Kerry Haters: We're Not Fonda John

 
Kerry On the Issues Part I

Just thought I'd check and see what Nuancy Boy is saying on the hot issues of our time. It is clear that Kerry is focusing like a laser on the subject of Iraq, which is after all, something of a major issue:

Plan for Winning the Peace in Post-Saddam Iraq

Saddam’s Capture Represents Opportunity to Rebuild Alliances and Iraq

Speaking in Iowa, John Kerry outlined a plan for winning the peace in Post-Saddam Iraq, trying the former Iraqi leader, and building a lasting coalition to support our operations.

Yep. That's right, John Kerry is so focused on Iraq that his website's last update on it is apparently from before the Iowa Caucuses--maybe even before New Year's Day!

 
Second Runner Up in the Captain's Caption Contest!

If you haven't checked out Captain's Quarters, I highly recommend it. He's been scooping the lamestream media like crazy, plus his guest judges have impeccable taste in humor. BTW, I'm making progress; last week I was the third runner-up!

 
It's a French Thing Part Deux

Roger Cohen notes that things are getting nasty. Those mean old Republicans are accusing Kerry of looking French!

However, his argument is surely undercut by this:

That the French hope that Mr. Kerry will replace Mr. Bush in the White House is no secret. Jean-Marie Colombani, the editor of Le Monde, recently told New Yorkers that Mr. Kerry "even looks French." This time, the tone was one of approval.

Even the French say he looks French!

 
Poor Little Rich Boy, Part Deux

Franklin Foer writes of Kerry's 40th high school reunion:

Toward the meal's end, the class president, a Boston lawyer named Lloyd Macdonald, rose to give a toast. He wanted to celebrate his classmates who had devoted their careers to public service. As he ticked off the names - FBI Director Robert Mueller; the State Department's top lawyer, Will Taft; federal Judge Alvin A. Schall - the sexagenarians bathed the room in loud applause. But, when Macdonald uttered the name of the junior senator from Massachusetts, the response was somewhat different. According to witnesses, only scattered boos broke the silence.

Foer mostly comes off as sympathetic towards Kerry, implying that the dislike his high school classmates felt towards him was motivated by snobbery and that Kerry represented the coming meritocracy. However, he also throws in some weird stuff:

But there were obvious ways in which he could not keep up. While his classmates summered in Europe (or even took private jets to the Continent for long weekends), Kerry spent his breaks working as a Teamster in Somerville, Massachusetts, for the First National Stores, loading food onto trucks.

Of course, other accounts have Kerry spending his summers in France at a family estate.

 
No Coordination Going On Here!

Last week President Bush's campaign filed a complaint that the Kerry campaign was coordinating activities with MoveOn and other leftist organizations. Now comes the news that a MoveOn staffer is leaving to work with Kerry's campaign.

Now, a cynic might ask how the Kerry campaign got to know Zack Exley, the staffer, if there was no coordination between the groups.

 
Kerry To Put Parodists Out of Business

(Via Anti-John Kerry) Kerry continues to have it both ways.

Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry said Monday the White House should not have scrapped steep tariffs on foreign-made steel last year -- but would not put them back in place if he is elected.

How do you parodize that?

 
Kerry Defends Terrorist as Legitimate Voice?

(Via Captain's Quarters) Kerry needs another vacation, or perhaps elective tongue-removal surgery. Deciding instead to continue to sabotage his own campaign, Kerry termed terrorist Moqtada al-Sadr as "a legitimate voice in Iraq."

"They shut a newspaper that belongs to a legitimate voice in Iraq."

Kerry immediately attempted to kerry his statement by saying that , "Let me ... change the term 'legitimate.' It belongs to a voice — because he has clearly taken on a far more radical tone in recent days and aligned himself with both Hamas and Hezbollah, which is a sort of terrorist alignment."

Sort of?

(Later Addition: Having listened to Kerry on NPR's website, I can't help concluding that somebody in the room with Kerry was frantically signalling him to rewind the tape on that comment. He also coughs right at that point, which reminded me of the rumors of health problems.)

 
Why I'm Staying Away from the Kerry-Catholicism Story

I was raised Catholic myself, and although I am not very religious myself, I'm a little disturbed by the anti-Catholic bias that I see (mostly from the left, on the abortion issue). It seems to me that by publicly rebuking Kerry for his support of abortion, the church is risking a backlash against Catholic politicians. Only 44 years ago, the first JFK had to battle accusations that he would take orders from Rome; now it seems that the church wants it known that RC politicians will do just that.

 
Euthenasia for this Blog?

Tom Lifson at the American Thinker reminds us that this blog could die prior to election day. I've pooh-poohed this notion in the past and he does make one gaffe:

Recall for a moment that the only reason he became the front-runner was the Democrats’ desperation in the wake of the Howard Dean public meltdown. Prior to that moment, Kerry’s campaign had gone nowhere.

In fact, Dean's scream came after his campaign had foundered in Iowa. As I predicted only two months ago on my other blog, people are already beginning to believe that the scream caused the downfall, rather than the other way around. Events that are memorable morph over time into events that are significant.

However, I am beginning to wonder if Lifson might not be right on his larger point. The Republicans have spent a great deal of money since the nominee became obvious on tearing down John Kerry. Almost all of that money would be wasted if the Democrats pull the old switcheroo. The best argument against it is the 1980 precedent. Lifson writes:

Even if he doesn't voluntarily withdraw, he could still be rejected by the convention. The Super-delegates are under no compulsion to vote for his nomination. And if delegates selected by primary voters to vote for Kerry do not do so, who exactly is going to stop them? The New Jersey Supreme Court?

In 1980 as the Democratic National Convention neared, Jimmy Carter was obviously commanding a sinking ship. Ted Kennedy entered the race late and started winning primaries. There was a movement within the party to free up the delegates from their obligation to vote for Carter. I was working in NYC at the time and remember signs sprouting up all over with a robot covered by the circle and slash (i.e., no robots). However, the Democrats determined that their rules required that the delegates vote for Carter in the first round, and that was all Jimmuh needed.

Of course, the 1980 example may convince them of the need to be more flexible, as it resulted in the election of Ronald Reagan, starting a 12-year hold on power for the Republicans.

 
Links Update

Removed an apparently dead link from the Anti-Kerry sites shown at the side. KerryQuotes doesn't seem to be active anymore; sorry to see them go.

 
Kerry Blog Watch

As was probably predictable, Nuancy Boy has been pretty boring of late, so I thought I'd take a look at some of his followers. Here are some comments from his campaign's supporters on their blog regarding the Kos controversy:

Will you be removing links to all Democrat activists you find unacceptable? Is this the campaign for "cafeteria style" democrats (the food sucks, but everybody hates it the same)? Why didn't Kerry find Bush unacceptable when he voted for the war, for No Child Left Behind, and for the Patriot Act. Go home and wash the piss out of your trousers while you praise the "Right to Life" hawk John McCain.

Howard Dean helped you get a spine. So quickly you relinquish it. We have no chance in hell.
Posted by Meyer in St. Pete at April 3, 2004 09:17 PM

These guys were there for money and only money. They may be dead and that is sad, and I feel for their families, but they are not martyrs or war heroes.

I share the anger that Daily Kos expressed.
Posted by wild_salmon at April 3, 2004 09:30 PM

Why is an American mercenary a victim, and an Iraqi fighting to kick us out of his country an insurgent? Why is it okay to kill Saddam Hussein's sons and spread the photos of their dead bodies all over the news, but it is not okay for Iraqis to give mercenaries the same treatment?

You are all about posturing. But without a backbone, your posture stinks.
Posted by Meyer in St. Pete at April 3, 2004 09:53 PM

As a Democrat who supports John Kerry for President, I hereby DEMAND that you replace this link and quit acting like cowards. Such timidity only waters down your support. This campaign SHOULD be against mercenaries making almost ten times what our troops make!

Come correct.
Posted by Patton Zarate at April 3, 2004 10:08 PM

Can't you see this kind of reaction is JUST what the right-wing freeper nutjobs wanted? The fact that the Kerry campaign is acting like puppets pulled by right-wing strings does NOT bode well for the ability of this campaign to withstand what the right wing is going to sling here in the coming months.

I'm deeply disappointed.
Posted by Maura in VA at April 3, 2004 10:16 PM

So, the true colors begin to show. I guess the spine transplant didn't take as well as we thought. Put Kos link back up; freedom of speech is a right protected by the Constitution, or is that too much bother for you?
Posted by Lois in VT at April 3, 2004 11:00 PM

Don't fall for this right-wing trap! This is just a ploy to divide Democrats. Put the DailyKOS link back up or no support from Portland, Oregon.
Posted by Oregon Bear at April 3, 2004 11:58 PM

 
The Scarf of Doom!

A week or so ago I did a Google search for satirical pages on the reality show "The Apprentice" and came across one blogger who purported to know who was going to be fired next. They noted that the previous two contestants voted off, Omarosa and Katrina had been wearing oddball items of clothing--Omarosa a scarf, and Katrina a hairy, off-the-shoulder sweater, "the hairy off-the-shoulder sweater of doom."

Now we hear that John Kerry's wife, Teh-ray-za, has come up with the fashion accessory of the season: a "scarf [that] is covered with little flags and her husband's initials and says "John Kerry for President 2004" in script at the bottom."

 
Paul Crespo has a good column on the Democrats' potential buyer's remorse over selecting Kerry. He notes that many people mindlessly cite his Vietnam war service as teflon-coating him against charges that he is soft on defense.

[Someone Crespo was debating on the radio] seemed genuinely taken aback when I quickly challenged that assertion by noting Kerry's extensive involvement in the leftist anti-war movement.

Somebody else, I forget who now, commented that the Democrats picked Kerry because he was perceived to be electable. He compared that to a guy marrying a woman because he thought (but had no evidence) that she was a good cook. Exactly! The fact that Kerry was able to get Democrats to vote for him says nothing about his ability to get swing voters to do the same. In fact, most polls taken during the campaign showed that Kerry did very well among self-identified liberal Democrats, less well against moderate Democrats, and downright poorly among conservative Democrats.

 
More Google Fun

I thought I'd check on what websites are currently coming up with waffles. Here's one good one, here's another.

 
Would You Like Syrup on Those?

(Via Anti-John Kerry)

Esoteric Diatribe has suggested that we Google-bomb John Kerry with the word "waffles". Google-bombing means to link to someone's website using a word or phrase that is derogatory. This results in Google matching that word or phrase to that person's website. For example, waffles. Or miserable failure, which when Googled links to, in order, President Bush, Jimmy Carter, Michael Moore, and Hillary Clinton.

 
This One Fooled Me

(Via Just One Minute) A Google search comes up empty.

 
The Great Pretender

Mark Steyn takes on Kerry's newfound affection for rap and hip-hop. As usual, read it all, but here's a taste:

So, when John Kerry says he supports the Kyoto Treaty even though he voted for a bill that declared the United States would never ever ratify it, that doesn't mean he's a ''liar,'' it just means that, well, to be honest, I haven't a clue what it means, you better to take it up with him, now he's out of the hospital after his elective surgery. ''Elective surgery" means you vote to have the operation, and then spend the next year insisting you've always been strongly opposed to the operation.

 
Tell Us What You Really Think

Another one of those sites I came across by checking my referring pages.

John Kerry only ever wears black suits. Black like his wicked heart. If the universe were an episode of Superman, John Kerry would be Lex Luthor, or possibly "Brainiac". Howard Dean would, of course, be Superman. Although Howard would have to stand on top of a midget so that he looked tall enough to actually be Superman. This would be a small problem and a few midgets would probably die during the filming of each episode, but as I said this is just a small problem and the show will go on.

 
The Real Patriot Act

Chris Muir's Day by Day Cartoon nails it.

 
Credit to Kerry for Delinking from Kos? Not Yet!

Perhaps when this page is gone.

 
Good Bumper Snicker

Heh. (Hat-tip to Anti-John Kerry)

 
I'll Have to Insult My Dictionary

Ace has coined a new verb:

*kerry is a new word, meaning to wiggle out of an embarrassing position using "nuance"

"kerrying" is the art of flip flopping indecisively on issues

Of course, it's going to be a tad confusing to say "Kerry kerried on the subject of Iraq's possession of nuclear weapons."

 
The Quotable Kerry

From USA Today (hat tip to Man Without Qualities via Croooowblog)

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, helped found Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He said he respects war protesters: "I've been there. I know how tough it is." He also defended voting last year for a resolution authorizing the president to use force against Iraq. "If you don't believe ... Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn't vote for me," he said.

The comment about him helping found the VVAW is wrong; it was founded well before Kerry finished his service in Vietnam.

 
Another Story I Won't Touch

There have been several stories recently dealing with Kerry's Catholicism, and criticism by church leaders of his political stances on issues like abortion. Not going there, sorry.

 
KILL THIS BLOG!

My weekly request. Please make sure I have to find another hobby come November 3rd!

 
Sorry For Limited Blogging Yesterday

I got caught up in the email-writing campaign to the Daily Kos' advertisers. It was a lot of fun, and I received emails back from two of the three campaigns I complained to, saying that they had pulled their advertising.

As others have said, no doubt we will hear about the new McCarthyism pretty soon.

 
You Might Want to Put Some Ice on That

Yesterday's announcement that the economy had created 308,000 jobs has got to be bad news for John Kerry, whose hopes of getting elected require a stagnant job market and more unrest in Iraq. John Podhoretz suggests it's a Maalox moment:

They might need cases of Zantac and Tagamet also. These medications won't offer a solution to Kerry's electoral problem, but they will provide temporary relief for stomach upset.

Use only as directed. Side effects may include losing in November.

Let's hope!

 
If It's 1971 All Over Again, What Happened to My Hair?

David Limbaugh says John Kerry's stuck in the time warp (it's just a step to the left!).

I think he still harbors an attitude that America is an ugly bully on the world stage, that we have no business acting to protect our security without playing "Mother, may I?" with France, Germany and the United Nations, and that there is little connection between international terrorists and sponsoring states. Sure, just like there was no coordination between communists worldwide during Kerry's antiwar heyday in the seventies.

 
Go Here

Michael Friedman is organizing an e-mail writing campaign that I urge you to join.

Later note: I got an e-mail back from one of the campaigns (Martin Frost) saying that they have severed all ties with the Daily Kos.

Second note: The blogosphere gets results! A second campaign (Joe Donnelly) e-mailed me that they have demanded that their ad be taken down.

 
Kerry Slipping Among Cheeseheads

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that President Bush is leading Nuancy Boy 47%-41% in Wisconsin, a definite battleground state. Gore won Wisconsin by a mere 5,000 votes, so a loss here would be big trouble for Kerry.

In the last Badger Poll, only 18% said they had an unfavorable impression of Kerry. In the new poll, 34% said so. Those saying they had a favorable impression of the Massachusetts senator dropped from 42% to 37%.

 
Poor Little Rich Boy

Kerry didn't exactly come from the wrong side of the tracks according to Jim Geraghty, but he did have it tough:

His upbringing was far from impoverished, but he was constantly surrounded by old money and pureblood Brahmin aristocracy. His family had a 52-foot-sailboat; the other kids had yachts.

 
The Fittest Sick Guy You Ever Saw, Part Deux

The New York Times weighs in with an editorial commending the Botoxicated Brahmin for his elective shoulder surgery. However, it appears that even they smell a rat:

It was only a year ago that Mr. Kerry underwent surgery for the removal of his cancerous prostate gland — he initially delayed telling the public about that operation. His doctors have pronounced Mr. Kerry in excellent health, with no signs of recurring cancer in recent tests. These reassurances are welcome, but they are no substitute for the release of the senator's full medical file. The Kerry campaign has yet to deliver on its promise to make his medical history public.

In true liberal bias fashion, they go on to press for full release of Dick Cheney's medical records as well.

(Later note: What I meant here is that the last paragraph is all about Cheney).

 
Hannity Playing April Fools' Game

Jeez, he comes on and starts saying he won't support Bush anymore and my heart just dropped. Then I realized the date.

 
Yore Cheatin' Heart

Kerry is being accused of violating the campaign finance laws by coordinating his campaign with others. I plan to have a longer post on this later, but here's some reading material for those who can't wait:

Washington Times: Kerry accused of violating campaign law

Washington Post: GOP Complaint Cites Pro-Democratic Groups

Byron York, in The Hill: Like a chump, GOP follows the rules on campaign finance

 
Kerry Soft on Defense, Say Other Democrats

The Washington Post notes Kerry's reported tanking in 17 battleground states (USA Today reports that polling in those states shows Kerry going from a 28-point lead (63%-35%) to a 6-point deficit (51%-45%) since mid-February). I noticed this yesterday, but did not report on it because, to be honest, the 28-point lead did not seem credible, and a mere 6-point deficit for Nuancy Boy is hardly something to cheer about. Call me when he's losing by 17 points.

The Times goes on to note some of the scathing criticism that Kerry received for a proposed $4 billion cut in defense spending and a $1 billion cut in intelligence spending from his fellow Democrats.

Over the next five years, Mr. DeConcini complained, Mr. Kerry's amendment would have cut an additional $5 billion from intelligence activities. In an unmistakable reference to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, [Arizona Democrat] Mr. DeConcini observed, "We no longer seem immune from acts of terrorism in the United States." Arguing against Mr. Kerry's amendment, Mr. DeConcini warned his colleagues: "We have to stay ready. It makes no sense for us to close our eyes to developments around the world which could ultimately save U.S. lives and resources."

 
The Assassination Plot, Part Quinze (Completey Revised)

The Boston Globe becomes the second liberal source to cover the story, and they at least don't bury the lede:

Senator John F. Kerry said through a spokesman this week that he has no recollection of attending a November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at which some activists discussed a plot to kill some US senators who backed the war.

However, they do an incredibly poor job of covering the story, attempting to white-out Kerry's involvement, to the point where they show their obvious liberal bias. I would call this a CYA-WeaSeL story--Cover Your Ass, While Sparing the Liberal.

The CYA part is that they provide all the basic nuggets of information on the story. They mention the assassination plot, note that the FBI had records of the meeting, acknowledge that Kerry has waffled on his denial of being present, and include a mention of the Nicosia break-in.

However, they weasel for Kerry in the following ways:

1. They cast doubt on whether he was at the meeting by citing two people who can't remember Kerry at the meeting, and one (Randy Barnes) who suddenly is unsure. They devote four paragraphs to this part of the story (out of 16 paragraphs total). But of course, memory is a tricky thing, especially memory of events that happened 33 years ago. The key fact that places Kerry indisputably at the meeting is that the FBI's contemporaneous surveillance of the meeting says that Kerry was there, and that he resigned at that meeting.

2. Following the Lawrence O'Donnell talking points, they try to characterize the assassination plot as just a goofy idea that was mentioned in passing and was laughed down.

In a telephone interview from his Florida home, Camil confirmed historical reports that he had suggested a vague plot aimed at prowar senators....

In any case, Barnes said, the plot suggested by Camil was never taken seriously and was quickly shouted down.

As I have discussed earlier, this is a complete mischaracterization of events. Gerald Nicosia's book, Home To War makes it clear that this was not some vague plot that was never taken seriously and was quickly shouted down. Camil came to the Kansas City meeting with three proposals. The first two were voted down at the initial meeting place. The VVAW moved their meeting twice before discussing the third proposal, the assassination plot, because they were (rightly) concerned about surveillance. They checked the place they first moved to (a church), and found that it was bugged and so they moved to a third location. At that location "a vote was taken to exclude anyone but regional coordinators and members of the national office". There was good reason for the desire for secrecy; "According to [VVAW member Randy] Barnes, everybody knew the discussion in that hall 'was grounds for criminal indictment of conspiracy.'" Second, the plot was not vague at all; at least three senators were mentioned by name as potential targets (Stennis, Tower and Thurmond), and the proposal was given a name: The Phoenix Plan (or Phoenix Project; Nicosia calls it the former, but most current accounts use the latter). The book also makes it clear that the plan was the subject of heated, nearly violent debate.

3. They completely bury the story of the Nicosia break-in, mentioning it only in the last sentence, and then only as an apparently unrelated incident:

Separately, Nicosia said Sunday that someone had broken into his home and stolen some of the files, and the case is under investigation.

 
Mr Likeability

Larry Elder takes on Mr Ed's friendliness gap:

Kerry reminds me of a story I once read about the San Francisco Giants' slugger Barry Bonds. Mired in a batting slump, Bonds sat in the locker room and complained about his uncharacteristic struggle to get his offense going. I can't put my finger on the problem, said Barry aloud. I'm struggling. Can't buy a hit. Bonds then looked up and noticed a chronically poor-hitting teammate nearby. Bonds turned to him and said something like -- you must feel like this all the time.