The Kerry Gaffe Will Have Zero Impact On The Election

[Jcrowley]

What was revealed was an inherent class bias which should disturb everyone. It goes almost unnoticed and seems innocent but it is built-in and those who possess this trait can be very genuine and "nice" people but they have internalized a certain class bias that is revealed in numerous subtle ways, and as with Kerry's comments often revealed in some not so subtle ways.

What Kerry was actually saying was:
If your lucky enough to be born into a family of at least moderate means and get a "proper" education you can become a manager of and not fodder for the corporate machine.

What Kerry forgot:
Does Kerry have any idea how many of those young kids are "smart" and only in the military to pay off ridiculous college loans while he votes to send Billions of dollars to the Military Industrial Complex instead of subsidizing their education like they do in civilized countries?

The classist slam at the kids who serve because it was their best economic bet in a country that provides no free education, no health-care, no living wage is even more appalling.

Not pretty and caught on tape.

Below is what Kerry actually meant to say, which I got straight from the Kerry team, which Kerry uses all the time.

"I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq." - Senator John Kerry

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/kerrys-mangled-statement_b_32911.html

With all of this the only possibility of the Republicans winning this election by even the mildest of margins is if the election is rigged.

[gollygee]

1. Kerry isn't running for president this year

I don't see why what he said would impact any election but one he was in.

[janx]

2. Precisely.

Kerry screwed up, but a U.S. senator enjoys the first amendment just as much as anyone. It won't affect the elections.

[Jcrowley]

10. There is only one possibility

for Republican victory and that is massive fraud and disenfranchisement. This is not even a close call. We should be preparing for large scale actions if (meaning when?) the Repubs cheat. The mood of the nation is so extremely against the Bush admin that no gaffe by Kerry, who should stay away from all elections for the time being, will have any significant impact.

The disturbing thing here is what Kerry revealed about himself and what was shown again as a dark aspect of American psyche.

If I were a "grunt" from W. Va. or Detroit I'd be upset, but not surprised, by those comments.

[janx]

23. Ultimately, it's no big deal.

And we're going to win on Tuesday.

[Demobrat]

3. Not this election.

But you can bet it will make an appearance early and often when he starts running for POTUS officially.

[confludemocrat]

4. Said it elsewhere here, nothing he says is all that relevant plus or minus

for Dems, but his style irks me and his attempts at "cleverness" waste breath that could be used to make some important points, with the stage he has

[MercutioATC]

5. It won't change votes, but it changes the momentum.

I don't know anybody who's changing their vote over this, but it definitely put a speed bump in the 8-lane freeway we were rolling down.

...and a week before the election...LOUSY timing.

[MidwestTransplant]

9. Just whips up the Republican base. How come the MM hasn't reported

on Sweeney spousal abuse?

[janx]

13. It doesn't change the momentum where I live.

There's an important House race in my district, the Big Dog is coming here tomorrow, and the momentum here is rock and rolling! :party:

[MercutioATC]

15. Glad to hear it.

It's definitely become the water-cooler topic of the week here.


Last week it was Republicans having sex with little boys, this week it's Democrats dissing the troops.

[Stand and Fight]

6. Precisely.

If a gosh-damn Republican child stalker is having barely any affect, why the hell should comments that have no baring and do no harm make a difference.

People here need to calm the fuck down.

[David Dunham]

8. But it ends Kerry's chances for 2008. He is being roasted alive by the media.

[requiem99]

12. I would like to posit that this was the entire point of this debacle from the GOP view.

[David Dunham]

14. That might be true but it has worked. Game over for Kerry.

[requiem99]

19. If it WAS their intent they have failed. This will be small news in 2008.

Especially since what he said wasn't even really something you could use against him... IN A REASONABLE POLITICAL CLIMATE WITH A TRULY FREE PRESS. Maybe we'll get those again someday.

[Stand and Fight]

17. Bullshit. If you buy into that nonsense, I've a bridge to sale you. n/t

[whistle]

7. Thank you

[requiem99]

11. I disagree. The military is not a requirement to pay for school.

Only the poorest people who can't get any state sponsored financial assistance AND who desire to go to the most expensive (esp Ivy League) colleges require the military to pay for it. Federal student loans that almost any student can get, even poor families, are an easy way to avoid the military in your quest for education.

I come from a family that has barely supported me throughout my college life, sometimes with money and rarely with the support most American college kids take for granted. I didn't get those "breaks" that most people get (car, father-influenced job or internship, scholarships, et al), but here I am a senior and about to finish up with a BS in history. Sure I'm 26 now, and I'm 20k in debt from student loans, but I did it without committing to King George's Army. Most people can, too.

[Jcrowley]

16. That's an oversimplification of the day to day reality

and perceptions for a vast sum of people.

The exceptions can always be cited.

The solution? Free education, universal health-care, living wage jobs.

Noone should be forced into debt in order to have an opportunity.

And we haven't even touched upon the predatory recruiters and their innumerable false promises or the family traditions of "serving."

[requiem99]

18. I absolutely agree, BUT you cannot say the military is required for education

That is simply not true. It's not even true for the majority of "poor" people. I know, because I am one. We cannot let that be used as an excuse, because it is nothing compared to the real reason for universal health care and free education:

In the United States of America in the year 2006, with oil companies and CEOs making record earnings, there is NO excuse to be clamping down on the middle and lower classes like we're in a recession. With all this prosperity to the top two percent, it's now time to give the masses the RIGHTS we deserve as Americans. Universal Health Care should not be an "idea" or a "concept" -- It should be an INALIENABLE right for every American on Earth, and ideally, every human being on Earth, but we'll start with America because we have the most money to blow on stupid shit like Iraq, Halliburton, et al.

[Jcrowley]

21. I'm not saying that

what I'm saying is that it is for numerous people it is the perceived "easiest way out" of dead end situations and for many others it really is their best chance to avoid Wal-Martization and I can't so easily dismiss, not saying you are, their desperation. Put into the mix that the devil is at their door every minute of the day in the form of the military recruiter who is offering candy and you have a very dicey situation that isn't an "excuse" per se but the very real day to day struggles for the deeply impoverished.

What we are also seeing is massive cutbacks in government programs for the increasingly escalating costs of education, e.g. Pell Grants, and the options are narrowing as we speak.

Again exceptions can always be pointed to and drawing conclusions from one's personal situation is not usually an accurate way to get to a more comprehensive analysis of a national problem.

[Grebrook]

20. ROFL, that idiot Tony Snow held another press conference to bash Kerry, but the reporters are all

asking questions about Iraq.

Not a good idea, Tony. You're fucking yourself over.

[Skidmore]

22. So while everyone is busy talking about Kerry,

who's paying attention to all those real races with real candidates?