Kerry The Flip-Flopper
Big issue seems to be coming back to Kerry and his vote not to fund troops nine months after the Iraq conflict began. My biggest question is why did Bush send our troops into Iraq without the money and protection they needed in the first place???? OOps, didn't think we needed the armor for Humvees because the Iraqi's were supposed to throw roses, not bombs. However, Kerry did vote against the funding. He says he voted against it because Bush II missused the authority the Congress gave him to go to war. This is a lie, and this gets to the root of why Kerry won't "win" the election. Bear with me and we will get back to the vote in just a second.
Imagine back to 2002 if you will, a year after Sept. 11th happened. The Repubs had another great mid-term election, using their attack dogs to get rid of un-patriotic Senators like triple amputee and Vietnam Vet Max Cleeland, because he disagreed with the Patriot Act. President Bush was sky high in the opinion polls. It was time for the Democrats to start thinking about 2004 and fielding a candidate to compete with George Bush. "Shit", they said. "There is no way we can beat this guy...he is sky high in the polls, he has the nation behind him because of this terror thing". "If only Sept. 11th had not happened, we would have beaten him for sure, he is an idiot". With a collective sigh, the big time candidates decide that they should not run in this election for President, because they would get slaughterd. Joe Biden passes, Wesley Clark passes, Hillary Clinton passes. Now it is up to the long shots to run for the nomination...sure some good experienced politicians, but no one that is going to have a super easy shot at winning this thing. John Kerry decides to run...he is a veteran, a good start for a Dem. Things proceed accordingly.
Kerry and the others vote with Bush on issues because they do not want to seem out of touch or against this super popular guy...they are going to need to use it to stay close to him in the election, even though their chances are slim. Bush decides he wants to go into Iraq, a slight bump in his popularity, but hey, they have WMD's and maybe links to Al Queida, better jump on that ship. Senators all vote for the war....but hang on, a guy named Howard Dean says Iraq is a bad idea. Who cares. 3% in the polls and Martin Sheen has endorsed him....good luck. Off to war in Iraq we go. Month and a half later...hooray victory in Iraq! Pretty good work here, Bush approval up. Kerry and others looking good...Kerry is the favorite for the nomination. Yeah.
Boom. IED's. Rebellion. Terror. Attacks on American convoys. Hostages. Prisoners of war. Casualties. Oh no, it is not going to be as easy as we thought. Howard Dean says, I told you so. Crap, no WMD's. Crap. No Al Queida links. Howard Dean is at 15% in the polls....Kerry is slipping. Kerry starts to think shoot, this is my only shot.
Fast forward to the vote for funding the troops. Howard Dean is even or surpassing Kerry in many of the national polls. Bush's approval ratings are starting to slide. Iraq is starting to look like a mess. John Kerry is up shit creek cuz he voted for Iraq and Howard Dean is skyrocketing with the Democratic masses for his aggressive and brave stance. Dean is not sticking with the president, he is criticizing the war which looks like a mistake now. Kerry has to get back in this race...a vote is coming up for the funding of the troops. Kerry needs to look like Dean, so he casts a no vote, a vote he thinks is now being anti-war, but he already voted for the war.
Kerry was forced into that vote by what he saw as a neccessity for staying alive politically, which is the worst kind of vote to cast. He had to keep up with Dean. This is what has created a lot of the flip-flop Kerry issues. He voted with the president when it was popular to do so, as soon as public sentiment changed, Kerry did too so he could stay in the hunt for the nomination. He is a flip-flopper. But he is the best we could do as Democrats. The process of running starts to early that the big candidates were scared off by Bush's popularity. By the time it was heading south, it was too late for candidates to jump in and make a serious case for election (ie Wesley Clark).
Okay, I finally get to my point. Kerry cannot technically "win" because no one in this election is voting for Kerry. This election is a strict referendum on Bush II. When people enter the voting booth they are either voting for Bush or against Bush. They may mark the ballot for Kerry, but it is not an affirmation that Kerry is the best candidate for the job, it is an affirmation that Bush is unfit to continue in the job. Maybe it is a little on the sad side for Democrats, but how else can we explain the poor numbers for Kerry. He is not a great candidate. I worked at a fevered pitch for the Dean campaign and the arguments we used are still valid. No Senator running for President has been elected since JFK. Only 3 Senators in history have been President...why is that? Because as a Senator you have to compromise, change positions, and flip-flop on issues...plus you have to put a vote down on every issue. Kerry also voted with Bush on many initiatives...why would you vote for someone so similar to who is in office?
I am still pushing for Kerry, because tomorrow.....why George Bush cannot be re-elected.
Imagine back to 2002 if you will, a year after Sept. 11th happened. The Repubs had another great mid-term election, using their attack dogs to get rid of un-patriotic Senators like triple amputee and Vietnam Vet Max Cleeland, because he disagreed with the Patriot Act. President Bush was sky high in the opinion polls. It was time for the Democrats to start thinking about 2004 and fielding a candidate to compete with George Bush. "Shit", they said. "There is no way we can beat this guy...he is sky high in the polls, he has the nation behind him because of this terror thing". "If only Sept. 11th had not happened, we would have beaten him for sure, he is an idiot". With a collective sigh, the big time candidates decide that they should not run in this election for President, because they would get slaughterd. Joe Biden passes, Wesley Clark passes, Hillary Clinton passes. Now it is up to the long shots to run for the nomination...sure some good experienced politicians, but no one that is going to have a super easy shot at winning this thing. John Kerry decides to run...he is a veteran, a good start for a Dem. Things proceed accordingly.
Kerry and the others vote with Bush on issues because they do not want to seem out of touch or against this super popular guy...they are going to need to use it to stay close to him in the election, even though their chances are slim. Bush decides he wants to go into Iraq, a slight bump in his popularity, but hey, they have WMD's and maybe links to Al Queida, better jump on that ship. Senators all vote for the war....but hang on, a guy named Howard Dean says Iraq is a bad idea. Who cares. 3% in the polls and Martin Sheen has endorsed him....good luck. Off to war in Iraq we go. Month and a half later...hooray victory in Iraq! Pretty good work here, Bush approval up. Kerry and others looking good...Kerry is the favorite for the nomination. Yeah.
Boom. IED's. Rebellion. Terror. Attacks on American convoys. Hostages. Prisoners of war. Casualties. Oh no, it is not going to be as easy as we thought. Howard Dean says, I told you so. Crap, no WMD's. Crap. No Al Queida links. Howard Dean is at 15% in the polls....Kerry is slipping. Kerry starts to think shoot, this is my only shot.
Fast forward to the vote for funding the troops. Howard Dean is even or surpassing Kerry in many of the national polls. Bush's approval ratings are starting to slide. Iraq is starting to look like a mess. John Kerry is up shit creek cuz he voted for Iraq and Howard Dean is skyrocketing with the Democratic masses for his aggressive and brave stance. Dean is not sticking with the president, he is criticizing the war which looks like a mistake now. Kerry has to get back in this race...a vote is coming up for the funding of the troops. Kerry needs to look like Dean, so he casts a no vote, a vote he thinks is now being anti-war, but he already voted for the war.
Kerry was forced into that vote by what he saw as a neccessity for staying alive politically, which is the worst kind of vote to cast. He had to keep up with Dean. This is what has created a lot of the flip-flop Kerry issues. He voted with the president when it was popular to do so, as soon as public sentiment changed, Kerry did too so he could stay in the hunt for the nomination. He is a flip-flopper. But he is the best we could do as Democrats. The process of running starts to early that the big candidates were scared off by Bush's popularity. By the time it was heading south, it was too late for candidates to jump in and make a serious case for election (ie Wesley Clark).
Okay, I finally get to my point. Kerry cannot technically "win" because no one in this election is voting for Kerry. This election is a strict referendum on Bush II. When people enter the voting booth they are either voting for Bush or against Bush. They may mark the ballot for Kerry, but it is not an affirmation that Kerry is the best candidate for the job, it is an affirmation that Bush is unfit to continue in the job. Maybe it is a little on the sad side for Democrats, but how else can we explain the poor numbers for Kerry. He is not a great candidate. I worked at a fevered pitch for the Dean campaign and the arguments we used are still valid. No Senator running for President has been elected since JFK. Only 3 Senators in history have been President...why is that? Because as a Senator you have to compromise, change positions, and flip-flop on issues...plus you have to put a vote down on every issue. Kerry also voted with Bush on many initiatives...why would you vote for someone so similar to who is in office?
I am still pushing for Kerry, because tomorrow.....why George Bush cannot be re-elected.
posted by GT at 7:19 AM
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