My open letter to Senator Kerry

[Pab Sungenis]

This will be going out in the mail later today.

Paul L. Sungenis
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Vineland, NJ 08361-xxxx
(856)xxx-xxxx

18 February 2004


Senator John Kerry
304 Russell Bldg.
Third Floor
Washington D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Kerry:

First, let me preface by saying that I know this is most likely being read by a staffer. If it is at all possible, please forward this on to the Senator. If not, you may feel free to try and answer me under your own name. If neither of these is possible, then please do not respond at all. I would rather have my letter ignored than simply answered by a form letter.

It is now more and more apparent that you will likely be the Democratic nominee after the Boston convention. While I have been a long-time Democrat and am currently a loyal committeman, I have grave doubts about your candidacy. These mainly center around three major issues, which I disagree with you on gravely; so gravely that while I “held my nose” and voted for Gore in 2000, I find it very hard to, with a clear conscience, pull the lever for you.

I would like to hear from you to try and reconcile these issues in my mind. Having spoken with Kerry activists about these issues, I have gotten little more than insults and “get out of our party” comments. That's why I'm writing to you. I am hoping that some honest answers on your part can assuage my conscience and allow me to vote for you in November.

In 2002, you voted to authorize George Bush's “go it alone” policy, and authorized him to wage unilateral war against Iraq, despite the lack of hard evidence. We have since learned that the President lied to us all to build support for an invasion. Can you please explain your logic behind this vote, and would you make the same decision today?

In 2001, you voted for the USA PATRIOT Act, the single greatest curtailment of American civil rights since the Sedition and Alien acts under the John Adams administration. Today, you claim that you want to “revise” the Act. Can you please explain your reasoning in voting for the PATRIOT act in 2001, what revisions you would seek today, and why you do not call for its immediate and total repeal?

In 2000, a group of Representatives stood up to dispute the electoral count from the State of Florida, where the Supreme Court had intervened to prevent the counting of votes, allowing the Bush campaign to effectively “steal” the election. In order to dispute the votes, at least one Senator needed to join them. None did. What was your reasoning behind your decision not to join in the protest of the electors?

I hope that I can get some honest answers from you on these issues, and that you can put my mind at ease that I can vote for you with a clear conscience.

I hope to hear from you.


Sincerely,



Paul L. Sungenis


PLS/hs

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. I think you should vote for someone other than Kerry...Kucinich perhaps?

just IMHO

[DevinDNC]

4. Edwards is no Kerry...vote for Kerry.

Kerry is by far the best chance we have at defeating Bush. Edwards is a nice guy, but he is no fighter. Edwards is a lawyer, who against Bush, would probably take a few southern states and thats it.
Kerry has proven he can win anywhere...including the south.

The best thing would be for Edwards to accept a position as vice president...then we could watch Kerry and Edwards spank poor George and Karl.

[BigBigBear]

7. Excuse me

Kerry has NOT "proven he can win anywhere...including the south." All he has proven is that he can win Democratic primaries anywhere.

We're trying to elect a president, not a democratic nominee.

Don't kid yourself that Kerry beating Edwards in Tennessee means anything in the general election.

[Tinoire]

2. Excellent letter. Please share any response you get

I hope it will be better than the bland generic KMA letter I received when I wrote about the war.

[cheezus]

3. you might what to **** out your zip

the extra digits are pretty good at identifying you too.

[sallyseven]

5. You should send the letter to his campaign

His staff in DC are not allowed to answer letters pertaining the the campaign. It is not allowed under the Hatch Act. There will be no campaign work in the Washington DC offices or in the District offices of the member of congress running for office. You can question his votes etc. and get a response but you added the voting segment.

[Kolesar]

6. If you're gonna wait by your mailbox for a response...

...you better git some warm gloves and a hat.

Seriously though--the Dems worked out a deal for the electors. They got equal power on Senate committees in exchange for not objecting to Florida's electors.

Patriot Act--Don't you remember the situation in America after 9/11? anybody who went against the president would have a lit gasoline soaked tire placed around their neck. What was the vote? 98 to 1?

Iraq War--Pelosi and Kucinich figured out that the case for war with Iraq was weak. My only defense for Senators Kerry, Clinton, Edwards, et al was that they were casting a politically calculated vote or they thought Bush would actually try to build international support. This is a difficult position for him to defend. I still think that there was this intimidation going on (see "necklace" above).

I hope someone actually reads and responds to this response and it does not sink into the din of the GDP 2004 forum.

[BigBigBear]

8. The IWR

was a political necessity in the 9/11 world. The WH made it so.

.

[regnaD kciN]

13. Like HELL it was!

That's a little like saying "the concentration camps were a political necessity in post-hyperinflation Germany."

:puke:

Nothing is a "necessity" unless scared bunnies like Kerry are willing to abandon every principle they've ever held in order to gain political advancement.

:argh:

[library_max]

11. You're right as rain about 2000 and the PATRIOT ACT.

Regarding IWR, I'd like to add that at the time, Bush was showing every intention of bypassing both Congress and the UN and going it completely alone, which would have precipitated a political, constitutional, and international crisis. The IWR was also a way to coax him into playing more by the rules. It didn't work, ultimately, but it was worth a try. Again, to say that Congress shouldn't have even considered playing nice with Bush or trusting him at all on WMD is 20-20 hindsight and fails to take into consideration the political climate of that time (as per PATRIOT ACT above).

[DebJ]

17. Kucinich not only survived 'threats', he ran for President. We need

some d..n leadership, I mean LEADERSHIP, not chickens..t.

I never, ever, ever believed Iraq had anything to do with anything except 'he tried to kill my daddy'.
I never, ever, ever believed nor will believe that we should ever trust any one man with so much power as Congress did with Bush. The more of history I read (and that is all I read) the more convinced I will be of this. Funny, how Kerry can't figure out what Ben Franklin Sam Adams Tom Jefferson et al figured out over 200 years ago!!! Does he understand this yet?

[library_max]

19. Millions of primary voters clearly don't agree with you. /nt

[woofless]

9. I simply do not understand how one

can base one's support or lack thereof on a handful of votes in a distiguished Senate career. We all have to "hold our nose" at times. More than once Clinton had me screaming at the TV and I LOVED the guy. Sorry, just don't get it.

[regnaD kciN]

15. Maybe because some of us have principles...

...while others are all-too-ready to throw them away when convenient? And, yes, that can be seen in "a handful of votes," or even a single vote, if the issue is important enough.

:grr:

[DebJ]

20. because that handful of votes was, for one thing, erasing the Constitution

and our system of checks and balances....which is to say, a system of mistrust and it's worked well until now.

[Kolesar]

10. Y'all out stomping your feet by the mailbox, trying to keep warm?

You wrote this dry letter, jam packed with loaded inferences. I gave you an answer. Maybe I just missed you by a few minutes.

[MurikanDemocrat]

12. He has already addressed these issues. And no answer will satisfy you.

[regnaD kciN]

14. If that's the "answer"...

...then there's no way in hell I'm ever voting for Kerry in November.

[MurikanDemocrat]

18. Which was exactly my point

[DebJ]

16. Is it too late to add: Why didn't you vote at all on Medicare????

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. AND

why didn't you take time out of your campaign to vote on the overtime bill that took overtime pay away from millions of Americans?