John Kerry and his numerous flip-flops

[telos2000]

I find it ironic that I found this in the Decatur Daily Democrat!

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John Kerry and his numerous flip-flops

By JOSEPH PERKINS
John Kerry has an Al Gore problem. Gore was exposed during the 2000 presidential election as a congenital fibber. Among other whoppers, he falsely claimed that his poor old arthritic mother-in-law had to pay three times as much for her prescription medicine, Lodine, as Gore himself paid for the very same prescription medicine for his poor old arthritic family dog.

Kerry is a congenital flip-flopper. There hardly is any statement the Massachusetts senator has made, any principle for which the Democratic Party standard-bearer supposedly has stood, that he hasn't repudiated or abandoned to suit his vainglorious political ends.


In the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., Kerry went on the CBS Sunday morning news program, "Face the Nation," and pronounced that "the single most important weapon for the United States of America is intelligence."

Yet, in 1995, Kerry introduced a bill to slash the overall intelligence budget by $1.5 billion over five years.

Not even the Bay State senator's fellow Democrats were willing to co-sponsor his proposed intelligence cuts, especially in the wake of the 1993 terror attack on the World Trade Center Kerry chose to ignore.


In a foreign policy speech at Georgetown University back in January, Kerry declared, "I believe the Bush administration's blustering unilateralism is wrong, and even dangerous, for our country."

Yet, in 1997, Kerry wasn't nearly so critical of the Clinton administration as it prepared for unilateral military action against Iraq -- despite objections from France and Russia, among others.

Appearing on CNN's "Crossfire," Kerry asked, "Where's the backbone of Russia? Where's the backbone of France? Where are they in expressing their condemnation of such clearly illegal activity (Saddam Hussein's material breach of United Nations resolutions)?"

Kerry didn't think it wrong or dangerous back then for the United States to go it alone if need be. "I think the United States has always reserved the right, and will reserve the right, to act in its best interests," Kerry declared.


During recent campaign appearances, Kerry has denounced the Bush administration "for rewarding Benedict Arnold CEOs who move profits and jobs overseas."

Yet, as The Washington Post revealed last month, the Democrats' standard-bearer has accepted money and fund-raising assistance from top executives at companies that Kerry considers the moral equivalent of the Revolutionary War traitor.

Like David Roux, who raised more than $250,000 for Kerry. He's co-founder of a California company that helped purchase Seagate Technology four years ago and incorporated in the Cayman Islands, a well-known offshore tax haven.

Same goes for Thomas Steyer, who raised roughly $200,000 for Kerry. He is a partner at the California investment firm Hellman & Friedman that helped set up an insurance company in Bermuda, another offshore tax haven.

The Post notes that the insurance company, Arch Capital Group Ltd., stated in a 2000 Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had set up in Bermuda to reduce its U.S. tax liability.

As to corporations that move jobs overseas, Kerry need look no further than H.J. Heinz & Co., whose majority shareholder happens to be Teresa Heinz Kerry, the senator's wife. The ketchup maker boasts some 79 factories, 57 of which are overseas.


CBS News notes that on Kerry's Web site, he excoriates "right-wing ideologues" for promoting conservatives for federal judgeships, slams the "right-wing assault on the rights of women," and claims the president has "appeased his party's right wing" by skewing scientific decisions for political purposes.

Yet, Kerry took umbrage when National Journal, the respected, middle-of-the-road political weekly, recently reported that he had the Senate's "most liberal" voting record last year, based on votes he cast on matters relating to economic, social and foreign policy.

When Kerry was asked about his National Journal rating, the not-so-stand-up liberal responded, "Labels are so silly."

During his campaign for his party's presidential nomination, Kerry's rivals never really forced him to defend his inconsistent statements and votes.

But Kerry's free ride is over. Between now and November, the American people will learn just how duplicitous the Massachusetts senator truly is.

Joseph Perkins is a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

[luvmetender]

I listened to the sound bite of Kerry today on Hannity... "I voted for the 87 billion dollar Iraq bill before i voted against it." What pissed me off is that Hannity didn't let us hear the rest of what Kerry had to say. Shouldn't he play the whole response and not just the ONE sentence that makes Kerry look bad?

[telos2000]

Funny how sound bites work, isn't it?

[mayor]

Lol.. I love it. I voted for it before I didn't vote for it. I'm sure the truth is not far from the interpretation. The guy is a documented flip flopper. If you don't see it, it is because you choose not to.

Mayor

[luvmetender]

Both candidates are guilty for taking quotes taken out of context. I would really like to hear the rest of what he said.

[twonky]

Originally Posted by luvmetender

Both candidates are guilty for taking quotes taken out of context. I would really like to hear the rest of what he said.

I heard the clip yesterday too. It did seem like they cut it off right after he says 'before I voted against it.' It was like he was going to say something else.

I would have liked to hear the rest as well.

[luvmetender]

Ah, found it!

From the NYT...

More recently, Mr. Bush has ridiculed Mr. Kerry for initially supporting the use of force in Iraq, then campaigning against it.

In the heat of the Democratic primaries this year, after Howard Dean, the antiwar candidate, criticized his vote, Mr. Kerry said that he had merely voted for the president to "threaten" the use of force and that he had believed Mr. Bush would build an international coalition and go to war only as a last resort.

The Bush campaign is also emphasizing Mr. Kerry's subsequent vote against $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan and for more equipment for the troops.

Explaining his vote at the time, Mr. Kerry said: "The best way to support our troops and take the target off their backs is with a real strategy to win the peace in Iraq — not by throwing $87 billion at George Bush's failed policies."

He also said he wanted that $87 billion to come from rescinding part of Mr. Bush's tax cut and he voted for an amendment to do that. But it was rejected, so Mr. Kerry voted against the final measure.

In a scathing television commercial, the Bush campaign singles out items from that one vote to suggest that Mr. Kerry voted "no" several times against specific outlays like "funding our soldiers," "body armor for troops in combat" and "higher combat pay." The Bush campaign then remade the commercial and began running it on Thursday to further deride Mr. Kerry. It pointed to his recent explanation that "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

[telos2000]

Double speak, nothing but double speak.

[luvmetender]

Originally Posted by telos2000

Double speak, nothing but double speak.

Anytime you want to say something intelligent, I'd love to hear it . Your one-liner answers to my posts are boring.

[telos2000]

Originally Posted by luvmetender

Anytime you want to say something intelligent, I'd love to hear it . Your one-liner answers to my posts are boring.

You have a lot of room to talk! Go back and review your comments to some of my posts. Talk about something intelligent (NOT).

[luvmetender]

Originally Posted by telos2000

You have a lot of room to talk! Go back and review your comments to some of my posts. Talk about something intelligent (NOT).

YAWN....

As I was saying, anytime.....

Your nastiness is very unbecoming for a minister. Or maybe not. Maybe that is pretty standard?

[mayor]

play nice, please :-)

[luvmetender]

Sorry, Mayor.

Telos, please accept my apologies for my rude remark.

[mayor]

For the record, I was speaking to Telos too.

[telos2000]

Originally Posted by mayor

For the record, I was speaking to Telos too.

Telos begrudgingly (while kicking the dirt) mumbles, "Sorry, Luv." With eyes downturned, he shuffles out of the room saying under his breath, "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I think I'll just go eat worms and die!"











Okay that was meant to be funny, so please don't be offended.
I will try to be more civil Mayor and less sarcastic, but do you know how hard that will be?