People like to say in revision that Kerry was simply ABB, I say you wrong

[JohnKleeb]

Wasn't for me, when I was canvassing this past fall, I canvassed not just to beat Bush but to elect John Kerry president, I wanted him to be the 44th president of the United States. Someone told me recently that Kerry was the right candidiate for the wrong reasons, and I sort of agree with that because Kerry was a great candidiate on other things other than his background. This is a guy who as DA fought for abused women, against mobsters, against crooked businessmen, a Lt Governor who first brought up acid rain, a Senator who helped bring gay rights to the table of political issues, brought down Iran-Contra and BCCI, voted against the very wrong DOMA, and continues to be one of the best voices we have in the senate. I envy the state of Massachuetts for having Kerry and Kennedy as their two senators. I won't let a small grain of stuff Kerry has supported I don't like get in way in the way of the large amount of stuff he supports that I do like. He is both a hero, a patriot, and a great statesman.

[GRLMGC]

1. He wasn't ABB for me either

I guess he is an acquired taste. I'll be the first to admit that it took me awhile to warm up to him but now I have all the respect in the world for him.

[JohnKleeb]

3. I wasn't an original supporter, a Kucinich one I was

but I found myself more often than not coming in and defending the guy because I thought he was a good guy who got a bad deal often times in the primaries and frankly I still feel that way.

[New Earth]

2. i was ABB at first

like i explained in my one post - in the 'how you came to support kerry....' thread - until i actually took the time to learn something about him....

And you know, all the qualities and accomplishments you just mentioned only make it stronger for me to believe that he is investigating (or already knows everything about) this election.

[JohnKleeb]

4. You know I wouldn't be surprised if he is investigating it

His accomplishments were amazing to me, some people only have one major political accomplishment, I saw many with Kerry. I was always ABB too but there were certain candidiates, John was one of them that I would consider myself supporting. Kerry has always been in Kennedy's shadow so people think of Ted when they say the liberal senator from Massachuetts, and the fact first term senator Kerry was bringing down Oliie North, making a name for himself not as an idealogue but as a investigator.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. I agree with you. I think that Kerry has the vision to lead this country

And what a great endorsement of him that you've made!:toast:

I was originally ABB. What sold me on Kerry was a speech that I heard him make, on C-Span, before the VFW. It was the first time that I'd heard him speak, at length, and I was just inspired. Dennis Kucinich was also my candidate, as you know. But I was able to get solidly behind John Kerry and I thought that John Edwards was the perfect running mate. At first I was disappointed that it wasn't Gephardt, since I thought he deserved it. But the first time that I saw Kerry and Edwards together, it just seemed right. They seemed to compliment one another. Edwards added a needed warmth to the ticket, but Kerry was still the leader, the one with the experience.:kick:

I also agree that the belittling of Kerry's record is totally unfounded. He took on anybody, including members of his own party who crossed the line. He has courage and vision and I'm just disappointed as hell that he's not now using his prosecutor's talents to "frog march out of The White House in handcuffs" those members of the current administration who are guilty of war crimes.:grr:

[JohnKleeb]

6. Heya thanks for reading this

Kerry-Edwards was a great team I thought.

[Rhiannon12866]

8. Of course I checked it out

And, as usual, you've managed to intelligently articulate Kerry's record and many strengths, what the key issues are here, and what many of us are thinking. I still think that Kerry-Edwards is a great team and I'm proud to leave their bumper sticker on my car!:yourock:

[JohnKleeb]

10. Thanks I appreciate that

I wish more people were like you, have their ideals and hold them sacred but can tolerate and respect others.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. Thanks. What a lovely thing to say.

We both supported Kucinich, but when it was obvious that he stood no chance of getting the nomination, we both stood behind Kerry, who I thought was a worthy and winning candidate. And, according to Greg Palast, who knows more about the election process than we do, he did win.:grr:

[JohnKleeb]

14. Dontcha know it

I dont know how a guy like Kerry with a near similiar voting record to Kennedy gets labeled bushlite or only ABB, they judge only a few votes and rhetoric, but of course often than not they support candidiates who didn't even have to vote on the stuff.

[Rhiannon12866]

17. I think that the problem with Kerry, at least according to the media,

was that he didn't come on stronger in condemning the war in Iraq, for fear of being accused of not supporting the troops. Nobody doesn't sympathize with these brave souls who are putting their lives on the line, everyday. I have a "support the troops" ribbon on my car. (Though I also have a Kerry-Edwards bumper sticker and hoped that this would keep me from being rear-ended, LOL!) But my point has always been that these brave soldiers just shouldn't be there. They have been placed in a dangerous and terrible position. I think Kerry must understand that, based on his Vietnam experience, but tried to please too many people. I believe Greg Palast, who says that Kerry really won, but the fix was in, yet again. And I do wonder why Kerry conceded so soon, in light of all the disputed votes.:shrug:

But, you're right that he was condemned totally unfairly. Kennedy was royally pissed that he was lied to by Bush* regarding "no child left behind." Nobody's talking about that, but Gephardt faced the same experience with IWR and he was finished. Kerry's views were totally misrepresented in the media, since they repeated all the Bush* empty talking points, without analyzing them, so people bought into them, and I do blame the "liberal" media for this. And the reason that Bush* got as many votes as he did, despite the fact that he has totally divided this nation, allowed 9/11 to happen, dragged us into an unnecessary and totally unwinnable war, alienated us from long-time allies and bankrupted this nation for generations to come, is because people liked his tax cuts. Sure, I'll mortgage my child's future for an extra $300!:grr:

[LittleClarkie]

7. Now that they've woken the sleeping giant

You never know.

I am not putting any timetables on the proceedings. I know it took 4 years to take down BCCI. I am willing to wait and see what happens.

It seems unrealistic to think that Kerry lawyers on the ground in OH means they're trying to flip the election or take down Bush before the anaguaration. They may be info gathering for possible election reform bills later on. Kerry may be planning an investigation.

When those that know say he's not done fighting, I think they assume he will do something quickly. Rather in the same way that saying we want to hold Sadaam accountable doesn't mean rush to war with him, saying that Kerry is not done fighting doesn't mean he'll go to the WH with guns blazing. I have no doubt that he'll do something, but it may be a dish best served cold.

That's frustrating to me too, but I'm trying to be pragmatic. It's hard to watch the suffering Bush is unleashing without batting an eye, but I appear to be stuck with it for the moment. I'll just hunker down and watch, putting my two cents in where I think it can help, like in the 2006 elections. I'll see where support is needed and shoot myself in there if I can.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. I think you've hit on it. People are impatient.

We're used to things moving at the speed of light and want a speedy resolution to this, at least by yesterday. The mess that took place in 2000 still stings and people just can't believe that we've been hoodwinked again. And I have to admit that I'm no different. At 3am on election night, Dan Rather said that with the late vote in Cleveland and the provisional and absentee ballots in Ohio yet to be counted, it would probably be days before we knew who won. But on Wednesday, before I even had the chance to turn on the TV, a friend called me with the news that Kerry had conceded. I felt like I had been punched and know others who felt the same way.:-(

But your point is well-taken. This machine that we're up against has had years to organize and it's going to take time to bring them down. The one advantage that we have is that they're overconfident. They've always gotten away with it, starting in Texas, and they seem to believe that they have some sort of divine right to rule.:crazy:

I like your analogy with the Bush* method of dealing with Saddam. We have seen how dearly that his rash actions have cost us. It is tough to watch. It's become tougher, the more insanity that Bush* unleashes on this country, and then lies about it. But you're right in that we can't rush this. It has to be done methodically. I had faith in Kerry and I still do. My fondest hope was to watch him use his considerable prosecutor's talents on the evildoers in this administration and to hold them accountable for their actions. Thanks for wisely advising patience and encouraging hope. We can't give up. It's too important and we still need to stick together.:kick:

[GRLMGC]

11. I think it will take awhile

When Kerry conceded, I got really angry and pulled all of my Kerry signs and stickers down. I calmed down and realized he did what he could do. I highly doubt it's possible to overturn the election but it is possible to begin pushing for reform. Basically, I think it's all he can do at this point. That and being a perpetual pain in the Bush Administration's ass. Reform should have taken place after 2000 and it didn't. Hopefully, this year will make everybody realize that this is a serious, serious problem. It won't happen quickly. It's hard to change people's minds but I hope that that day will come. I'm not giving up on Kerry just because he wasn't able to overcome the enormous obstacles that he faced in this race. As far as I'm concerned, he pretty damn close.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. According to Greg Palast, Kerry won

I'm not holding my breath, especially after the debacle of 2000, but there are still recounts taking place in Ohio and Washington, and should be, in New Mexico.:shrug:

http://gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=392&row=1

[angrydemocrat]

15. I Have Always Been A Faithful Kerry Supporter

And I always will be. John F. Kerry is my hero. Anyone that has read my post elsewhere know that by now. There were alot of ABB voters at first but as people got to know Kerry and met Kerry at rallies they really came to respect him and some are as faithful supporters as I am now. I always point that out to all the naysayers when they start about the ABB voters.

Call me crazy or whatever but I havn't given up on this election yet. As the old saying goes it's not over till the fat lady sings. I must say one thing that makes me mad about all of this is how all the other dmocratic senators are so hush hush about all of this and it like they have ran in their caves and hid like a bunch of chickenhawks. Why are they not supporting Kerry and the American people on this? Some are trying to get us just to shut up and sweep it under the rug. You have to admit if they would come out and support Kerry and the American people in all their efforts we could get the ball rolling alot quicker than what we have it going now. We wouldn't be wondering where the media was and we would get action taken alot quicker.

[seito]

16. I have always supported John Kerry

He is one of the few true heroes that we have in office. He has fought against injustice his entire life. I believe that he will make a fantastic President.

I do not agree with every vote he ever cast, but I trust him, and I have faith in his judgment. I believe that he won this election, and I believe that the truth will come out. It may not come out in time to change the outcome of this election, but it will come out.

I still hold out hope that justice will prevail, and that we will see President Kerry inaugurated in Jan. What I know is that regardless of how this all plays out, we have a powerful ally in John Kerry, and he will not let us down.

[NamVetsWeeLass]

18. Kleeb, I swear you are like a 80 year old man trapped in a

Young Body. You are too wise for your tender years. I see the future, Kiddo and you are it.... And I was Never ABB with Kerry... He had my imagination from the late 80's on. The work he did with POW MIA's alone caught my eye. (see the Posting name for why...LMAO) We won't mention Iran Contra, The Tireless efforts for Veteran's Rights, and the fact that he married one of the Ladies I have always kept my Eye on... Teresa Heinz Kerry... He's always been the man.