the point isn't whether or not one agrees with karl rove. that's a red herring. the point is ... what the heck does an appeal to emotions like "generally principled guy on a lot of the issues we care about" supposed to convince us to do?
R
----- Original Message ----- From: "Nathan Newman" <nathanne at nathannewman.org> To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 2:49 PM Subject: Why Kerry? Re: [lbo-talk] Anybody But Kerry the Dole of 2004?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Henwood" dhenwood at panix.com
>To make compromises, you have to start from principled positions.
>Just what are Kerry's?
Glad to hear you reading Karl Rove's talking points. Kerry as waffler. Kerry as unprincipled.
Just frigging ridiculous.
Cause their other talking point is that Kerry has one of the most progressive voting records in the Senate, which is a far more accurate point. Check this link-- http://tinyurl.com/2ar2c for his ratings by various groups, with usually 100% rankings by NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Consumer Federation of America, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, NEA, Sierra Club, UAW, AFL-CIO and so on.
Oh yeah and usually 0% or very low ratings by the Chamber of Commerce, Associated Builders & Contractors, the Christian Coalition
And how about these press clips on his principles:
The United Farm Workers came out strongly for Kerry because of his DECADES long support for their labor rights. An excerpt from their endorsement:
"We trust Senator Kerry because of his long history with us, from participating in the grape boycott during the mid-1970s to supporting the right of California strawberry workers to organize in the late 1990s."
How about Kerry's the only nominee for a major party that has ever been arrested in a civil disobediance action?
Or how about Kerry's dogged investigation of the Contra abuses and the CIA-drug connection. A few newspaper clips:
Washington Post, November 27, 1986 "Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) charged yesterday that Attorney General Edwin Meese III and the Justice Department have shunted aside allegations of illegal transactions involving the rebels in Nicaragua for months and cannot be trusted to conduct a thorough inquiry into the secret money transfers disclosed this week..."
Washington Post, August 8, 1987 "At issue, along with the rebels' character and reputation, is the U.S. government's commitment to enforce the law against criminals whose activities might advance foreign policy objectives, congressional investigators said. An overarching issue, Kerry said, is how "the power of the narco-dollar" has come to affect governments and policies.
New York Times, April 13, 1990 "But committee investigators said their inquiry was hindered by uncooperative Federal officials. Mr. Kerry disclosed today that Lawrence E. Walsh, the independent counsel investigating the Iran-contra affair, has been investigating allegations that Reagan Administration officials sought to obstruct the Kerry investigation..."
Boston Globe, April 14, 1990 "In making the report public yesterday, Kerry said that the independent counsel in the Iran-contra arms deal is looking into allegations that Reagan administration officials obstructed an early portion of the committee's investigation."
Sure, Kerry is not a leftist but he's been a strong liberal for his whole career. Why repeat Karl Rove's talking points that he's not a generally principled guy on a lot of the issues we care about?
Nathan Newman
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