Kerry to Hold Press Conference on Iraq Today

[whometense]

John Kerry to Hold Press Conference on Iraq Today

Boston, Massachusetts -- Today marks the deadline in the Iraqi constitution for the Iraqis to have a government. Senator John Kerry set forward a firm deadline for U.S. troop redeployment and has repeatedly said that if the Iraqis form a unity government by the deadline, then the U.S. should immediately begin working with Iraqi officials to redeploy all American combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this year.


Senator Kerry will speak about these developments in Boston today.


WHO: Senator John F. Kerry


WHEN: Monday, May 22, 2006
2:45 pm


WHERE: One Bowdoin Square Courtyard
Boston

[rodeodance]

1. thanks, hope it gets covered by cspan at least.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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

[MH1]

4. Hi there!

How's your buddy Bush, the reall flip-flopper, doing? Hey, if you live in PA, you have the king of flip-floppers as your Senator - Rick Santorum. Not that he actually lives in PA, but somehow we got stuck with him anyway.

[Apollo11]

5. In 2004 it was Kerry or Bush

After he won the nomination, I supported Kerry all the way.

But now I think we need someone else to carry the flag in 2008.

Someone who has been consistent on the Iraq issue.

If you're asking me -- someone like Al Gore.

[MH1]

7. So you trash everyone else with RW talking points and lies?

I still think your eyes are blinking in the daylight after coming out from under your bridge.

You aren't earning any support for your candidate by beating up other good democrats. If you really do support Gore then you might want to think about supporting the things he cares about too - not trying to undermine others who are working for the cause.

But based on your post, I consider that a BIG "if".

[fedupinBushcountry]

9. 2008?

God get your mind to the present. Tell me what this post has to do with 2004 or 2008?

Get over it.

[fedupinBushcountry]

11. So you were

against him before you were for him, flip-flop, flip-flop.

After he won the nomination, I supported Kerry all the way.

[karynnj]

What is Gore's current position on Iraq

I know he said no to fighting there, but I have not heard any plans for what to do since then.

[blm]

22. If you think Gore has been consistent on Iraq, you don't know his record.

It was Gore during the 2000 campaign who pledged to get TOUGHER on Iraq.

Had Gore been a problem for BushInc in 2002, they woulld have pounded him day after day with that fact and the video of him saying it. But, then Gore wasn't a factor for them, so he had the luxury of saying whatever he wanted.

[magnolia]

55. Getting TOUGHER on Iraq......

...does not mean bombing, invading, occupying, torturing, etc.

[ProSense]

26. This is a thread about Kerry's plan; start one about Gore's n/t

[_dynamicdems]

39. EXACTLY! The Gore supporter should jump in a Gore thread and leave us

alone. We are trying to discuss a serious issue here: IRAQ...you know, the place where people are DYING.

They are dying now and we've got someone here whining about who to support in 2008. How many people will be dead by then that unity against the war can save NOW.

Some people think it is all about them and who they want to vote for. How totally unproductive. How totally sad for the people who are dying while the folks they depend on to get them home (DEMOCRATS) are fighting over an election two years from now.

[_dynamicdems]

27. What do you do, just sit around waiting for people to talk about Kerry so

you can jump in and start whining about 2008.

We've got a war going on NOW, so get over yourself. I suggest you go to a Gore thread if you like Gore. We are in a Kerry thread because we like Kerry.

Now how would you feel if a few supporters of other Democrats were to jump into one of the threads about Gore's new movie and start trashing him? You know something: I WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND NEITHER WOULD ANY OTHER KERRY SUPPORTER I KNOW.

You know why? Two reasons:

1.We believe in Democratic Unity and this is 2006, the year we can take back Congress if we can stop whining long enough and get off our asses.

2. Kerry supporters have too much class to do that. (Incidentally, you are not representing VP Gore very well by acting this way, you know.)

[wisteria]

37. Gore has criticized from a very comfortable position, he has nothing

to loose. He comes out and opposes Bush, but he offers no alternatives that I know of. Where is the plan, where is the direction?

[karynnj]

6. A bit old isn't that and by the way, both votes were right

Kerry voted for paying for armor for the troops and reconstruction WITH the provisions that they be funded by rolling back the tax cuts for the top 1% and for oversight on how the money was spent

He voted against it when it was paid for by adding it to the deficit and with no oversight - How many billions can't be accounted for $9 billion was the last estimate I heard.

Kerry explained this nicely several times till it became clear that the press was playing intentionally stupid. (I do think he should have given the original answer in the debates - so intelligent people could here it - but his answer had a nice rhetorical flourish -maybe the Senate is hard to understand.

I challange you to compare Kerry's consistency over 22 (or 35 years)with any other possible candidate. He has real core values and integrity. (On the things where he shifted, there is an evolution - either the legislation shifted or he shifted from a yes, but to a no, but (or visa versa) where the underying floor speech shows only a small shift because of experience or more information. Although they are required to vote yes or no, the floor speeches are far better predictors of what a Senator would do if he/she actually was in charge.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

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

[MH1]

10. Which

votes were not counted?

Btw, you do realize, don't you, that your handle "peacetheonlyway" is not very achievable by people who speak in insults, lies, and distortions?

"If you want peace, work for justice."

Justice is not achieved by lies and peace will not be achieved by insults. A heart that practices lying and insults will forget how to speak with love and forbearance, and will drive wedges rather than build bridges.

[Apollo11]

12. Do you trust Kenneth Blackwell to count every vote?

Because I wouldn't trust him to wash his hands after going to the bathroom.

I trust when Diebold CEO says they will deliver Ohio's electoral votes for Bush-Cheney, they will do what they promise.

But we're getting away from the point of this thread.

Which is to hold our breath and wait for John Kerry to give us the solution to the Iraq mess.

After all ... he was one of the Senators who helped get us into this mess ...

[MH1]

17. The votes were counted according to the rules. Kerry is speaking out

on Iraq today.

Why do you say you are going to "hold our breath and wait for John Kerry to give us the solution to the Iraq mess"? Do you think any Democrat can solve it, while the repukes hold all three branches of government? All Democrats can do is speak out, and Kerry is. You don't like him speaking out? TOUGH SHIT. We will not be silenced.

Anyway, I am surprised to hear you call Iraq a "mess" - part of your cover? Your buddy Bush got us into it, not ANY Democrat - not even Lieberman.

Also, what did your purported hero Gore do about the voting situation between 2000 and 2004?

[karynnj]

23. The President ordered the soldiers in - not the Senators

Kerry spoke out before the war started. He has explained his vote, as he did when he cast it, at least 1 million times. He voted to get the inspectors in. He regrets his vote.

There are very few Democrats leading on this, why attack one who is.

[blm]

25. No - CLINTON AND GORE HELPED GET US INTO THIS MESS because they refused

to open the books on BushInc when they took office. IranContra and BCCI led us into Iraq - and Clinton and Gore chose to close the books to protect BushInc on those crimes.

Hey, Democrats, the Truth Matters!
By Robert Parry
May 11, 2006

My book, Secrecy & Privilege, opens with a scene in spring 1994 when a guest at a White House social event asks Bill Clinton why his administration didn’t pursue unresolved scandals from the Reagan-Bush era, such as the Iraqgate secret support for Saddam Hussein’s government and clandestine arms shipments to Iran.

Clinton responds to the questions from the guest, documentary filmmaker Stuart Sender, by saying, in effect, that those historical questions had to take a back seat to Clinton’s domestic agenda and his desire for greater bipartisanship with the Republicans.

Snip...

‘Politicized’ CIA

After winning Election 1992, Clinton also rebuffed appeals from members of the U.S. intelligence community to reverse the Reagan-Bush “politicization” of the CIA’s analytical division by rebuilding the ethos of objective analysis even when it goes against a President’s desires.

Snip...

Clinton’s approach also reflected a lack of appreciation for the importance of truth in a democratic Republic. If the American people are expected to do their part in making sure democracy works, they need to be given at least a chance of being an informed electorate.

Yet, Clinton – and now some pro-Iraq War Democrats – view truth as an expendable trade-off when measured against political tactics or government policies. In reality, accurate information about important events is the lifeblood of democracy.

Though sometimes the truth can hurt, Clinton and the Democrats should understand that covering up the truth can hurt even more. As Clinton’s folly with the Reagan-Bush scandals should have taught, the Democrats may hurt themselves worst of all when helping the Republicans cover up the truth.


http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/051006.html

[peacetheonlyway]

14. KERRY TOOK A WALK ON EVERY AMERICAN

by not fighting in Ohio...

the record shows he didn't spend the amount of money or hired the right lawyers to get a valid recount in Ohio.. it was shutdown and fought mostly by the greens and libertarians..

he did nothing to assure that election fraud and disenfranchisement was not prevented from happening again

I know my own truths... and that is my job as a peace activist to speak the truth about people who pretend to be one thing in public and then behind closed doors decide NOT TO PERSONALLY BIND TO THE LAWSUIT of the recount in Ohio...

that's a fact.... look it up....

[emulatorloo]

18. OMG ALL CAPS!!!!!!!! and no facts!

I am so impressed!

[_dynamicdems]

30. Isn't that what they say about Bush: All Hat and No Cattle? n/t

[_dynamicdems]

32. Self-delete...posted in wrong place.

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

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

[emulatorloo]

48. Last I saw, Kerry-Edward 2004 still part of Ohio Recount Lawsuit

which is set to begin trial in Aug this year.

I cannot watch your video but I do not believe that Arnebeck called Kerry a "coward."

Kerry has been working for election reform, introducing a bill in Feb 2005

[peacetheonlyway]

52. his exact words in the video

Arnebeck said, and I quote...

"Kerry took a walk... went to the sideline"

exact quote.... so his involvement was perceived by one of the key attorneys as "insufficient" and paying lip service rather than seriously involved in the case.

the coward part was definitely my opinion.. my bad.. but still a strong opinion I do still have about him... I"d love for Kerry to prove me wrong.. and speaking up against Iraq so many years after the fact is not good enough.. it seems to me Dean was more antiwar than kerry during his presidential bid... so let's not do any revisionist history here.....

But rather than trust the real heroes of the struggle, the lawyers for the greens/libertarians who risked financial losses fighting in ohio...ask yourself the question.. when has Kerry ever admitted that electronic voting might be flawed? When CA/MA/PA have all had major election flaws with entire counties shutting down from machine failure or worse "security flaws" when Time Magazine and NPR finally covering it, how come Kerry is still so silent about it.. his wife even had the courage to say something about election fraud.. and introducing a bill if it's the wrong bill (for instance a paper audit of 3% has proven insufficient to prove accurate elections in places like Ohio, NM and GA).... so no that's not good enough for me.....

One other quote for your records.. John Bonifaz. the other attorney in one of the Ohio lawsuits... also a straight shooter who is running for MA SOS www.johnbonifaz.com . He came to Atlanta and in close door sessions, admitted along with David Cobb/Green Party candidate that Kerry's attorneys paid minimal fees to join the Libertarian/Greens lawsuit where the bulk of cost was with those 2 parties and the Kerry lawyers mostly showed up to sign papers but were otherwise useless in the struggle.

the other case set to happen in August, is to say the least a lesser suit around more of a technicality than the main legal challenge and the key point is regardless of what Kerry SAYS HE DID, the RECOUNT IN OHIO NEVER HAPPENED>>>....
that's fact. it was shut down by the Attorney General / the courts and by interference from Blackwell.
if you don't believe, read freepress.org..

the facts are all over that place.. and having been in Ohio and working with folks who did actual Ohio recounting....I feel I have a little more credibility than somebody said to somebody else said at a cocktail party.....

[emulatorloo]

58. "Faulty voting machines have no place in the greatest democracy on earth."

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=232268

He has made other references in radio interviews I've heard.

I've read freepress, I know of the hard work all have done. I commend you for what you have done it that area.

However, you are on a mission to destroy Kerry, and that's fine if that is what you want to do. But I don't find what you are saying credible in that area.

[peacetheonlyway]

61. thanks for the link...

not trying to destroy Kerry..

HAVE CLEAR UNDERSTANDING HE DOES NOT
a. understand the depth of the voting problem
b. took a walk on americans back in 2004

for the same reason I won't vote for Al gore regardless of his brilliance on other matters. He too did not fight hard enough when the supreme court took away his natural win.

we cannot let thugs take us over anymore.. these 2 have failed..

it's time to find someone that will stand up to bullies.. kerry and gore do not stand up to bullies..
Russ Feingold perhaps??? or a dark horse that shows backbone like Dean did early on and then he lost his wind....

I THINK MOST AMERICANS are undereducated about Hava and the EAC commission. So let me spew some facts:

HAVA has a $3.6BN budget to make elections better ** they have made elections 100% worse
HAVA forces the use of voting machines by saying 'here is a pot of money for voting machines, but you don't get the same pot if you just want to run hand counted paper ballot elections', 'use it or lose it'
HAVA has been taken over by corrupt republicans in Congress to push their voting machines into states that were democratic.. just look at where Diebold deployed.. GA, MD, OHIO, CA, typically democratic states.... just look at the patterns here...
HAVA has a requirement of not allowing INTERPRETED code.. the Diebold machines use a Microsoft Basic Interpreter to operate and no one in congress who invented HAVA seems intent on prosecuting this basic violation of Diebold on their own laws....
HAVA was introduced by Jimmy carter, but since has been co-opted by the voting machine lobbyists and those in congress that get the basic formual IF I OWN A VOTING MACHINE COMPANY, then I WIN MY RACE WHEN THE PUBLIC HATES ME
Who is guilty of this.. Chuck Hagel.. he has an at least $5M possibly more financial stake in the McCarthy Group which is an investor in ES&S the voting machines used to Put Hagel a republican into a formerly stronghold democratic seat in Dakota...
HAVA is so badly broken most activists think it should be revamped cause it has not accomplished any of the goals it set out to accomplish
HAVA is now being used to install guess what, evil of all evils, a UNIFORM Voter Registration system that is all electronic and guess who GA picked? Diebold.. your other choice is Big Brother/Choicepoint so in the olden days I could use the handwritten pollbooks to verify who actually showed up to vote in the new days.. I will have a beginning ot end cover up of who showed up and the machines can manufacture PHANTOM VOTERS which is one major way they steal elections... death by a thousand cuts... few new voters here, few more here.. voila Jean Schmidt, wins in Ohio.. I kid you not..


I could list the EAC commission problems but won't here, I'm tired of their rhetoric and don't want to honor them with my writing.. suffice it to say, the EAC is manipulated by the voting vendors to CERTIFY faulty technology and they have as much election blood on their hands as anyone out there..

so Hearing what Kerry says about HAVA shows a. his ignorance and b. he's ignored the many many many many activists that have placed actual evidence of fraud in his hands..

and one more thing.. FAULT VOTING MACHINES do not equate to coming out and categorically saying ' we have an election system that does not represent the people' which has been made obvious even by Time magazine and NPR as recent as this week.....

Kerry is why I have to spend my own money doing lawsuits on election fraud..

his lawyers were hired republicans working out of Taft's office in Ohio.. they have paid lip service and nothing else to solving the real mystery of how Ohio really voted on election day....

he says one thing but then does not follow thru... he has let Americans down on 'couting the votes' of Ohio and that is my solid opinion.... opinion though it still remains...

[Vektor]

49. Wow. Real nice.

Such incivility doesn't even really warrant a response. If you want honest discourse, maybe omit the flame bait, insults, calling out of an entire group, name calling, etc...all of which are totally against DU rules.

Some peacemaker. :eyes:

[fedupinBushcountry]

19. Ummm

could you please prove your so called facts. You know not what you speak, you only know what you take for fact. Do some research, and you will see how off you really are. Its easy to repeat diatribe.

[MH1]

21. "Peace" activist??? Not a very effective approach. nt

[TayTay]

24. This is not true.

Not only that but it has been looked up. I spoke with an attorney who advised the campaign back in March at an event in Worcester. He explained his reasoning for what happened. I listened to what John Kerry has said, most recently last week about this. He put money into those lawsuits that were thrown out by the courts. He still has money in this game. And you could look that up.

But you won't. You have your mind made up. We could also remind you that the entire DNC, including every single candidate or possible candidate, including Al Gore, has to come out with a position on how to fight election fraud going forward. This is an American problem, not a John Kerry problem. We need to fight this as a united front.

I guess you are not interested in that. You are interested in pointing a finger, saying, 'there, he did it' and then exiting the argument. Too bad. This fight goes on and could use real commitment and help to solve it, not finger pointing. Too, too bad.

[blm]

28. The RIGHT lawyers? Too bad he used the DNC and Gore lawyers who were

supposed to be adept at handling vote problems. That's our Democratic Party INFRASTRUCTURE for you that was left to deteriorate in many states, especially OHIO.

Too bad the DNC did not believe in machine fraud and did not secure the machines BEFORE the vote since AFTER is TOO LATE.

Why you target Kerry and not the supposed Democratic TEAM who was in charge of securing the vote for EVERY CANDIDATE, not just Kerry, deserves an explanation.

[ProSense]

31. You have your own truths? So does Bush, then there is reality!

http://www.stephaniemiller.com/bits/2006_0517_kerry.mp3

[emulatorloo]

16. hey peachy - you can't count votes that weren't cast

and I don't give a damn what some keyboard jockey says about one of the strongest advocates we have.

[karynnj]

20. I assume you have stood up more valiantly than the man

you call a spineless jellyfish. That is still no proof that the election was stolen. There was voter suppression but there is no way to overturn the election based on it. Did you hear even one official Democrat after Nov 3 say the election was stolen? NO (Even Boxer's point was that there were irregularities that needed to be brought to attention.)

Kerry is a very good Democrat, who does mean something to many Democrats. Beyond those who support him for 2008, there are many who credit him with being an honorable man who would have been a good President. His reputation is still stellar - he did absolutely nothing wrong in not challanging the election when he had no proof.

[Apollo11]

53. So - Kerry lost the election

That's what you're saying.

The chimp won the 2004 election. He has a mandate.

You're saying that Kerry was a loser in 2004.

OK let's run with that. Kerry lost Ohio.

Please tell me: why would Kerry be a winner in 2008?

KERRY 2008 - "Let's go with the guy who lost the last time"

[blm]

56. Except about 10% of those who voted for Bush in 2004 now wish they hadn't.

but they only had the 24/7 news media guiding them then. Katrina blew back the corporate media spin so the American people could finally get a glimpse of Bush WITHOUT The constant protection from the news networks.

[ProSense]

29. That's your opinion and it is not based in reality. n/t

http://www.stephaniemiller.com/bits/2006_0517_kerry.mp3

[emulatorloo]

13. Keep your Karl Rove talking points to yourself. EOM

[wisteria]

33. Excuse me, but Senator Kerry has been very open an honest with us

in regards to the war. He never was for the war as much as he was for protecting the country. He has been consistent with this stand. He has laid out a plan for withdraw and is addressing a new development.
Others may have criticized the war from a very comfortable position that yielded no accountability for there stand, but these same people have not offered anything other than that criticism as a means of ending the conflict. Senator Kerry has taken the necessary steps and crossed the line of criticism and come up with a very intelligent and workable plan.
I would suggest you listen or read for yourself before offering a Republican talking point to put down a good Democrat.

[welshTerrier2]

3. "immediate withdrawal" if no "EFFECTIVE" unity government

Kerry's statement was that the US should begin "immediate withdrawal" of American troops from Iraq if the Iraqis did not form an "EFFECTIVE" unity government by May 22.

In that several key positions in the cabinet are not even filled and the country is now in full civil war, it's very difficult to see how one could define the recently formed unity government as an effective unity government.

The guy they appointed as Finance Minister has been accused by the US of genocide ...

In that at least a "fascade of progress" has been constructed, perhaps a very short extension of a couple of weeks might be appropriate to give the Iraqi government every possible last chance to do their job. Nothing will change but perhaps that would be a reasonable extension.

I truly hope Kerry recognizes that in no possible way can the Iraqi government be viewed as "EFFECTIVE".

[TayTay]

15. It has been called a government formed to govern

the Green Zone.

I will wait and see what the remarks are. It is also possible that there is some reaction to this possible news that Blair and Bush are working out some sort of 'withdrawal.' (That probably won't be a withdrawal at all, but since when did truth ever get in the way of a Rethug statement.)

[blm]

34. Someone from the US has to keep the truth out there as much as possible -

even when it doen't get the mountain of press or goodwill.

He's doing it, keeping the pressure on - and looks like he has no plan to let it drop.

[_dynamicdems]

35. This is what we have been waiting for and the subject here is IRAQ.

Is anyone here from Mass going to attend this?

[TayTay]

36. You know, Iraq is pretty important

People are dying. Families are being wrecked. 'Our kids' are coming home with injuries that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

The Iraqi people are dying, ever more, every day. People are living in horrible conditions, afraid to go out of their houses, afraid to send their kids to school, afraid they will die no matter what they do.

I agree that election reform is important. But so is Iraq. Kerry may or may not say something interesting on this issue today. He may repeat what he has already said, he may say something new if he perceives that circumstances have changed. But it's important that he say so.

Because people are dying and I would like to see more people stand up and say that this is wrong and it has to end. Because sometimes I dream of nothing but blood. Just blood and it won't stop dripping.

[Blaukraut]

38. That's great!

I hope it will be broadcast at c-span - even at a later date.

[iilana X]

40. I want to hear what he has to say on Iraq today.

Is this a press conference or a speech and does anybody know if it will be carried on the news anywhere?
John Kerry has been working very hard on a lot of things lately but if I didn't come here to get my news I'd never have known about half of it.

[MH1]

41. Press conference. He had set a deadline in his last major speech on Iraq.

Today, the deadline is up. Many people are anxious to see whether he will push for immediate withdrawal unilaterally determined by the US, or for working with the new government of Iraq to establish a withdrawal plan to get all combat troops out by end 2006.

It is interesting that BushCorp suddenly decided to announce a "partial" withdrawal today - isn't it?

[iilana X]

42. Bushco did that?

That's news to me. The last thing I heard was someone here talking about them sending more troops to Iraq.

[babylonsister]

43. Here's a thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1256634

[politicasista]

44. Thanks for posting this..kick!

Thank you Senator for speaking out. It's time for the troops to come home. :kick: :hi:

[bunny planet]

46. Could this be the reason the Preznit released his little 'draw down' plan

this morning?

[karynnj]

47. He would never admit that

nor could Kerry really claim it. This time it could be event driven, if you believe that an efficient government was formed. It might just be that polls show support for withdrawal.

[blm]

57. Murtha and Kerry have never let up the public pressure for withdrawal, so

I would guess that their drumbeat HAS had some effect - even when the media fails to make the connection or give them credit.

I believe the people in Iraq are hearing about the withdrawal plans that have been submitted more than the people in the US.

[LittleClarkie]

50. So did this happen or what

Anyone see anything?

[MH1]

51. Yes - see other thread

here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2640716&mesg_id=2640716

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

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

[glitch]

59. Kerry and Gore don't need to trash each other to look good - and neither

do their supporters. This is in response to the posts on this thread, not the OP.

[LittleClarkie]

60. I admire both men

And I agree.