>***** Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:45:30 -0800
>From: Rick Wilhelm
>Subject: [C-JwJ] Six issues and how the candidates stand
>To: columbuslabor at topica.com . . .
>
>I have compiled a chart on the Democratic candidates on 6 major
>issues, combining NAFTA and Fast Track into one for scoring. The
>chart and explanations can be accessed here:
><http://dsco1.tripod.com/issues.htm>http://dsco1.tripod.com/issues.htm
>
>It was surprising to me, in compiling this chart, that Kerry, on
>these five issues, has a worse record than Lieberman. I have
>included Carol Moseley Braun and Dick Gephardt. The issues are:
>NAFTA and Fast Track, the Welfare Reform Bill of 1996, the Patriot
>Act, the Millionaire tax cuts, and the Iraq War Resolution.
You may have noticed that the candidates who voted "right" on these issues could barely crack 10% in any primary. That's the country we live in, and I'm not happy about it.
But there are many more Senate votes than these five. The ADA ratings come from hundreds, on a broad range of issues. And on those, Kerry comes in nowhere near conservative. Compare his voting record to, say, Breaux or Miller - or real Republicans like the nightmare teams from Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, and Mississippi. If you can't recognize any differences among Kerry, Breaux, and Lott, then I have to wonder how you can do politics in the U.S. At this point, anyone who says there's no difference between the two parties won't get taken very seriously by more than a handful of people - and not just in the U.S. I don't think it's an exaggeration that billions of people around the world want Bush evicted from the White House.
I've said a million times I have low expectations from any Democratic regime. You don't have to convince me of that. As I've also said a million times, I expect marginally better policies and a significantly better discursive and organizing environment for more radical politics with a Dem in the Oval Office. The modern Republican party is a nest of bigots, idiots, and loons who are a threat to civilization. All I'm looking for is getting back to a baseline of normal capitalist horror.
Doug -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <../attachments/20040205/bbb87c21/attachment.htm>