John Kerry: "Woulda. Shoulda. Coulda."

[ProSense]

It's like a meeting of the "no accountability" caucus of the Republican Party. Tonight in Chicago, George W. Bush and House Speaker Denny Hastert will appear side-by-side campaigning for Republican candidates.

And, if you think Republicans can't dance, wait until you see 2006 candidates waltz away from the dreaded prospect of being caught in a photo op between the President and the Speaker of the House.

"Woulda. Shoulda. Coulda."

That was Denny Hastert's instinctive response to questions about why the Republican leadership hadn't done more to protect young congressional pages in the Mark Foley scandal. Those are the words of a politician and a party who have made a habit of ignoring the facts, ducking responsibility, and avoiding accountability.

Woulda stopped the corruption of Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, and Duke Cunningham. Coulda forced President Bush to abandon his destructive "stay the course" policy in Iraq. Shoulda cared about something other than cynically holding onto power.

Too late now, Denny. We've had enough. That's why we've added John Laesch, your Democratic opponent and a former Navy intelligence analyst, to our October slate of veterans running for Congress.

Rush a contribution to our veteran candidates right now.

What better way to respond to the Bush-Hastert get-together in Chicago than rushing contributions to five veterans running in races that can finally break the Republican grip on power. This isn't the October Denny Hastert and George Bush had in mind.

They thought they'd have Democratic candidates on the run... burying our hopes in an avalanche of special interest money... stealing our momentum with bogus "soft on terrorism" charges.

Speaker Hastert was planning a victory march from one congressional district to another. That's until one Republican candidate after another begged him to stay home and not bring the debate about his shameful failures of leadership into their races.

Now, with your help, John Laesch can bring that debate into Hastert's own congressional race. Make Denny Hastert explain himself to the people of Illinois' 14th District. And help our four other veterans running in some of the closest, must-win races in the country.

Rush a contribution to our veteran candidates right now.

Don't just support John Laesch's run against Hastert. Tell Patrick Murphy in Pennsylvania that you won't tolerate Republican attempts to "swift-boat" him by disparaging his service to our country.

Tell Leonard Boswell in Iowa that you won't let him be thrown off course by hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads funded by the Texas millionaire who was behind the Republicans' 2004 "swift-boat" attack strategy.

Help Lee Ballenger in South Carolina stand up to the flood of special interest money pouring into his opponent's campaign from powerful oil and gas interests. And help Colonel Mike Weaver continue his surge in Kentucky with a campaign that tells the truth about the Bush fiasco in Iraq.

Rush a contribution to our veteran candidates right now.

Denny Hastert has been the longest-running Republican speaker in history. But in 25 days, we can take the gavel out of his hands -- and the smirk off George W. Bush's face. Don't back down. Don't stop working.

Rush your support now to as many of our five veteran candidates as you possibly can.

Together we'll win.

John Kerry

[survivor999]

1. It takes one to know one.

Sure, Chimpy and Igor suck. But...Isn't Kerry the Masta of "Woulda. Shoulda. Coulda." ?

[ProSense]

2. Yes, Kerry

is just like Bush, but worse. Give it the fuck up!

[nam78_two]

3. His work on BCCI and Iran-Contra makes him a hero

Not the flashiest guy around but damn that was some fine work.
Nothing "coulda, shoulda, woulda" about it...

Kerry rocks imo and so does Gore.

Donna Brazille and Mary Beth Cahill not so much...

[ProSense]

4. "a meeting of the no accountability caucus of the Republican Party."

Bush Gives Hastert a Boost in His Time of Need:

Roskam said he was thankful for the president's "tremendous fundraising boost" and his leadership on tax cuts and keeping America safe. But Roskam's Democratic opponent, Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, has been criticizing his close ties to the party, and Roskam tried to distance himself from Bush's policies on education, spending and immigration.

"I've been very vocal in my separation and criticism of the administration," he said.

Attendees at the fundraiser had to donate at least $1,000 per person, and the invitation advertised that $10,000 would get a photo with the president, "two people, one click," and 10 reception passes.

Sen. John Kerry tried to use the Bush-Hastert appearance to raise money for Democratic candidates, calling it "a meeting of the no accountability caucus of the Republican Party."

"Denny Hastert has been the longest-running Republican speaker in history," Kerry, D-Mass., wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "But in 25 days, we can take the gavel out of his hands -- and the smirk off George W. Bush's face."

In every AP article! Excellent!

[saltpoint]

5. If you weigh the full text of Kerry's remarks here and stand them next

to Dubya's comments in this week's press conference, or any other press conference he's given, you hear in Bush the sputterings of a usually thoughtless and always manipulative hack; Kerry's language suggests resonant understanding and the role of ideas in public service.

The taller of the two is the taller of the two. By far.

[ProSense]

6. Bush backs Hastert; John Kerry backs Laesch

Bush backs Hastert

President `proud' to stand with speaker during visit

By Mark Silva and Rick Pearson, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune correspondent Mike Dorning contributed to this report from Washington
Posted October 13 2006

President Bush delivered an in-person show of support for House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Thursday and professed optimism for Republicans in next month's elections, but a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows a majority of Illinois voters disapprove of the president's job performance and nearly 60 percent are unhappy with the GOP-led Congress.

The survey also shows nearly half of voters disapprove of the way Hastert, of far west suburban Plano, has handled the congressional page controversy that led to Rep. Mark Foley's resignation. Reflecting a potential parochial bias toward a native son, a narrow plurality of Illinois voters say Hastert should not resign as speaker.

The results of the poll, conducted from Sunday to Wednesday, came as Bush traveled to Illinois to raise funds for suburban Republican congressional candidates Peter Roskam and David McSweeney--and to deliver his first personal show of support for Hastert since the page scandal consumed the House Republican leadership two weeks ago.

"I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the House, who is going to be the future speaker of the House," Bush told several hundred people at an intimate fundraising reception at the Chicago Hilton and Towers on Michigan Avenue.

more...

John Kerry backs Laesch

October 13, 2006
Beacon news staff

Former presidential candidate John Kerry threw his political weight behind House Speaker Dennis Hastert's Democratic challenger John Laesch Thursday in an e-mailed letter to supporters.

Calling President Bush's visit to Chicago with Hastert a "meeting of the 'no accountability' caucus," Kerry, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, wrote: "Too late now, Denny. We've had enough. That's why we've added John Laesch, your Democratic opponent and a former Navy intelligence analyst to our October slate of veterans running for Congress."

Snip...

"We're putting together a group of Fighting Democrats, and we really appreciate Sen. Kerry's support," said Laesch's campaign manager, Jennifer Downard, in a statement Thursday. "As a fellow veteran, John Laesch is particularly appreciative of that (letter)."

It is rare for national political figures to publicly support a challenger to Hastert, who has received overwhelming voter support during past elections. However, Democrats perhaps sense potential opportunity in light of the congressional page scandal.

Snip...

Wrote Kerry: "'Woulda. Shoulda. Coulda.' That was Denny Hastert's instinctive response to questions about why the Republican leadership hadn't done more to protect young congressional pages in the Mark Foley scandal."

more...

[Katzenjammer]

7. If only Kerry had done his job in 2004, we wouldn't be in this position

Remember all the polls? He had an unbreakable lead going in. But then he walked away when it looked like something rotten had happened. All the tough talk about lawyers and counting every vote, and then poof, gone. Didn't even wait for the wrap.

Whom do elections belong to, anyway? The candidates...or us?