit polls said just before they flipped, but only in the battleground states. Nothing suspicious about that, nosiree.

[genieroze]

62. This administration needs to tell the truth about Iraq?

Bawhahahaha, do these scumbags tell the truth about anything?

[dogday]

6. Iraq a breeding ground for Jihadest

[Gay Green]

84. OBL said Iraq was the central front in what he called the Third World War

Before Bush barged in, Saddam made damn sure there were no jihadis.

[Sydnie]

7. Go John Go

Tell him what he needs to do!

[gordianot]

9. Excellent timing, on the eve of Bush's pep talk.

Wonder if this will be used as a counterpoint?

[blm]

15. Seems like he timed it to be a pre-emptive strike against Bush's speech

which is likely to be filled with empty rhetoric and NO solutions.

[ginnyinWI]

64. he's reminding us what a president should look like

because we've forgotten over the last four years.
He's raised the bar for Bush, for those who've read or heard his statement today.

[anarchy1999]

10. Okay and so finally! Well now I'm impressed. Not, but at least he is

standing up finally!

[helderheid]

13. I think he chose his timing carefully

and I say BRAVO !!!

[Raksha]

33. I agree. The timing was absolutely BRILLIANT.

I thought the speech itself fell short because it avoided the big question that's on everybody's mind these days, namely: WHY are there American troops fighting and dying in Iraq anyway?

Again, Kerry is hampered by his Yes vote on the IWR and I guess he can't distance himself from it in just one speech.

Other than that, it was positively brilliant. A pre-emptive speech, with a checklist of specific issues and goals Bush needs to address...which he WON'T! A great "shadow president" speech.

[LSK]

46. Kerry on IWR

"Again, Kerry is hampered by his Yes vote on the IWR and I guess he can't distance himself from it in just one speech."

The DSM memo could easily excuse him from that in the eyes of the public. Bush simply lied to Congress and Kerry fell for it. Whos more guilty, the liar or the ones who fell for it??

[ginnyinWI]

67. I think it was Colin Powell

who really lent credibility to BushCo when he went before the U.N. I think a lot of people believed after he said there was a threat.

[KaliTracy]

89. Amazing how easily the MSM forgets that Colin Powell called some of

the "found" intellengence "Bullshit" -- and how no one asks him about it anymore (like when John Stewart had him on a couple of weeks or so ago)

http://posaz.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/bullshit.html

News and World Report
Title: Truth and Consequences
Highlight: New questions about U.S. intelligence regarding Iraq's weapons of mass terror
Author(s): Bruce B. Auster, Mark Mazzetti and Edward T. Pound
Citation: June 9, 2003 p 14-18

Article Text: On the evening of February 1, two dozen American officials gathered in a spacious conference room at the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va. The time had come to make the public case for war against Iraq. For six hours that Saturday, the men and women of the Bush administration argued about what Secretary of State Colin Powell should--and should not--say at the United Nations Security Council four days later. Not all the secret intelligence about Saddam Hussein's misdeeds, they found, stood up to close scrutiny. At one point during the rehearsal, Powell tossed several pages in the air. "I'm not reading this," he declared. "This is bulls- - -."

<snip>

Vice President Cheney's office played a major role in the secret debates and pressed for the toughest critique of Saddam's regime, administration officials say. The first draft of Powell's speech was written by Cheney's staff and the National Security Council. Days before the team first gathered at the CIA, a group of officials assembled in the White House Situation Room to hear Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, lay out an indictment of the Iraqi regime--"a Chinese menu" of charges, one participant recalls, that Powell might use in his U.N. speech. Not everyone in the administration was impressed, however. "It was over the top and ran the gamut from al Qaeda to human rights to weapons of mass destruction," says a senior official. "They were unsubstantiated assertions, in my view."

<snip>

One example, included in the script, focused on intelligence indicating that an Iraqi official had approved the acquisition of sensitive software from an Australian company. The concern was that the software would allow the regime to understand the topography of the United States. That knowledge, coupled with unmanned aerial vehicles, might one day enable Iraq to attack America with biological or chemical weapons. That was the allegation. Tenet had briefed Cheney and others. Cheney, says a senior official, embraced the intelligence.

The White House instructed Powell to include the charge in his presentation. When the Powell team at the CIA examined the matter, however, it became clear that the information was not ironclad. CIA analysts, it turns out, couldn't determine after further review whether the software had, in fact, been delivered to Iraq or whether the Iraqis intended to use it for nefarious purposes. One senior official, briefed on the allegation, says the software wasn't sophisticated enough to pose a threat to the United States. Powell omitted the allegation from his U.N. speech.

More....

edit:spelling

[LSparkle]

11. He's giving the Democratic "presponse" to Shrub's charade tonight

This is what Kerry ought to be doing more frequently -- acting like the "alternate" president (our "Jeb Bartlett"!!!). He has the perfect forum for it -- the Senate floor -- he ought to use it forcefully just as he's doing now.

[Mark Williams]

12. Video Soon

DEMbloggers.com will have the FULL VIDEO shortly.

[helderheid]

14. it is so appreciated!!

[Spazito]

17. Thank you SO much!

*

[Straight Shooter]

32. Thank you! I have no cable or any kind of TV reception. eom

[helderheid]

51. Bummer!! Just saw this on Dembloggers

This afternoon I was contacted by C-SPAN. They have asked us to stop posting videos from their C-SPAN networks (C-SPAN 1, 2, and 3). Brian and I would like to issue a formal apology to C-SPAN and we will fully comply with their request.

Over the next 24 hours we will be working to delete all videos and images containing footage taken from C-SPAN or the C-SPAN registered service mark.

For our readers and members this means that we will no longer post videos or information from C-SPAN including Senate speeches and congressional hearings.

DEMbloggers has always been much more than just C-SPAN footage and we will continue to be a leading provider of videos (not C-SPAN) and top-notch commentary. We will also continue to foster an online community built on Democratic values and ideals.

Brian and I hope you will stick around and enjoy DEMbloggers.com

[Sydnie]

16. He is talking more truth and more plan today

than blivet** will tonight.

[Ivote]

21. In The Meantime Go Here

www.c-span.org

[Dr Ron]

20. Advanced Text on Light Up The Darkness

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog

There are changes from the advanced text with DSM mentioned in both.

More to come today on LUTD.

[SoFlaJet]

22. THAT'S ALL BEEN VETTED !!!!".......

what are you TALKING about!!!?(sarcasm off)
they crack me up...they are like the Firesign Theatre;(In BOOMING voice)...Everything You Know Is Wrong

[Alizaryn]

29. Let's stand them on their heads ...

Its how they work, Firesign Theatre got it right. ...(an attempt at paraphrasing) "Lets stand him on his head, Seeee now the horizon is moving up! Its morning!"

[LSparkle]

23. He's really ripping it up in this speech

Well-written, well-delivered, just spot-on. Take that, KingOilyResidue.

[phoebe]

24. Can't get C-SPAN2. Apparently my cable company feels that

my local government's announcements re: fireworks, and driving instructions for dealing with emergency vehicles is more than enough information for me to have for the last few days.

See my post in the California State Forum and call your cable company and lodge a complaint especially for those who don't have computer access.

[Sydnie]

73. Did they switch the channel number?

Are you in one of the areas that are beginning the switch over to digital coverage on C-SPAN 2? It might just be a higher channel number now ... somewhere in the digital tier? Have you called your cable provider about it?

[IChing]

25. I got his letter today, is this speech being picked up by the MSM? No TV.

His letter:


Dear####,
Tonight, President Bush will speak to the nation about the situation in Iraq. It's about time.

I hope tonight he'll address his words not just to us, and certainly not to Karl Rove or Donald Rumsfeld, but to a young American soldier in Iraq right now -- the soldier carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place where he or she can't tell friend from foe, the marine out on patrol at night who doesn't know what's coming around the next bend. America's brave young men and women deserve to hear the truth.

For too long, the Bush administration's strategy has been to divide not unite, to spin not to lead, to attack their political enemies at home rather than fight America's enemies attacking our troops in Iraq.

It's long past time to get it right in Iraq. The administration's current lack of a coherent strategy is courting disaster instead of doing what's needed for success.

That's what we need from this administration. No more false rosy scenarios. No more happy talk about the Iraq insurgency being in "its final throes" when our military leadership knows that's just spin.

It was with our troops in mind that I offered up a plan for Iraq in a New York Times op-ed this morning. I wrote: "The reality is the Bush administration's choices have made Iraq into what it wasn't before the war -- a breeding ground for jihadists."

As I said in the article and I will say again on the Senate floor today, there's no time to wait -- this is a time for humility from the White House, and a time to take specific steps to finally get it right in Iraq. It starts by telling the truth, and being straight with Americans.

Here's what I think President Bush needs to address tonight - and we need to hold him accountable:

The president must announce immediately that the United States will not have a permanent military presence or bases in Iraq.

The United States must also insist that the Iraqis establish a truly inclusive political process and meet the deadlines for finishing the constitution and holding elections in December.

We need to put the training of Iraqi troops on a true six month wartime footing and ensure that the Iraqi government has the budget needed to deploy them.

The administration needs to work not just at security but at reconstruction -- Iraqis need to see the electricity working and the water flowing.

The administration needs to get Iraq's neighbors off the sidelines -- they can't afford a failed Iraq on their doorstep, and Bush-style unilateralism needs to bend to getting these countries on board.

And the administration must immediately draw up a detailed plan with clear milestones for the transfer of military and police responsibilities to Iraqis after the December elections. The plan should be shared with Congress.
It's the only way we can set the stage for American forces to begin to come home.

The next months are critical to the future of Iraq and our security. If the administration fails to take the kind of steps I outlined today, we will stumble along, our troops at greater risk, casualties rising, costs rising, the patience of the American people wearing thin, and the specter of quagmire staring us in the face.

I urge you to watch the president's speech tonight with a careful eye and to act in every way possible to demand what our troops deserve - leadership equal to their sacrifices.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

P.S. Click here to read excerpts from my New York Times op-e

[Pacifist Patriot]

28. Drat! I missed it.

[Goldeneye]

30. It's gonna be up on Dembloggers soon

if it's not already.

[blm]

82. Catch the replay on Cspan. Dembloggers can't carry Cspan anymore.

.

[ohtransplant]

35. Big day for Kerry

and apparently few saw it coming.

The speech, the Op Ed in the NYT, and the broadcast e-mail demonstrate a strong and concerted effort on the Senator's part.

Wonder if *'s speech writers are re-working any of the speech...

[blm]

36. That's what I figured. Hit his marks all on the same day Bush speaks.

Hopefully, it will cause a stumble here and there.

I worry that the media will continue its coverup for Bush and still claim that the Dems never offer an alternative.

[ohtransplant]

40. Not only did he hit his marks.

He stayed on message down to the vocabulary he used.

In addition, if you think about it, each venue for the message reaches different segments.

Great Speech BTW!

[YvonneCa]

69. Contact the media....

...request equal time, even though it's not the rule anymore. Here's my letter:


I would respectfully like to request that you provide equal time to those of us (at least half the country) who did not vote for this president and run Senator John Kerry's floor speech (given today, June 28, 2005, and carried by C-SPAN2) on the Iraq war. In his speech, Senator Kerry presented an alternate path for success in the Iraq war, which Americans deserve to hear. I am aware that the FCC no longer requires you to provide equal time, but in the interest of the American public and national security (which will be affected by the outcome in Iraq), I am hopeful that you will agree that Senator Kerry is an American leader worthy of your attention.
Sincerely,



:patriot:

[blm]

79. Good idea....

I also sent Kerry's speech to my local paper.

[bunny planet]

37. That's my President!!!! You go John.

Guess the *blivet will have to say something 'substantive' now.
Nyet.

[Sydnie]

44. MIne too!!

He makes me remember what it feels like to feel pride for my country.

[Coexist]

39. Darn - I missed it - I am fanatically refreshing Dembloggers

waiting for it!

[Dr Fate]

42. Credit where credit is due- thanx JFK!

n/t

[bpilgrim]

43. if he knew then what he knows NOW - would he still vote for war

i like him to set the record straight.

if he is going to fight for independent investigations, i am hopeful he will answer the question correctly next time.

go kerry :toast:

peace

[seabeyond]

47. this made me feel good hearing about this

i never really heard during campaign what he thought about this. but to say on record he doesnt want permanent bases, lets me know he isnt in the war game for profit or control. that he voted for bush'swhatever not for agenda, but because he thought we may need to go in. not to stay and control


The president must announce immediately that the United States will not have a permanent military presence or bases in Iraq.

[blm]

52. He made that point during the Sept 30 debate, but the media didn't pick up

on it at ll. Or they did and refused to discuss it. They followed the storyline that the Dems had no plan and offered no alternative.

[seabeyond]

53. Dems had no plan .......that drove me batty, still

drives me batty, adn people here promote it

thanks. i was thinking i had heard it from him,. but needed the comfirmation outsdie of the campaign. i think anyone aware of the 14 bases going on that advocates we not have those bases stands on stronger ground.

you are always right there with kerry blm, appreciate it

[ginnyinWI]

72. there is a big difference between Dems and Repubs on this

Repubs want an occupation and corporate control of every drop of oil. Dems want stability only, and notice how Kerry advocates bringing neighboring countries in to help out. Why don't the Repubs do this? Probably a matter of power and profits that they are unwilling to share.

[Frederik]

76. That's a really good idea

I think Egypt and Jordan, in particular, if they could be persuaded, would make a hell of a lot more sense as peacekeepers than American or even UN troops. They know the language, the culture, and the religion, and aren't perceived as imperialists. Maybe even the Saudis and North African countries.

But then Halliburton wouldn't get any more contracts x(

Kerry offers real solutions while Bush offers more jingoism.

[blm]

78. Very good point. It would make a great LTTE.

.

[Gay Green]

85. John Kerry's got the plan and Shrub never had one after going in.

And yet the corporate media had it ass-backwards in the lead=up to last year's election. x(

[seabeyond]

77. yes........

but you know those dems. some of them. i dont know hillary's position so i sit in dout with her.

yes. that is such an easy one. bringing in all the parties. and allowing them to put someone in they trust, not our corrupt u.s. chalabi

yes to what you are saying. that is why bush can never be successfull. he doesnt walk it in integrity at all. people know this

[PATRICK]

49. Good idea

Bush showed clear intent on abusing, bungling and precipitating disaster in Iraq. Apparently the Dems were mollified by the surface enactment of consistent American policy to get rid of Hussein and the inability to point out the obvious fact Bush couldn't do it without breaking the whole egg carton. yet, had Bush been sane or careful at any point OR lucky, the gambit might have worked. Were Dems afraid that telling the truth against an eventual success would destroy them? Apparently so. Were they smashed over the head anyway? Obviously. Do they now have a little problem with explaining their bad and fearful moves in the past. Absolutely.

If Kerry cannot level with the American people on REALLY refurbishing the Democrat position on Iraq away from loyal support of the Idiot King, the anti-Midas it is because he wants to be very deep in the "wise" meddling in Iraq or is afraid to be changed by the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

It is a good speech, but not one that will convince me he is out of sucker mode or the necessary opposition to treasonous evil one would expect from one who would LEAD the nation- and was elected to do so were it not for the Bush crimes he did not face up to publicly. This is minimalism considering the facts known before during and after this destabilizing bloodbath used as a pretext to destroy our own democracy.

It is a start, but don't expect it to control what SHOULD be the outcome- the impeachment and trail of this administration- as it marches stubbornly to war in Iran. And to kill Chavez with whom Kerry has a few equally lame problems.

I am not trying to shoot the messenger. Only I see we are still enabling the daily death of many innocents and soldiers while these noble half-moves stagger on.

[sandnsea]

74. For the 10,000th time

It wasn't a vote for war and if you want the DSM to have an impact, you're going to have to get that detail through your head.

You can't call it a vote for war while quoting Bush saying it wasn't a vote for war and he was trying to avoid war. And that's the entire basis of what the DSM exposes.

[mzmolly]

54. What did he say?

:D

[BurtWorm]

59. "My fellow Americans, I submit to you, George W. Bush is a noodlehead."

Not really. :hi:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/opinion/28kerry.html?hp&oref=login

[mzmolly]

63. Dang...

Ya had me there for a minute. ;)

:hi:

[MoonRiver]

57. Excellent news!!! Go Kerry!

I didn't hear it but hopefully I'll catch a rerun. This is what we've been asking for! :kick:

[seabeyond]

66. go to post 25 and read

glad you embrace. i remember you from another day, lol. wanted it so bad, so hard on kerry, and no one could really tell you wait and see, just had no patience.

so far he has mentioned it. sent out letter, mentioned it twice again. more than any other senator anyway

so good for him for at least keeping it going

excited to see what is to come

[AuntiBush]

61. Caught it! Yup, he Sure Did Mention the Downing Street Memo!

Our Dem Rep's are suppose to be mentioning, rather bring it up tonight on the House floor, seen on C-SPAN (main/1) on or about 6 pm EST.

[brettdale]

65. scream it from the roof tops!

Well Done Mr Kerry.

[YvonneCa]

70. Bless you, John Kerry! n/t

[youthere]

90. kicking

[LightningFlash]

91. Kerry picks up the ball!!!!

Go John!!!! :yourock: :yourock:

[bejammin075]

93. Too bad he didn't mention it on CNN

WTF? We're in Iraq because the President fooled enough people with lies. Kerry, and all Dems, should be mentioning this EVERY time they are infront of a camera.

[blm]

94. I was hoping so, too. While the main subject was HIS plan vs Bush's policy

I was still hoping he'd have the time to discuss the implications of the DSM.