The Gaffes of John Kerry

[mzmolly]

"Slate continues its short features on the 2004 presidential candidates. Previous series covered the candidates' biographies, buzzwords, agendas, worldviews, best moments, worst moments, and flip-flops. This series assesses each candidate's most embarrassing quotes, puts them in context, and explains how the candidate or his supporters defend the comments. Today's subject is John Kerry.

Quote: "What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States" (Boston Globe, April 3, 2003).

Charge: Then-GOP Chairman Marc Racicot said Kerry "crossed a grave line when he dared to suggest the replacement of America's commander in chief at a time when America is at war." Racicot said Kerry's remark was "designed to further Sen. Kerry's political ambitions at a time when the lives of America's sons and daughters are at stake." John Podhoretz of the New York Post accused Kerry of drawing an "implicit parallel … between Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush."

What's interesting to me is not so much the content of the article, but that the term *GAFFE* was applied to John Kerry when he was the front-runner. (Note the date)

Isn't his so called *measured* approach to politics supposed to make him the most electable? :eyes: Isn't that why people are choosing Kerry over their favorite candidates?

http://slate.msn.com/id/2089125/

Also see this... very important~!

This is what the right wing plans to do to Kerry.

"Charge: Kerry was accused of using such comments to make his Irish-American constituents think he is one of them when, in fact, he isn't. The Republican National Committee included the 1986 statement in a compendium of Kerry quotes titled Will He Say Anything To Get Elected?"

Anyone got a list of those quotes? It would be good to know what were up against here.


"Will He Say Anything To Get Elected?"

[deminflorida]

1. His biggest Gaffe....

Floridian's should stop crying in their Tea Cups over the 2000 election and move on.

[deminflorida]

2. Let me add to that John....

27 electoral votes, remember us?

[emulatorloo]

3. One more time, teacups out of context quote, not dis

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=190855

Please read, Thanks!

[deminflorida]

4. A real apology vice a swipe will do just fine thanks....

eom

[creativelcro]

5. I saw an ad where he summarizes Dean as a gaffe maker...

What a weak point...

[mzmolly]

6. He continually calls Dean a *gaffer* and then adds in his lofty way

"can we afford to have a man who makes gaffe after gaffe, running against George Bush?"

Give ... Me ... A ... BREAK!

[IndianaGreen]

16. Slate: The Gullible Mr. Kerry

This is but one example of what happens when someone tries to be on both sides of an issue. His opponents from the Left and from the Right will burn him by showing him as an opportunist or worse, a liar.

The Gullible Mr. Kerry
The senator gets fooled again.
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2003, at 9:19 AM PT

So, the junior senator from Massachusetts has finally come up with a winning line. "Vote for me," says John Kerry. "I'm easily fooled." This appears to be the implication of his claim to have been "misled" by the Bush administration in the matter of WMD. And, considering the way in which Democratic Party activists generally portray the president as a fool and an ignoramus, one might as well go the whole distance and suggest a catchy line for the campaign: "Kerry. Duped by a Dope."

Given that Kerry once went all the way to Vietnam under some kind of misapprehension about a war for democracy and launched a political career on the basis of what he finally learned when it was much too late, one might be tempted to discern a pattern here. But that temptation should probably be discarded. The Tonkin Gulf resolution was fabricated out of whole cloth (by a Democratic president, building on the legacy of another JFK from Massachusetts), and not even the most Stalinized of the Vietnamese leadership ever ran a regime, or proposed an ideology, as vile as that of Saddam Hussein. Indeed, Ho Chi Minh in 1945 modeled his declaration of independence on the words of Thomas Jefferson, appealed for American help against France, and might have got it if FDR had lived. Uncle Ho shared in the delusion that there could be an anti-colonial and anti-dictatorial empire. If that is indeed a delusion. …

Returning to the banality of Kerry and the simplistic yes/no argument about weaponry, the evidence that the Bush/Blair team was exaggerating or inflating the WMD issue was available long before the, er, lull in inspections that has now befallen us. And it was made available to Kerry, too, as a very mordant article on the Net by his constituent Charles Jenks has recently shown. Thus, for the senator to say that he was deceived along with "all of us" is provably false. He is now belatedly entering the ranks of those who claim never to have been fooled in the first place.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2084753/

[mzmolly]

17. Excellent point!

Thread worthy, but I'm off to bed ;)

[krkaufman]

23. Link to Slate-referenced article

From the Hitchens Slate article:

And it was made available to Kerry, too, as a very mordant article on the Net by his constituent Charles Jenks has recently shown. (link)

[krkaufman]

26. Hitchens bi-polar?

While trying to figure out just how damaged Christopher Hitchens is, I stumbled across this review for his book, over at Amazon.com. It's quite a hoot.

Hitchens: A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq

I am immigrants, and I supporting war, November 5, 2003

Reviewer: A reader from Sunnyvale, CA

I, like Hitchens, am living America as foreigner, and I likes it!! I think America invasion of Iraq is good. More American culture and values in mid-east is good things. I hoping America invading other country who don't know what is good - like Iran and Jordan and Pakistan and all poor country who practice violent religion and not knowing American cultures and fashions. I dream one day America invading all the countries and we having Burger King and KFC and big Wal-Marts parking lots for everyones to park they cars in with no parking problems any more. This is my dreams.

What happened to Hitchens? Hard to understand his Clinton-hatred and hawkishness, in relation to his 'The Trial of Henry Kissinger' book. Did Henry have the CIA replace him with a double?

[bigtree]

29. hitchens?

man, you sure can dredge up the hacks.

[Forkboy]

30. try addressing the message

I'm no fan of Hitchens myself,but what about what he says in the article?

[sangh0]

35. No "message", just lies

It's Hitchens, fer chrissakes. Hitchens is a documented liar

[Forkboy]

38. For someone who likes to chide people on attacking the messenger

you sure dont seem to mind doing it yourself.

[kstewart33]

33. Oh, it's Hitchens

Geez, guys, he's a classic Kerry hater. That's like posting a piece on Dean by Rove. But curiously, the White House has said nothing negative about Dean, but they have about Kerry.

Hmmmm.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

7. That Kerry, always saying the craaaaziest things!

Kerry Says US Needs Its Own 'Regime Change'
April 3, 2003
Senator John F. Kerry said yesterday that President Bush committed a ''breach of trust'' in the eyes of many United Nations members by going to war with Iraq, creating a diplomatic chasm that will not be bridged as long as Bush remains in office.

''What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States,'' Kerry said in a speech at the Peterborough Town Library.

Despite pledging two weeks ago to cool his criticism of the administration once war began, Kerry unleashed a barrage of criticism as US troops fought within 25 miles of Baghdad.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0403-08.htm


Kerry Stands By Bush Criticism
April 7, 2003
Presidential candidate John Kerry said Monday that democracy affords rival Democrats the right to criticize President Bush even with the nation at war.

The Massachusetts senator has come under a withering attack from Republicans for suggesting that the United States, like Iraq, needs a regime change. Traveling through Iowa, Kerry rejected what he called "phony arguments" from the GOP that political candidates should mute their criticism of the commander in chief.

"This is a democracy," Kerry said. "We could be at war a year from now. Would we put the election on hold?"
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/04/politics/main547730.shtml

What a radical viewpoint! I'm sure the folks at DU will be jumping all over him for this one!

[mzmolly]

8. Here's another *crazy* thing he said... in fact there are many as I look

at his record.

Kerry Said “If You Don’t Believe In The U.N. ... Or You Don’t Believe Saddam Hussein Is A Threat With Nuclear Weapons, Then You Shouldn’t Vote For Me.” (Ronald Brownstein, “On Iraq, Kerry Appears Either Torn Or Shrewd,” Los Angeles Times, 1/31/03)"

I don't belive Saddam is a thread with Nuclear weapons...

There is lots more guys. Welcome to the spotlight! :P

[Feanorcurufinwe]

9. I dont

I don't believe Osama bin-Laden has nuclear weapons. I know he'd like to get them. If you don't believe Osama is threat with nuclear weapons, you may have a problem judging what is and isn't a threat.

[Forkboy]

10. non-sequiter

Kerry was talking about Saddam...not Osama.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

11. lol

Think about it.

[mzmolly]

13. Actually I think many people need to think about this.

:hi:

I think I'll start a thread :)

[Forkboy]

15. I did

[LiberalBushFan]

22. Huh?

Are you saying Osama bin-Hussein and Saddam bin-Laden aren't the same person?

[Forkboy]

24. Not the same person

justused as a boogeyman for scared people.

[LiberalBushFan]

25. I know

just playin with Feanor's confusion

[Sensitivity]

12. You should have heard what he said off the record. Gaffe is not the word

[mzmolly]

14. Do share...

:)

[IndianaGreen]

18. Past Votes Dog Some Presidential Candidates

Past Votes Dog Some Presidential Candidates
Democrats Defend Siding With Bush
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 12, 2003; Page A01

Presidential candidate John F. Kerry is bashing President Bush's policies on Iraq, education and civil liberties. What he rarely mentions, however, is that his Senate votes helped make all three possible.

<snip>

That these lawmakers voted with Bush on key issues is complicating their bids to win their party's nomination, as fellow Democrats demand explanations. As the campaign progresses, it also could make it harder for them to draw sharp distinctions with Bush on what are shaping up as among the biggest issues of the 2004 campaign, according to political strategists.

Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman and Gephardt contend that their votes for Bush's agenda took place in much different political climates and were predicated on their beliefs the president would carry out each initiative in a different manner than he has. In Iraq, they say, they believed he would work harder to win U.N. assistance. On the Patriot Act, they believed the administration would carefully protect citizens' privacy and civil rights. And on education, they believed Bush would fully fund the program. Moreover, a large number of congressional Democrats voted the same way they did.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A62830-2003Sep11¬Found=true

[mzmolly]

20. Ironic aint it?

:eyes:

[IndianaGreen]

19. Kerry's Senate Career Short on Law-Making

Kerry's Senate Career Short on Law-Making
Associated Press
Monday, July 21, 2003

WASHINGTON — Asked what he has accomplished during his 19 years in the Senate, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (search) gives a lengthy answer but has a short list of laws that bear his name.

<snip>

His response prompted an examination of his record. Kerry has been the lead sponsor of eight bills that have become law. Two are related to his work on the Senate panel on oceans and fisheries - a 1994 law to protect marine mammals from being taken during commercial fishing and a 1991 measure for the National Sea Grant College Program Act (search), which finances marine research.

In 1999, President Clinton signed his bill providing grants to support small businesses owned by women.

The rest of the laws he saw passed were ceremonial - renaming a federal building, designating Vietnam Veterans Memorial 10th Anniversary Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day (search) and World Population Awareness Week in two separate years.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,92477,00.html

[krkaufman]

21. How long's Kerry been in the Senate??

All these bills, over what period? 19 years?

(sigh)

[bigtree]

28. For the Under-Informed

On January 22, 2002 Kerry became one of the first Democrats to present an alternative to the Bush administration's energy plan. Delivering a major policy addresss, "Energy Security is American Security," he stated, "If we enact the entire Bush energy plan we will find ourselves twenty years from now more dependent on foreign oil than we are today." Kerry called for a "national Strategic Energy Initiative," including increasing the amount of electricity from alternative and renewable sources to 20% by 2020, improving Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, reinvesting in public transportation, and tax incentives for efficiency improvements.

Kerry was a leading opponent of efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "It will never pass the Senate," he said in an August 1, 2001 statement. "You don't have to destroy a wildlife refuge to meet the energy needs of America," he told attendees of the California Democratic Party convention in February 2002. When the energy bill came up in early March, Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) produced a bipartisan proposal to increase fuel efficiency standards. The amendment would have required automakers to achieve an average of 36 mpg for their combined passenger car and light truck fleets by model year 2015, however, on March 13 the Senate voted in favor of a weaker amendment sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Kit Bond (R-MO). Debate on the energy bill continued, and on April 18 Sens. Kerry, Lieberman, and other opponents of drilling in ANWR succeeded in putting a halt to the Administration's proposal as a cloture motion fell 14 votes short of the 60 required (S.Amdt.3132--46 to 54 vote).

...And Small Business Relief
From his position as chair of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerry sought to provide emergency economic relief for small businesses in the wake of the September 11 attacks. By mid-December, the Kerry-Bond American Small Business Relief and Recovery Act, S.1499, had gained the backing of 63 Senators. However, the Administration opposed the bill and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) blocked its consideration. For a time Kerry even resorted to placing a hold on all non-judicial executive nominations, but he was unable to advance the bill. Kerry and Bond managed to include some provisions in a defense bill. Finally, they achieved a compromise with the White House, and on March 22, 2002 S.1499 passed the Senate by unanimous consent. The estimated cost of the bill according to the CBO is $300 million.

Kerry has also been concerned about the shortage of professional nurses. In 2001, he introduced several versions of a Nurse Reinvestment Act (S.706 and S.1597), and a bill (S.1864) eventually did pass the Senate and was signed into law in August 2002.
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/kerry.html


Kerry said he has been responsible for laws to pay for 100,000 police officers and support fishery and environmental laws and small-business aid programs. He also pointed to his advocacy of democracy in the Philippines and the end of the Marcos regime there.

And he spoke of the investigations from earlier in his career - his probe of the Nicaraguan Contra armies, international money laundering and American prisoners of war in Vietnam. He also led the effort to normalize relations with Vietnam, where he was wounded in combat as a Navy officer.

Aides point out that while many of Kerry's initiatives have not passed Congress intact, they have been included as amendments to bills that made it into law.

But if recent political history is any indication, other academics said, legislative accomplishments don't mean much in a presidential race. "Most voters only have a vague idea of what senators do," said John Pitney, government professor at California's Claremont McKenna College. "If you look at the senators who've run for president, most don't have a legislative record."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_2627.shtml




Massive amount of bills sponsored and many more co-sponsored by John Kerry (scroll down the page to John Kerry when it opens):

107th Congress:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdbrwsr/d107/sponlst.html?/d107/splst.html#sK

108th Congress:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdbrwsr/d108/sponlst.html?/d108/splst.html#sK


Readers will be able to find out more about Sen. Kerry and his vision in a couple of books. He has penned A Call to Service: My Vision for a Better America (Viking Press, October 9, 2003), and helped historian Douglas Brinkley with material for Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War (Viking Press, January 6, 2004) which is scheduled to be published less than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

Readings and Resources
Todd S. Purdum. "Storied Past, Golden Resume, but Mixed Reviews for Kerry." November 30, 2003. .

Calvin Woodward. "An ambition to lead powers Kerry through maelstrom of war and jarring career turns." Associated Press. October 9, 2003. (1,850 words)

Boston Globe's seven-part "John Kerry: Candidate in the Making" series:
John Aloysius Farrell. "At the center of power, seeking the summit." June 21, 2003.
John Aloysius Farrell. "With probes, making his mark." June 20, 2003.
Brian C. Mooney. "Taking one prize, then a bigger one." June 19, 2003.
Brian C. Mooney. "First campaign ends in defeat." June 18, 2003.
Michael Kranish. "With antiwar role, high visibility." June 17, 2003.
Michael Kranish. "Heroism, and growing concern about war." June 16, 2003.
Michael Kranish. "A privileged youth, a taste for risk." June 15, 2003.

Mark Z. Barabak. "John F. Kerry: The Massachusetts Senator, A Decorated Veteran, Mixes Strong Liberal Credentials With Pro-War Stands on Iraq." Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2003. .

Laura Blumenfeld. "Hunter, Dreamer, Realist: Complexity Infuses Senator's Ambition." Washington Post, June 1, 2003. .

David Nather. "Kerry's Complex Record and His Pursuit of the Presidency." CQ Weekly, April 26, 2003. <"The Road Up Pennsylvania Avenue" series>

Julia Reed. "A Man in Full." Vogue, March 2003.

Adam Nagourney. "Antiwar Veteran Eager for Battle." New York Times, December 9, 2002, page A22. . (1,936 words)

Joe Klein. "The Long War of John Kerry." The New Yorker, December 2, 2002.

Jonathan Miles. "A Lighter Side of John Kerry." Men's Journal, August 2002.

Sally Jacobs. "The importance of being not so earnest." Boston Globe, May 1, 2002, page D1.

Paul Alexander. "John Kerry: Ready for His Close Up." Rolling Stone, April 11, 2002.

C-SPAN's "American Politics" ran a profile (about 56 minutes long, taped in Nov. 2001) of Sen. Kerry on Feb. 17, 2002.

[mzmolly]

34. *

deleted.

[bigtree]

27. "This is what the right wing plans to do to Kerry."

OOOH! RIGHT WING! NOOOOOO!
:scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

[mzmolly]

37. OOOOH, Right wing is right. Isn't that the ultimate enemy? Dont they

have 200 million in the bank. Yep :scared:

[robbedvoter]

31. So, after saying what my button said for months, kerry folded 4 times?

Kerry issued four responses to his critics: 1) "It is possible that the word 'regime change' is too harsh. Perhaps it is." 2) It was just a "quip." 3) "That's what a presidential race is about. It's about changing the administration." 4) "I'm not going to let the likes of Tom DeLay question my patriotism, which I fought for and bled for in order to have the right to speak out."

And this is the guy who wants to convince people he can face BFEE?

[Mobius]

32. Scull and Bones

I think Kerry's refusal to answer any questions about S&B means he honors thier code of silence, making him an ACTIVE MEMBER. George W Bush is also an active member. I think Kerry wants to get the nomination so he can take the fall for a fellow Bonesman. Anyone feel the same?

[israruth]

36. Kerry was delighted with the Republicans takeover of Congress in 1994

Yesterday,the New York TImes reported that,after the Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, Kerry said that he was "delighted with seeing an institutional shake-up because I think we need one".

The Democratic party would be crazy to nominate Kerry. We need a nominee to stand up to right-wing,not to support them!